Ask HN: What are your favorite Bachelor Chow recipes?

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

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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