Website design By BotEap.comThe key to successful cooking for yourself is smart shopping and good food storage practices. Here are some great suggestions and a sample menu to get you started.

Website design By BotEap.comVegetables and fruits:

Website design By BotEap.comThe downside of vegetables and fruits is that they can be highly perishable. The advantage is that it is the only department in the entire grocery store where you can easily buy just what you need. In fact, it is possible to buy a single cherry. We don’t recommend it, but you could if you wanted.

Website design By BotEap.comFor items like cauliflower and celery that are sold by the head, try the salad bar. In fact, the salad bar is a great way to get a variety of vegetables in a salad without the waste.

Website design By BotEap.comThe key idea with perishables is to consume the most perishable items first and work your way up to more stable ones as the week progresses. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are a great solution, they sell small cans of just about everything and it’s easy to take just what you need from a freezer bag and save the rest for later.

Website design By BotEap.comHerbs

Website design By BotEap.comClearly, it’s hard to use a whole pack of herbs, but you can choose to dry or freeze them before they get too old. Freeze them in ice cube trays and then store them in bags in the freezer. Tie bunches with string and hang upside down to dry in a well-ventilated area, then store in jars. Remember that drying concentrates flavors, so use less dried than you would fresh. Herbs are also great for flavoring oils like olive oil to add easy flavor to recipes. You can do the same with garlic. It’s a nice shortcut when the olive and garlic show up for the party in your pan already married. Another good use for leftover herbs is in compound butters. Toss herbs with softened butter and chill log-shaped on waxed paper in the refrigerator. Slice when firm, then store in the freezer. Compound butters are great to add to pasta, freshly cooked and drained, and are also delicious on fish. Add compound butter to fish cooked in foil with vegetables.

Website design By BotEap.comMeat and fish

Website design By BotEap.comThe butcher is your friend. Pick the grocery store with the most helpful staff, particularly in the meat and deli department. Many good grocery stores have butchers in the meat department who will happily resize and package the meat for you. Sometimes you pay a little more at these stores, but that’s usually offset by higher quality and less waste. Plus, a single gorgeous steak is usually cheaper than greasy Chinese takeout. That’s another good thing about cooking for yourself; you can afford to splurge.

Website design By BotEap.comcold cuts

Website design By BotEap.comAnother great supermarket department to buy small quantities. Easily buy a quarter pound of meats and cheeses for amazing panini sandwiches for dinner, or get olives and peppers and tapas for one too.

Website design By BotEap.combreads

Website design By BotEap.comThere are a couple of different approaches to bread. You can buy a bread maker to make a small loaf as you please. Or you can buy bread and freeze it in 3 or 4 slice segments. A friend swears by his 12-grain bread; saying it lasts very well on the counter. Bread that is starting to get stale is great used as French toast, a Monte Cristo sandwich, or mixed into breadcrumbs and stored in the freezer.

Website design By BotEap.comDairy products

Website design By BotEap.comThe eggs come in half a dozen and keep for quite a long time. Milk can be bought by the pint and cheese keeps well and if the packages at the dairy are too big remember you also have the charcuterie. The cheese does not freeze well, it changes the texture; increasingly crumbly. Butter can be frozen and thawed a quarter pound at a time. Yogurt and sour cream keep longer when stored upside down in the refrigerator, keeping air away from the seal.

Website design By BotEap.combaking products

Website design By BotEap.comFlour, sugar, cornmeal and the like have a long shelf life. Cookie mix and other higher-fat items, like nuts, work best in the freezer. For nuts, toast them before using them to maximize their flavor.

Website design By BotEap.comfrieza

Website design By BotEap.comThe freezer section is a great source of useful things when cooking for yourself. Keep bags of frozen vegetables to cook one cup at a time. Keep rolls frozen and thaw 1-2 hours before you plan to cook them. Grab a bag of frozen baking chips as a side to a steak. Frozen pierogies (small meat pies) cook very quickly and are great served with cabbage and noodles.

Website design By BotEap.comSome people have a hard time adjusting to cooking for one when they are used to the bustle of a family. Just think though; you can eat what you want and when you want. You can watch TV, read the newspaper or a book, do whatever you want. A friend once gave me a book called Eat Mango Naked. That’s what I hope eating alone is like for you; an easy comfort and a pleasure.

Website design By BotEap.comThe following is a sample menu for one of Dinners In a Flash. Visit our website for more recipes, menus and information.

Website design By BotEap.comhttp://www.dinnersinaflash.com

Website design By BotEap.comTable for one:

Website design By BotEap.comSunday: Roast Cornish Hen with Roast Root Vegetables

Website design By BotEap.comMonday: Cheese Grits with Ham served with Carrots

Website design By BotEap.comTuesday: Shrimp Salsa Cocktail with Crispy Corn Chips

Website design By BotEap.comWednesday: Fried Pierogies with Cabbage and Noodles

Website design By BotEap.comThursday: Grilled Chile Relleno with Grilled Corn Tortilla Quesadilla

Website design By BotEap.comFriday: Salmon Patties with Buttered Broccoli and Cauliflower

Website design By BotEap.comSaturday: Pepper Steak with Grilled Pineapple Chunks and Coleslaw

Website design By BotEap.comFor more great ideas visit http://www.dinnersinaflash.com