Mmmmmmmm

I've recently realized how much I like to cook. If you're my friend, you probably already knew that, and are wondering why I didn't see something so obvious about myself! The thing is, I've always known that I liked it... I just didn't realize how much! My aunt and uncle were visiting the other day, and they commented on all of my different kitchen gadgets (and how when I move someday, I probably won't have enough counter space for them all). There's just something so stress-relieving about coming up with a delicious, creative dinner! 

One of my big things is trying to make food unique. While I do eat a lot of the same things over and over, or at least tend to buy the same ingredients, I find a special little joy in putting a twist on a meal to make it something different. Google is my friend - a lot of times I'll have an idea, but not really know the best way to make it. The interwebs helps! ;) We be in the twenty-first century. So let's take advantage of it, right?

I thought I'd share some successes with you, in case you're looking for a new idea! (I'm always looking, so please share your own!) None of these are very hard or take too long, because I'm kind of leery about trying elaborate recipes that take all day, unless I really have an appetite for something. Plus, I'm not good at planning ahead, so I make up a lot of things on the spot, when my tummy is like "HUNGRY! NOW!" A lot of these tips also are specifically for those of you who are cooking for one (or maybe two)... if that's you, you know the struggles, so I don't have to elaborate on that any more. 

Anyway, here they be: 

1. Vodka sauce (and other pasta ideas).

Take your ordinary spaghetti sauce, and make it awesome! You could just buy a vodka sauce pre-made in a jar. But living by myself, it takes multiple meals to eat through one jar, so I might as well use a normal sauce in different ways!

I stumbled upon how to do this by accident. Obviously, you heat up the basic sauce and add vodka. But I knew there was more involved. When I looked up a recipe online, it called for heavy cream, which I didn't have at the time (among other things). I did have a sweet, creamy vidalia onion salad dressing, though! So I experimented with that and voila! Delish. Don't be weirded out; if I hadn't told you, you'd eat it and love it and never know I put salad dressing in your sauce. Anyway, that's what I mean about just experimenting with what you've got! You may come up with a breakthrough. (If you're going to try it, a little dressing goes a long way, just FYI.)

I've been experimenting with tofu a little, too, and this is what I like to do when I'm adding it to pasta with this sauce (or even just straight-up spaghetti sauce): press it for a while to get the water out, then marinate in soy sauce (I know, I know, it sounds like we're mixing Chinese and Italian. Just trust me). "Bread" it in cornstarch and cook in a little olive oil on the stove until browned. Add to already saucy pasta! And if you want to mix it up a little more, add some steamed veggies to the mix (I like to add a broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix). Maybe that sounds weird to you. But hey, I'm the kid who brought leftover sauerkraut and mashed potatoes to school for lunch, so whatevs. ;)

2. Coconut chicken and mango salsa.

Seriously. 

Defrost chicken. Beat an egg. Dip chicken in egg, then roll in coconut. Cook in oil on the stove until both sides are golden, then bake in the oven until cooked through (like 10 min). 

Take a jar of mango salsa (there are recipes for it online, but hey, I already had it in the fridge because I'm on a specialty salsa kick). Mix it up with some corn, then heat it up.

I made rice and steamed broccoli for sides. Oh! And I took a wheat tortilla, ripped it into strips, and fried it in the leftover oil from the chicken, for homemade soft-ish tortilla chips.

Pull the chicken out of the oven, put it on the rice, and pour the salsa over it. Mmmmmm. Dip your chips in the salsa, too. To finish off the perfection, drink a piña colada with it (I happened to have one in my freezer already; those drinks in a pouch that you can find at Walmart or wherever). 

3. Salads!!!

Salads are the best, because you can do whatever you want to them. No matter what you have in your kitchen, it can probably be made into a salad. One of my favorites is spring mix, craisins and crumbly feta cheese. Whatever dressing you want! And seriously, if you ever get salads at Wendy's, McDonald's, etc, and they give you more than one packet of dressing, save it for later! Or if your friends or coworkers don't want their extras, steal those. Living alone means it takes me for-ev-er to go through a whole bottle of salad dressing. So if I want variety, I gotta be thinking. 

4. Smoothies. 

See salads. Many, many things in your kitchen can be made into smoothies! Just make sure you always have ice in the freezer, some sort of fruit, and either milk, yogurt or juice. Be creative. Go nuts. 

5. Healthy ice cream.

Yeah, you got that right. I'm SO happy I stumbled upon this tip. Just freeze a banana (peeled and in pieces), and blend it up with a little milk. Really, that's it! Apparently food processors work best for this, but I have woeful luck with those (my family destroyed one, my household lost the other). It's basically a smoothie, but I think it really does taste like ice cream! 

You can make this totally not healthy by adding other ingredients. My favorite is "German chocolate." You can probably figure it out yourself, but you add coconut and chocolate in some form (syrup or hot fudge). Also, peanut butter is a good add! 

6. Pizza bread.

Go to Walmart and peruse the discount bakery. Find some kind of bread (freeze whatever you're not going to use right away; it's on the discount shelf for a reason! You don't want it to go bad). Now slice it, butter it, and top with cheese. Toaster oven until brown and bubbly! Dip in warm sauce (for me, it would be that same jar of sauce we started with, haha). 

7. Granola!

Oats, coconut, a little oil, honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon. Put foil on a baking sheet, then spread the mix out on the sheet. Bake at 350 for about 25 min, but MAKE SURE you stir it every 5 min or so, or you'll kill it. As soon as it's very light golden brown, it's done. Add in the dried fruit of your choosing while it's still hot (I'm all about the craisins!). 

Eat with milk like a cereal, or put it in your yogurt! I like to be doubly domestic and eat it with homemade yogurt, which I've strained overnight through coffee filters to make it more of a Greek yogurt style. 

Speaking of yogurt: buy or make it plain, then add different things in! Different jams, honey, fruits, etc. Similar to the "one jar of sauce becomes many" concept. 

8. Grilled veggies.

Again, anything in your fridge you need to get rid of! Chop veggies, put in ziplock bag. Pour in a little oil and any seasonings you like! Mix up well, pour onto cookie sheet covered in foil (no mess). Bake at 400 or so, until veggies are cooked through. Definitely flip them at least once so they don't burn. 

9. Go to Google. Search "what to make with ____" (whatever you have too much of in the fridge that's about to go bad).

I have found many new ideas that way! Like a squash/sausage/egg scramble... random, but great! And I found that banana "ice cream" idea by searching "what to make with old bananas besides bread" - I was in a rut. 

10. Other things I like to have on hand all the time (mental shopping list).

Tortillas - for many different burrito/wrap possibilities! Even for breakfast.

Applesauce - makes a great side for lots of meals. I get it unsweetened and plain, because it's better for you. And you can always add brown sugar or cinnamon for a treat (heat it up on a cold day, mmmm).

Potatoes - mashed, grilled, etc. And then you can take the leftovers and turn them into potato pancakes! Keep them somewhere cool and dark (I put them in the fridge, which maybe is weird) and they'll last a long time.

Cheese - you will want to add it to something. You really just will... Out of nowhere you'll think, "This would be perfect with cheese!" I like to keep one white and one yellow, just to have my bases covered.  

Also:

Milk

A juice of some sort - plus lemon juice, for cooking 

Veggies - something fresh, but also something frozen for when you're in a pinch. Same with fruit.

Lettuce - for those salads

Rice and pasta... So basic, and they just sit there patiently until you want them!

At least one type of meat in the freezer

A can of beans - red or black, usually. Add to burritos, salads, soups, etc.

Bouillon and/or a can of soup - if you're suddenly struck sick and you live by yourself, you may not want to cook, so the premade can is handy (if you're one of those cooking snobs and you always make yours from scratch, don't judge me!) 

Obvious things like eggs, butter, oil, flour, seasonings

I'm not sure at what point I turned this into "how to live alone and cook creatively, by someone in her 20's figuring it out as she goes," haha. But hopefully you don't feel too patronized. Just passing along some tips that have kept me alive and cooking happily! :) Please, I want to hear your wisdom, too!