Tilapia perfect for single servings

Cooking for one or two is a challenge, and readers often ask us for tips and ideas. Now that we're both officially "empty nesters," we've been taking those requests a lot more to heart. We want simple recipes that are still sophisticated.

The starting point - in our kitchens, anyway - is to look for foods that are flexible and portioned easily. Think chicken-breast halves, pork chops, minute steaks and fish fillets. Next, the recipe ingredients need to be doubled easily, tripled or more without compromising the end result or having wasteful leftovers. (Too many half-cans of sauce and vegetables tend to eventually get thrown out.)

Today's recipe for Crispy Baked Tilapia with Panko Crumbs is a perfect example. You can make the recipe for one person just as easily as you can for a family of four (see note). A bit of elementary math is the only skill required.

Suggested menu: Crispy Baked Tilapia with Panko Crumbs with steamed spinach and corn muffins.

• Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross have been writing "Desperation Dinners" for more than a decade. Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at kitchenscoop.com.