Cooking help?!


Question: I can't cook. Like at all. I don't know how to mix different foods together to make them taste good. I live by myself and i usually just buy a TON of Lean Cuisine microwave dinners. Well, that is quickly getting old. Not to mention there’s too much sodium in those things…
The only things i have made are pasta and (canned) spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese (from the box... which, i'm not sure if that even counts, lol), and a couple of times I’ve made my mom's recipe of salsa chicken with rice (chicken breast, with corn and salsa and cheese on top, and then baked).
Literally, that is the extent of my cooking experience.
I want to start leaning how to cook and make actual home cooked meals.
Can you give me any tips to get started? Or any easy to remember recipes? Please help! :)


Answers: I can't cook. Like at all. I don't know how to mix different foods together to make them taste good. I live by myself and i usually just buy a TON of Lean Cuisine microwave dinners. Well, that is quickly getting old. Not to mention there’s too much sodium in those things…
The only things i have made are pasta and (canned) spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese (from the box... which, i'm not sure if that even counts, lol), and a couple of times I’ve made my mom's recipe of salsa chicken with rice (chicken breast, with corn and salsa and cheese on top, and then baked).
Literally, that is the extent of my cooking experience.
I want to start leaning how to cook and make actual home cooked meals.
Can you give me any tips to get started? Or any easy to remember recipes? Please help! :)

well all i can suggest is that you buy cookery books and follow the recipe, have a read throught he recipe first and find out if you think that you will be capable of making it and make more complex dishes as you go along, cooking is quite easy and italian cooking is supposed to be the best yet it uses minimal ingrediants to get the best flavours try buying silverspoon.

im adding recipes now

get some chicken breasts and wrap around in cling film and tie so like a parcel
boil in water until sealed, that is to say they are white, leave for 5 min more
remove cling film and wrap chicken in cooked but not crispy bacon
add the bacon wrapped chicken to a roasting tin
pour over bbq sauce, top with cheese
cook in a oven id say gas5 until thouroughlly cooked this is when the middle of the chicken is at a temperature of 79degrees, or pure white in the middle

in a pan ad 2tbsp olive oil, fry 2 crushed garlic cloves until brown remove cloves not garlic
add 5 cubed chicken breasts or 4 doesnt matter
allow to brown not burn on all sides
season with salt and pepper
add a glass of wine
allow to evaporate whilst stirring the chicken this is until the wine is no longer present
add 800g chopped deseeded and deskinned tomatoes
(cut a cross in the tomatoes and put in v hot water, where its crossed the skin will start to peel, carefully take out and remove the skin)
also add with the tomatoes 5 roasted peppers done in a oven until blackish and charcoly, allow to cool incling film bags and deskin deseed and slice
(its advisable to prepare peppers and tomatoes first)
cook for 20 min
serve with pasta
remember pasta to sauce never sauce to pasta

At the check out counters of the grocery stores they have small cookbooks that offer simple recipes or go to Kraft online and they also have simple starter recipes.

If you can follow a recipe, and it sounds like you can - then get yourself a cookbook. I prefer Betty Crocker. There is a two pack box with the regular and the good 'n' easy cookbooks. They have a ton of recipes and they are easy to make as long as you follow the directions. There is also a how-to section in the beginning that talks about basic measuring, ingredients, and cooking terms to help you. You can always refrigerate or freeze leftovers for another night! Good luck! Many happy nights of cooking!

Think of the things you enjoy eating, then google some simple recipes and start from there. You have the desire, so just start somewhere and with patience and creativity, you will become a great chef in your own right

Check out allrecipes.com

They have every recipe, and examples/explanations of every cooking technique. The Taste of Home collection of recipes are usually pretty easy--they come from the magazine of the same name. You can even search by ingredient; you list the ingredients you have on hand, and it displays matching recipes.

Good luck!

Cooking is easy you just need proper tools (knives, pots, things like that) and good recipes. There are a ton of easy recipes out there. To spruce up your spaghetti, brown ground beef, drain, add sauce and then you have bolegnese. Just top whatever kind of pasta you like with that. Mashed potatoes are super easy, buy whatever kind of potatoes you like, cube them real small and boil until tender. You can tell by the fork going in very easy. drain water, add 1/2 stick butter, milk salt and pepper. Season to taste the way YOU like it. Ravioli lasagna is super easy, just buy frozen cheese ravioli, cook as directions say (boiled in water) and make the bolegnese sauce i mentioned above. Take a baking pan and layer sauce, ravioli and mozzerella cheese until all ingredients are gone. bake covered at 350 for about half an hour. Last night I made baked chicken. I mixed dijon mustard and honey together. preheat oven to 375 and place chicken thighs, drumsticks, breasts, whatever you like in a pan. cook for about 25 minutes, baste the chicken w/ mustard sauce and cook another 25 minutes longer. keep basting to get a good yummy glaze. last 2 minutes broil to crisp up skin. serve w/ steamed veggies (now adays all you do is buy them from freezer section and steam as is in the bag in microwave) and mash taters. good luck! you can email me if u like for more recipes. ihave a ton!

An easy thing to do is pork chops. They are the first thing I learned how to cook. Put your chops in a pan set on low-med and season with season salt. cover and cook turning every 5-10 min until center is cooked and no longer pink.

BBQ chicken
put 4 chicken tenders in crock pot and cover with bbq sauce. Set on low and cook 8 hours. Serve on hamburger buns with chips.

Oven pork chops and corn
4 pork chops
corn cobets.
1-2 sliced potatoes
buy foil pouches and put 1 chop, 1 corn cob and a few slices of potatoes on top put on a tablespoon of butter on top. Close pouch and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cooking is really, really easy. It just takes practice. Think of something you would like to eat (ex: chicken breast). Go to recipezaar.com and search for chicken breast recipes. Follow cooking instructions and in no time you'll have the practice you need. After you start enjoying the tasty dishes that YOU made, you'll start to get a feel about what herbs and spices work well together, and with certain ingredients.

If you stumble across a recipe with a measurement you don't understand, just do a web search for the conversion or definition (like if it calls for a pinch or a dash-they are different).

Once you make the same dish 2 or 3 times, then it will be time to cook it for others to show off your new found skills!

Better Homes and Garden (bhg.com) has recipes for One person meals in 30 minutes or less.

My basic recipe that you can use for chicken, pork or fish is to dip meat in a lightly beaten egg, then panko bread crumbs and then pan fry in a little butter. Make some rice and microwave a fresh vegetable.

If you can make that salsa chicken your ready to explore recipes check out www.allrecipes.com. check out the recipes there. really read through them. you will find cooking is not really hard at all. measuring and cooking time and temp. if you can do all that your set. good luck.

You could also sign up for community classes that offer cooking courses for local residents. I know that some grocery stores offer them like Hy-Vee. Career centers in your area would most likely have them too. Keep on the look out. These classes are usually fun and you get to meet nice people who are in your position too. It's a good way to associate cooking with having a pleasant time rather than a chore. Plus, it's a great opportunity to ask questions and get all the answers you need right there. They typically don't cost much either.

Your first step should be learning how to season food the way you like. This starts with veggies. In a sautee pan sautee up some veggies with seasoning (at least salt and pepper) in a little olive oil. Decide how you like your veggies cooked and how you like your food seasoned.

This is the easiest meal ever. You can't really mess chicken and pasta up. Just remember the seasoning.

Take chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast(s) and pound them until they are about 1/2" thick (or buy cutlets)brush on some mayo. Then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Next press some parm cheese onto it. Turn over and repeat. Let them sit for about 5 minutes. Then sautee them on a medium heat for about 5 minutes per side. Then let them drain for about 3 minutes before you serve them.

You can serve it with pasta and marinara, garlic mashed potaotes or on bread with lettuce, tomatoes and onion.

i suffered the exact thing last year dear and i can cook now...how?
well im a couch potato so i usually wtch the foodchannel n write down the recipies!hahaha.i strongly recomend u to buy books from jamie oliver and nigella lawson.reall really simple..

heres a recipe from the ikea mag(swedish lemon chicken)
1)150g butter at room temp in a bowl.chop 1 bunch of fresh basil,flat parsley n rosemary
2)grate 2 lemons n put into the butter,with the chopped stuff too.mix well.
3)add 2 grated cloves of garlic n add lemon juice from the ones u use 2 grate the skins.mix.
4)loosen the skin frm the chicken n spread the yummy butter mix between the skin n meat.drizzle oliveoil n season with salt n pepper.cook in oven.50 mins.225celcius.


but honestly pasta dishes r the easiest 2 make!!!

my fav..asparagus n chili bacon
cook pasta
cook beef bacon till crisp.put in plate
in a new pan,add oil.2 sliced garlic.,asparagus(250g)-sliced thin.cook till tender(using a fork)
then add the bacon n pasta 2gthr.
add also rocket leaves n 1/2 of lemon juice
serve immedeately!

this is my advice:
go buy 2 cookbooks from jamie n nigella..
n stock lotsa fresh stuff..
stop buying those high sodium stuff...n learn slowly,n patiently...
also if u have time wtch th food channel!
n get interested in cooking....fast!

hope u do well!

I think that you should start watching the food network, the cooks on there make elaborate meals sometimes, but they have good basic tips and techniques
Rachel ray is awsome she does simple cooking quite a bit, u know watch 30 minute meals with rachel ray
you will learn a lot from her

Start with pancakes and eggs. That's how I started to learn. That way you can move on by making omelets with tomatoes, onions, etc. And pancakes (and waffles) can be used as a savory meal by putting on cold cuts and hot scrambled eggs. Some basic skills to learn:
how to boil pasta noodles
how to boil down soup stock to make broth
how to fry potatoes, onions, etc.

So, that's all I can help you with right now, but if you need recipes or help with a cooking disaster or what would taste good, you can e-mail me!
Hope I helped!
=)

Don't beat yourself up. That stuff in the box can't make itself and the dish you learned from your mom sounds good. Go to her for some more recipes and advice. Watch her if you have to or someone elso who knows what they are doing. Cookbooks are good help. You can also start there. Just follow the steps to success.





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