quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Pork Chops marinara

This is quick, easy and great! It makes great leftovers for that fast no brainer some other night. Serves 2. Increase it for the great leftovers.

4 thin cut rib or loin pork chops

While you’re in the store getting the pork chops you could walk over to fridge where the buitoni stuff is kept and get some tortellini We like it but any pasta will do and if you don’t have any marinara waiting for you in freezer at home, get some buitoni marinara sauce..

When you get home put a pot on for the pasta. Put a big frying pan on med/high with a couple of swirls of olive oil. While it’s heating up put a little salt, some black pepper and a little garlic powder on one side of the pork chops. Put them in the pan seasoned side down and then season the up side. Slice up a small onion and when you turn the chops add the onion slices if the pork is done before the onions are starting to brown just put the chops on top of the onion until the onions look like you want them to. Add the sauce and a splash of red wine. Mix it up and heat it ‘til the sauce starts to simmer. The pasta should be done so drain it and,,,

SERVE IT UP!!! With some salad, some crusty Italian bread and the rest of that wine!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Shrimp on the grill serves 2 ish

I know we’ve done shrimp a lot of ways, but they’re so good and so easy to make a quick good meal from. shrimp scampi to garlic shrimp but this is a summertime grill thing that will wow your guests or just make a nice quick meal for you and maybe another somebody.

We need skewers! No comments please. If you are going to use wooden skewers soak them in water for at least 20 min.

About a pound of shrimp peeled and deveined.

A med. sized onion ends cut off, cut in half top to bottom and peeled.

A green (or red) pepper cut in half then seeded and cut into 4-6 pieces.

Heat up the grill!! Put the shrimp and the veggies on the skewers then brush or drizzle with good olive oil then squeeze some lemon or lime on them then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put ‘em on the grill! It won’t take long, when the shrimp are pink and opaque all the way thru it’s good. It doesn’t matter what the veggies are looking like when the shrimp are done,, the shrimp are what’s important.

SERVE EM UP!!!! We put some ears of corn on the grill about 5 minutes b4 the skewers. They’re great. Some of poppop’s homemade bread works real good and some wine!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Poppop’s baked Tilapia

This is so easy and so good. We like Tilapia. We always have some in the freezer waiting for us to try a new way of doing it. (Maybe I’m too old for that)

Butter (or olive oil) cooking spray

2 -4 tilapia fillets depends on how hungry your gang is.

Salt and black pepper

1 lime, finely grated zest and juice

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a large cast iron pan or a cookie sheet with Pam..

Rinse fish and pat dry; place on the prepared baking sheet or skillet. Season each fillet with salt, pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Add fish to the pan. Place a pat of butter on each fillet and cook in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes. Serve with some lime or lemon wedges.

The last time we did this we had string beans with butter, sliced almonds and lemon squeezed on them. Also French fries and some chilled white wine,,,boy it was good!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

deli-style rye bread

My good friend Butch gave me this recipe.

Makes 4 1 lb loaves. you’ll think you’ve died and gone to a jewish deli in nyc.


3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp caraway seeds, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup rye flour
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

cornmeal for sprinkling
cornstarch for cornstarch wash
Mix the yeast, salt and carawy seeds with the water in a large bowl. mix in the remaning dry ingredients without kneading. cover with a towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. at this point, you can prepare the dough for baking or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off 1/4 of the dough. dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. elongate the ball into an oval-shaped loaf. allow it to rest and rise on a cornmeal covered surface (pizza peel if you’re going to transfer to a baking stone or a baking sheet if you’re baking right on the baking sheet) for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 F with an empty broiler tray on the shelf underneath the one you plan to bake on. heat the baking stone up with the oven if you are using one.
Make the cornstarch wash by combining 1/2 tsp cornstartch with a small amount of water to form a paste. add 1/2 cup water, whisk and microwave for about 60 seconds. paint the top of the loaf with the cornstarch wash and then sprinkle on caraway seeds. slash with a deep parallel cuts across the loaf using a serrated bread knife.
Bake the loaf on a baking sheet or slide it onto the hot baking stone. bake for 30 minutes. as you put the bread in the oven to bake, pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. allow to cool before slicing or eating. Great with hot pastrami and/or corned beef.

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Fried rice

This is real quick and easy and good!

If you like Chinese and would want to make your own the way you like it, this works great. This recipe serves 4. It makes great leftovers. Just let it cool good and put it in zip loc bags and in the freezer it goes for a quick no brainer some other day.

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 bunch scallions (green onions), chopped

1 cup leftover pork, chicken, or beef, diced or a meat pulled from a rotisserie chicken or peeled and deveined raw shrimp.

1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed plus any other leftover vegies you have

4 cups cold cooked white or brown rice (one of the fast ones like uncle ben’s works fine too

4 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the eggs and scallions. Cook, breaking up the eggs with flipper until they are lightly browned.

Stir in the meat, vegetables, rice, and the remaining oil. Increase heat slightly and cook until the rice is crispy, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix up the soy sauce with 4 tablespoons of water. Then pour it over the rice.

Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and

SERVE!! With soy sauce on the side. Maybe we’ll have some Saki with this,,nah,,,,,,,I’ll stick with red wine!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

tempura battered fish and stuff

We were invited over to Butch and Janie's the other nightand This is what they put together for us.

Butch had bought some sea bass fillets and cut them lenthwise then across. He has some tempura batter mix. Added ice cold water and whipped it up. Put all the fillets in it and dropped them one at a time into some hot fat. Butch has a thermometer for this and went for 375 for the right temp for this dish. When they were crispy he took 'em out and laid them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain and keep warm. Served them with some malt vinegar and tarter sauce. Janie had made a great Zucchini dish. She fried up some thick onion slices until they were just translucent ans scooted them over to the side of the pan then she put zucchini that she had cut the ends off and cut in half lengthwise in the pan. Turned them over once after they got brown, sprinkled some garlic powder, mixed the onions back in. She was supposed to add a little water at this point, but when she wasn't looking I put in some wine and told her I took care of the "water". Well, I used some red wine and she caught on. I guess I already had a little of the wine and didn't think I'd get caught. French fries, a loaf of french bread heated in the oven and of course we continued with the wine. It was great!!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Glazed grilled salmon

This works best on a grill but will work in frying pan in a pinch. You could do shrimp this way with a much shorter cooking time of course or chicken with a longer cooking time.

Enough salmon steaks for your gang
1 1/2 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp melted butter

A little lemon zest

A splash of white (or red) wine

Salt and pepper

Season your Salmon filets with salt & pepper on both sides. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine all the other stuff. Stir together. Brush top of salmon filet with glaze mixture. Put the steaks on medium/hot grill. Cook for 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness of your filets) Turn and brush glaze mixture on to the other side. Cook 3-4 minutes until salmon is a nice color & flakes with your fork.

SERVE IT UP!! Goes good with salad or sautéed broccoli or spinach, crusty bread anddd the rest of that wine!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Now I gotta tell ya somethin'

I've posted a lot of recipes for quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Please,,help me. How about if some of you guys sign up as "followers" and post some of your own recipes and some of your variations of the recipes that have appeared on this blog,,,,HELP!!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Fiery Shrimp

This is gooooood and easy serves 2

1/2 cups (1 sticks) melted butter

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp. tablespoons hot sauce what we like ,,you can’t get in the states,go with texas pete if available

1 (or 2 ) cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 pound unpeeled medium shrimp

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Italian bread, for dipping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, hot sauce, garlic, and salt. Pour half this mixture into a large heatproof dish. Layer half the shrimp and half the lemon slices in the dish; then form a second layer with the remaining shrimp and lemon slices, and pour remaining sauce into the dish. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink, stirring twice. Lots of Italian bread for dipping in the spicy butter sauce.

I recommend a good pinot grigio,, maybe Santa margarita and some penne pasta aglia de olio. And some spinach salad. Life is short ,,,enjoy it!!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2


Italian chicken tenders


1 cup seasoned bread crumbs I like progresso italian
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
11/2 teaspoons dried thyme
11/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch (or 2) of ground red pepper flakes
6-8 or more chicken tenders
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Marinara sauce or honey mustard, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a pie plate or platter, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, thyme, basil, oregano, salt, garlic powder, and red pepper. Dip the chicken strips in the melted butter, then dredge them in the bread crumb mixture. Place the chicken strips in a single layer on a pamed baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

SERVE IT UP!! with marinara sauce, or serve hot or cold with honey mustard. If you go with the marinara sauce you might want to have some pasta with some of the marinara sauce. When we go with the honey mustard we just do the frozen French fries. Don’t forget some crusty bread, some salad and some wine!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Chicken carbonera


good olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped 2 slices bacon will do in a pinch
1 clove garlic minced
1 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2-3 egg yolks
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 tbsp. dried
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dried
Salt and black pepper
1/3-1/2 lb. spaghetti
2 cups coarsely shredded chicken (from 1 roasted chicken)
2 tbsp. cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional but nice)
1/2 tbsp. finely grated lemon peel

Heat about 3 swirls of the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta (or Bacon) and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and lemon zest over, and

SERVE IT UP!! With some salad, good crusty Italian bread and some good wine!!

quick and easy meals for 1 or 2

Sea bass with Pop pop's sauceWe had our friends Butch and Janie over for dinner the other night and did this.We had 6 big sea bass fillets. It might seem like a lot, but Butch and I can get a little piggy when it's fish.

Gammy made a salad out of tomatoes, zucchini, onions and diced up mozzarella cheese. She made a great oil and balsamic vinegar dressing for it and it was great. We cooked up a little corn on the cob and did the frozen, precooked, french fries in the oven thing.

Get the biggest frying pan you have and put enough olive oil to cover the bottom about 1/4 inch deep. Heat it up med/high.

While the oil is getting hot On a large dinner plate or serving platter put 2 cups flour, 2 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. salt and 1 tbsp. black pepper. Blend it together with a whisk or fork.Rinse off the fish and pat dry then dredge in the flour mixture and put the fillets in the hot oil. Cook until golden brown, turn them over and do the other side. It'll be about 2-3 minutes a side.When the fillets are done put them on a plate and keep them warm on the back of the stove.

For the sauce,,,,olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 small onion minced
1 plum tomato seeded then diced
1 lime sliced up
1/2 tbsp dried basil or 1 tbsp fresh chopped up
3/4 cup red (or white) wine

wipe out the pan with some paper towels and return to the stove med heat. Put in a few swirls of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic and the basil. Cook until the onions and garlic are translucent not brown. Add the tomatoes, lime slices and the wine. Cook until the wine reduces by about half.

Serve the sauce over the fish with the salad and corn and the potatoes,,anndd,,,the rest of that wine!!