Cooking for Two

I have become an empty nester at a fairly young age. We started a family quite early. I was only 21 years old when I had my first baby boy, and then had two more by the time I was 24. When my children started growing, their appetites grew also. There was a long stretch of time when no matter how much I cooked, it was never enough! I remember many times when I cooked several dishes at once, thinking that the quantity would be enough to last at least two days. I would come home from work, anticipating a hot meal, only to find that the pots and pans were licked clean! 

Well, the kids are all out of the house and now I find myself cooking for two instead of (what seemed like) an army and it is quite an adjustment. While it may seem like an easy adjustment, it is still difficult for me to cook so that we do not end up eating the same meal for many days. So naturally, I turned to the Mercer County Library System website! I ordered cookbooks that were specifically focused on cooking for two. I found many cookbooks in the collection as well as tons of Cooking and Home-related magazines available at your fingertips through the Flipster app in the website's Virtual Branch. I would love to share some of my easy go-to recipes for two with all of you!

Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry

I usually have a few bags of frozen vegetables in my freezer for a quick side dish to any main course. Sometimes, the veggies can be the most delicious part of the main dish. For this quick shrimp stir fry, I use a 12-ounce bag of peeled and deveined frozen shrimp. Using a large pot helps to cook everything quickly and evenly. I add a little oil, the shrimp right out of the bag, a couple of cloves of freshly crushed garlic, and some red chili flakes. After just a couple of minutes, I add soy sauce, and then I dump a bag of any stir fry veggies onto the sauteed shrimp. Add some salt to taste, and freshly ground black pepper seasons everything just perfectly. If I have store-bought sweet and sour sauce in my refrigerator, I will add that as well. To me, this is the absolutely most scrumptious shrimp stir fry and takes very little effort to make.

Versatile Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori-style Chicken with oven roasted vegetables is simple and delicious on any weeknight. The secret is marinating the chicken so that every morsel is as flavorful as possible. Boneless chicken can be cut into small chunks and marinated overnight with yogurt, garlic powder, and spices, to be prepared for dinner the following night, or it can be marinated and packaged into small portions to be put into the freezer. It is easy to bake the chicken in a small tray in the oven with vegetables that are in season or any frozen veggies that you have on hand. The cooked chicken can also be made into a delicious wrap with your favorite sauce and some lettuce or cabbage. Shred the chicken for chicken salad sandwiches or toss into a garden salad to add protein. Another way to utilize the flavorful chicken is to put it in cooked pasta with your favorite jar of Alfredo sauce for a quick, tasty dinner.

Potato Chick-pea/Garbanzo Bean Soup

A chick-pea and potato soup is my absolute favorite vegetarian dish because it is so full of flavor and takes very little time and ingredients to prepare. 

1 small can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans (also called chick peas), drained

2 peeled medium-sized potatoes, cubed

1/2 onion, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Red chili pepper flakes

A pinch of turmeric powder

A big pinch of ground cumin

Secret ingredient: a pinch of kalonji (also called nigella seeds) - this is found in all Indian Grocery stores or online, and has numerous health benefits

In a deep pot, add 4 cups of water, the nigella seeds, red chili pepper flakes, ground cumin, and turmeric, along with the chopped onion. Let it come to a rolling boil. Add in the potato cubes, garbanzo beans and salt. Let it cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. When the potatoes are soft, I use a potato masher to roughly mash the mixture. I tend to like it thicker and chunkier because, in my home, it is eaten with a deep-fried flatbread called a poori on the side. This recipe uses no oil and is full of bold flavor. Pita chips would also be a good alternative and would provide a crunchy texture to this dish.

Two's Company: A Cookbook for Couples by Bev Bennett, has recipes that take less than an hour to prepare. I was most surprised to learn from this book that cooking for two is more common than I thought. Most recipes that are available are typically meant to create enough for 4-6 servings. However, more and more companies are creating single-serving meal prep kits because that is the growing trend in recent years. This book gives exact measurements for quality, in-season ingredients to create meals for one or two people.

Date Night Cookbook and Activities for Couples combines easy, quick recipes with activities for couples to enjoy together. Cooking for two can be a meaningful and intimate experience. Creating a meal together can be a bonding experience and the suggested activities range from conversation prompts to drawing and other fun games to enjoy during and after dinner. 

A recipe book that made me curious is Vegan Cooking for Two. When I got my hands on it, I could not help but drool while looking through the photos. They were beyond mesmerizing....I could not wait to try some of the non-meat, plant-based dishes. The rice pudding dessert definitely did not disappoint! Don't take my word for it though - check out the book and the recipes and try them out for yourself!

Dishes for Two is another cookbook that I thoroughly enjoyed looking through and saved many recipes to try in the very near future. The Loaf Pan Lasagna looks so easy and delicious. You can't go wrong with pasta, and baking all of it in a loaf pan guarantees there won't a huge mess or a ton of leftovers. This is what I call a Win-Win!

Cooking for one or two people gives me the versatility to try new things and eat healthier without having tons of leftovers or having to waste food. I look forward to prepping light dinners and enjoying other activities that I now have time for.

- by Kaneeze, Hightstown Branch