I’m not talking about “oh, it’s just me I’ll fix a sandwich or have a bowl of cereal.” Do you have a favorite that isn’t in your regular rotation in deference to people you share meals with?
When I read the last sentence in this post I thought about foods my family hates but I like. My husband hates tuna and my son is allergic to green peas. When I know ahead of time I’ll be on my own I fix a batch of tuna casserole with peas.
My grandfather didn’t eat any seafood. When a box of frozen crabcakes would appear in the freezer we knew Gramps must have a business trip.
When my aunt is away her husband indulges his preference for pizza with black olives.
Do you have something that you enjoy that you only fix for yourself? Tell us about it?
My husband doesn’t eat much processed food, and he’s won me over for the most part, but if he were going to be out of town I’d get me some frozen fish sticks, cocktail sauce, and a box of Kraft dinner and chow down!
I might also cook this beef/broccoli/rice thing (verboten because it involves a can of mushroom soup).
Last couple of times chili, and butter chicken over basmati rice. Not together, I mean on two separate occasions.
My wife eats a variant of meat, potato, and vegetable every meal. (Well, maybe not breakfast.) I can’t even begin to tell you, after 18 years, how tired I am of meat, potato, and vegetable.
Shrimp-salad hoagie with sharp cheddar and tomato. I know you said no sandwiches, but I start with raw shrimp, brine them, boil or bake 'em, etc. so it IS cooking. Kinda.
Roasted beets. My husband does not care for beets, and I love them. Sometimes I have egg salad with lots of mustard, either as a sandwich or on crackers.
My husband Hates spaghetti (or any skinny noodle) so when he’s gone, I cook all kinds of skinny pastas. For dinners, even when I am alone, I have some kind of veg or greens.
Some kind of cheesy noodley thing, like Fettuccine Alfredo, because Mr. Athena isn’t a big Alfredo fan, and I don’t eat it much because it’s so bad for me.
When my wife is away, I crack out the habaneros, Scotch bonnets, Thai reds, etc., and make some fiery meals for myself. For example, I like my Thai basil chicken with some serious red chile heat. I cook it a lot for my wife, but dial down the spice to almost nothing but a mere hint of pepper. I add fresh chiles to my plate afterwards to amp up the heat for myself, but it’s just not the same as frying the chiles in the oil, where chiles crisp up a little and the heat is carries through the oil and entire dish. So, when she’s away, I like to make that dish, but with a handful of chiles.
ETA: Also, anything with beets. I love beets. My wife, not so much. (That is, my wife doesn’t like beets so much, not I don’t love my wife so much, lest I get into any trouble. :))
Bachelor Chow. Whenever the better half is away I get to play. The usual foundation is a pound of cooked hamburger meat, usually 80/20. Into that goes a chopped onion or three, chili sauce, diced peppers and that sort of stuff. Think of it as mutant Sloppy Joe filling. Eat the first meal with Fritos or Doritos. Then a couple of days later, make the left-overs into chili-mac.
The onions and peppers usually render me a WMD, with the cats as the primary victims.
We’re definitely on a budget that has to stretch, but when my BF is out of town I go to the expensive market and buy the best cut of steak they have. It’s usually kind of small, but I prepare it simply and just enjoy the flavor of that meat.
My son doesn’t like eggs, so if he’s not home, a lot of times I will have corned beef hash (Libby’s, not Hormel) with fried eggs. Mmm. So good, all mine.