One Handed Meals?

[simplicity66]

I wasnt quite sure where to post this one exactly...heres my problem.....on Sept 25 i am

having surgery on my right hand splinted from my elbow to the middle of my fingers.....3wks later i will have my left one operated on.....leaving me with about 50% in my right and zipo in my left......i need some ideas for meals being one handed...i will also be home alone.....

[HAK1031]

Crock pots are your friends! They make a TON of food really fast (well, not fast, but a single batch can be several days or weeks worth of food), and then you can freeze single-serve portions. You can make literally almost anything in there, and you can definitely have plenty of variety. Make a few weeks worth before your surgery. You can then microwave one-handed!

[purple]

Whatever you make try to freeze some so you can have meals already made. You could contact a church in your area to see if they could help too. Premake alot of meals now and put them in bags so you can just cut them open with a knife or scissors later.

I think you could do spaghetti. Use a spaghetti sauce in a jar and you may have to hold it between your legs to open it. Beef should be easy to do, just chop it up.

You could throw in some pepperoni for variety while the beef is cooking.

Chili, soups or rice dishes would freeze well.

Nachos would be easy with some leftover ground beef.

Stir fry with Minute rice would be fast. Use frozen veggies. If you wanted to use chicken just cook a chicken breast first then throw in the stir fry ingredients.

I am sorry you won't be 2 handed for awhile.

[RDR]

One trick I've done in the past is stocked up on homemade "Hot Pockets" style calzones. If you don't mind eating alot of pie crust those things can be great. Just freeze them and reheat in the toaster oven or microwave. I make chicken pot pie, roast beef and cheese, cheeseburger, philly cheesesteak, italian sausage, italian meatball, and egg (with sausage and cheese) this way. As for desserts, I go with pocket pies and homemade poptarts. It's very possible to do an entire healthy meal this way

[JNBunnie1]

One trick I've done in the past is stocked up on homemade "Hot Pockets" style calzones. If you don't mind eating alot of pie crust those things can be great. Just freeze them and reheat in the toaster oven or microwave. I make chicken pot pie, roast beef and cheese, cheeseburger, philly cheesesteak, italian sausage, italian meatball, and egg (with sausage and cheese) this way. As for desserts, I go with pocket pies and homemade poptarts. It's very possible to do an entire healthy meal this way

What's your recipe for the dough?

[ShayFL]

If it were me, I would make up a bunch of soups BEFORE the second operation and freeze them. Can buy pre chopped onions/peppers/veggies etc. either fresh or frozen. Pre chopped beef or chicken. Dump in crock pot with broth and seasoning and cook 8 hours or so.

[RiceGuy]

Freezing ahead can be a good thing, but opening bags one-handed could be tricky, unless you can prop up the bag so it stays put while you cut it open. I'd probably go with those freezer-to-microwave dishes. For opening jars, there's that little gadget which twists off the covers for you, though I don't know if it's available in stores (saw it on TV). Open Original Shared Link. There's one for cans too.

Stirring food in a pot works one-handed unless the pot slides around on you. It works best with heavy pots, or with enough food to stay still. A blender can be operated one-handed, but seems to me cleaning it afterward would be difficult.

I have no idea how to tie shoe laces with one hand however. I know there are people who live without one or more limbs, but I can't imagine how they manage if they live alone.

Hmmm...get a neighbor kid to do a few things?

[home-based-mom]

I have no idea how to tie shoe laces with one hand however.

Velcro!

I like the crock pot and freeze ahead idea. You can open the baggies with scissors.

[dksart]

Make, portion and freeze your entrees ahead of time so that you only have to prepare sides. Plan meals so that you can fix a large batch of a starch to accompany, say three meals in a row.

Maybe you could take out portioned packs of stew with carrots and pearl onions, New Orleans style red beans with sausage and Sechuan vegetable stir fry to serve with the steamed rice you could make fresh.

The next three days you could defrost beef stroganoff, chicken alfredo and primavera veggies to go with pasta.

Or how about pork medallions in mushroom gravy, roasted lemon-rosemary chicken and stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce to accompany mashed potatoes (which could be made one-handed by using instant!)

I agree that soups are an excellent choice for freezing, or (as I am the queen of leftover cooking) I like to take bits of leftovers and combine them to create a soup or an entirely new dish.

-Shepherd's pie- stir frozen peas into leftover stew, top with mashed potatoes and bake until browned.

-Thai summer rolls- Wrap leftover stir fry in a rice paper roll and dip in peanut sauce.

-Chicken tortilla soup- Shred leftover roasted chicken, season with cumin, onion and garlic powders (and Jalepenos, if you like) add to simmering chicken broth with a bit of rice. Serve with lime wedges and tortilla strips.

-Pasta Fagioli- (my family's favorite) Combine leftover red beans and primavera veggies with crushed tomatoes, a handful of spinach or kale and chicken broth. Season with basil throw in leftover pasta and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Also, the chicken Alfredo, beef stroganoff or pork medallion leftovers would be great in a baked potato (as would some chili!)

Good luck and speedy recovery to you!

Debbie

[ShayFL]

Those summer rolls would be tricky with only one hand......

[simplicity66]

Thank-you all sooooo very much.....your ideas and suggestion were amazing....think the

crock pot will be the best way to go....one lid to lift... i had plastic containers i can throw the meal into...lids

are soft enough and flexible enough i could manage one handed....tried it already....LOL...

i am really intrested in the "hot pockets".....the recipe would be a good idea this way i can have

varity of meals and not chowing on the same thing day after day....soup before the second

is another great idea.....my luck... opening jars between my legs maybe more of a disaster

then anything....spag sause EVERYWHERE....LOL.....once again thank-you so much for

everything....off to the kitchen i go........

[moonlitemama]

I make a "hot pocket" type calzone using a biscuit dough. Smoosh it between two sheets of plastic wrap to about 1/8-1/4" thick, spread a little pizza sauce over half of the circle (stay back from the edges a bit, though), then add the pizza toppings. Fold over and crimp shut. Bake the same as a biscuit, I believe. Maybe a few minutes longer.

[RDR]

What's your recipe for the dough?

I usually just use the red packaged Chebe bread for the non-italian and the Chebe green package for italian calzones. The recipes are actually on Open Original Shared Link . I'm in the process of trying Robyn Ryberg's and Carol Fenster's dough recipes for them but still trying to figure whether I should be using pie crust, bread/roll or biscuit (as moonlitemama mentioned) dough. I'm used to the Chebe but not crazy about it for the poptarts and pies (although it's great with the savory).