When I unexpectedly became a bachelor a few years ago I had a learn how to cook for myself! I mean, I had some idea and had cooked infrequently for my kids while their mother was attending evening classes toward getting her masters degree but it was pretty basic nourishment! Well, as I was saying I had to learn how to cook . . . how much do I make of said food? So, one of the things that hit me was to read the number of servings on the package. . . seems pretty basic . . . but that became the way I would do it. If I was having pasta I would look at the pasta box or bag and see that a serving was say three quarters of a cup. I also have a Tupperware cylindrical spaghetti storage container that has a "1" and a "2" on the secondary cap so I can just let a serving of those long, slender, solid strings slide into the boiling water. Whala!, dinner is ready and the cool thing is there are no leftovers. On thing I noticed early on in my cooking adventure was that a "serving" of pasta didn't look like much on the plate but alas after I added some sauce, some veggie meatballs, some bread and a serving of salad I was full. I've let my methods be known to my family and friends and I want you to know that I've received a fair amount of teasing but there just jealous 'cause I have this great system worked out! :-) And speaking of systems I'll have to tell you of my failsafe system of telling whether dishes are clean or dirty in the dishwasher . . . I share these methods because I'm a giver . . . no charge for this knowledge!