Dinner for One, Please

After a long day at work or school, it can be hard for many to think about messing around in the kitchen and cooking up a "fancy shmancy" dinner—especially if you are just cooking for yourself.

Often times I just end up toasting some bread, preparing a raw salad, and cooking an egg—poached, scrambled, or sunny side up. Simple, easy, nourishing, and tastes great!

Another no fail meal is chopping up whatever vegetables I have lying around—carrots, eggplant, peppers, green onion, garlic, spinach…and sautéing them in a peanut sauce with some tofu and spaghetti or rice. I top everything off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped peanuts or cashews.

Peanut Sauce
about 1 tablespoon peanut butter
½ a tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons milk (I usually use soymilk because it is what I have on hand)
A little hot water, if needed

Whisk it all up and voila—peanut sauce made for one! If you want to get real fancy you can add some red wine vinegar and grated garlic and ginger. Throw the veggie/tofu mixture in the sauce and cook in the skillet until the veggies are tender.

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Tonight I had some zucchini and tomatoes on hand that were going to go bad if I didn’t do something with them soon! I assembled this zucchini, tomato, and corn bake in about 5 minutes! Boy was this yummy—the veggies were tender but the lightly cheesy breadcrumb mixture was crispy and comforting.



Feel free to use whatever vegetable you want and if Parmesan is not your thing, experiment with Gruyere, mozzarella, or a cheese of your choice. Paired with some cucumber sticks and shredded carrots, and a little leftover pesto sauce, this was the perfect meal built for one!


Tomato, Zucchini, and Corn Bake with Cheesy Breadcrumb Topping

Ingredients

Tomatoes (I used 2), sliced thinly

Zucchini or other summer squash (I used 1-2 small squashes), thin slices

Fresh or frozen corn kernels

A little less that ½ a cup of breadcrumbs

A little less than ¼ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese (use a microplane to grate)

A pinch of salt

A dash of balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray or oil a baking dish.
2. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese.
3. Slice tomatoes and zucchini squash.
4. Arrange the tomatoes and zucchini in an alternating pattern on the bottom of a baking dish (I just used two loaf pans). Sprinkle with a small handful of corn.
5. Optional: sprinkle each tomato slice with a tiny pinch of salt and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
6. Sprinkle the breadcrumb and cheese mixture on top of everything.
7. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for 10 more minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
8. EAT!