Cooking for one or two. What do you do?

[jirodriguez]

Thanks to everyone who responded,  I followed Kats suggestion and spent the weekend reading on food and recipe forums.  I now realize that I was asking the wrong questions and the real secret is PLANING not size of the recipe.  A menu and a plan for the leftovers is needed.  Buying smaller sizes of anything I can and splitting up the larger size items.  Making small meals and when I make a normal size recipe have a plan when and how to use whats left over.  I need to stop impulse buying when at the store and impulse cooking because I saw some thing here or on-line that I just have to try.  I do this a lot and need to stop and add the recipe to the menu.  I am starting a menu and shopping list for two weeks at a time on a calender and I am really going to try to stick with it.

I had to laugh at SupercenterChefs post.  I used to eat a lot more at one sitting than I do now but some times a recipe that says for 4 is really for 3 or 5.  I guess its in the eye of the writer.

Stan

A great site for recipe ideas that offer some great variety is Epicurious.com, it is my 2nd favorite food site (after SMF of course!).

 

[chef willie]

LOL!

~Martin

Yeah...LMAO.....Daves posts crack me UP when he makes reference to him & the 'bride'. I hear ya Dave...packin on a few 'happy' pounds myself

 

[pops6927]

Thanks to everyone who responded,  I followed Kats suggestion and spent the weekend reading on food and recipe forums.  I now realize that I was asking the wrong questions and the real secret is PLANING not size of the recipe.  A menu and a plan for the leftovers is needed.  Buying smaller sizes of anything I can and splitting up the larger size items.  Making small meals and when I make a normal size recipe have a plan when and how to use whats left over.  I need to stop impulse buying when at the store and impulse cooking because I saw some thing here or on-line that I just have to try.  I do this a lot and need to stop and add the recipe to the menu.  I am starting a menu and shopping list for two weeks at a time on a calender and I am really going to try to stick with it.

I had to laugh at SupercenterChefs post.  I used to eat a lot more at one sitting than I do now but some times a recipe that says for 4 is really for 3 or 5.  I guess its in the eye of the writer.

Stan

It all starts with planning your shopping.  what can you get along with comfortably without wasting?  For example, my wife and I enjoy cube steaks.  One apiece is more than enough along with a starch and a vegetable.  But, they come packaged in 3 to a package.  So, we buy two packages and make 3 - 2packs for the freezer, or if its a decent price, an 8 pack for 4 - 2packs.  You really have to shop consistently at the same market and get familiar with their portions and plan your meals accordingly.  If I put 3 cube steaks in a package, all regular size, 1 would be left over and probably wasted, can't afford to do that!  Same goes with anything else.  This was not a trait I'd developed myself, being brought up in a grocery store; we didn't have to go shopping, we just took upstairs whatever we were going to have for dinner.  After I got married, my wife taught me.  She grew up in a big family with many mouths to feed and little money; they had to budget everything and make do and be wise shoppers and she taught me everything I needed to know on how to shop.  Even the method to shop - always shop the grocery store backwards.  Everything is laid out precisely to get you to impulse buy in a specific direction - from where the departments are to which cans and goods lineup on the shelves, it's called "traffic flow".  Break that traffic flow and break impulse shopping habits.  Planning your shopping is as necessary as planning your money.  Make a list, stick to it!  

 

[handymanstan]

Thanks Pops,  I actually just went shopping today for the first time with a list that I made.   I almost stuck to it but they had cheese on sale and everyone knows you can't have enough cheese.  Once home I split the meat into smaller packages. I bought frozen rolls to use instead of bread as we always throw 1/2 a loaf to the birds.

  I have one week of menu planing that I am using now and tonight I will add a week to the plan knowing what I have in the cupboards now.  This is more work for me than I thought it would be so I hope it works out and saves me time and money in the future.

  I went through everything we have in the kitchen and made a list so I know what I have to work with.  Eye opening to say the least checking dates.  Had to throw out some and the wife says looks like we eat leftovers for a while.  Yea but that helps the menu planing and I said we have to have ribs every week.

smoke 130.jpg

• handymanstan
• Mar 20, 2013

19 Racks of BB in the freezer.

Thanks for the tip to shopping backward.  I am a bad impulse buyer and it was hard to not throw this or that in the cart but in the end I only bought the cheese that was not on the list.

Stan

 

[kathrynn]

Stan.....I do agree with Pops about the list. I make one every week. Look at the sales for the store I always go to....make the list according to what is on sale meat wise and what the Herd might want to eat too. The only time I use coupons is when there is one for something on that list. Coupons make me impulse buy and I end up spending more.

Once you start shopping at one place and learn the store and their sales.....it will be much easier. You dont waste time and gas running to several different places.

Just my 2 cents again.

Kat

 

[smokinhusker]

You definitely are on the right track with making a list. The 2 main supermarkets I shop at have "Rewards Cards" and I load the specials onto them - so that eliminates the coupons in their ads, but the cards can be a pain too! I, too, look at the sale ads on line when they come out on Wednesday and write down everything that is on sale that I need to buy. I don't write out a menu for the week, but do a rough one in my head knowing what I have on hand and what I'll be buying (the ever changing weather here right now also plays a factor for our meals). I do have an inventory sheet hanging on each freezer so I know what items I have to work with. My cabinets are set up with one for baking, canned foods, etc so I know pretty much at a glance what's there (I'm short and have unused/wasted space because I can't reach the back of the upper most shelves but it works for me). 

 

[michael ark]

One thing I got from pops was evernote it will help with your list and recipes. Thanks again pop's