It’s down to just the man and me now with all the kidlets out of the house, so meals have gone from cooking for an army to cooking for just the 2 of us. I really dislike any kind of food waste, but I also get bored making the same thing all the time. I mean, what fun is there in life if you can’t try chocolate-covered bacon at some point?

Halving recipes works well for me, for just about anything. Even halved, most recipes for main dishes make 2-4 servings, and breads/cakes/cookies make plenty for us to have with leftovers for snacks or in lunches taken to work.

Halving recipes is really quite easy once you get the hang of it: Say you have a recipe for Paula Deen’s ‘The Lady’s Cheesy Mac’…

Most of the ingredients are easy to divide by 2, except the eggs. You could use 2 small/medium eggs, or 1 extra large/jumbo egg. If you want to be very precise, add one egg and break one egg in a small dish. Scramble that egg, then add half of the mixed up egg. The amount of eggs in this recipe will not make it fail like a cake might, so you can play with it more. You would also use an 8×8 inch pan rather than a 9.x 13. Baking times will be the same.

Let’s try another one:

For this recipe, again, most items are easily divisible by 2, except the honey, baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk. For the honey and buttermilk, half of the 3/4 cup listed would be 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Baking powder would be 1/2 plus 1/4 teaspoon, and the baking soda would be 1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch.

I’ve inserted a table below to make it easier.

1/4 teaspoon	pinch
1/2 teaspoon	1/4 teaspoon
1 teaspoon	1/2 teaspoon
1 tablespoon	1 1/2 teaspoons
1/4 cup	2 tablespoons
1/3 cup	3 tablespoons
1/2 cup	1/4 cup
2/3 cup	1/3 cup
3/4 cup	1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup	1/2 cup
1 egg	as mentioned above

As far as pan sizes, generally a 9×13 recipe halved will fit in an 8×8 square pan. For a Bundt or tube pan, a 9×5 loaf pan will work for half a recipe (for pound cakes and similar ones).

If I am halving a cake recipe and it HAS to be a layer cake (I usually try to avoid these as a sheet cake tastes just the same), I will half the recipe, bake one layer and split it. So my round cake is more the shape of a half-moon, but I’m more interested in taste when I am trying out a recipe than prettiness.

Yeast bread recipes can be made into rolls, and quick bread recipes into muffins. The baking times will be different, though, so you will need to make that adjustment. For yeast rolls, most can bake at 350* for 12-18 minutes. Muffins bake at 400* for about 20 minutes. Any experimental recipes you will need to watch the baking times and check them for doneness early and often.

I have not figured out how to halve a pie well, but thankfully, most pies (except meringue ones) can be frozen.