It is barbecue season and I love to barbecue. I had a package of organic chicken thighs and grilled them and added some honey barbecue sauce at the end. I used a barbecue mat that I got at Bed Bath and Beyond, which I thought I would try. It does work but it is a messy cleanup. Personally, I think that just grilling and cleaning the grill is easier than using this mat. It was on sale and worth a try. To go along with the grill chicken thighs, I had some leftover pesto rice so I heated that up with a little chicken broth and added some cheddar cheese to it, yummy. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 1 package organic chicken thighs, honey barbecue sauce, poultry seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic herb dash, garlic and herb seasoning, garlic powder, lemon pepper.

DIRECTIONS: Season with all the seasoning on both sides and let marinade for two hours or overnight. Turn the grill on to heat, then lower the heat to low. Grill the chicken thighs for 3 minutes on each side to sear. Then I added the grill mat placed the chicken thighs on it and cooked for 5 minutes on each side. After that, I brushed some honey barbecue sauce on it and cooked it for another 2 minutes. I served it with cheesy rice and a leftover corn muffin. Cooking for one can be fun.

Summer barbecue season is here. I cleaned up the barbie and ready to grill. Grilling salmon is quick and easy. I also had some pico de Gallo in the fridge and a mango so I mixed the two to make a fast and easy salsa. I also made some pesto rice to go along with the salmon. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 1 piece of salmon, Tajin seasoning, pico de Gallo, 1 mango, 1/2 rice, 1 cup chicken broth, a large spoonful of pesto.

DIRECTIONS: Start your rice by boiling 1 cup of chicken broth and add a large spoonful of pesto to the broth. Once it comes to a boil, add the rice, stir, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Go start your barbecue. I bought these reusable barbecue grill mats that I will use to cook the salmon. Season the salmon with Tajin. Lower the heat on your barbecue and place the salmon skin down on the mat. Close the grill cover and cook for 15 minutes. Slice your mango, then make cuts on the mango into little squares. Add the mango to the pico de Gallo. Serve with the rice and top with the mango salsa. Cooking for one can be fun.

This is perfect for those busy days or when you want to make something quick and easy. Boiling a chicken breast and then shredding it can be used for many fun dishes. You can make these tacos, or a salad, or add some mayo and pickle relish for a delish sandwich. Shredded chicken is nice to have for a quick easy meal. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDEINTS: 1 chicken breast, taco shells, Mexican cheese, pico de Gallo, avocado, sour cream, Tajin

DIRECTIONS: Place one chicken breast into a pot with water and bring to a soft boil. Boil for about 15-20 minutes. Once the chicken breast is done, shred using two forks and pull the chicken apart. I seasoned the chicken with the Tajin. I like keeping the organic corn taco shells from Trader Joe’s in my pantry. I had on hand some pico de Gallo, sour cream, Mexican shredded cheese, and an avocado. You can add your favorite ingredients to your taco. Cooking for one can be fun.

This dish turned out to be one of my favorites. The flavors were so replica of the old-fashioned pork and beans that I had as a child. However, the pork wasn’t as fatty as you get from a can. I know I don’t measure things exactly, but sometimes as you look at a dish you just pour and feel it, and once you feel it, it’ll be perfect. Even if you add too much mustard or barbecue sauce or Worcestershire sauce or honey, it doesn’t matter, it will be what it is and it’ll be perfect. So have fun with this dish and make it your own. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 2 small pork loins, 1 can pinto beans, 1 slice turkey bacon, chicken broth, 1 slice red onion. Season with sweet paprika, ground cumin, 21 seasoning salute, and garlic powder. Sauce; about 1/4 cup honey barbecue sauce, 1 tbls Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbls honey, 1 tsp chili sauce, 1 tsp Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS: In a large pot, pour some olive oil and heat. Brown your pork loin on both sides. Season with your spices on both sides. Add enough chicken broth to almost cover the pork. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Chop your red onion and slice your bacon. Uncover the pot and add these to the pot. Let it boil till the chicken broth reduces. Drain and rinse your pinto beans. Take the pork loins out of the pan and cut into bite-size pieces. Pour all the ingredients for the sauce into the pan and stir. Add the beans and pork and stir again mixing this all together. Heat through and serve. Cooking for one can be fun.

Trader Joe’s has so many great food products. It is fun to look for something new and figure out what can be made out of this dish. I bought a box of organic couscous and went on Pinterest to find some ideas of making couscous. I found this one that made a lemon couscous and I tweaked it a little and added chicken tenders to make it simple and delicious. It is fun to make a one-pot dish because cleanup is so easy. This cooks in about 20 minutes which is great too. I liked the flavor of the couscous with the lemon and the chicken. It does make a big batch, so you can enjoy it later in the week for lunch or dinner. Next time I will add some feta cheese to this dish. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup organic couscous, 1 cup chicken broth, 3-4 chicken tenders, sprouts, 2 green onions, garlic, 1 lemon. Lemon pepper, salt-free dash, poultry seasoning

DIRECTIONS: Pour a little olive oil into a saucepan. Press one clove of garlic into the pot. Slice two green onions and add that to the pot and saute. Cut your chicken tenders into bite-size pieces and brown them in your pot. Season with lemon pepper, salt-free dash, and poultry seasoning. Zest one lemon into the pot. Add the juice of one lemon. Add a pinch of sprouts and stir. Once the chicken is brown add one cup chicken broth. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add one cup of couscous stir and cover for 5 minutes. Stir and serve. Cooking for one can be fun.

At Trader Joe’s they have this box of Thai noodles. They are plain, like pasta, in three individual packages and it is one serving each. For me, it was a bit too much so I got two meals out of it. I found some sauce ideas and added shrimp and an egg to make it like a pad Thai dish. It really turned out delicious. If you want you can chop up the peanuts, but I left them whole. I used the dry-roasted low-sodium nuts. This dish cooks really fast so get all your ingredients together and have them ready to mix them all in. You can always use a different protein than the shrimp, or make it vegetarian. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: One package of Thai noodles from Trader Joe’s, a handful of spinach, sprouts, 2 green onions, 2 cloves garlic, 5-6 shrimp, 1 egg, dry-roasted peanuts. Sauce: 2 tbls Bragg coconut aminos, 1 tbls sesame oil, 3 tsp rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp coconut sugar, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

DIRECTIONS: Mix your sauce and set aside. Pour a little sesame oil into a frying pan. Add your two cloves of garlic minced. Slice your green onion and add that to the pan and saute with the garlic. Slice a handful of spinach leaves and a pinch of sprouts. Add them to the pan. Open one package of Thai noodles. Break it up and mix it with the veggies. Add your shrimp to the pan. Add your egg and stir this all together. Add the sauce and peanuts and stir this all together. Once mixed, serve. Cooking for one can be fun.

I like being creative with leftovers. I had about 1/4 pound of organic ground beef and came up with making a pasta dish out of this with leftover bruschetta. Even if you don’t have these items just lying around, you can buy them and make this easy pasta dish. It takes less than 20 minutes to make. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 pd of organic ground beef, 1/2 jar of bruschetta, 1 cup grated rosemary cheddar cheese, olives, and pasta. Seasoning: black pepper, salt-free dash, basil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder.

DIRECTIONS: Brown your ground beef in a skillet. Season with the seasoning generously. Keep breaking up the ground beef while it is cooking. Start your pasta water. Slice 8-10 black olives and add them to your ground beef. Add the bruschetta and stir. Keep cooking on low while the pasta is cooking. Grate your cheese into the pan. Add your pasta and stir. Cooking for one can be fun.

Here is a perfect way to cook a chicken breast that is juicy and tender and delicious. I cooked two organic chicken breasts, or one package so that way I could make a sandwich or salad later on in the week. It was ready to go. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: one package of organic chicken breast, lemon, pesto sauce, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and black pepper.

DIRECTIONS: Oil your chicken, I used avocado oil. Squeeze 1/2 lemon over the chicken. Season with poultry seasoning, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Spread the pesto sauce generously over the chicken breast. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover the chicken and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with a salad or any other side dish. Cooking for one can be fun.

I have this package of organic cauliflower rice that is a quick and easy side dish to add to any meal. All you do is microwave it and you have a side dish. It is low in sodium and has no preservatives so it is really easy and healthy to keep on hand. This time though, I thought it would be fun to make tater tots with them so I looked on Pinterest for ideas and took a few and modified it to make it my own. These were a little hard to shape, however, once on the cookie sheet it was easy to form. They cooked up nicely. You can snack on them by themselves or serve as a side dish with protein. An aioli sauce would be good to add as a dipping sauce. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 1 package cauliflower rice, 1 egg, mozzarella cheese, 1 tbl flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, pepper, and salt-free dash.

DIRECTIONS: Add the cauliflower rice to a bowl, add your egg and flour, chop or shred your mozzarella cheese, and add this to the bowl. Stir all together. Use a small cookie scoop and place it on a lined parchment paper cookie sheet. Shape your balls into a form resembling tater tots. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Brush the tops of your tater tots with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Serve. Cooking for one can be fun.

I bought some organic ground beef at Costco and was trying to come up with something different to do with ground beef. So, I have some keto street taco shells that I really like. They are only 25 calories and 0 carbs. I made egg cups with them in the past and thought why not do something like that again but make mini tacos. These are really filling. I ate two and was stuffed. It made 7 tacos for me using 1/2 pound of organic ground beef. I froze 3 of them and will enjoy the other 2 during the week. Cooking for one can be fun.

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 pound organic ground beef, (or you can use ground chicken), 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green peppers, low-fat Mexican shredded cheese, shallot, keto street tacos, pepper sauce, black pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin.

DIRECTIONS: Brown 1/2 pound ground beef. Save the other half for something else fun to make later on. Season the ground beef with black pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and ground cumin. Stir all the seasoning into your ground beef and keep browning. Slice your shallot add that to the ground beef and stir. Drain your can of Ro-Tel and add this to the beef. Season with pepper sauce to taste. Gently fold the taco shells into your muffin tin. Sprinkle to bottom with a little cheese. Fill the ground beef mixture into each cup. Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Enjoy with a cervesa. Cooking for one can be fun.