

Ask HN: What are your favorite Bachelor Chow recipes? - derekp7

Many of us here are almost too busy to cook, so we end up eating out a lot.  This is costly, and not as healthy as it can be.  To remedy that, I&#x27;d like to start a thread for your favorite quick to prepare, cheap, healthy recipes, which I like to refer to as &quot;Bachelor Chow&quot; (you know, like the stuff that Fry eats on Futurama).  There are no hard qualifications, but basically anything that can either be prepared in about 5 minutes (even if it has to cook for a half hour or so), and&#x2F;or something that you can make a large quantity of and it keeps good for leftovers.<p>For example:  Chicken and yellow rice -- get a bag of frozen chicken breasts (about $7, usually has 4 - 6 pieces of various sizes), a bag of mixed frozen vegetables, and a package of yellow rice (essentially, rice with turmeric and other seasonings).  Boil 1 - 2 pieces of chicken (takes about 15 minutes to boil), cut or tear into small pieces, throw chicken pieces, frozen peas, yellow rice, and appropriate amount of water in a pan (the rice package gives how much water to add), cover and cook for about half an hour.  Total time in front of stove, 5 minutes (broken down into two separate sessions), total cooking time about 45 minutes.
Variations include using strips of boneless pork chops (brown pork first in skillet, doesn&#x27;t have to be cooked all the way through), and you can slice up red potatoes on top instead of peas.<p>Both of these are awesome even a few days later (or fill small bags with the leftovers and throw them in the freezer.<p>Another quick recipe is beef stew -- basically a package of stew meat ($6.00 or so), a large bag of soup-mix vegetables (this should include potatoes, or you can cut up red potatoes -- reds, so you don&#x27;t have to peel the skins), a package of stew seasoning.  About $9, makes enough for about 6 meals.<p>So, any others?  If this thread gets some up-votes, I&#x27;ll add a few more in the comments section.
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andymoe
Chicken adobo is really easy and good. [1]

I usually do it a bit more simply. Brown chicken thighs and drumsticks in a
pot, remove chicken and then add 1 onion sliced into chunks and some garlic.
Brown onions and garlic. Add white wine vinegar, a carrot or two and a bit of
water and maybe a splash of soy sauce and the chicken back in. You can put one
cut up tomato in if you like too. Cover and cook for another 30 mins or so.
Takes about 45 mins, mostly unattended. Serve with rice.

[1] [http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2012/05/chicken-
adobo.html](http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2012/05/chicken-adobo.html)

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beginagain
I've been eating vegetarian and enjoying it. One thing I do is saute some
veggies like onions, celery, garlic, jalapeno in some refined coconut oil,
then add a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans and mash them up. It lasts a
while, and you can put some hummus on a sprouted grain tortilla, then add some
of the bean mixture and even some rice if you want, it's damn good. Especially
if you grill the tortilla too.

I still eat meat sometimes, but it's just so much more expensive than a
package or can of beans. Beans are really versatile.

Also, sometimes I'll make deviled eggs. Put eggs in pot of cool water and
bring to boil. After eggs boil for about a minute, take off the heat, cover
and let sit 10-15 mins. Afterwords, pour cold water or even water with ice to
chill the eggs and stop them from cooking (this will give you bright, yellow
centers instead of the yucky grey).

Then if you have like 4 eggs, you can add say a tbsp of sweet pickle relish,
tbsp or less of mayo, tsp dijon mustard, tsp vinegar, and mash all that with
the egg yolks. You can also use some finely chopped celery & onion if u want.
Or u can always man up and add some cooked bacon. Pretty good stuff. protip-
slice eggs lengthwise to obtain a more consistent cut through the yolk (the
cavity depth in the white part of the eggs will be more consistent this way,
which just makes it look better)

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memracom
Leftover chicken soup. This was invented one Saturday afternoon when I looked
in the fridge and it was practically bare. One piece of chicken thigh, one
onion and 3 leaves of celery was the entire contents of the fridge.

Sautee the chicken thigh in a bit of olive oil. Wait until it cools and strip
off the cooked meat. Put the bones and skin in a pot of water and boil for a
while. Dump water into another pot or a bowl through a sieve or strainer.
Chuck out the bones/skin.

Now, chop the meat into chunks, and start sauteeing them in olive oil while
the broth simmers in the pot. Chop the onion and add it to the frypan. Chop
the celery and add it to the pan. Add some salt to the pan, and any handy
herbs. After a few more minutes dump it all into the broth an boil together 5
minues. Then add half a cup of rice and turn down to a slow simmer for an hour
or so. Eat when the rice is no longer crunchy.

You could do better with adding some other veggies but, honest, that is all
that I had in the fridge that day.

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jmspring
Slow cooker soup recipes. You put a bunch of stuff into the slow cooker, let
it sit for 4-8 hours and are awarded with an awesome meal that will last you
several days.

One favorite recipe from a friend:

Ingredients: • 1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed • 1-2 ham hocks,
depending on how much of a carnivore you are. • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced •
1/2 cup chopped white onion • 2 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped • 2 cloves
of garlic, minced • 1 bay leaf • 1 tbsp. total Spices: Marjoram, Thyme,
Rosemary, Savory, Sage, Oregano, and Basil • 1 tbsp. seasoned salt • 1 tsp.
fresh pepper • 1 1/2 liters water Preparation: Layer ingredients in slow
cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and
cook on HIGH 5 hours or on low 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls
off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired.

If you want healthy - I go for smoothies in the vitamix. Mostly some mesh
between fruit and green smoothies.

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mdturnerphys
Not great for leftovers, but Thai omelettes/frittatas (ไข่เจียวหมูสับ) are my
go-to meal. I keep bags of chopped green onions and cooked ground pork in the
freezer and have have a squeeze bottle of minced garlic in the fridge to make
it quick and easy. Crack a few (I usually do 3) eggs in a cup and mix in some
fish sauce and/or seasoning sauce. Cut up a tomato. Put some oil in a frying
pan at medium-high heat, add garlic and green onions. Add pork and tomato a
little later. Give it another 30 seconds or so and pour the egg mixture over
everything and stir it up. Let it set up a bit and then stir it again to get
everything cooked faster. Once it's cooked through and a bit browned on the
bottom, flip it over and cook long enough to brown that side. Put it on some
rice and top with Thai Sriracha sauce (the rooster brand stuff isn't Thai, but
it will work if you don't have the right stuff).

Thai massaman curry and Japanese curry are both pretty easy and are great for
leftovers.

~~~
derekp7
Ok, I think I would include this as a form of bachelor chow too. Even without
leftovers, any time you can batch the prep work, and pull out a small quantity
at a time, cook quickly and eat, then it is still a time saver.

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ZoFreX
Egg fried rice is great - not much prep, and the time it takes to cook once
prepped is minimal. You could be eating within minutes of getting home from
work if you prep the day before!

As for the recipe, there are a lot of versions out there, but I've had the
best results with Felicity Cloake's:
[http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jan...](http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jan/19/how-
to-cook-perfect-egg-fried-rice)

Edit: It's a bit controversial but Delia Smith's "How To Cheat At Cooking" is
an interesting recipe book if you want to knock up tasty meals quickly. Jamie
Oliver has books (and apps!) specifically for fast meals - 20 minute meals. I
liked the app but I couldn't reproduce the results as fast as him!

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caw
Two things that I cook that make a ton and will freeze are baked ziti (or
lasagna, ziti is a bit easier on prep), and Japanese curry. Prep on the curry
takes a while because there's a lot of vegetable chopping, but cost per
serving is pretty low.

Walk down the frozen section and see what they're selling. It'll all freeze
well if you make it yourself.

I also enjoy tonkatsu, because it's basically like flour, egg, panko, fry. By
the time you've done all that your rice is cooked. Good with either pork or
chicken. Tonkatsu sauce is awesome on rice. Leftover rice you can make fried
rice out of with any leftover meat.

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Jemm
Pita bread can be used to make quick and tasty meals.

Use thyme and olive oil spread on top of a pita and put in toaster over. Very
tasty as a side dish or by itself. It's call Manakish. [http://arabic-
food.blogspot.ca/2008/12/manakish-recipe.html](http://arabic-
food.blogspot.ca/2008/12/manakish-recipe.html)

Instead of thyme, use pizza sauce and toppings, or ground beef/lamb/chicken
with spices like thyme or oregano.

Pita bread is pretty cheap and lasts a long time in the freezer. A few minutes
in the microwave will soften up the bread.

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memracom
Coleslaw with salmon: tasty, HEALTHY and nutritious.

Cut a chunk of cabbage, slice it into shred by keeping the leaves together
while slicing. Dump in bowl, add salt to taste. Grate two or three carrots,
dump in bowl, add a couple of dashes of balsamic vinegar. Mix and let it sit
for 15 or 20 minutes, or a couple of hours if you forget... who cares. Then,
add some mayonnaise, and a can of drained salmon broken into chunks as you
dump it out. Mix so that the mayonnaise is spread out through the salad and
eat. Yummy.

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waqf
Oily fish make for some great quick high-protein meals.

Smoked salmon and smoked trout are the easiest of all — obtain from
supermarket, open packet, eat — the only disadvantage is that this can cost
upwards of $5 per meal.

Other options include herrings and tuna. My preference here for a quick meal
is boil-in-the-bag kippers. I know people who will eat herring or tuna out of
a can, but personally I find them too "fishy" that way.

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cdvonstinkpot
I like to make ramen with sandwich beef strips. The sandwich beef comes thin
sliced so it broils in like 15 minutes, and I slice it into thin strips. A
whole package of it is a good ratio of meat to ramen for 1 package of ramen &
it makes 2 servings. Add a tablespoon of butter & a little steak sauce for
extra flavor.

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whichdan
My favorite easymode lunch when I was telecommuting was Triscuits and sharp
cheddar. ~$8 (at Whole Foods, figure half that price if you're thrifty) will
yield atleast four decent lunches, each with a good mix of carbs, fat, fiber,
and protein.

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derekp7
Here's another one: Bagel Pizzas. Slice a few bagels, spread pizza sauce,
cover with pepperoni, olive slices, mozzarella cheese, and bake on a cookie
sheet for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.

~~~
memracom
So complicated. How about slices of toast, buttered lightly with salted
butter, some strips of cheddar cheese, and thinly sliced tomatoes. Put under
the broiler of your toaster oven.

Yay, pizza.

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MonkoftheFunk
corned beef hash, frozen hashbrowns, canned corned beef flaked, frozen or
canned corn in skillet. Maybe add egg and cheese.

