Imagine it's 4 p.m. on a typical weekday. Do you know what you're having for dinner tonight?

A "Restaurants and Institutions" survey found that about 70 percent of the adult U.S. population doesn't decide what to eat that night until 4 p.m. or later. One way to ease the "dinner dilemma" is to plan meals like some people plan clothing purchases.

Consider the person who rapidly mixes and matches a few clothing items into dozens of different outfits. Perform that same trick in your kitchen! Stock up with basic foods that quickly assemble into an assortment of different and delicious meals.

To start you thinking, here are some suggestions:

• Possible Foods For "Mixing And Matching"
• Assorted Fresh Fruits In Season: Eat out of hand; chop or slice and add to salads; slice and serve as a topper for frozen desserts or layer with pudding for a parfait. In winter, buy bags of frozen fruit and dish them out the same way.

• Blended Drinks: Mix a carton of yogurt, fresh fruit, and one of the fancy orange juice mixes (orange + pineapple + banana, for example) + a cup of ice in a blender. Quick, easy and satisfaction guaranteed. If you like, add milk or use a Slim Fast or other weight loss drink as a base.
• Cheese: Make toasted cheese sandwiches; add to main dish salads; mix into a white sauce and serve with broccoli over a baked potato or use as a base for soups; grate and use as a topping for casseroles.
• Eggs: Hard-cook in advance. As needed, slice and use for a main dish salad; fry; scramble; make into an omelet; use in egg salad sandwiches. Use the easy to pour egg substitutes for a quick way to prepare eggs for meals, sandwiches or to add to other dishes.
• Frozen Vegetables: Serve as is; toss into soups; add to casseroles; thaw and use in cold salads. Use frozen stew vegetables for variety. They're expensive but timesaving, nonetheless.
• Mayonnaise-Type Dressing: Check your cookbooks, library or the Internet for variations on mayo-type dressings to add variety to salads and sandwiches. Some possible add-ins include curry powder, mustard, tarragon, dill and onion. To keep calories low, use reduced-fat or fat-free versions of dressing.
• Milk: Use in white sauces, puddings and cream soups as well as for drinking. Consider evaporated skim milk for thicker consistency
• Meat, Poultry And Fish: Look through your recipe sources for multiple ways to fix your favorite types of meat and poultry. Especially look for recipes that include other staple foods you typically have on hand.
• Rice, Pasta: Offer with seasonings as a side dish, serve topped with a sauce; mix with other foods and a white sauce or can of soup for a casserole; use cold in salads; add to soups. Keep a variety of pastas in your cupboard. It's amazing how a similar recipe made with a different pasta seems like a "different recipe."
• Soups: Consider mixing a couple of cans of soup together for a new tasting recipe. I like Progresso soups. My family favorite is one can of lentil and one can of minestrone.