Cooking for One

A few months ago, Kate P. had a post on what a pain it is to try to cook for just one adult. That is so true sometimes. I created a category around that, since I have some experience in this area, and I thought I would occasionally post recipes that I like because they can work for single people since they are good and: easy, cheap, store/freeze well, or some combination of those. This weekend I remembered that I had not done anything with this topic when I went to make my all-time favorite good for single people recipe: beef stew.

This is kind of a silly topic, because there are only about a million recipes out there for single people to try. The thing is, I keep running into people who have a tough time with this, so I thought I'd share what works for me once in a while. Most of these are pretty basic recipes and I'm not trying to take credit for anything brilliant here. They're just recipes that work for me and if I can do them, anybody can.

So, beef stew. Before we get into this and for those who are so inclined, I would like to take a moment and say a prayer for the person or persons who are responsible for the modern day crock pot. No other device has made it easier for me to come home from a hard days work and have a decent meal at a time when I'm feeling tired and less than motivated to start cooking. Thank you, whoever and wherever you are.

I like beef stew because, well, it's beef stew. But more specifically, it's easy to make in the crock pot. I get my meat, potato, and vegetables all in one. And very importantly, it stores well for a few weeks in the freezer, so the large number of servings don't go to waste. It's not the cheapest meal, but I figure it ends up at about $3.30 per serving for me(the recipe says six servings, I figure five for me), which isn't too bad.

The recipe below is a pretty standard one for crock pot cooking and I've seen variations of it all over the place. I've added peas to mine and prefer a little more garlic, and you can make minor adaptations also to fit your taste. Just don't do what I did the very first time I made this and mistake a bulb of garlic for a clove. To this day I think I deserve the credit for the Twin Cities being vampire free since 1984. As far as meat goes, I prefer chuck or rump, but sometimes get the pre-cut stew meat at the local grocery store. The upcharge works out to about 80 cents and sometimes the convenience is worth it. When it comes to the veggies, I sometimes substitute canned for fresh. I hate buying a sack of potatoes or a whole bag of carrots if I'm not going to use them all up. I'll put the fresh ingredients there along with what I sometimes substitute, depending on what I'm cooking at that time. Oh, and just to be clear, this is a crock pot recipe. If you try to cook this some other way you are on your own.

• 2 lb of stew meat, about 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic (I add another small one or a half a regular clove)
• 1 bay leaf (pricey little devils these days)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 4 sliced carrots(or one 14.5 oz can of sliced carrots)
• 3 potatoes, diced(or two 14.5 oz cans of whole or sliced potatoes)
• 1 15oz can of sweat peas
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• Serving sized containers for freezing the leftovers

Place the meat in the crock pot. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper and pour over the meat and stir to coat the meat. Add the rest of the ingredients except the peas and stir well. Add the peas and gently stir once more to mix them in. Cover and cook on low 10 to 12 hours(or some people say on high for 5 to 6 hours. That's just not as good I think). Leave it alone. Seriously, resist the temptation to open the lid and stir. Just leave it alone.

When it's done, stir well and remember to find the bay leaf and discard it before serving. Now go chow. When you are done, ladle the leftovers into whatever containers you want to use and freeze or refrigerate as you see fit. I usually put one container in the fridge and make sure I consume it within a couple of days. I try to use up the freezer servings within two or three weeks. Make sure the containers you use are microwave safe so you can just take it from the freezer and reheat it.

Great food that's relatively inexpensive and easy to make. As far as I'm concerned it freezes well also, so you don't have to eat beef stew for 5 meals straight. I love beef stew, but I don't want it even two meals in a row if I can help it. So what do you think?

Comments

[Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life]

Sounds good! Actually pretty close to the recipe we often use.

Oh, and bay leaf expensive? I don't know, I use the Shilling/McCormick bottled-and-dried ones. Last a long time for not much money. You buy fresh? That's hardcore. (Realistically, if I'd been much of a cook when I lived in Santa Cruz, I'd have had a large supply of wild, free-range bay leaves. If I'd known what to do with them.

[Dave E.]

No,, I use the bottled and dried ones also, but they were over $7 for a .1 oz bottle when I replenished this last weekend. Maybe I just got ripped off or maybe I should try to grow my own. Not sure yet.

[Rob]

I'm a big fan of stew and that recipe is almost identical to the one the wife uses except she makes a roux. For what it's worth, it works equally well with chicken but not pork. Leave out the potatoes and put mashed potatoes and cheese on top and you have a pretty authentic shepherd's pie like the one I ate at Molly Quinn's.

http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog/2004/07/02/shepherds_pie.html

The grammar/high school cafeteria variety shepherd's pie, ground beef instead of beef cubes, is also a meal that freezes well and can be made fairly easily and cheaply.

[Mr. Bingley]

...mistake a bulb of garlic for a clove...

I'm failing to see how this could possibly be considered a mistake. How can you use too much garlic?

[Dave E.]

What's a roux? I have no problem with shepherd's pie, but I really like the potato chunks after they have slow cooked for 12 hours right in with the meat. The recipe calls for diced, but I tend to use either whole small potatoes or more like quarters.

[Mr. Bingley]

What's a roux?

Something that lives in Australia.

[Dave E.]

Oh I love garlic, but there truly can be too much of a good thing. Mom had given me a crock pot when I got my own place and it was the very first time I had used it(this very recipe). We didn't use fresh garlic much in my house when I was growing up so I didn't know the difference between a bulb and a clove. I got everything set one morning and went off to work. I walked back in the door that evening and...holy smokes. That stuff was not edible. I froze it and cut it into some later garlic free batches, but I think I ended up throwing about half of it away.

[Rob]

"What's a roux?"

Dave,

You MUST come to New Orleans. Almost every New Orleans cookbook starts with these five words, "First, you make a roux". Wikipedia has a decent definition/explanation of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roux

Your recipe kinda throws it all together but the flavor is enhanced dramatically when done in stages. As for garlic, too much kinda depends on who you ask; the person eating it or the one next to him.

[Kate P]

I have wondered about the whole crock pot thing (seeing it on everybody's wedding registry and wondering if it's worth it). It is always excellent to find a recipe that freezes well.

And (speaking as someone part Italian) garlic is gooooood. It may not enjoy being slow cooked, though. :)

[Dave E.]

Rob-I finally got the chance to take a look at that link and I get it now. And yes, I have got to get down to New Orleans. A whole bulb of garlic is six or eight times what the recipe calls for. It was way, way, over the top and I love garlic.

Kate-I don't know if it's me or if garlic doesn't do as well in a crock pot like you said, but over the years I've upped the garlic I use in this to 1.5 or 2 times the recipe. I highly recommend crock pot cooking for any dish that freezes well, since most recipes are for 6 to 8 servings, or if you are having people over for dinner and most of it will be consumed. They aren't very expensive as far as kitchen appliances go either.