Easy Recipes for Two People

Easy recipes for two people can range from sandwiches to lasagna. But, no matter what you decide to serve, it can be created with only two people in mind. Ingredients are easily reduced in a recipe.

Don't worry about opening so many ingredients for just one teaspoon or one tablespoon. Focus on making meals that will use the same ingredients in a relatively short amount of time. That way, you won't end up tossing ingredients such as whipped topping or sour cream that have a shorter shelf life.

Recipes for Two

Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients You Will Need:
1 ½ pounds beef top steak, sliced thin
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of sherry
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
2 teaspoons sugar
½ large garlic clove, minced
Crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 cups broccoli pieces
¼ cup unsalted cashews
4 green onions, sliced
Sesame seeds
Ginger

Because steaks generally come in two- to three-pound portions, purchase the steak even though it's more meat than dinner for two calls for. Freeze one portion for later use. Cut the other portion into thin strips. It's best if you partially freeze the meat before you cut into it. Slice across the grain when cubing or slicing the meat.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sherry, sesame seed oil, sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper, and set aside. Put the meat into a plastic bag, and pour the mixture over it. Close the bag, and allow the meat to marinade in the sauce for about a half hour.

Then drain the beef, reserving the marinade, and stir fry the beef in a wok with vegetable oil for about two minutes. Add cornstarch, the reserved marinade and the broccoli. Stir occasionally.

When the sauce thickens, remove the meat from the heat. Place one steak on each plate, and pour sauce over the top. Garnish with cashews and green onion slices. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and add a dash of ginger for taste just before serving.

Mix and Match Veggies and Meats
Even your favorite foods can become dull if you serve them too many times, so try mixing it up a bit by serving beef and broccoli over long-grain rice, rice pilaf, pasta or garlic mashed potatoes. You may also want to switch from broccoli to sugar peas or from beef to chicken.

Handling Leftovers
You can always make a larger recipe and then save half of it for later. Just freeze half the recipe in individual servings, and enjoy the same meal for lunch or dinner on those nights when you can't cook or don't want to.

For instance, each time you have soup at your house, freeze four to six portions in individual glass containers. By doing this, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle in the morning when making work lunches. Grab a container of soup from the freezer, and then thaw it in the microwave at work.

However, because of the dangers involved in heating foods in plastic, you should always freeze food in glass containers. Some chemicals in plastic can leach into the food if the heat gets too hot.

To see if that is happening at your house, check your plastic containers. If there is a visible ring or spot, which is usually about an inch from the top of the container, right where the surface of your soup or whatever it is you're heating would be located, on the plastic that looks bubbled or compromised in any way, you may want to switch to glass.