It is hard to cook for one when food is sold in family -sized quantities. What do you do?
If you have freezer space, make-aheads work well. I will demonstrate creating make-ahead meal bases from 2 pounds of hamburger, but the principle can be applied to whatever you cook frequently: ground turkey, diced chicken, tufu! The idea is to cook the entire two pounds of meat in as basic a quantity as possible and then to package it in freezer bags for later use. I like 1/2 cup quantities for cooking for one. You can package in quantities that suit your style.
1. How do I use this meat? (What is the Lowest Common Denominator?)
I usually fry hamburger with onions, and sometimes onions and green peppers. Once the meat is brown and crumbly, it is ready to package. This works in the Tex-Mex, Italian, or Cajun dishes I prepare, so that is my Lowest Common Denominator.
2. How much will I use in this form?
I could stop right here and package all the meat as 1/2 cup servings and freeze them. But let's think about this.
What do I cook most often? Tex-Mex. Ok. I will take out and freeze up to half of the basic meat mixture and season the rest of it for a basic Tex-Mex mixture. This will give me twice the mileage from my purchase.
3. Tex-Mex Mixture: I like whole kernel corn and Ro-tel tomatoes in my Tex-Mex. My seasoning favorite is Williams Chili Seasoning. (Their Taco Seasoning is good, too.) For my make-ahead I will then add about 1 cup of frozen whole kernel corn and a can of Ro-tel tomatoes. The spices are to taste. I added 2 Tbs. Williams Chili Seasoning this time as well as salt and pepper. When is is mixed well and bubbly, I can package it as 1/2 cup servings.
4. Label each package with the name of the contents, date, and quantity : Tex-Mex Meat Mixture, July 2018, 1/2 cup. Flatten the zipper freezer bags. If you wish, line them up on a cookie sheet. Place in the freezer. After 24 hours, they will be solid and you can remove the cookie sheet and stack them compactly in a corner of the freezer.
USING A PRE-PACKAGE MEAT MIXTURE
Once frozen, the meat mixture is ready to be thawed and turned into taco soup, chili, or any other dish that I want. All I need to do is add the beans, or other ingredients not already present.
I decided to use some of the mixture now to create individual taco bakes for myself and a guest. I could have just as easily thawed one of my meat mixtures to begin this recipe. If you notice that the ramekins are different sizes, it is because I eat far less since my gastric by-pass. That means "Cooking for One" becomes "Cooking for 1/3" :)
Taco Bake for Two
1 cup Tex-Mex Mixture
Water or tomato juice as needed
Thin tortilla chips
Shredded cheese
Small bakeproof dishes or ramekins
Butter for ramekins
Cookie sheet
1. Butter bottom and sides of ramekins.
2.Warm meat mixture. Add liquid if needed (water or tomato juice.) Add more seasoning to taste.
3. Crumble tortilla chips to make a thin layer in ramekin.
4. Spoon meat mixture over chips, and then sprinkle with cheese.
5. Repeat. End with a cheese layer.
IF YOU WISH TO FREEZE AT THIS POINT, COVER DISH WITH ALUMINUM FOIL, LABEL AND DATE, AND THEN FREEZE. This should keep frozen about six months.
Place ramekins on cookie sheet, Bake at 350° F. about 30 minutes until bubbly. Garnish with more cheese if desired.
