Trying to teach myself to cook..help

katrod

Ok ladies...I am a newlywed and FTM, and I'm trying to teach myself to cook. Now, I'm baker, so I know my way around the kitchen, but I am a person who needs to have a basic recipe to use as a guideline. I can cook things such as lasagna, chicken in a biscuit, Easter dinner ect. that are big production dinners, but I have no idea how to cook simple healthy meals for one or two people. I would really like to learn to make weekly meal plans, stick to the plan, and grocery shop all in a very budget friendly way. PLEASE help me! Thank you for any website, planning, or recipe recommendations that you can offer.

jessica.knight

I learned to cook through trial and error, but I was single at the time and had no one to impress.    Start with http://allrecipes.com and try a few 4 or 5-star recipes.  You'll feel like a genius.  If you want to keep it easy, there is a menu planning website that I used for awhile.  http://emeals.com   It's great.  It will help you learn the basics, try new things, and then it's easy to get creative from there.  And HAVE FUN!!

livinitup

I love getting "Everyday Food" every month. Its a little mazine of pure gold for easy ideas, seasonal deliciousness, and even a 7-day grocery list! Highly recomend.

lovethebeach16

I started off on allrecipes.com just finding recipes that I liked or searching for recipes with ingredients I had on hand and went from there.

As for menu planning, I think the first thing to do is stock up your freezer with proteins when they are on sale. I always have chicken breasts, ground beef/turkey and some form of seafood in the freezer. Pork and steak are also in there but I don't buy either as often. Shop the circulars to see what is on sale and stock up, portioning it out before freezing.

Then go through and pick out recipes using those proteins you have available. I'd start with recipes with less ingredients so you aren't spending a ton of money each time you go to the store picking up stuff you'll only use a teaspoon of.

Grilling is pretty healthy and there are tons of marinade recipes out there you could try. Stir frys can be healthy if you don't go overboard on the sauces and you can cheat and pick up a bag of frozen stir fry veggies.

alithebride

well-the way to learn is to start go to your library. take out cookbooks and just jump right in. you can easily scale recipies down in order to  make them for a few instead of a crowd. there are also TONS of books out there for cooking for one or 2. look into them. you also need to know your ingredients and what's healthy and what isn't. that's where nutrition info comes in. learn your calories/fat/sodium info. and dont expect anything to be perfect overnight-it takes time!!

 

ohioloveyou

The best way to learn to cook "off recipe," which is what it seems tome that you want, is to learn about the ingredients you are using.  Make a few recipes with ingredients that you like, and make sure you taste as you go to see what each thing adds to the finished dish. Do some reading about safe cooking temps for meats, how certain ingredients react under heat and cold, and what favors are commonly used together.  The more you cook mindfully like this, the easier it will be to create your own easy meals for your family.  

daveandlaura2009

I have been teaching myself to cook over the past few years. I started with cooking magazines and many cooking blogs. I follow a lot of recipes exact the first time, and then I can tweak them a bit if we like them. I love quick and easy meals because that is often what we need by the end of a work day! My blog link is in my siggy if you are looking for recipes to start with. Just know that cooking is an adventure. You'll have many great dinners and some failures too. I always have some things on hand in my freezers for the night where something new becomes a fail!

vjcjenn1

A friend of mine found that after doing "let's dish" or places like that where they do a lot of the prep work for you but you assemble meals to be frozen...she was able apply a lot of what she learned there to doing it herself

jennashadow

Summer is a great time to learn to cook outdoors.  My husband and I aren't home until close to 7pm each night and then I have to get dinner on the table quick.  I normally defrost either beef or chicken in the morning and choose my sides when I get home. 

When I food shop I spend about an hour after pre-cutting all of my food and putting it in sandwich bags.  I have found that olive oil and the Italian herb grinder is my best friend.  I'll throw a steak on the grill with zucchini or asparagus with olive oil and herbs.  I also hit up the dollar store for the cheap aluminum trays; easy clean up.  The best thing about cooking everything on the grill is the kitchen is fairly clean afterwards.  When I have everything defrosted and precut I can have a meal set for the grill within 10 minutes, and while the grill is heating up, hop in the shower as well.

I am horrible at keeping a garden, but I have a few tomato plants in buckets, so I can keep them safe from storms and 1 basil plant in my kitchen.  I occasionally will buy a good loaf of bread; toast it, put on some tomato, olive oil, and basil and you have an easy snack too.  Sometimes just boiling up some pasta with oil and different herbs and some shredded cheese also works and is a bit different from the plain old tomato sauce.

 In the winter, a slowcooker is key.  Like everyone else suggested:  allrecipes.com has some fantastic recipes.  I use those for my slow cooker meals. 

 I hope this helps.

katrod

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I appreciate the suggestions.

courtneyewarren

I have run into the same issue. I come from a big family and now that it's just us, I seem to make WAY more than what we need. Your normal recipes can be cut in half and it should help to make only for 2 or 3. Plus, if you have a crock pot, I have the perfect recipe for you to try! Get about 6 raw chicken strips, a jar of salsa (mild, medium, hot, anything you like!), and some taco seasoning sauce. Combine them in the crock pot and let cook between 6 and 8 hours. As long as you can shred the chicken, it's done! I don't know about you, but my hubby will finish off any that's left by that night! And the grocery shopping, take plenty of coupons with you and keep a running tab on a calculator. The planning can be done when you have some alone time. Make a taco night, pasta night, etc.!

missyj27

trial and error and hamburger helper as a back up