Dinner For 1 - Spaghetti

I decided, as a belated New Year's resolution, that I would cook more and waste less food. I predict it will take me less than six weeks to throw my resolution right out the window and go back to being the "old me".

And yet, I made a meal plan for all my dinners (and subsequent lunches) this week, and I intend to stick to it.

Spaghetti can be amazingly simple, and if you're really put together you can make it in about a half hour.

1) Brown 1 lb of meat. Spoon half of it into a bowl for tomorrow's crock-pot chili. If you have your act together you can add some minced onion to the mix.
2) Add a can of tomato sauce and whatever herbs and spices you like. I use basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a bay leaf. I also glugged a bit of wine into my sauce tonight (Francis Coppola Siraz, although I think I like his Cabernet better).
3) While the sauce is simmering, cook up your noodles. One quick-and-dirty way to do this is to get something like the Pampered Chef Micro Cooker and fill it halfway with water. Microwave it for 3 minutes or so to heat the water, then take 3 oz. ("fist and a half") of spaghetti (I used whole wheat tonight), break it in half, and put them in the water. Then microwave that for however long it says to boil the noodles. I think I microwaved mine for 8 minutes or so.
4) Drain the noodles. Put half of the noodles in a bowl, top with sauce and Parmesan, and eat.

The other half of the noodles and sauce is for lunch tomorrow. Sit the stuff aside to cool, then throw it together in a container to take to work.

Tomorrow morning I will put together my chili in my crock-pot, and when I get home from work I will have something good to eat.