Cooking for one

As a child, I watched my parents navigate complicated grocery lists and always imagined my supermarket trips would involve grown-up things like paprika, basil and Worcester sauce.

Instead, my concept of culinary spice has grown to mean moving beyond Lean Cuisine.

Sunday, I performed my usual shopping ritual, filling a grocery cart with a week's worth of frozen entrees. There's no real rhyme or reason behind my selections...I just try to pick the microwaveable dishes least resembling something out of a "Survivor" challenge.

When I approached the cashier, I glanced at the customer behind me. She was another 20-something, steering a cart packed with frozen TV dinners.

Nobody really dreams of the TV dinner lifestyle...it's just something you kind of fall into when you realize how impractical (and expensive) it is to cook homemade meals for just one person.

On the plus side, these meals have really advanced in recent years, and it seems like more people are coming out of the freezer and admitting this is how they eat.

Here's the mecca of information on all things frozen: Heat Eat Review, an extremely well-written blog that offers humorous, helpful reviews on virtually every freezer-friendly entree imaginable.

Seriously, check it out. And wish me luck as I heat up this deceptively intriguing dish.