Attention all that can cook!

Originally Posted by Kaleetha

I sympathize as I was in the same situation a couple years ago.

I highly reccommend "The Joy of Cooking" because it has sections that tell you about each and every food you are making. For example, muffins.... it tells you don't over stir and what happens if you do (they get all tough and icky tasting and sometimes have lots of air bubbles).

Some really simple things that I make are :

Pork chops (cook in a frying pan on medium heat with about 2-3 tbs. of oil. wait until one side is kind brown and then flip it over. I add spices like lemon pepper, oregano, basil, salt and pepper). Make sure with pork that it isn't pink!!! You can also make chicken this way.

Rice: A good rule of thumb is to use 1 3/4 cups of rice per every cup of dry rice. Make sure to wash the rice well. It's easiest to put it in a very fine colander (the bowl with the handle and holes in it

) and run water through it in the sink. I actually also use a big bowl underneath the colander, allowing the water to fill up the bowl and swishing the colander back and forth in the water.

Frozen peas : absolutely the best frozen vegie out there. stick in a bowl and microwave for about 1 1/2 minute.


Fried chicken is easy to make. Just dip the chicken in beaten egg and then roll in a plate with flour. (I mix some spices with the flour for added flavor.) The chicken should end up with a light coating of flour. Cook with oil.

My all time favorite: Take a tortilla and lay it flat in a frying pan (melt a little bit of butter in the pan first). Wait till the one side is warm and then flip. Place a layer of cheese on one half of the tortilla. Add sprouts, tomato, avacado, slices of left over meat... ect. It's really good and filling too! They don't take more than about 3 minutes to make (not including prep time.) With prep time, think like 10 minutes.

Good luck!!!

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The tortilla recipe sounds yummy. Sometimes, I will just fry a tortilla in a little butter until it is golden and cut it into "chips" to have with salad.. Good snack every once in a while.

Good luck with your meatloaf! Just make some baked potatoes with it. (Keep the side stuff simple so you don't get stressed trying to do everything at once.)

Here's a recipe for a super-simple casserole. It's one of DH's favorites, and I've never met a kid that didn't like it:

1 lb. ground beef
1 can cut green beans
1 can tomato soup
4 servings mashed potatoes (either instant or homemade are fine)

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1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain out the fat. Return beef to the skillet.
2. Drain the green beans, then dump them in the skillet.
3. Dump the tomato soup into the skillet.
4. Salt and pepper to taste, stir it all up, then dump it into a casserole dish.
5. Cover it with a layer of the mashed potatoes.
6. Bake it at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. (Just long enough for the tomato soup to start oozing out the top.)

When you have free time watch cooking shows on tv, they will help with the basics. the easiest to learn (but the hardest to master) is Italian food.
Here are some easy ways to start:


Good starter dish:
Spagetti and Meatballs

1 package of spagetti
1 jar of Sauce (like Ragu)
2 pounds Ground beef
4 tablespoons of Parm cheese
1 1/2 cups of Italian Seasoned bread crumbs
2 eggs
Dashes of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of sugar

Combine raw ground beef, bread crumbs, cheese, and eggs in mixing bowl. Mix with hands kneading the ingredients together (I know this will feel nasty mashing ground beed with your hands but it is the secret to properly mixing it)
Make sure bread crumbs and meat well mixed. Take out 1/2 handfull of meat mixture and roll between your hands making a smooth meatball. Repeat unitl meat is gone. Cook meatballs in frying pan rolling over several times on medium heat for aboout 10-15 minutes until browned on the outside.

Place sauce in pot, put in sugar and dash of pepper. Place meatballs in the sauce and simmer on low for 15 minutes stiring frequently

While sauce is simmering, Place water in large, tall pot to boil spagetti. Boil water and place spagetting in water. Boild 10-15 minutes unitl soft but not mushy.

Drain pasta over sink.

Voila, Spaggetti and home made meatballs.

Red wine goes good with this meal.

Chicken cutlets and pasta:

1 package of pasta
1 jar of sauce
2 tablespoons of sugar
dash of pepper and salt
2-3 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
olive oil
2-3 eggs
1 cup of flour
2-3 tablespoons of Parm cheese
as much chicken as you need to feed everyone

Prepare pasta as mentioned in Spaggetti and meatballs

Prepare pasta as discussed above.

Take chicken and slice in 1/2 the flat way making very thin cutlets (like cutting a bagel) place on cutting board and pound with meatpounder or hammer to tenderize (dont mutilate but dont be afraid to hit it)

Crack eggs in bowl. put aside.

Place bread crumbs, parm cheese, salt and pepper (Dash) and flour in another bowl.

Take chicken and dunk it in the raw egg, then place in bowl of bread crumbs and flour making sure to coat the entire piece of chicken.

repeat until all chicken is coated.

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in frying pan. Heat for a minute or 2 (unitl droplets of water jump out the pan when you sprinkle them in) Place coated chicken in frying pay and cook on medium high heat unitil cooked through (probably about 8-10 minutes on first side and 5-8 on the other side) make sure you dont burn and turn dow heat if the chicken seems to be cooking to fast.

Heat up sauce in pot with sugar.

Place pasta on plates, Palce chicken next to pasta, spoon generout amounts of sauce on pasta and Chicken cutlet.

red or white wine is good with this meal

Last but not Least Linguine with Clam/shrimp sauce


1 can of minced clams
1 package of linguni
olive oil
salt and pepper
dash of dried basil
Several dashed of garlic salt
1/2 pund of frozen RAW shrimp
1 jar of clam sauce

Cook pasta as discussed above

defrost and skin RAW shrimp/put aside.

Take 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place in pot. heat on medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes but make sure olive oil doest burn, (dont want to start a fire but want hot oil when you throw in shrimp)

Place shrimp in the pot with the hot olive oil. Stir fry in pot for about 2 minutes (shrimp cook VERY fast) take can of minced clams, Do NOT drain/place clams and liquid from can and extra jar of clam sauce in the pot with the shrimp. Season with basil, salt and pepper, and garlic salt. Simmer shrimp in clam sauce for about 3 minutes at simmering boil.

place cooked linguini on plate, spoon on cooked clam sauce, clams and shrimp.

Even though cheese is not supposed to be used on seafood, i still like a little parm cheese on this dish.

White wine goes well with this dish.

And there you go, intro to italian food, These dishes are EASY and VERY CHEAP. Buy the small shrimp (60 a pound) to make it more affordable.

And the best thing is people that dont know how to cook think your a chef, they dont have to know how easy it is.

WOW! You guys are the best!

Meatloaf is actually going to be tomarrow. DH had to work tonight. So we our "dinner" off untill tomarrow.

I've read all the meatloaf recipies, and some differ, but Im just gonna pick one, and use all the tips I've gotten from you all.

This is great. I COULD NOT make meatloaf without you guys!

OK! It's in the oven RIGHT NOW! AND Im super scared as to what's going to come out!

Aaaaa! But it's fun at the same time. I cant wait to try it. Because I made it, and that's pretty cool. I also got some mashed potatoes, and corn! YAY!

I really really hope this turns out ok. I've spent hours thinking about it. Only really because I have to learn to cook. I just have too. I have a family now, and we cant live off of subway and pizza the rest of our lives.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

I'm sure it's gonna be great!

Here is another to try out (havn't read everyones so it may be repeated):

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/...recipeId=34478


Something I've done also is to make this basic recipe, but when I'm filling the pan I press the meat mixture around the bottom and outside, then fill in the middle with either shredded cheddar cheese or shredded mozzarella and cooked chopped broccoli pieces, then cover it with the remaining meat and bake!

Originally Posted by MoochNNoodles

I'm sure it's gonna be great!

Here is another to try out (havn't read everyones so it may be repeated):

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/...recipeId=34478


Something I've done also is to make this basic recipe, but when I'm filling the pan I press the meat mixture around the bottom and outside, then fill in the middle with either shredded cheddar cheese or shredded mozzarella and cooked chopped broccoli pieces, then cover it with the remaining meat and bake!

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Well that sound SO DELICIOUS! Too bad It's almost already done. The DH stopped playing video games just to tell me it smells great! YES! That's so awesome! I cant wait!
This shall be an experience, that starts me cooking. Oh sheesh...I dunno about that. AND GUESS WHAT?! I found that drinking wine while waiting for the food to get done, works great too. It helps you put the luandry away, and clean the bathroom, because you got one and a half hours you gotta be standing anyways! HOORAY! I think I might actually like this "cooking" thing.

IT WAS A HIT!

I used Shannons recipe that she sent via PM, and it was PERFECT! THe guys loved it! They even had a big burp afterwords, and told me how great it was.

That is the best feeling on the world. It's like artwork. I think it was pretty good too. My 2 year old daughter kept saying "ummy! ummy!"

I had mashed potatoes and corn with it. It was just the greatest first meal I've ever made. Because it IS the first meal I've ever made.
The roomate walked in the door right as I was pulling it out of the oven, and said "WOW...something smells good as heck!" HOORAY!

YES! Thank you all so so much. I really needed all this help.

And so now the question is...What shall we eat tomarrow?
Love ya'll!

One thing I forgot to mention- Birdseye Steamfresh vegetables!!!! Holy cow, these are good. They are frozen, in a bag. You just pop the bag, unopened, in the microwave for 5 minutes and they turn out perfect. They don't taste like frozen veggies at all.

I like making enchilada pie when I want something easy-

enchilada sauce (bottled or canned is fine)
shredded cheese of choice
meat or beans, if desired- just make sure you cook the hamburger first if you use it.
canned green chiles, or cut up jalepenos (just wear gloves when slicing them)
corn or flour tortillas

first add a little sauce to the bottom of a baking pan, then add tortillas to cover the bottom, then layer the other ingredients as you would like them, top with more tortillas, some sauce, and cheese, bake at 350 until the cheese is bubbley (about a half hour)

toppings like gaucamole (easy to make in itself, an avocado, some garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, onion, tomato, a little sour cream mushed together)
sour cream
tomatoes
olives


Don't forget to always use a cutting board and a sharp knife when cutting!!! Wooden cutting boards are best. Buy a few different wooden ones and lable them for different uses. Have one for fruits and veggies, one for chicken, and one for beef.

Originally Posted by lilleah

I used Shannons recipe that she sent via PM, and it was PERFECT!

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Glad you liked it and glad I could help! Cooking gives me a rush too, and when it's in the oven and smelling good, I always get a "domestic bug" too and start doing homey things!
Is there any left over? You could make meatloaf sandwiches with cheese on them and soup and/or salad for tomorrow!

OK! So tonight we're going to have sloppy joes. Which is easy enough, and I already have a recipie.

But tomarrow the DH wants Steak. (Go figure ) And I had already planned to make spaghetti, but according to him, we're not having spaghetti, we're having steak. Like he's pregnant or something. ANYWAYS...

Need Steak help. Have never cooked any type of steak, and I have no grill. So any steak ideas/recipies would be very helpful. Because I cant make it without a recipie. Hopefull it's easy...I'm so new at this.

I do like the spice isle now. So any spices, or tweaks that make it taste awesome would help too. Thanks so much all! Couldnt cook without you.

I went on all recipies.com, and searched for steak recipies, but the majority are grilled, or contain very wierd words, and ways of cooking that I havent mastered yet. Also, what goes good with steak?

Originally Posted by lilleah

Nope I dont. Should I get one? Are they helpful? What can you make in a crockpot? Anytime I hear the work crockpot, all I can think of is Beef Stew.

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Umm yeah!!! Get one, the best part is only 1 yes 1 dish to clean!!!! Perfect for any mother!!! You can make SO MUCH ina crock pot. In the seasoning aisle of the grocery store, they have these packets...McCormick packets, and they have crock pot ones. Like for a pot roast, or a pork roast, or chicken. These make life simple. The instructions on the back say add 1c water to mixture, mix, add to crock pot. So for a pot roast, cube some potatoes, throw in some carrots, chop up a small onion throw it in the pot, put in your roast, pour the mix over the top, and turn it on. That's it. And a good piece of advice is cooking spray....spray your crock pot before each use...this makes for easier cleaning. Also, you can make soup, chili, everything in it. If you cook on low, it's 6-8 hours depending on how much you put in, on high it's 3-4 hours.

Go on the Good Cook website, it's a book club. They have crock pot recipe books. You can sign up you get like 4 books for $1, then you have to buy 1 in a year. Another thing I learned is that if you wanna make say brocoli with your chicken, it would fall apart if cooked all day. So you can make these foil packets with tinfoil, coat it with Pam, cut & wrap your brocoli in the foil (I also add 1T butter & chopped garlic) and place it on top of the meat in the slow cooker say for only the last hour of cooking. Also, your pot will come with a small recipe section in the instuction booklet.

This helps if I am leaving my husband with the kiddo all day...it's enough watching her all day, let alone having to cook. So I throw it all in before I leave and I know that my kiddo is at least getting a good meal!

Originally Posted by lilleah

Need Steak help. Have never cooked any type of steak, and I have no grill. So any steak ideas/recipies would be very helpful. Because I cant make it without a recipie. Hopefull it's easy...I'm so new at this.

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Invest in a George Forman grill. You can get one for 4ppl that doesn't take up too much counter space. It cooks like having a real grill, and isn't bad cleaning up. I use mine for quick things...hamburgers for just 2 ppl...chicken, even filet mignon can be done on it. Then I just cut a little into the middle to see if it's done the way we like it.

No steak help from me, I only know how to make it and like it grilled. But as far as spices, a few staples I have are garlic powder (I prefer powder cuz it's lower in sodium than garlic salt) and my all time favorite spice is Nature's Seasons, it's got a yellow bottle with a blue cap, usually on the bottom shelf of the spice aisle. It's made by Morton I believe and it's a great universal seasoning. I put it on EVERYTHING, as I was raised to. My mom has used it all my life as well. I would sprinkle garlic powder and Nature's Seasons on the steak and then cook it however you find a way to. By the way, there's a brand of spices called Spice Classics, they usually have them anywhere but for sure at Pick and Save, in a nice sized 2.5 ounce bottle, that are cheap and just as good as the more expensive ones, while you're learning. When you get better, then you can invest in more expensive or fresh spices.

I wanted nothing to do with cooking when I was at home so when I lived on my own I finally decided I needed to eat healthy. This implied cooking... Not my forte. Well its not so bad anymore and I can whip up quite a variety of foods. Its all about following instructions. Of course you need to get a handle on the basics. My fiance refuses to cook anything that requires chopping because he dosen't understand how to do it well but everything takes practice.

So I learn through trial and error. I've screwed up many times and learned from it. Lately I pick a recipe off the internet, sometimes "30 minute meal", "quick easy meal" or "low-calorie meal" are my key-words. Find something that isn't to complicated and make it for supper. The more you do the better you will be .

Also, allrecipes.com is my friend.

When cooking steaks is to pull it from the heat just before it is done then cover lightly with some foil for a few minutes (how long depends on the thickness - steaks should only be a few minutes). The meat will continue to cook but the juices will filter back into the meat.

Well, you've likely done whatever you're going to do for today, but add this to the collection for the next time you want to do steak...

Pepper Tarragon Steaks (from Australian Women's Weekly)

45 g butter (a little less than 1/4 cup)
1 tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 thick filets (you could probably use ribeyes, but my preference is tenderloin)
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 cup water
2 beef stock cubes (or 2 envelopes, or 2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp canned drained green peppercorns
1 tsp prepared mustard (I use Dijon)
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (dry is OK, too)
1/2 cup light cream (half and half)

Heat butter and oil in large frying pan, add garlic, stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Add steaks, cook over high heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until well browned and tender. Remove from pan, keep warm.

Add flour to pan, stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove frm heat, gradually stir in combined sherry, water, stock cubes, juice and peppercorns; stir over high heat until mixture boils and thickens; stir in mustard. Reduce heat, stir in tarragon and cream. Serve sauce over steaks.

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This makes way more sauce than you'll use on the steaks, but it's a great gravy for this meal (on whatever potatoes you do) or leftover to throw in a soup or on hamburgers or whatever.

Accompaniments? Baked potatoes are great or garlic mash; for veg, asparagus is good, or mushrooms, or a nice salad.

I havent done the steak yet. That's tomarrow.

And it sounds WONDERFUL! Im going to try it. But how long do I cook the steaks for in the oven? Or wherever I cook them? What temperature too.

That's the basics I have to know also.

Originally Posted by lilleah

I havent done the steak yet. That's tomarrow.

And it sounds WONDERFUL! Im going to try it. But how long do I cook the steaks for in the oven? Or wherever I cook them? What temperature too.

That's the basics I have to know also.

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The Pepper Tarragon recipe is strictly top of the stove. Use a decent frypan/skillet -- a heavy one if you have it -- and just follow the directions. To "keep warm" you can turn your oven on to the lowest temperature, and just put the cooked steaks in a shallow dish in there until you're ready to serve. You don't even need to leave the oven on once it reaches temperature -- there'll be enough residual heat.

And a little tip that will help you do this or any other recipe with confidence and no fuss: pre-measure as much as possible -- just like you see on the cooking shows on TV -- then you don't have to be futzing around reading recipes and measuring while you're putting the recipe together.