2. Forever Adaptable... Cutting your recipes in half.

A family starts as two adults, we have a few kids, maybe several more, they become hollow leg teenagers and eat us out of house and home, then start moving out, shrinking our family until it is 2 adults again with unpredictable visiting kids and their families. 

When I first was married, life was crazy in the kitchen for me. I loved to cook, but all the recipes I cooked were memorized... and fed a family of seven. Eating for two on the same meal for three days in a row got really, REALLY old fast. I started halving recipes then, but it seemed like such a waste of time to cook something new every single day for such a small amount. That is when I started using my freezer to half recipes. As kids came along and my family grew to six kids, with 4 boys, sometimes one full recipe wasn't even enough. Now my oldest two have left for 2 years and temporarily come home before collage and careers, returning for holidays. Life will now forever be a up an down roller coaster when it comes to how much I will need to make for dinners. One day it will often just be us two again. It seemed time to return to those days long ago of halving recipes again. It is especially nice to be able to help my new adults to have a plan and family favorite recipes, that will fit their small meal requirements.

How will halving recipes work for all that, all sizes of families.

• Plan each meal to feed 4 adults with healthy side suggestions. Remember, side dishes can even stretch your main dish even more by adding healthy and inexpensive bulk to your meal, if needed. This allows me to even feet a family of 5-7 if I work it right. If the main dish isn't quite enough, it can also be stretched by adding a bit more meat , veggies or whatever than called for, 
• Depending on your family size at the time, you make what is needed. 1, 2 or 3. Maybe even 4 if you have company.
• You may have to adjust how many of each recipe you make each year but you wont have to PLAN the menu or rework your recipe! 

By halving our recipes we become adaptable over our life time. By doing this we can make a weekly menu that works for us forever! all we need to do is adjust how many of each recipe we make for our meals. This has been amazing for me.