Binge Cooking for Two: One or Two People CAN Eat Well

Cooking for one or two can be a drag, a hassle and discouraging. Most recipes and cooking shows assume you'll be serving at least four for dinner, so you're stuck having to adjust, if not discard, everything they say. Sure, you can cut recipe measurements in half or thirds, but that leaves you with half an onion, half a can of tomatoes and extra chicken parts you won't eat.

The real secret is to adjust the WAY you cook. Instead of thinking of one recipe or one meal at a time, adopt some long-term strategies. Cooking up a storm once a week - Binge Cooking - does not mean planning menus days and weeks ahead. I hate that. It means filling your fridge and freezer with food you will be eager to eat. Coordinate this cooking binge with a grocery shopping binge and you have all the ingredients fresh and ready. You have a plan and you're ready to go at it.

A Plan of Attack

1. Make a list of all the things you like to eat. Categorize by meats, veggies, starches, fruits, desserts, snacks...Check the recipes you use most often and be sure all their ingredients are on your lists.

2. Make a permanent master shopping list, also on the computer. See my "How to Grocery Shop Efficiently"

Some notes on shopping

1. DO NOT resort to ready-made frozen entrees. Make your own. Make that four-serving batch of lasagna, divide it into meal sized portions and freeze. Reduce the cooking time so you won't overcook them later. Zipper closing plastic bags and freezers were invented just for you.

2. DO buy the more economical large packages of staples like rice, baking powder and cereal. Invest in glass jars to use as canisters. You can see how much you have, bugs and mice can't get in, and the jars are pretty. Do label them, of course,.with a permanent marker or make labels on your computer.

For those staples you don't use often, keep a small jar out and put the rest in deep storage. Don't rely on the original paper bag! Moisture and heat are the major enemies. Flour will last up to six months on the shelf or a year in a non-porous container in the fridge or freezer.

3. DO buy large or clearance packages of meat and chicken. Cut a large roast into smaller portions to bag and freeze. Divvy up multi-packs of pork chops into sandwich bags, one or two to a bag, and stack in the freezer.

That 10 pound bag of chicken thigh-leg quarters has to be the best buy in the meat department. You can roast or broil one or two and boil the rest in a big pot of water. Picking the meat off the bones is a bit of a chore, but you'll get enough for a couple of casseroles and several quarts of super chicken stock for rice or soup.

4. DO buy vegetables in bulk packaging. Don't cook them fully done, and package by serving size in plastic bags. Freeze what you won't use within a week.

What to cook?

Anything that takes a large pot or baking dish. Always under-cook slightly, cool, divide into servings, and freeze in plastic bags. Label with a marker what it is and the date you cooked it.

Several meals' worth of rice, any kind of beans, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans
Casseroles, soup, stew, meat loaf, pot roast (most of these are better the second day, anyway!)
Candied sweet potatoes, escalloped potatoes, sauteed veggies, sauteed onions
A whole turkey or ham

What not to cook?

Anything that cooks quickly but doesn't keep gracefully - pasta, eggs - or that you eat raw - in salad, for instance. But you can still do a blitz of cleaning and cutting veggies up and store them in plastic bags by type. Skip tomatoes, potatoes and cabbage, they don't hold up well once they're cut. When veggies are cut up, clean and ready, you will eat more in greater variety, a win-win proposition according to the nutritionists. If you find a bag of something is getting a bit tired, steam it up and freeze for soup or meat loaf.

Enjoy Your Cooking Binge

Clear a special time for your cooking binge...say an evening when there's nothing on TV. Set yourself up to enjoy the activity. Dress comfortably. Make sure you won't be hassled by your hair or sleeves. Put on music you like, as loud as you like. Pour a nice glass of something special...ever notice how often a movie character has a glass of wine while cooking? Even minted iced tea works.

Be reasonable in your expectations. Try not to plan too much to do in the time you have. Start with whatever will take the longest to cook. If it would help, write down what you're going to cook and in what order, but only if it will not pressure you. So you don't get it quite right the first time, or don't get it all done. You'll do better next week.

Keep in mind: Food you enjoyed cooking, you will enjoy eating.