Sometimes you may have a quiet evening with the whole house to yourself and you might like to cook some dinner with just enough for one. But other times you may have a houseful of roommates and friends, and the best way to get them to settle down is to fill everyone’s bellies with a good meal and move them towards what I like to call a “food coma.”

So this week’s meal is infinitely expandable. You can make just enough for one or you can prepare a feast for an army if you like. On the menu is chicken, baked potatoes, and green beans--a good, all-American meal. For the vegetarians out there, omit the chicken, and have some vegetarian baked beans instead. They are tasty and will help you get some protein in combination with the baked potato, and the green beans will give you some necessary roughage.

You will need a few essential ingredients this week. First, you will need some almonds. For the green bean recipe, it is best if they are slivered, or sliced into long, slender peices, but for all practical purposes, just buy some whole raw almonds from the bulk section. They are cheap and good to have around for a healthy snack. This is the only essential ingredient needed for the vegetarians.

For those who like chicken, buy a bottle of barbecue sauce. I could tell you how to make some yourself, but that would defeat the purpose of this column. We want you to be able to make easy meals that aren’t time-consuming. Barbeque sauce is not difficult to make but it takes all day. It also involves many ingredients that you probably don’t have and you would also need a blender to make it smooth. So just buy a bottle of good, ready-made sauce. Jack Daniels makes a great one with whiskey in it. It won’t get you drunk but if you are under 21 they will let you buy it!

As for the chicken, it’s a good idea to buy it frozen in bulk. It costs about half as much as fresh chicken and it will keep in the freezer for over six months. Then, whenever you are hungry, you can thaw out however much you need and with a bottle of barbeque sauce on hand, you can just throw it all in the oven and have a meal 45 minutes later. Unfortunately fresh vegetables like green beans will only keep for about a week in the refrigerator. So for this week's side dish you will need to plan ahead a bit. (Potatoes can keep for several weeks in a cool, dry place.)

This week’s menu:

Real Baked Potatoes
Servings: 1 or as many as you need
Cost: about $0.60 per potato
Prep Time: 2 minutes prep time, about 1 hour cook time

Oven-Baked Barbeque Chicken
Servings: 1 or as many as you need
Cost: about $0.60 per serving (2 legs) if using frozen, about $1.10 if using fresh chicken
Prep Time: 5 minutes prep time, 40 minutes cook time

Green Beans with Almonds and Butter Sauce
Servings: 1 or as many as you need
Cost: about $0.60 per 1/4 pound serving
Prep Time: 5 minutes prep time, 5 minutes cook time

Real Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

1 russett potato (per serving)
oil
salt

Steps

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes under cold running water and pat dry.

2.) Coat the potatoes with a very small amount of oil (less than 1/2 teaspoon) and sprinkle with salt. Put them directly on the oven rack in preheated oven.

3.) The potatoes will take about an hour to bake, but check them after about 45 minutes. Take them out and poke with a fork; once the fork pierces the inside easily, they are done.

4.) Serve with butter, salt and pepper and other toppings such as sour cream and shredded cheese if you like.

Oven-Baked Barbeque Chicken

Ingredients

2 chicken legs (per serving)
oil
salt and pepper
barbeque sauce

Steps
1.) Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. (Be careful to wash your hands and anything the chicken touches to prevent cross- contamination.)

2.) Remove the skin if you like to keep fat to a minimum in your diet. Place the chicken legs in an 8 x 8 metal baking pan, or whatever size you need to hold the amount of chicken you are making, in one layer.

3.) Coat with about 1/2 teaspoon of oil per leg and sprinkle with salt and pepper, being sure to get all sides. Then bake for 25-30 minutes, with the potatoes, in a 400-degree oven.

4.) Once the chicken looks cooked and is just beginning to turn slightly brown (after 25-30 minutes), take it out of the oven and put on a generous coat of barbeque sauce- be sure to get them completely coated on all sides. Then put them back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, during which is a good time to make the green beans.

5.) Serve with baked potatoes and green beans and enjoy!

Green Beans with Almonds and Butter Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 pound green beans (per serving)
1 teaspoon butter (per serving)
small handful of almonds, chopped (per serving)
salt and pepper

Steps

1.) Wash the green beans and break off the tip of each end, pulling them off with your fingers, and discard. The ends are tough to chew, even after thorough cooking. If the beans are very long, break them in half--they will be much easier to eat this way.

2.) Warm a sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add the beans and cook, stirring often for 2-3 minutes. Then add about 1/2 cup water to the pan and let the beans cook for another few minutes. Check them often and once they are as soft as you like, take them off the heat and add the almonds. Season with salt and pepper.

3.) Serve, pouring some of the cooking liquid over the top, with the chicken and potatoes.