Cooking for only two? Think smaller when you shop

Sick of noodles and chicken nuggets for dinner? Even if you have a house full of kids, you may still feel the urge to cook something for the grown-ups in the family. But cooking for two can be tricky. Here are some tips to make it worthwhile and to keep you from producing enough chicken with red wine reduction to last the rest of the month.

• Keep mini bottles of wine on hand or single-serve boxes of apple juice to make marinades, sauces and dressings.
• Prowl grocery store salad bars so you can buy small amounts of the whole grains and vegetables only you will eat.
• Buy items that are individually frozen (sometimes labeled IQF) so you can pull out a single piece of chicken or just a few shrimp.
• Plan ways to use things up: Use the rest of those canned beans in a salad or mix the remains of the coconut milk with broth for cooking rice.