The Itsfinished.com Chef Paul shares his thoughts.....

Eating for one is difficult because most supermarket packaging policies rarely cater for the single person, so you end up either eating TV microwave dinners every night some of which are very good, but all of which are very expensive, or eating from a tin or worse not eating at all.

The local Chinese or Indian takeaway is often an invitation to escape the monotony of cooking for oneself and the inevitable washing up, but this too seriously damages your wage packet.

So what to do?

Well, you will need access to a freezer to maximise choice and variety, but even without this humble tool, this cunning plan is still efficient in time and can provide variety, particularly if you have a busy schedule to live to.

If, like me you enjoy cooking, but not every day, and can read and can follow a simple recipe, instead of quartering the necessary ingredients, which makes the end result often look pathetic for just one meal, do the whole recipe as if for 4 and divide the contents up into equal portions, freezing the ones you don't plan on using immediately. Most recipes can be adapted for freezing purposes.

I am the laziest person alive when it comes to cooking and especially cleaning particularly washing up, so this works really well for me.

Make a Meal of Mince

Lets take the humble ingredient mince - Lamb or Beef or Quorn. Mince in whatever form has to be the most adaptable ingredient going. 1lb or 454g of this stuff can quickly produce at least 3 meals, or if you are frugal or a light eater, even 4 meals in about half an hour and get this - the best part is you only wash up the once. Better still it costs about ?1.30p a pound too.

Only buy "best" mince or minced steak. Make sure it is lean and do not compromise on this, otherwise you end up with a lake of grease surrounding your meal, which is enough to put off the most determined appetite. Supermarkets do mince in large packs - called free flow mince. Not as good as butchers mince, but pretty good on price and if you have a freezer its there whenever the urge takes you, and does not need thawing out to use it..

Ok, slice up a good size onion or 2 small ones - use shallots if you prefer. In a large pan, heat just a little oil - I use virgin olive oil, but vegetable oil is lighter and does the same. Sweat off the onions for about 3 minutes until soft on a low heat. You are not trying to brown them, just make them soft. Add your mince and brown this off too, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Bingo! You now have the basis for - Shepherds Pie, Spaghetti or other pasta Bolognaise, Chilli con Carne, and even the humble mince and potatoes to name but 4 dishes. I call these comfort food dishes. Why? Because they are quick, require little washing up and eat easily and are delicious in front of your favourite TV programme, only requiring one fork to eat them. I told you I hate washing up!

In my basic Bolognaise sauce I start with the above and add a tin of chopped plum tomatoes, a little dark Soy Sauce - not too much as it can be very salty, a couple of beef or lamb stock cubes depending on the mince I am using. I bring this up to simmering point, and while this is getting there, I consider what else I can use too. Last time I did it, I remember putting in 4 closed cup mushrooms, chopped not too small or they disappear, some dry Sage and Oregano, about a teaspoon of each, a little Worcester Sauce, some left over red wine about 2/3 tablespoons of it, a good squirt of tomato puree and salt and black pepper to taste. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

The beauty of it is though you can use what you have available and what you enjoy. I have in the past added finely chopped celery - put this in with your onion to soften if you use it, mixed peppers also, chopped and added with the onion. The choice is yours. Cost of this about 50p - 80p per meal, no more than a ?1.00 though. Cook your Spaghetti according to the pack instructions, commencing so that both your sauce and pasta are ready together and serve with some grated cheddar cheese on the top or Parmesan if you have it. Yummy.

If it is Shepherds / Cottage Pie you fancy, start with the onion as before, add some diced carrot, a couple of medium carrots will be more than ample. Then add your mince in the same way as before, stock cubes, a little liquid - hot water or red wine is good, but not too much though, or when you add your potato later it will sink like Titantic. If you have too much liquid you can either take off the lid of the pan while cooking and this liquid will reduce and enhance the flavour, or after cooking take off some the liquid before placing the sauce in the dish and use this a a gravy sauce when serving, re-heating if needed. Next add Salt and Pepper to taste with herbs if wanted, mushrooms again a possibility, or just create! Same cooking time as before too.

You will need to prepare some potatoes to put on top of this dish, so peel enough to generously cover your serving dish / dishes. Chop into pieces and boil gently for about 15-18 minutes until mashable. Use a skewer or knife to test when done. Once cooked, put your meat sauce in a deepish dish evenly, then carefully spread your mashed potato on top, using a fork to make it look nice. Grate some Cheddar cheese on top and place under a hot grill until brown. If you like crunchy, you can also smash up a small bag of ready salted crisps and mix this in with the cheese too. Serve as it is, or with a side order of peas, or Baked Beans, gives colour and added taste.Very Tasty.

If you intend to freeze the remaining sauce or the ready made up pies individually, no problem, you can use foil containers if you plan to re-heat in an oven or plastic containers if you plan using a microwave to reheat them. Always though put them into a freezer bag before freezing or they will get frost bite and most important allow to cool thoroughly before freezing!

I think you get the idea now. Cook once, wash up once, eat good quality home cooked food you can be proud of 3- 4 mealtimes. All for about ?1.00 a meal or less. This basic sauce recipe can also make a great topping for a baked potato, add chilli for the basis of Con Carne or other Mexican fayre or can even make the base of a mince curry. Now that is versatile! It has also made me very hungry!

Enjoy, your cooking. Hey, and don't forget, cooking is a great way to impress and woo too. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" they say, and guys, the ladies love a man who can cook.

You're Never Alone With Chicken

Chicken is one the healthiest of meats, being low in fat, but is fairly tasteless on its own and a whole one is definitely not the friend of the single person. It can be though if you have our old friend the freezer.

Supermarkets always pack chicken pieces in odd numbers so you buy more. If cooking for one you can individually freeze these pieces and use accordingly, but why not buy a whole one instead? It is cheaper and once cooked is so versatile. Fresh or frozen it matters not, but if you like giblet gravy sauce, then it has to be frozen. Frozen birds are usually cheaper too than fresh.

Either way, a normal chicken has two breasts, two legs, two wings and a body. Too much for one meal, but lets cook one first and see. I buy an average size bird usually, suitable for about 4 people. Make sure if frozen, it is properly defrosted before you start, as a partially frozen bird can seriously damage your health!

There are loads of ways to cook a chicken, as a pot roast, roasted, in a slow cooker etc., and good recipe books will give you lots more ideas, but, if like me, you love a traditional Sunday lunch, roast it is. Frozen chickens usually have cooking instructions with them, usually hidden under the label, which you generally rip when taking off the wrapping, so in case this happens to you, this is basically what you do.

Now, before cooking, you can do all sorts of things to this chicken. You can gently pierce the skin and flesh, inserting slivers of garlic. You can, if you like, spread a load of butter over the surface of the bird and cover in streaky bacon. All the latter does in my opinion, is turn a healthy meal into an unhealthy one. Each to their own though. You can also stuff it too. I never do though as I prefer my stuffing cooked separately. If the chicken is stuffed cooking times also will be longer as the bird is denser and so will take longer to cook. Many chefs insist on basting the bird regularly to keep it moist. Not generally necessary with a frozen bird I have found, but you can if you want to.

So, place your bird on its back, with breast uppermost, onto a roasting tin, removing the giblets from inside the bird if supplied, and place in a pre-heated oven to gas mark 5, 375 F 190C and cook for 20 minutes to the pound. During the last 20 minutes I usually increase the heat to Gas mark 7 425F 220C to brown off the skin. This last 20 minutes also has to be flexible as some birds are bigger than others and the larger birds do not take as long as you may think to cook. The last thing you need is a nuked bird.

The centre of the oven I find best, as then you have enough room for the roast potatoes etc if required. Basically, that is it. To test if it is done, I use a skewer to pierce the thick part of the thigh. If cooked, the juices will run white or golden colour. Any hint of red or pink in the juice, then back in the oven she goes. The legs too, if pulled apart gently, will give a little, another good indication it is done.

Roast potatoes are easy too. Peel your fill and cut into sensible pieces, rinse in cold water to get rid of excess starch. Put in saucepan and cover with boiling water and boil for between 5 - 7 minutes. Place a small roasting tin in the oven to warm it up. When done, drain off the water from the spuds, add a little vegetable oil to them, replace lid and shake. Remove lid and you should have flowery potatoes covered in oil. Place these on the warm roasting tin and put in the top of the oven for about 1 hour.

Hey presto, healthy roast potatoes.

Make your gravy - you can use granules - sorry Delia - gravy powder or whatever takes your fancy. I use the water from the vegetables too. The water from spouts, cabbage or greens is, I think the best. Voil?, a proper roast dinner for one.

OK, its cooked and you are stuffed and wondering, how do I use the rest of the bird? Easy....

Let's assume you use one of the breasts for your roast meal. This leaves the other, which, if you are careful you can take off the bone in one piece and once cold you can freeze as it is, in a freezer bag of course. This can be used later on, for a salad say, or even warmed up in some fresh gravy. You can of course slice it too and freeze the slices. The legs, the wings and remaining flesh of the bird, I take off the bone and portion accordingly.

These can be used for say a curry, mixed with pasta, added to stir fry, sandwiches, in fact anything really. I sometimes buy a tin of condensed cream of mushroom soup, a few mushrooms and mix together with the chicken and the soup, without adding the extra water, in a baking dish suitable for one, spread mashed potato on top and warm in the oven for about 30 minutes on a medium heat. A quick and very tasty meal. One thing that will surprise you is just how much meat there is on one chicken

What to do with the bones? I like proper stock for making soups etc., so whenever I have a chicken, I use these bones to make chicken stock. A pressure cooker is a must for this, as it reduces down the time immensely and it is much less of a chore.

Skin one onion and cut into quarters, one large carrot halved, 2 sticks celery if you have it, add the bones, black pepper, and fill the pressure cooker to about half full of water. Put on high heat, seal the lid and when the cooker reaches pressure, turn down and cook for about 30 minutes. Allow to de-pressurise as per manufacturers instructions, sieve the contents into a suitable storage container/s, discard the bones and what is left of the vegetable content, allow the stock to completely cool and freeze. Keeps for months.

Or you can throw the bones away, it is, after all, up to you.

One chicken, at least 3 - 4 meals, more if you make the stock, all for about ?3.50 - ?4.50. Great value, tasty, easy and so versatile.

Hope you enjoy!

Dining Out

More and more restaurants are adapting to the idea of single people dining alone, especially in larger towns and cities. However, there are places where you may feel uncomfortable eating alone with the akward assumption that you have either been stood up or a sandwich short...

For this reason we are asking for your help. We want to know the best places to dine alone. E-mail us This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with the name of the resturant, pub or diner, what you liked about it, how comfortable you felt dining alone and what the food and service was like.

More Recipes for One

Macaroni Cheese

1 tbsp of butter
? tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp flour
? tsp. Mustard
? tsp. Salt
? tsp. Chopped onion
Pinch pepper
? cup (dry) macaroni noodles, cooked and drained
? cup milk
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Then stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Mix in the milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Cook and stir for two minutes. Reduce heat to a low. Add the cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and onion; stir until the cheese is melted. Add the macaroni. Transfer to a small greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350? for 15 minutes or until heated through.

Tuna Salad Pockets

1 can tuna, drained and flaked
? cup thinly slices celery
? cup chopped walnuts
? cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 green onion, sliced
2 pita breads, halved

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Spoon into the pitas.

Pita Pizza

2 tbsp of tomato puree
1 whole wheat pita bread
6 pineapple chunks
2 fresh mushrooms, sliced
? cup mozzarella cheese

Spread pizza sauce over pita bread. Top with pineapple, mushrooms, and cheese. Place on an un-greased baking sheet. Bake at 400? for 4-6 minutes, or until cheese is melted.