Spontaneity is one of the hallmarks of the Two’s Company lifestyle. If you like catch a movie and then go home for dinner, it’s your choice; if you prefer to stop in a restaurant rather than to cook a meal, you can that, too.
However, that also means you don’t want to be tied to leftovers, according to Liz Crawford, a marketing expert with Iconoculture, a consumer advisory firm in Minneapolis.
Stock up on ready-to-eat fish and seafood in cans or packets, so you can have a quick dinner without the next day’s reminder. Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Sardines, white beans, tomatoes and lettuce salad.
• Crab patties with spicy mayonnaise topping.
• Crab and tomato soup, using your favorite canned tomato bisque.
• Salmon, cracked wheat, tomato and green bean salad.
• Tuna, tomato, potato and green bean salad.
• Shrimp with fried rice.
• Shrimp paste using canned shrimp, mayonnaise and scallions on crusty bread.
Here’s my favorite.
Spaghetti with clam sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley, divided
2 tablespoons minced scallion, green parts only
1/4 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6.5-ounce can minced clams with liquid
4 ounces spaghetti
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, 2 tablespoons parsley and scallion. Cook for 1 minute or until garlic looks tender, but not browned. Add oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and clams with can liquid. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Add to clams in skillet. Sprinkle on remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Makes 2 servings.
Bev Bennett is the author of “30-Minute Meals for Dummies” (John Wiley &Sons).
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