The foods we eat! I cannot deal with fat or gristle in meat. I am old, 70-something, and to get by I learned to deal with some things. Meat: if in any doubt I insist on hamburger. A hamburger in bun is anonymous; as a primary entree hamburger can be eaten with other food, gravy, something. I can deal with most hamburger. I buy and cook my own steaks (I live alone, cook for myself) and only buy steak like top sirloin (infrequently and on sale; money is always tight-- yes
) that has no "marbling." I like salad veggies. I keep and use a big bowl of salad in my fridge. Diced pear tomatoes, diced onion, spinach leaves (from a ready-to-use-bag), and sliced or chopped black olives (a can). I make my own dressing: Apple Cider vinegar or a wine vinegar and California-grown olive oil drizzled over salad with some Mixed Italian Spices and a trace of salt. The salad also sautees well and can be mixed with chicken or I buy Fully-Cooked Smoked or Andouille sausage (cut in 1/2 inch lengths, microwave in small bowl with a little water for 5 minutes) that goes well with salad either cold or sauteed.
Sometimes I make a slow-cooker roast. Very small roast in my little cooker, lots of onion, I am on a careful diet because I am much too fat, skip potatoes, maybe cabbage added late in the cook cycle. There are recipes to follow for that. And this is only when I overcome my dislike of long-cook durations.
I have no problems with microwaves. I have two big 1100 watt units. I have no patience with long cook times. Usually. When it is time to eat, I am hungry, I want my food right now. An hour of prep and an hour in the oven is too involved and I mostly would rather just stay hungry. I have recipes that can go from raw ingredients in the fridge or pantry to the table with 10 - 15 minutes prep and 15 minutes in the microwave. And those are the complicated ones. Most meals serve hot in 10 minutes total.
Hot veggie entrees for microwave are in the frozens at the supermarket. The small ones are really for two people to share but can be eaten by one person. Broccoli or cauliflower with cheese sauce. Store brands are good and cheaper than big-name brands. Corn or spinach souffle. Creamed spinach. Some of it depends on what you may personally like or dislike. Sometimes there is eggplant in a casserole form and I love eggplant. I buy Creamed Chipped Beef because it doesn't seem really like meat. It cooks for 7 minutes and I add a tablespoon or two of milk (and it always boils over. Keep a plate under. I use paper plates for this.) I serve it on toast and it is a big meal.
I buy sliced sectioned ham (Cure 81?). A couple of slices, a glass of milk, maybe a slice of bread is a very quick meal with no fuss. Sometimes I just can't face the taste of the ham and find something else.
Eggs: Cannot even look at pictures of runny eggs without wanting to gag. My eggs are hard-boiled for 10 minutes and flooded with soy sauce when I eat them. Every 5 to 10 weeks I hard-boil and peel a half-dozen eggs, put them in a Zip-Lock in the fridge and have them for a week. If they get too old, the dog loves them. Or mix them into a cold salad with extra vinegar. Eggs can be microwave-scrambled and are ready in 3 minutes. (Melt a teaspoon of butter in a small bowl, 5 seconds. Coat the inside of the bowl for non-stick. Break one or two eggs into bowl; add a tablespoon of milk and a little salt. I add a teaspoon of soy sauce instead of salt. Nuke for 3 minutes: at 1 minute & 10 seconds stir the eggs and stir each 20 seconds after until eggs are done to your preference. My scrambled eggs are not done to my preference unless they are cooked so hard they will bounce. I usually add a handful of shredded Mozzarella cheese for the last 20 seconds and then sometimes cook for another minute. Mix in some diced tomato and cook it along with the egg (cook time 4 or 5 minutes). Makes great sandwich [or 2 eggs make 2 sandwiches] on toast. If you are using a small home lower-power microwave the cooking time will be
much longer.)
The Internet is deluged with cooking blogs and recipes. A quick search for anything I am interested in, any kind of complete or partial recipe or cooking instruction, produces more results than I can use.
