Cooking for Two

Cooking for two doesn't have to be time consuming or a struggle. In fact, I have found simple ways to actually prepare simple meals that are quite pleasing in taste, looks, and with ease.

When I think back to having grown up in a large family, and then having family of my own; there were many evenings of long, drawn out dinner plans and preparations. Now that it's just my husband and I, those big meals and time preparations just didn't feel right any more.

I know a good many of folks, where there is only one or two of them, so they stop off at the local burger joint or grab a sub from a nearby deli, and stock up on tv dinners. But we all know that eating like that isn't very healthy for us.

After sitting and thinking on afternoon about the nights meal, a brainstorm erupted. I was watching 'Little House on the Prairie' on television, when the thought and idea struck. I noticed that more often than not, they sat down to one-pot meals for dinner. For some strange reason, I wanted to learn just a little more, and question my father on this subject and time era, beings he grew up pretty close to that time span. He confirmed that yes, many meals were done in that manner. So naturally, the first thought that came to mind would be stew. Nope. That wasn't the answer I was looking for. A good stew takes hours to simmer, and I wanted something quick.

I have found a way to cook a one-pan meal, that resembles stew, has an awesome taste, and is quick and easy to prepare. I dug out my large family sized skillet, that hadn't been used in a while. Then I took two large chicken breasts and cut them up so I had 4 pieces all total. Next, I sliced up about a cup each of celery, onions, carrots, peppers, and potatoes, making sure they were good bite-sized pieces. (The hearty cut) is what I call it.

All of these items I then placed into the skillet at one time. Then I added about 1& 1/2 cups of water and a few good shakes of soy sauce. Cover and let cook on med flame/heat about 30 minutes. My husband loved it and so did I. The best part is, it's plentiful, healthy, and re-heatable. I had enough left over to seal in a container and serve it up on a night that I felt lazy.

You can do this combination in many different ways, such as using cubed steaks, or even hot dogs for that matter. You can also change some of the veggies around, such as alternating broccoli instead of peppers. You can even omit the potatoes, and serve this dish over rice. Every combo makes a wonderful tasting and appealing dish.