Today was success number one but it came with an interesting dilemma...I call it the cooking for 1 but shopping for 1 plus dilemma. My meal was amazing and delicious and wasn't difficult to prepare. However, I made 1 piece of meat and it was already enough for 2 meals (since my girls are not with me today - though if I had to guess, I'd still have extra even if they were with me).
I had a piece of osso buco in my freezer that I defrosted (it was a huge piece), I roasted some broccoli and I had a nice salad on the side.
This success has brought up new thoughts, doubts and wonders - Will I be able to do this after a full day of work? I wonder how this would have gone if my girls were at home with me. That meat was delicious (and the price tag was conveniently missing) but I wonder how expensive this meal was. I hope I'm able to eat the leftovers before they spoil because the only part of this that could be frozen successfully is the meat.
That's it for today. I have another 2 weeks until school starts and I'm procrastinating like mad on the one thing I can do. I can't decorate my part of the walls (maybe I'll write a post on my position in my school later...like once I know for certain exactly what I am doing) until they decide which classrooms are for each grade and each class. Lots of things in the air but I already feel a little success because I was able to make one meal well - hooray!
If you are interested in the recipes, I'll post links to the recipes:
Osso Bucco - this made enough for 2 servings with lots of extra sauce
1 piece of meat (not sure of the exact size but it was large enough for 2 portions)
1/8-1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon oil of your choice (I used olive oil)
3 cloves diced garlic (or more if you want a stronger garlic flavor)
1/2 an onion diced
1 medium carrot halved and cut up into bite size pieces
1 cup wine of your choice - I only buy moscato because that's all I drink so that's what I used but if you aren't into a sweet meat, a dry white or red would probably be a better idea
1/3 cup water because I just don't buy stock
1 can crushed tomatoes - you could also use diced if you like pieces of tomato but I don't like the pieces, just the sauce
salt if you don't buy kosher meat and pepper though I didn't add any...I guess someone else might want to.
1. Dust the meat with flour until it's coated and brown over a medium heat (you heat up the oil to use for the browning). Put the meat aside.
2. I had to add a bit more oil but only add a bit more if you don't still have some at the bottom of your pan/pot. Add onion and garlic and cook until they are soft and lightly browned but not crispy and burnt.
3. Add the meat back into the pan along with 2/3 cups of wine (not all of it) and carrots. Let that simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add in the can of tomatoes, the last 1/3 cup of wine and 1/3 cup of water (I used that 1/3 of water to rinse out the tomato can to make sure I got every last bit of tomato flavor). This is where you would add the salt and pepper if you weren't me. Cover it and let it simmer on a low heat for about 1.5 hours checking on it every 15-20mn to baste the meat or, in my case, use a spoon to pour sauce back on top (though my meat was practically submerged so I wasn't so worried).
5. At this point, the meat shouldn't fall off the bone but it should be tender. One could garnish it with things like parsley, garlic and/or lemon zest but I just don't do garnishes so it didn't happen.
6. Enjoy!
Roasted broccoli - this made enough for 2 servings of the portion size above but that also depends on the size of your broccoli head
broccoli head
olive oil
salt, pepper and garlic powder/granules to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/475F. Slice the broccoli head so you get long pieces that are pretty thin. Drizzle some olive oil on top. Sprinkle with amounts of salt, pepper and garlic that you'd like. You can also sprinkle other things...this is just the spicing that I like. If you want really easy clean up, put a layer of parchment paper on your tray before putting the broccoli on it.
2. I don't usually wait for the oven to finish preheating for this - I just stick them in when they are ready to go. I set the timer for 15mn and then check on them and push them around a bit. After that I check on them every 5-10mn until they are practically done and at the crunchness level that I want. I then crank up the temperature to 210C/410F or to grill and let it sit for another minute or two because I love it when the tips are crispy.
3. Enjoy!
Simple Salad - this made enough for 2 salads of the portion size shown above
1 cucumber
1/2 pepper
4 cherry tomatoes
1 carrot
olive oil and lemon/lime juice
1. Chop up the veggies and pour a bit of olive oil (maybe a couple teaspoons) as well as a bit of lemon or lime juice onto it. Mix and enjoy. Again, this could also have some parsley or some lettuce - I just don't like lettuce and don't have the time or energy for parsley which, in my opinion, doesn't add much flavor-wise and just makes it look nice. My stomach won't know the difference between nice and ugly food and my tongue won't care as long as it tastes good.
2. Enjoy!
Dishes and Utensils used in this meal
(because no one wants a ton of dishes to wash at the end of dinner):
* pot
* cutting board
* cutting knife
* heat safe tongs (mine are metal but heat safe silicone would work)
* pan for oven
* plate, knife, fork, glass and reusable ice cubes (though those aren't necessary, they are just fun and colorful)
