Now that you've moved into your new house, it's time to get down to your "wifely duties". I would like to say that women aren't making the majority of the meals, but it's still a fact that female's do a lot of the cooking. Unfortunately the average recipe is created to serve 4 people, however there are plenty of helpful resources out there. Those, combined with my tips, will make cooking for 2 should as easy as pie.
- If the recipe serves 4 cut it in half exactly.
- If the recipe is too hard to cut in half, make the full recipe and freeze the leftovers to eat at a later time or have them for lunch the following day.
- When making full recipes that are too much for you and your partner to finish eating, creatively use the leftovers to make a new dish with other flavors. Leftover spiced chicken can be tossed into a stir fry or quesadilla. Leftover grilled steak is great in a sandwich or piled on top of greens.
- Order your meat, poultry, and fish fresh from the butcher or fish mongers and get only the amount necessary for the two of you. Prepackaged meats are usually sold in bulk, so avoid them if you can. If you purchase the packed chicken or steak, be sure to buy it on sale.
- Buy smaller quantities of food. Get a small bag of chips and mini bottles of diet coke instead of the super sized bag and liter sized bottle. Bigger may be cheaper, but if you are throwing a lot of uneaten or stale food out you are wasting money.
- Subscribe to a magazine catered especially to cooking for two.
- To prolong the life of vegetables wash, dry, and store them as soon as you arrive home from the grocery store.
- Never cut back on the quality, presentation, or elegance of the food! Just because you aren't feeding a crowd doesn't mean the meal should be less fabulous.
- For quick, delicious dinner ideas check out our daily Fast & Easy Dinners.
- Get your partner involved with the cooking process! It can be very fun.
For more fabulous ideas read more
What's your secret for cooking in small quantities? Please share your cooking for two tips below!
Jimmy Choo
Religion
mytheresa
I have to say it: my husband does all the cooking.
If neither one of you is the chef, though, I'd say it's wise to both start cooking together or alternating days. If one of you is much better than the other, then you've found your house's chef.
1"wifely duties?" i wasn't aware it was still 1955.
2We cook the regular recipe and freeze the extra portions or eat them for lunches the next day.
3I hear you, facin8, but we'll give Party the benefit of the doubt. After all, even us modern women are allowed to take pleasure in the marital traditions of doing chores around the house -- though I think of ironing as doing something nice for someone I love.
I didn't change my name though. Didn't seem to be that big a deal either way, and this is the name I've had my whole life so far.
4I have trouble cooking for one! I can't do leftovers day after day after day. I usually buy the frozen dinners for one like Healthy Choice or Smart Ones. Those are delicious.
5Always have a few easy things on hand that can be defrosted when nobody feels like cooking. For me it's usually a lean cuisine and a frozen pizza for my hubby. That way we're both happy!
6We both love cooking and we also love leftovers. There are things I used to make for myself that would last me all week (lasagna), now it only lasts 3 days!
We always have something easy from trader joes in the freezer (tamales, chicken strips, rice and veggie bowl...)
Or sometimes (like last night) we just give up and have popcorn, grapes and coconut-chocolate breadpudding for dinner
7My favorite dinner is fruit, bread and cheese.
8Notice that wifely duties was in qutations. That's important.
Leftovers at my house seem to kick around until trash day sadly. I just can never seem to remember to take them in the morning when I'm half asleep and running late.
9Interesting that when this was originally posted yesterday, there were no quotation marks around "wifely duties." I even checked the google cache, because I never would have posted if there had actually been quotation marks, because then it clearly would have been tongue in cheek.
10It's sooo much easier cooking for two than for one!
11I'm still bookmarking these, even though I'm not going to be moving in with a husband, just a roommate! I figure we'll go back and forth on the cooking, but these will still be useful tips. I do think the 'wifely duties' thing is outdated also, but I mean, if we're reading yumsugar, we're probably women, and we probably like to cook! It's perfectly fine to cook for your husband because you enjoy doing it! Hopefully when I do find a husband (and not just a roomie), he won't mind picking up the slack when I feel lazy!
12also, i agree with smartypantssugar, i hate cooking for one, it's so hard buying the ingredients to make a meal for just one person, and if you don't, you end up with tons of leftovers! I'm really excited to be able to try more new recipes now that I'll have more than one person to eat them!
13don't you sweat these girls partysugar!
14i know what you meant!
plus there's husbandly duties too!
My favorite mag. is "The Nest," it is great for newly married couples. Always includes great recipes, and great ideas... Check it out!
15thats gotta be scary the first few times.
16I'm a newlywed and I HAVE been trying to cook a little more here and there for my husband...I definitely need these tips! We do have fun when we cook together too, it's always amusing in some way...
17Can I say that I dont have any issue with the "wifely duties" bit? Know why?
I am the person who does the cooking and the cleaning in the house. With that said, I do it because I like to take care of my man. I see that as my job because he takes care of me in every aspect.
There are times I come home and dinner is waiting on me. Every night, he washes dishes and takes the trash out -those are things I will never do. I think the sterotypical roles arent always a bad thing.
With that, Im totally looking into the magazine for coupley meals- I have issues with cooking way too much food.
LOL!
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