Spinoff: All the single ladies (All the single ladies) Now put your hands up!

[Action42]

I do it solo as well. I have 3 horses at home (4 when the new boarder arrives) and 20 acres. My 2 best friends can be called upon for jobs that take 2 sets of hands (and vice versa when their farms need something), and sometimes my dad can be roped in to helping (he’s 2 hours away), but for the most part I’m on my own. Some days I want to cry and cuss over the amount of stuff to be done, but mostly I feel accomplished just that I am capable of doing it.

So no, I don’t NEED a partner, but if the right one came along, I would be happy with that too!

[Hulk]

Crock pots rule. You can look like a real chef when actually you just throw a bunch of stuff in and walk away. After a long day you walk in and the lovely aroma of dinner hits you, and yum you just eat. Who likes to cook a decent meal after a long day of kicking your own butt? It works so well DH bought a crock pot for the motor home when we were showing.

So you take chicken breasts, a can of cream of chicken soup, water, and a large dollup of sour cream. If cooking all day low heat. Serve over rice or noodles. Or add broccoli if you like. Or do cheddar cheese instead of cream of chicken if you like.

Stew meat, or another cut of beef diced to bite size pieces, and 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, frozen diced peppers-as much or little as you like, 1/3 bottle of worcestershire sauce, 1 pkt of onion soup mix. cook all day low. Beef catchatorie.(sp)? Or chicken breast for chicken catchatorie(sp)? Serve over spaghetti noodles. People freak out over how good this tastes.

Stew meat, or another cut of beef cut into bite size pieces, can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups sour cream, 1/2 can of water, 2 cubes beef bouillon Mushrooms if desired. Serve over egg noodles. Beef Stroganoff.

So basically you dump the stuff in, stir, cook all day, get home boil some noodles and bam dinner. I am a super lazy cook. Not to derail the thread but crock pots really do help a busy horse woman.

[Mango20]

As for food, this week my kid is away so it’s just me. On the night before he left, I grilled an entire package of 8 boneless/skinless chicken thighs. We used 3 for fajitas that night. I’ve been eating them one at a time every night since, in a variety of ways: 1.stir-fried quickly with some spinach and oil/vinegar 2. sandwich with avocado and more spinach 3. Chinese stir-fry with peppers, onions, spinach and carrots. I have two left. I’m not sure yet what tonight’s dish will be, but I have one more avocado to eat while it’s ripe, and another handful or two of spinach left in the bag. If this chicken wasn’t pre-grilled, I’m sure I wouldn’t be cooking this well for myself this week. Each of the things I’ve done with it so far took no more than a few minutes to make.

[hosspuller]

@lorilu

Someone want to hold the other end of that fence board for me?
L

Bungie cord and half driven nail works well … and doesn’t complain you’re taking too long.

[RPM]

@Hulk

Crock pots rule. You can look like a real chef when actually you just throw a bunch of stuff in and walk away. After a long day you walk in and the lovely aroma of dinner hits you, and yum you just eat. Who likes to cook a decent meal after a long day of kicking your own butt? It works so well DH bought a crock pot for the motor home when we were showing.

So you take chicken breasts, a can of cream of chicken soup, water, and a large dollup of sour cream. If cooking all day low heat. Serve over rice or noodles. Or add broccoli if you like. Or do cheddar cheese instead of cream of chicken if you like.

Stew meat, or another cut of beef diced to bite size pieces, and 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, frozen diced peppers-as much or little as you like, 1/3 bottle of worcestershire sauce, 1 pkt of onion soup mix. cook all day low. Beef catchatorie.(sp)? Or chicken breast for chicken catchatorie(sp)? Serve over spaghetti noodles. People freak out over how good this tastes.

Stew meat, or another cut of beef cut into bite size pieces, can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups sour cream, 1/2 can of water, 2 cubes beef bouillon Mushrooms if desired. Serve over egg noodles. Beef Stroganoff.

So basically you dump the stuff in, stir, cook all day, get home boil some noodles and bam dinner. I am a super lazy cook. Not to derail the thread but crock pots really do help a busy horse woman.

I am the same kind of cook you say you are and these sound delicious!

So, a dumb question – the stew meat and chicken are raw when I put them in the pot, right?

[Hulk]

@RPM

I am the same kind of cook you say you are and these sound delicious!

So, a dumb question – the stew meat and chicken are raw when I put them in the pot, right?

Yes they are raw. If you want to cook them for a shorter time I suggest the high setting to make sure they are cooked through. But if you start in the am for a night meal low is where you want to set. And they are delicious, and oh so easy. You can use bigger cans of soup if you want to add extra meat if it is a big crock pot as well.

I thought of another. Boneless pork chops, 1/2 cup of water, 1 or 2 packages of drained and rinsed sauerkraut.Depends on how much you like sauerkraut I love it so I go for 2 bags. Cook for the day, bingo pork and sauerkraut dinner.

Seriously crock pots rule for the working gal.

[Denali6298]

Not single but I had to move to the other side of the country from my SO. For the first few months I was grumbling about having to do my own laundry, clean the house, make food… sigh. It was horrible. I was definitely spoiled with SO. We would rotate cooking if I worked days, but cleaning and laundry. Nope nope nope. I would go to work and ride my horse. It was awesome. I now have my routine but damn that stuff is boring.

[x-halt-salute]

@Hulk

Not to derail the thread but crock pots really do help a busy horse woman.

Sounds like you’ve really mastered it!

I’m still not sure that the crockpot is of any particular use to us vegetarians whose riding time competes with cooking time, unfortunately…

[Hulk]

@x-halt-salute

Sounds like you’ve really mastered it!

I’m still not sure that the crockpot is of any particular use to us vegetarians whose riding time competes with cooking time, unfortunately…

Oh not vegetarian here but I got one. (funny side note my family gets asked on a regular basis if we are vegetarians or vegans)

So summer veggie garden time meal. I jar or can of spaghetti sauce, I large zucchini cubed, sweet pepper optional. Cook and serve over spaghetti noodles or rice with shaker cheese. It is so so good, and stupid simple and easy.

[x-halt-salute]

@Hulk

Oh not vegetarian here but I got one. (funny side note my family gets asked on a regular basis if we are vegetarians or vegans)

So summer veggie garden time meal. I jar or can of spaghetti sauce, I large zucchini cubed, sweet pepper optional. Cook and serve over spaghetti noodles or rice with shaker cheese. It is so so good, and stupid simple and easy.

@Hulk, you are starting to make a believer out of me…

I love how easily you can rattle all of these recipes off. I’m not a bad cook, but I can’t ever seem to build a repertoire of quick but healthy meals that can be whipped up by memory. You have the superpower I so desire!

[Callista17]

Ok, I’ll jump in for the crockpot part! How do you know how long to cook things? I often think I’ll be home, but something comes up and how long is too long?!?!

[Feliz]

Not single but can I chime in on crockpots cooking?

Time - I aim for 8hrs on low or 4-6hrs on high. We have a cheap timer that you plug the crockpot cord into so you can leave it ready & it will turn on in 4hrs or whatever.

Vegetarian crockpot - there are lots of great things you can subsitute for meat - dried lentils, canned chickpeas or beans and then just use the same recipe. Cooking time will be shorter.

Personally I love my rice cooker as much as the crock pot - I do white/brown/black rice, quinoa, freekah & lentils in it - google has helped me figure out the ration of water needed. You use stock instead of water to give it even more flavour.

[Callista17]

Hmmm timer! Good idea! I GENERALLY work 12 hour days, and with drive time, it’s 13, stop for gas and I’d be flipping and speeding! Lol

[Megaladon]

For me horses have always been a family thing. Since I was a kid my dad would do all the grunt work by choice, it’s how he likes to participate. Mom has always been an excellent groom. This certainly doesn’t mean I don’t do any dirty work but if onlookers want to call me Princess, well…if the crown fits…

[x-halt-salute]

@Megaladon

For me horses have always been a family thing. Since I was a kid my dad would do all the grunt work by choice, it’s how he likes to participate. Mom has always been an excellent groom. This certainly doesn’t mean I don’t do any dirty work but if onlookers want to call me Princess, well…if the crown fits…

As someone whose (ranch-raised, city dwellers by choice) folks taught me a bit about animal husbandry, more about how to fix my own car and appliances, how to build things, etc., but never carried a water bucket or picked a stall or paid a board bill for me, I am happy to hear that those who’ve had family support through their childhood into adulthood recognize the great privilege their parents have bestowed upon them.

But given where I am in life I’m so incredibly grateful that my parents chose instead to teach me to be self-sufficient. Wouldn’t trade all the mom-groom hours in the world for it.

[Mukluk]

I am getting divorced. We’ve been separated for nearly two years. I would LOVE to have a partner to help with chores. I would love a nice man who has a marketable skill/income and enjoys some of the same things that I do. Someone who makes me laugh and someone I love. It’s hard to manage on one income. Would be so much easier on two. During the time I was with my ex, I was the only breadwinner as he was disabled and I ended up doing most of the work so good riddance. I may be single for the rest of my life… but a girl can dream…

[Sueby]

@Glyphica

well, I thought it worked! Lol. He totally blindsided me with the split. He had recently changed jobs from a really small techy/nerdy environment to a more tpyical corporate situation involving a ton of ex military men with more typical SAHM marriage situations. I guess the ex decided he liked that type of life better. Power to him. I love my 60-80hr work weeks, and I’m certainly not giving it up to play maid.

**Absolutely nothing against people who want that lifestyle. It’s just not for me, and I’m still a little raw from the break up.

I’m sorry, break ups are so rough and seem to take forever to get over. Ex ended ours 2 years ago (23 yrs of marriage and 4 kids) and I still have really bad moments… and a relentless ex who now wants to ‘try again’.

Take care.

[Megaladon]

@x-halt-salute

As someone whose (ranch-raised, city dwellers by choice) folks taught me a bit about animal husbandry, more about how to fix my own car and appliances, how to build things, etc., but never carried a water bucket or picked a stall or paid a board bill for me, I am happy to hear that those who’ve had family support through their childhood into adulthood recognize the great privilege their parents have bestowed upon them.

But given where I am in life I’m so incredibly grateful that my parents chose instead to teach me to be self-sufficient. Wouldn’t trade all the mom-groom hours in the world for it.

I’m really lucky my parent’s are just as inspired by horses as I am. It’s great to have knowledgeable people you can trust. One of my favorite movie quotes goes “A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm, every meal’s a banquet, every paycheck a fortune”. I’ve never been in the Corps but no truer words are spoken for growing up on a farm! It teaches you integrity, self discipline and a strong work ethic. All of which lend itself well to the world of horses!

[x-halt-salute]

@Megaladon

I’m really lucky my parent’s are just as inspired by horses as I am. It’s great to have knowledgeable people you can trust. One of my favorite movie quotes goes “A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm, every meal’s a banquet, every paycheck a fortune”. I’ve never been in the Corps but no truer words are spoken for growing up on a farm! It teaches you integrity, self discipline and a strong work ethic. All of which lend itself well to the world of horses!

Uh, cool, I guess.

[x-halt-salute]

@Mukluk

I am getting divorced. We’ve been separated for nearly two years. I would LOVE to have a partner to help with chores. I would love a nice man who has a marketable skill/income and enjoys some of the same things that I do. Someone who makes me laugh and someone I love. It’s hard to manage on one income. Would be so much easier on two. During the time I was with my ex, I was the only breadwinner as he was disabled and I ended up doing most of the work so good riddance. I may be single for the rest of my life… but a girl can dream…

I hope that this means your single income can now be devoted to you and things you care about without the ex making any spousal support claims. Two incomes would certainly be better than one, but a whole one has got to feel better than spending part of it to support someone who doesn’t give back.