Help me cook on my own for the first time, please?!

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There is no reason to season a non stick pan, only cast iron frying pan; however, for casseroles baked in oven, it is best to spray with Pam or another brand of cooking spray. As for the hamburger, always go for the best kind the highest quality as in say 90% lean or ground sirloin and least fat content. Hamburger even the best has some of it's own fat, so adding oil is not needed. Start browning on medium heat, never high and keep stirring till all is cooked, no red and drain well between paper towels. As for boiling the shells or any kind of pasta, be sure to put plenty of water in a good sized pan, add a sprinkle of salt to water and about a one/fourth teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. This is a good investment as you will not use that much and is healthier than vegetable oil. The evooil keeps the pasta from sticking together. Wait until water comes to a rolling boil, then add pasta, turn heat down and give a good, but gentle stir. Stir occasionally and let pasta be what is called el dente, sp??? meaning just a tiny bit firm as the warmth of the pasta will keep cooking even after it is drained. Drain, but do not rinse. Next, go for spaghetti, which is basically the same, go for a good pre-made sauce until you learn to make your own. Fix a green salad and garlic bread and you have a meal. Buy pre-packaged salad greens and add tomato, if you use a cut tomato, do not add until last minute. The tiny tot tomtoes, wash, drain--add some salt to just a bit/ 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and roll in to give them a bit of spice up. Add cheese, ham, croutons whatever you want, but not necessary, budget wise, just lettuce and tomato, may be cheaper to buy a head of lettuce, feel to see if it feels firm, but plan meals to use balance of lettuce and tomatoes, say tacos. You can buy pre-fixed garlic bread or something as easy as toast-have some butter, not much at room temp, add some garlic and have ready to use on toast while warm. Whole wheat bread and pasta are much healthier for you.
Google simple and easy recipies and also tips for good cooking or something like that, should be plenty on line and invest in a good cookbook. One that explains abbreviations and gives measures, etc. As in Tbs. (a large tablespoon) versus tsp. meaning a small teaspoon. Good luck, go slow, take your time and have fun. Also, ask for favorite family recipes, nothing makes one feel better and it is a help for you, but be sure to get exact measurements, my MIL says a little of this, a handful of that, yick. I use her recipe for cooking greens and my husband's grandmother's recipe for dressing/stuffing. Also, invest in a crock pot and google easy crock pot recipies. Plan your meals around what you are buying for say one dinner, ie. the lettuce, a bag of potatoes, etc. so that all will be used up. A couple of things, oleo or oleo margarine is not real butter, so if a recipe calls for butter, use real butter. And all purpose flour means plain flour, not self rising.

Do yourself a huge favor and go out and purchase the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook. It has been revised several times over the years, and is truly one of the most helpful, thorough, and really great cookbooks out there. It is VERY informative and covers everything you would probably ever need to know about cooking, cuts of meat, poultry, how to set a table, EVERYTHING! I think it sells for around $20.00.

you really don't need to season a non stick pot or pan.

just throw the hamburger in the pan ( no oil or butter needed) and continuously keep breaking it apart as to cook all of it threw.

cooking ANY pasta is easy just bring a pot of water to the boil then throw in some salt and the pasta cook for about 7 mins and wha la!.

good luck =)

You might also want to read my answers in these previous questions for people wanting to "learn to cook" and also for healthy and budget meals...lots of good info there:










http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howto/de…

...and http://rouxbe.com/cooking-school/lessons…



.

Check out http://feastonthecheap.net Lots of really easy dishes and they're all broken out by price. There's even an under $5, under $10 categories in the recipe index. Last-minute meals section is great for really easy stuff.

Congratulations on taking the bull by the horns and deciding to start cooking.

You do not season a non-stick pan - only ones you do are an iron skillet and a wok - both are not non-stick.

You don't need to oil the pan before adding your meat. It has enough fat in it that it coats the pan for you. You will want to drain the fat out of the pan before adding your Hamburger Helper sauce or it will be greasy.

To cook the noodles, I'm sure there's instructions on the box but an easy way is to put about 6 inches of water in a pot, bring it to a boil, toss in the noodles, stir, and when it starts to boil again, turn down the heat but just enough that it's boiling gently, stirring occasionally to make sure the noodles don't stick to the bottom of the pan. You will cook it from the time you drop it in the boiling water until it's done - a total of 10 minutes. Then drain it well.

The box directions for the Hamburger Helper should be pretty self-explanatory so other than cooking the hamburger in clumps until it's no longer pink, and cooking the noodles, that's about it.

If you go to the library, you can check out some very easy cookbooks that will teach you the basics and have good, inexpensive recipes. Some have lots of pictures so you can see what the final product looks like and decide if that's something you want to make.

Any questions you have on those recipes, you can always ask here.

Hope that helps.

Avoid processed foods, in my opinion, they are really expensive.

Rice- take 2 cups of rice, and put into 4 cups of BOILING water.
Stir the rice in the water, bring the water down to a slow simmer, very small bubbles, cover the pot, and leave for 20 minutes.

Then you have perfect rice.
Meanwhile, take some oil, put in a pan, heat the pan, so the oil is very hot.
Add 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and a chopped onion.
Fry the garlic and onion a few minutes.
Then add some good curry spices- you can buy in a package, or in a sauce in a jar. I prefer spice mix, in a powdered form.

COok a nother few minutes.
Then add chopped cauliflour, broccoli and some frozen green peas.
Stir around, keeping the heat medium.
Add half a cup of broth, and cover the pan.
Take the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Take veg off the heat, then serve with the rice.
There you go, for a start, EASY, very cheap and no preservative ingredients.
Just read the side of the Hamburger helper box, you really want to eat that? I'ts just spices.

Non stick--makes washing up easier!

Baby!! You are going to need a small bottle of veggie oil anyway to cook with!! So get a good one. All oils on the shelf at the grocery are veggie oils no matter if they are labeled corn oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil or olive oil etc. I would get a good vegetable oil or canola oil.

Yes, must season your pots and pans first. They do tend to get stick problems if you don't. Wash well with hot water and soap, rinse, dry, use paper towel to wipe the oil all inside all your pans. Heat gently or whatever the instructions say.

And I hope you got coated utensils, spoons, spatulas, etc to stir with or you will scratch the non stick surface off your nice cookware much faster.

Follow the instructions on the packages. And remember you will be eating on this dish for about 4 to 6 days or meals!!! Most hamburger is fatty enough so you do not have to add oil to the pan. Use medium heat to cook hamburger. high heat to boil water then turn down.

I am so sorry your mother didn't teach you anything for life skills. My thought is all kids need to learn some survival life skills such as how to cook simple things and to sew on a button!!

meant with love from Grandma Lamb

Congratulations! You are going to embark on a new experience and save money to boot! First of all--cooking should be a fun experience trying new recipes and new foods and learning all the different methods for cooking things. Adding a little oil or cooking spray to a pan helps brown the meat that you are cooking. When I first buy a non-stick pan, I wash and dry it and that's about it till I add either a little oil or a little butter to began cooking in it.
Hamburger helper is o.k., but you can't beat the taste of your own home cooked meal. There are lots of products to add to your own browned meat and easy ways to cook fresh veggies.
Either go to yahoo search or google and type in "how to cook" that will take you to wikihow.com There are 10 steps with pictures that will help you right now.

You also need to go to your local library and get a library card--they're free and it gives you unlimited access to all the cookbooks and cd's you could ever want to learn how to cook. If they have the cookbook "The Joy of Cooking", you will find that one a valuable tool in learning how to do everything from boiling water to knife skills and finally to a wonderful meal that you learned to do yourself. Relax and know that you can do it and have fun at the same time.
Good luck and happy cooking.