Ladies, come in and help this young man.

driven

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I am younger (21) and very badly need to learn how to cook. It's bad enough that I'm not very good at cooking as it is, but I'm also in the middle of a large bulking session where my body needs to have a lot of healthier foods. I workout pretty much everyday. I need to learn how to cook things like chickens, steaks, etc.

Are there any good cookbooks that any of you would recommend? Should I get a Foreman grill too? I don't have a lot of extra time during the day to cook between work, my workout, kitties and trying to get everything taken care of in the new house. Protein shakes have been good "gap fillers," but I need to start getting better, solid foods in me. Any suggestions would help a lot. Thank you ladies (and guys)!!!!!
 

miss mew

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I'm not much of a cook. That's my fiance's area of expertise!. But one thing that I've found to be really good to have is a slow cooker. I love to have a warm homecooked meal but I hate the time it takes to prepare it. So what I did was get a slow cooker (crock pot) and a book of reciepes for it...and I put it all together the night before and turn it on in the morning and then viola!..a good dinner when I get home!
 

phenomsmom

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I love the forman grill but hate the cleanup. they make them now with the removable grill part that you can toss in the dishwasher. i like baked chicken though. i bread it in flour with a little seasoned salt and put it in the oven on 350 until it is done (juices run clear and no pink at all) with boiled corn on the cob a salad and you are good to go! so tasty!!
 

loveysmummy

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I vote for the Foreman...My stepfather has one of these, lives alone, and uses it all the time. Its great for grilling up a steak or chicken breast. Grilling is healthier for you as well. I would spray the Grill with olive oil and when it heats up, slap your chicken breast or steak on there.

I don't know if you are looking for recipes or how long to cook something or ??
 

rosie0708

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I'm Just Here For The Food by Alton Brown. He not only gives some good recipes but he also teaches you about the food and different techniques of cooking. You can get it on Amazon.com for a little more than $20. It's a very good book.
 
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driven

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Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

I vote for the Foreman...My stepfather has one of these, lives alone, and uses it all the time. Its great for grilling up a steak or chicken breast. Grilling is healthier for you as well. I would spray the Grill with olive oil and when it heats up, slap your chicken breast or steak on there.

I don't know if you are looking for recipes or how long to cook something or ??
I can hunt down some recipes. I'm sure there's a book for grilling on a Foreman somewhere! Thanks!
 

phenomsmom

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OOOH another thing if you like steaks with seasoning on them you should try Dale's sauce. dont soak it to long as it will get very salty tasting but thus far that is my favorite steak marinade!
Now i am really hungry for steak!
 

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I could learn something from this thread I can't cook and I want to sooo bad but everything just baffles me!
I once made a chicken stir-fry for Mark and had to get someone to write out for me, step by step how to do it and I had to get everything out and it took me so long to do something which should take minutes. He didnt get food poisoning and said it was pretty tasty but it wasn't enjoyable for me because it was such a struggle.
I need to be able to make good vegetarian meals for myself, as Mark does the cooking and he eats meat I usually end up with something from a packet, unless its a salad.
 
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driven

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Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

OOOH another thing if you like steaks with seasoning on them you should try Dale's sauce. dont soak it to long as it will get very salty tasting but thus far that is my favorite steak marinade!
Now i am really hungry for steak!
I'll look for it. Do you know if most grocery stores carry it?
 

phenomsmom

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Yea most do. its in like publix or winn dixie but i dont think you guys have those so check Krogers.... its a sourhern thing so check online for it to! SOOO GOOD!
 

babyharley

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Originally Posted by Miss Mew

I'm not much of a cook. That's my fiance's area of expertise!. But one thing that I've found to be really good to have is a slow cooker. I love to have a warm homecooked meal but I hate the time it takes to prepare it. So what I did was get a slow cooker (crock pot) and a book of reciepes for it...and I put it all together the night before and turn it on in the morning and then viola!..a good dinner when I get home!
I LOVE my crock pot! The other night I put in a roast with seasonings, chopped up potatoes, carrots and onions - and then I started it up in the morning, let it cook all day long, and it was amazing!

The other day I put in 2 cans of creme of chicken soup, 1 can of water and 3 chicken breasts, let it cook all day, they were the best chicken breasts I've ever had!

The crock pot is so easy so use, and you can make so many things in it too!!
 
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driven

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Originally Posted by babyharley

I LOVE my crock pot! The other night I put in a roast with seasonings, chopped up potatoes, carrots and onions - and then I started it up in the morning, let it cook all day long, and it was amazing!

The other day I put in 2 cans of creme of chicken soup, 1 can of water and 3 chicken breasts, let it cook all day, they were the best chicken breasts I've ever had!

The crock pot is so easy so use, and you can make so many things in it too!!
I might need to get one of those.
 

babyharley

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Originally Posted by DRIVEN

I might need to get one of those.
Most definately! I don't think you can really mess anything up when you're using it!
Cuz if you could, I probably would have already!!

Pork Chops with creme of mushroom soup cooked all day long is awesome too!
 
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driven

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

Another thread asking us girls for domestic tips! What a stereotype



You women were a last resort.
 

ollyextra05

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I'm obsessed w/ my crockpot also, esp. using it to make chili. I make a turkey chili with 1 lb ground lean turkey breast (brown it in a pan first then dump it in) 2 14 oz cans of stewed tomatoes, 1 14 oz can of hunts tomato sauce "for chili", 1 14 oz can of kidney beans, 1 small can of diced green chilis, onion, garlic, seasonings.

Basically, brown the ground turkey in a pan on the stove, dump it in to the crockpot. Then, in the same pan, cook 1/2 a chopped onion and about 2 cloves of garlic, chopped until the onion is translucent, dump that in.
Dump in all the canned things, and then for "seasoning"
cumin, chili powder, salt, and chipotle pepper powdered (to taste-- I dont' ever measure exactly.
Cook it on low for 6 hours or more and it will be the tastiest chili you've ever had! And, very healthy and filling-- almost fat free and tons of fiber.
I usually eat mine w/ a green salad and top the chili with some shredded low fat cheese. The chili is also awesome ladled over a baked potato with some cheese and sour cream on top.
If you like it a little "kicky-er" you could add cayenne pepper or some hot sauce to taste as well. I occasionally add some Frank's red hot to mine.


Good luck with cooking.
 

gemlady

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I was just reminded of all the times my mom would be delayed in the grocery because young men - students at a nearby University - would stop her and ask her how to cook things she had in her cart!


Don't overlook dried herbs for flavoring your meat and other dishes. Helps cut back on the salt.
 

jeanor

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According to my husband... the zoo
Here is a SUPER easy recipe that everyone loves.


Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
onion (chopped) I use about 1/2
1 package taco seasoning
1 can kidney beans (do not drain)
1 can corn (drain)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup water


In a large pot on the stove, put in kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce and water, cook on medium heat. Fry ground beef and onion, drain, then add taco seasoning. Then you add that to the other ingredients in the pot, turn heat down to low. I usually make this in the crock pot. The key to this recipe (IMO) is the longer it cooks (on low heat) the better it is.

It can be served over chips (Fritos, etc.) with grated cheese on top, or with cornbread.... or just by itself.

It's so easy to make, it's basically a 'dump' recipe besides frying the hamburger.
 

rosehawke

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Here's something REALLY SIMPLE for you
, it's what we pretty much live on when we're in the "diet/exercise/workout" mode: If you've got a membership to a local warehouse store (Costco's, Sam's) get the big bag of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about $13 for 6.5#.) Tyson puts them out here, I'm sure there'd be something comparable in other areas of the country. You can also usually get something like that at the grocery, but it's going to be more expensive. Also get some Lemon Pepper (Tone's brand is what the warehouse store carries, it's more economical in that very large size,) and some garlic seasoning of some sort (we just use garlic powder,) or whatever other seasonings you might like. Line a baking sheet (cookie sheet, also called a jelly roll sheet, the kind with the short sides on it) with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, take however many chicken breasts you want to cook (don't have to thaw them, that's the beauty of it
,) put them on the baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with the lemon pepper and garlic and whatever else seasoning you desire, put in the oven on bake at 350* for about an hour 15 minutes, to an hour and 30 minutes. Voila! Lean protein to do you for several days (although you shouldn't do more than 3 days worth at a time.)

We will take this and cut pieces up to put in a salad, or warm it up for a side dipped in steak sauce, or mix up with a bit of flavored rice and frozen broccoli heated up in the microwave. We'll put a bit of salsa on it for extra seasoning. Also if you've just absolutely got to have something it's easy to just grab a bit of chicken out of the fridge. The chicken is at its very best fresh out of the oven, but is at least decent warmed up.

Oh, yes, you can do the same thing with fresh chicken breasts, but you wouldn't want to cook them quite as long, no longer than an hour at most I'd guess.
 
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