A Solo Session- Cooking for One

Sometimes you're all alone, and you find yourself having to take matters into your own hands and do it yourself. Cook dinner. It's not an easy feat, but with a few well-calculated moves at the grocery store and some plan-ahead cooking, you'll be satisfying yourself in no time!





Let's Start with the Well-Calculated Moves:
* Buy fresh meats and freeze them as individual portions (perfect for chicken)
* Look for quality seafood that has already been frozen (raw shrimp, scallops, fish fillets)
* Stock up on canned beans
* Buy fresh fruits that have an admirable shelf-life (apples, oranges, melons, etc.)
* Learn which vegetables are good frozen, and which ones are good canned (Hint on asparagus- Frozen? Excellent. Canned? Arguably one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth.)
* NEVER BE TEMPTED by the Lean Cuisines and Stouffer's meals. You're better than that.

Now Plan-Ahead:
* Wash all fresh produce when you get home from the store and prepare it for cooking (Rinse lettuce and herbs, chop up onions and garlic, trim green beans, etc.)
* Bake off a few chicken breasts and ground turkey to use throughout the week
* Cook rice, noodles, quinoa, etc. once a week and keep in the fridge for easy access
* Make a pot of soup or chili, portion and freeze it
* Think about dinners that can effortlessly become a new dish the next day, ie- Burrito Monday becomes Taco Salad Tuesday

Tonight I was left all by my lonesome, so I decided to practice what I preach. I thawed out a frozen tilapia fillet under cold running water, grabbed some day old wild rice out of the fridge, threw in some pre-washed produce, and voila! Party of one, your dinner is served.

Citrus-Glazed Tilapia
Ingredients:
1 tilapia fillet, fresh or thawed from frozen
1 cp orange juice
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cp sliced red onion
2 tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: (serves 1)
1. Warm up olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.

2. Add orange juice and lime juice. Bring to a boil.

3. Salt and pepper your fillet. Add it, along with the red onion, to the orange juice.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, basting the fillet with the reducing liquid every few minutes and flipping it halfway through cooking. The fish will be done when it can be flaked with a fork and your juice has reduced to a beautiful, thick glaze.

5. Hit it with some extra lime juice or zest at the end. Salt to taste. Serve it with some wild rice and mixed greens dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Easy peasy.

**I was the lucky recipient of a HUGE tilapia fillet. I'm going to take the leftovers, flake it, and make fish tacos tomorrow!