I’ve had a hard time coming up for dinners for one. Since Russell is always out and about it’s usually just me left to fend for myself. I’ve been trying to get better at taking the time to actually make something instead of running for fast food. I really do like to cook & I don’t like frozen dinners so that’s out for me also. So, I have to keep it small, but good. I thought you guy’s might like to see some of the small meals I’ve been preparing lately because I know some of y’all are in the same lunch/dinner boat I’m in.
I’m always asking… What am I going to fix for dinner?
We are blessed in Chicago with the best pizza. But when I prefer to make my own, the premade dough can be bought at our local Italian grocer. All I have to do is bring it home and roll it out. It’s so good and if you split the dough, you can freeze the other portion for a different lunch. Susan came over to help. We used Martha Stewart’s Veggie Pizza recipe. We topped it with whatever veggie & cheese I had at the time… artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, Romano & Gruyere cheeses.
This turned out to be the best homemade pizza I’ve made yet! We ate both pizzas!
I made a nice lunch for the guys when they were painting the studio. Paula’s recipe for Pinto Beans in the slow cooker, cornbread, and a salad made with raw Vidalia onion, zucchini, and Roma tomatoes, sprinkled with salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. I love this summer salad. I make these pinto beans all the time. Although, when I was back home we had them jalapeno cornbread instead…yummy!
I think they liked it. It was almost gone:)
Veggie sandwich on sub rolls. If you can get the Gonnella, it’s the best bread for this. I used guacamole instead of mayo, cut fresh red & green peppers, zucchini, lettuce, Vidalia onion, provolone cheese, Roma tomatoes. This was super tasty on a hot day. The guac really made this one stand out.
Paige came over for dinner the other night and we used some of the fresh herbs I’ve been growing. Fresh lemon thyme chicken with what our neighborhood calls…garbage potatoes.It’s just whatever veggie you have left in the fridge. Slice potatoes really thin, I like to soften them in the microwave first just to get them cooking, chop red, green, & yellow peppers, asparagus, onion, and a can of Summer Corn. Sprinkle generously with Season -All and a bit of olive oil. Wrap them in foil and place on the grill. These are a crowd pleaser and it makes a lot of veggies. The best thing about these is the leftovers. I scramble eggs for breakfast and reheat the veggies in a pan on the stove. Mix together and you’ve got yourself an amazing little breakfast to feel good about!
This was a pretty healthy post. Now, the one I have planned for Thursday, not so much:) I hope you enjoyed & feel free to share some one/two serving meals with us also. We’d love some new ideas!
14 comments
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June 7, 2011 at 7:55 am
PaigeAlaine
Yum….I want that pizza!
June 7, 2011 at 9:05 am
Lorrie
I’ll make it for you next time!
June 7, 2011 at 8:39 am
mimi'sdarlins
Wow, I just got up and I’m hungry for lunch!! Being mostly vegan, these all appeal to me! I love your placemat, too :-)
June 7, 2011 at 9:05 am
Lorrie
Diane, I don’t eat red meat or fish…maybe a tuna sandwich. Mostly chicken & veggies:) The placemats are the ones that Jeanne amde me during our swap last year. I love them and always use them!
June 7, 2011 at 8:51 am
Kelly P
Nice placemats! Those are wonderful recipes! My garden is producing abundantly right now, so I’m seriously into eating veggies. Last night, I grilled shish-ka-bobs with pork chops, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers, jalepeno peppers, chili peppers, bell pepper, yellow crook-neck squash, and zucchini, seasoned with Zataran’s, garlic, and olive oil. Then, I also made up my FAVORITE salad…Roma tomatoes and Basil, both fresh from the garden and fresh mozzerella cheese. I like to coat a skillet with olive oil and get it hot. Slice up the cheese and put it in skillet for just a minute, the milk fat will sort of melt off the cheese and blends ‘yummily’ with the olive oil. On a plate, alternate tomato slices and cheese slices. Sprinkle sea salt over it all, add chopped fresh basil over the top, then drizzle the olive oil/milk fat from the skillet over the top. YUM! Tonight, I’ll be eating the leftovers, but I chopped up some grilled squash and zucchini last night and added it to my salad also, so I really looking forward to dinner tonight, lol.
June 7, 2011 at 9:08 am
Lorrie
Kelly I love the Caprese salad with the fresh mozzarella and romas! I have fresh basil growing too. That would be yummy on the pizza too!
June 7, 2011 at 8:56 am
Vicki
Martha has a section in Everyday Food that’s a recipe for dinner for one. It’s a great concept because not everyone needs a dinner for 4-6.
June 7, 2011 at 9:08 am
mimi'sdarlins
Lorrie, I thought those placemats looked familiar, and I thought the fabrics looked like some that Jeanne had. Now I know why :-)
June 7, 2011 at 10:11 am
Jeanne
Lorrie I’m glad you are making good use of those placemats!! :-) You sound like you eat a whole lot like I do. Everyone of those dishes look delicious!! Brown (red) beans are really good but try some black beans and make them the same and you’ll never go back!
June 7, 2011 at 10:13 am
Lorrie
oooo I’ll try that Jeanne. Thx!! I just bought the ingredients to make black bean salsa. Another favorite!!
June 7, 2011 at 10:27 am
mimi'sdarlins
I love black beans, too!! I have a wonderful salad concoction that I tried one time to mimic one we picked up at the local deli w/ black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, red and green peppers, cumin, red onion, a bit of lime juice and some bits of sweet pickles, which give it just the right flavor. Not sure if that’s all of the ingredients, but I just toss in whatever tastes good!
June 7, 2011 at 10:30 am
Lorrie
I like to serve it with cheese quseadillas or eat it with multigrain tostitos.
June 7, 2011 at 2:10 pm
mimi'sdarlins
We like to use it as a dip for tortilla chips, too…haven’t tried it w/ quesadillas, but that also sounds good. I also like to serve it on a bed of lettuce. Hmm, would be good tonite, it’s 97 degrees right now!
June 7, 2011 at 9:59 pm
customphotopics
Looks like I missed some yummy food!!