Photo by Amy Phelps Smothered Veggie and Bean Burritos

Blogger and author April Anderson looks at cooking for just yourself or one other person in “Gourmet Cooking for One or Two.”

These are recipes that won’t leave singles and couples with a bunch of leftovers to use up and still are delicious, pleasing meals, Anderson says in her introduction.

The recipes are divided into five chapters: Updated Classics to Serve Yourself; Scaled-Down Comfort Food; 30-Minute Single-Serving Dinners; Simple One-Pan, One-Pot and Sheet-Pan Dinners; and Two-Serving Soups, Stews and Chilis.

The Updated Classics chapter has such dishes as Chicken Noodle Casserole, Two-Slice Sun-Dried Tomato and Sausage Lasagna and Deviled Egg Shrimp Rolls.

Scaled-Down Comfort Foods includes Balsamic Pot Roast, Chicken Parmesan Burger with Oven Fries and Kielbasa with Creamy Horseradish Pasta.

30-Minute Single-Serving Dinners has Chicken Gyro Salad, Baja Turkey Burger and Shrimp and Veggies in Citrus Sauce.

One-Pan, One-Pot and Sheet-Pan Dinners has Pork Chops with Savory Apple Bacon Hash, Beef Stroganoff with Toast and Sheet-Pan Cod with Roasted Red Potatoes.

Two-Serving Soups, Stews and Chilis includes Tuscan-Style White Bean Soup, Pinto Bean Chili with Avocado Quesadillas and Red Wine Beef Stew.

Sometimes, with picky eaters and schedules, it’s easier to grab something out then go through the trouble of making something. One of those nights, I made Smothered Veggie and Bean Burritos. The recipe serves one, but I doubled it to make enough for myself and my husband, and told the picky eaters to make themselves a frozen pizza then. This is a burrito with roasted butternut squash, cauliflower rice and beans in a red sauce. You were supposed to serve it in a large burrito tortilla, but since I ended up grabbing soft taco tortillas instead, I made smaller versions, just multiples. I ended up filling a 9×13 pan with them. And they were so good! The squash and beans were good fillers and the cauliflower rice blended well with the sauce and you coudn’t tell it was cauliflower.

My picky youngest decided it looked good and wanted one and loved it! Surprise, you are eating all vegetables! My husband and I each had two, and I had enough for leftovers for lunch the next day, so this would have been a very big burrito for two people.

I would recommend this for people who want to cook for themselves or adults who are sick of chicken nuggets with the kids and want to cook some grown-up food for themselves.

“Gourmet Cooking for One or Two” is published by Page Street Publishing. It is $21.99.

***

Contact Amy Phelps at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com