Can anyone give me tips??!
Answers: i want to learn cooking. i'm a bachelorrete. so, can anyone give me few simple recipes or tips to a starter like me?
Sure. First off - don't go around buying up expensive fancy equipment. You should have good knives and a decent frying pan, but you do not need $300. pots and all the little gizmos to pull off a great meal.
Secondarily, cooking is simple - you can teach yourself alot through basic cook book recipes, and once you pull off a few recipes, you can start playing around with technique.
If you can get your hands on a cookbook called "Dad's Own Cookbook: Everything your mother never taught you," by Bob Sloan, it actually explains everything in great detail and walks you through cooking with great ease. I use it as a reference book now and again or loan it to friends who want to cook for their girlfriends. :)
Start slow and as you gain confidence you will get braver!! Check out your local library to see if they have any culinary classes. Mine has one each month that teaches the basics and some interesting new stuff too. Figure out if you enjoy baking or cooking more and focus on one. If you are working FT and need quick and easy...pick up a crock pot and look up some recipes on line. You can do all sorts of stews, chili, soups and even roast and such. You basically throw in the ingredients and turn it on!!
On line is a great resource for recipes...allrecipes.com and simplyrecipes.com are two good ones!
Good luck!!
Here's an easy spaghetti that will taste home made even though it uses mostly premade ingredients:
You will need--
1lb ground beef
half a medium onion finely chopped (or a tblsp of dried onion)
box of thin spaghetti (I like barilla, but the brand really doesn't matter)
Jar of Del Grosso Tomato Basil spaghetti sauce
small can of Hunt's tomato sauce
Sugar
Garlic Powder
Italian Spice Mix
Salt
Dry Red Wine (cheap stuff is fine--I find Bull's Blood makes a nice sauce additive. It's a bottom shelfer at most stores)
Olive Oil
Directions:
1. Brown the burger and onion together in a pan over medium heat. (Set a pot of water with a tsp of salt to boil at the same time). If you're cooking with anything less than 90/10 burger, turn it up to high heat for a few minutes after it's browned to cook off some of the grease. Turn heat down to simmer.
2. Add jar of spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, sugar--about a tsp, garlic powder--another tsp, Italian spice--about 2 tsps, dash of salt, and a few glugs of red wine--about 1/4 cup, and mix well so that beef is completely incorporated into sauce. (I can't give precise measurements, b/c I usually just eyeball it. Once you get used to cooking, you'll be able to do that too!)
3. Prepare noodles according to directions on the box while the sauce simmers. Drain the noodles in a colander that will fit into the pot. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Place colander in pot--leave a small amount of water in the bottom of the pot--this keeps noodles from sticking together.
4. Enjoy! I like to add Texas Toast or New York Breadsticks and a tossed salad if I'm having company.
It's pretty simple and tastes homemade--like it's simmered all day long. (Shh! No one has to know...)
If you like this one, feel free to e-mail me for more.
There is a really good book that helped me when I was living single. It is called "Going Solo in the Kitchen". I think the author is Jane Doerffer. It not only has recipes, but has tips on shopping and preparation.
BUY ONLY THE FINEST COOKING EQUIPMENT USE ONLY THE BEST BEST PRODUCTS AND GO ONLINE FOR FREE RECIPES YOU SOUND GORGOUS MAYBE I SHOULD COME OVER AND TEACH YOU BEATYSTUD@YAHOO>COM
Try NO FAIL recipes- so that you will have something to eat after the learning process:
Hamburger Goulash
INGREDIENTS
1 pound lean ground beef
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can cut green beans, drained
1 cup elbow macaroni
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
DIRECTIONS
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
Add all ingredients (except noodles) to browned ground meat and simmer for 1 hour, then add noodles.
You need a good set of knives, and all your basic measuring equipment, spoons, cups, etc.
The cookbook I recommend is called "How to Cook Just about Everything". This book is great. I no longer buy pancake mix because this book made me realize just how easy it is to make. That's just one example of how I cook better and I save money at the grocery store too!
Always read your recipe thoroughly to ensure you have all your ingredients and the proper cooking equipment, baking dishes, skillets, etc. This will help things run smoothly.
Last, but NOT least, your imagination!!!!! Use your pallet to make your own dishes, mix and blend to your liking and you will have a lot more fun with this. Having friends over for cooking parties is a great way to toss ideas back and forth, get input and experiment!!
Don't be scared, have fun!! Messing up a recipe is great for story telling! I think of it as a future smile on my face and someone elses. Nothing better than to have something to laugh about!!
Go buy yourself the Better Crocker Cookbook. It has all the basics "like mama makes it" recipes. That is how I started cooking.. and have just learned from there! Start simple, and work your way to more creative recipes as you build confidence and know-how!