I first realized I didn't know how to cook in college. My friend Rebecca Ricks invited me over for lunch and since I had just gone shopping I said I could bring everything for the main part (decadent tuna fish sandwiches). She burst out laughing as she opened the door when I stood there in all my 18 year old excited naivety clutching in my left hand a dangling bag of bread and balanced in my right palm a can of tuna (I didn't know you HAD to put the other stuff in). Or the same semester I had my sister Alicia over for dinner (which she kindly offered to help me with). I decided to make spaghetti... you guessed it, Alicia stopped me before I dumped the entire red Western Family sized bag of spaghetti in the still room temperature silver pot of water (1 bag is enough to feed the entire BYU-I campus). Or when trying to impress a guy I really liked my sophomore year I decided to make him my families famous sourdough pancakes. I was first suspicious something was wrong when I hadn't remembered my families batter smelling quite so strong, strong enough to have smelt the batter before I even opened the door twhere we were before us stood my newly batter splattered apartment! (don't the the lid on the full mason jars your using to raise the batter...actually DON'T raise batter in a jar)
But here's the thing....I LOVE FOOD!!! I fully support all forms of food consumption...I support it multiple times a day even! But for the sake of progress (for the sake of my health and anyone who lives with me) and just to become more well rounded and well...less rounded I need to learn to cook. Here's the other thing...I don't really want to! I want to be that person that cooks but it takes too long!!! And shouldn't you be able to put all the ingredients in at the same time? Just in the order they are in the list? That's just logic to me....AND when I decide to cook, I walk up and down the isles at the store eventually grabbing a box of granola bars or some fruit and some fruit snacks. I have bread and turkey and cheese and lettuce right now, but that was the extent of my planning. SO, yes it's just me here and yes I matter enough to eat yummy good for me food (:p) So, I need some help. Most people in my family and most of my friends are exceptional cooks but I am a not so secret Top Ramen lover lover lover!
So for March 2011 I am going to learn to cook!
How I need help:
Recipes (EASY PEASY ones please, and I googled "recipe for one" the other day...small portion recipes please)
Shopping staples (what the heck do I buy???) it would be great if I can use something I buy for a few different recipes.
And some motivation - goal/program ideas/success tips, why do you like to cook etc.
Side note....how do I decorate my blog? Because let's be honest this is waaay too boring...
I don't cook. Wait, let me rephrase that, I CAN'T cook. Lol. And I DON'T care.
ReplyDeleteGet a crock pot, best thing that has ever happened to people who can't cook. Put all the ingredients in there and the crock will do the rest. Or stick to top ramen, you don't have to know how to cook to make good ramen. LOL.
And on your blog homepage, right hand corner, there's a button that says DESIGN...click on it and decorate your blog however you want :) Easy as A B C ;)
HELLLOOO!?????? My recipe blog!?!????
ReplyDeleteI'm scared because HELLLOOOO you are WAY more advanced than I am....
ReplyDeleteyay! i'm commenting!
ReplyDeletefirst: when i go grocery shopping, i buy lots of veggies that would work for my recipes but that would also work for a stir fry. that way, by the end of the week, i have a little bit left of all the veggies, i can throw them all into a stir fry. it's the easiest "leftovers" recipe that is still fresh!
second: our staples at our house are bananas, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, apples, oatmeal, eggs, frozen chicken breasts, rice, and whole wheat bread/pasta. also keeping black and cannellini beans on hand make for an easy no-cook protein salad.
third: this site has delicious recipes and you can change the serving size to figure out how to make the recipe for a smaller group!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/
good luck!
Yay, you posted!! This cracked me up. Everything I've EVER had that you have made is, like, exceptionally good, so it's funny that you're so intimidated!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind leftovers, I think it's best to do the cook one night, eat leftovers the next method (especially if you're cooking for one). Or, in our house, I cook Sunday through Wednesday (4 days straight) and then we have Leftovers Thursday and Saturday and frozen pizza on Friday (3 days of no cooking). Works for me!
Also, Mel's kitchen cafe has a LOT of good slow-cooker recipes. Her website is www.melskitchencafe.com and the link to her slow cooker recipes is: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/recipe-index#Slow
I also find it easy if I have a schedule, I try to cook fish once a week, vegetarian once a week, and then 2 easy meals. I also try to just make a ton of any side dish and then eat it for a few meals, since I hate having to think about side dishes.
Also, quinoa or couscous are nice sidedishes that are WAY easier to make than rice (in my opinion) and quinoa is so healthy for you! You just boil some water or chicken broth and then pop it in, turn the stove off with the lid on and in 15 minutes it's ready!
Ok, that's a start. We'll need to talk. I love talking food. =)
i'm a fan of crock pots. i throw in a chicken breast or two or three (depending on how many) and put some cream of chicken over it. with veggies on top.
ReplyDeleteyou can do that with steaks/beef too, but use cream of mushroom. or stewed tomatoes... you got this!
I am not... and my recipes are marked easy medium or difficult :) Also I can teach you how to make your blog fancy if you want but you'll have to call me :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteKatie!!!! This is Kara from good old Carousel Court :) I have lots of troubles cooking too. I'm FINALLY (After 6 1/2 years of being married) starting to slowly get a system to cooking. ANd we are FINALLY starting to go out of my comfort zone and make different stuff. I have one recipe I've used since college. It's sooo easy and DECLICIOUS!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete-Cream Cheese Chicken. 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 pkg. of cream cheese, and 1-2 chicken breasts. Cook and cut up the chicken. Then put the cream cheese in a pot and melt it, then add the soup and then the chicken. Serve over rice (we eat pineapple with it) (This is really good as leftovers too)
-I got a rice cooker for Christmas one year, one of the best presents ever!!!!! We alaways have good rice!!!! You just put in the rice, add water, and then let it cook!
-Crockpots are good too.
-I hate cooking and cutting up chicken (we use a lot of recipes with cut up chicken) So I'll cook and cut up chicken one day (a lot) and then freeze it. It helps a lot.
-Also, a menu helps me too.
Sorry this is so long :) I'm excited to have found your blog!!!
KARA!!!! I am so excited you posted that!!! Um and sometimes I randomly think of you when I make grilled cheese, because one day you went for a run and I was on my way home from class and you said "I'm going to go home and make grilled cheese" then I stopped by to get you to go play some sport or something and said "how was your grilled cheese?" you said "so good I had to eat 2"....random the things we remember :) Anyways do YOU have a blog? I would love to see what's up in your life!
ReplyDelete