Betty Crocker's Worst Nightmare--I Need Help, Please!

[Pulsepoint129]

Hey everybody. I'm in desperate need of some cooking advice!


I'm turning 26 in a couple of weeks, and it was only five months ago I've been out on my own. Even prior to that, however, I've never been like the average young woman, who has some handle on cooking and/or actually likes to cook. I've never had much of an interest in cooking and when I started to finally take an interest, (knowing I was going to be moving out soon) my heart wasn't it in enough to really get it right. This probably sounds stupid, as my Aunt Jan always tells me: "If you can read, Laura--then YOU CAN cook!" I know she's right, but if you're completely apathetic or otherwise less-than-enthused about cooking and only want to learn because you have to learn, like in my case, then you're never off to a good start. I guess I need some tips on how I can get myself excited about cooking, so-to-speak.

There's not much in "learning" to cook, since, as mentioned by my aunt so-full-of-wisdom, reading and following directions means that anybody can cook. Easy recipes would probably be the most ideal, since cooking just doesn't fire me up in the least, even though my boyfriend and I obviously can't go hungry and take-out every night is neither a healthy or economical solution to the problem! I just attempted, in a hand-me-down Crock Pot last night, cooking up a VERY basic beef stew. The problem is, I eyeballed the entire recipe which was originally intended to serve six people, NOT two that is comprised of just my boyfriend and myself. So instead of measuring this and that all out, I only used bits and pieces of whatever the recipe called for. I put the Crock Pot on low and let it go overnight. It smelled delicious, but when I woke up this morning, it looked extremely watery and not at all thick. So I added about a cup of flour, stirred it, set the pot to high, and went back in two hours. Yeah, well--the "beef stew" was a complete disaster! There were nothing but chunks of watery flour mixed with an occasional piece of beef, carrot, or potato. (Which were mostly settled to the bottom of the pot.) URGH, how can someone screw up a Crock Pot meal?!

*sigh* If any of you could please send me some easy recipes for two people, (they don't have to necessarily be Crock Pot related) I would be ever-so-grateful. I've browsed the internet, sure, but I'm just looking for highly recommended yet easy-to-prepare meals from the good people who come here that can be easily broken down for just two people. I thank any and all of you!

P.S--Also: The question may sound stupid, but I beg to ask it anyway--how can I get myself more excited and eager to cook?

 

[snickers]

I am living with 2 people my husband and myself and moved out a year ago. I am 24 so cooking is not easy for me as well. When cooking a meal such as chicken parm. or something like that. I only take out as much as I need then freeze the rest of the chicken or meat. Even hamburgers, if you make your own you can buy chopmeat make about how many patties you and your bf can eat and freeze the rest of the meat for future use.
I don't really know any 2 person recipes myself , so this thread would be nice to learn from as well.
I usually make recipes for 6-8 people and just leave the rest of whatever we don't eat for leftovers for lunch or dinner for the rest of the week. Or I freeze the rest so that way I can just plop it out whenever we want to eat that.
I have tons of cookbooks and the most easiest one I find to cook from is campbells soup cookbook. Everything in that book involves a can of campbells soup and they are simple too.

 

[Paula]

I totally sympathize ... When I get home after working all day the very LAST thing on earth I want to do is prepare a meal for the two of us.

Maybe you could consider taking turns with your boyfriend - where he cooks one night (or one week) and you take care of it the next? Might make it seem like less of a burden for you if you didn't have to do it all the time.

Also, have you tried AllRecipes.com? I like browsing through recipes sometimes, just to get ideas, and if you find one you like, you can scale it down so that it's for just two - or however many you wish to feed. It's also great because there are usually MANY recipes to choose from for the same meal, and I'm almost always able to find one easy enough for me to handle.

Good luck, I know it's a struggle!

Your description of the beef stew fiasco rather reminds me of the first (and last) time I tried to make chili. I ultimately decided some things are best for all when they come from a can.

 

[SheriMartini]

Food Network always gets me in the mood to cook!

One of my favorite recipes is Stuffed Manicotti! Suuuuper easy! It is one of the first things I learned to cook on my own.

1 Box of large Manicotti shells
2 packages of Mozzarella
1 container of Ricotta or Cottage Cheese
1 container of Parmesan (the grated... not the stuff that comes in the shaker container. Usually found in with the other fancy cheeses)
1 jar of Spaghetti Sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil (this is how much I use, but feel free to use more or less to taste)

Boil the Manicotti shells per the directions. Finely chop the fresh Basil. Mix the the basil and cheese together, leaving enough mozzarella to cover the top (because who doesn't love all sortsa melty cheese?!). I typically spray a 13" by 9" pan with cooking spray just for easy clean up. Stuff the shells with the cheese and basil mixture. I typically just use my fingers to stuff them. Place in plan. Cover entire thing with spaghetti sauce and cook on like 350 for probably like 20-30 minutes? Mostly just till it looks like the cheese is melting inside. Then, cover with mozzarella and a little bit of the remaining Parmesan cheese. Let melt and then woooooo delicious!

The best thing about this is that there really isn't anything you can do to mess it up! This is going to feed more than two people, but you can always freeze the left overs.

 

[JD In Van]

I highly recommend Jamie Oliver's new cook books, particularly Ministry of Food. They're made for people who don't know how to cook to teach them how to properly cook simple, healthy meals.

Also check out his web site which is very much dedicated to the same: jamie oliver - official site for recipes, books, tv and restaurants

When I learned I was allergic to gluten (wheat) I had to learn to cook everything from SCRATCH at 27. It was hard as heck but unfortunitely flour is in everything so you have my full sympathy.

 

[luvmypiggie]

HA HA! i feel you! Im in the same boat sorta, i have two children, one is 2 and the other is 7, neither of them will eat any of the food i fix for them unless it's kid friendly,,, like french fries or hot dogs, or mac and cheese, pb and j you get the point, so i usually end up fixing seperate meals for me and my husband. it's hard to find good recipes that are pretty easy for just 2. I love to go to the website www. kraftffoods.com it's great! I also like the sandra miller on food network, she has great ideas! And hey! dont give up it's hard at first to get into cooking but you will once you get the basics down! good luck and good eats!!

 

[blackarrow]

There's not much in "learning" to cook, since, as mentioned by my aunt so-full-of-wisdom, reading and following directions means that anybody can cook.

Well, apparently not, as you just managed to foul up an extremely easy beef stew recipe, LOL! If you don't take it seriously, you won't improve. Instead of going for something easy that you aren't going to take seriously and will ignore the instructions for, I would actually recommend you try to get good at something you KNOW you will absolutely destroy if you don't Follow. The. Directions. Like a souffle, or anything you have to bake. Once you get good at the hard stuff, then I'd trust you to "wing" stuff a lot better.

 

[ameyjaney]

I was pretty much in the same boat. I went to uni, didn't like cooking (well one of my flatmates was pretty much critical whenever I tried to cook....even tried telling me how to make crispy cakes....bleh!) and so lived on supernoodles for 4 years. However, I'm now in my own flat where I feel I have to learn to cook and so I have fairly easy recipes. One of my favourites is a soup (The ingredients may be different where you stay as these are the UK names)

You need:
Bit of boiling beef
1 x Swede
Few Carrots
1x Onion
1x leek
Vegetable stock cube

Fill a pan with water and place the boiling beef into it. Prepare the veg and add to pan and add a stock cube. Leave for around 3 hours on a semi-high heat and then turn down during the 3 hours. Take out the boiling beef when done as its just used for flavour. This makes quite a lot but I freeze it so I can have some at a later date .

 

[QuackXP]

I am in the same boat as you. Only cooking for two. I found this cookbook

(broken link removed)

Now most of the dishes are for 4-6 servings but I find it very easy to half them. But some of my favorites I just make the full serving and have them for lunch the next day.

But ill share one of my favorite quick recipes.

Quick & Easy Cincinnati Chili

Ingredients

Spaghetti (Enough for two, I have this easy measuring thing so I dont know how much it weighs, sorry)
16oz Can of Chili (Whatever your favoriate is from the store I like Campbell Firehouse Chili)
1 Cup Mexican Style Shredded Cheese
1/4 Medium Onion
Hot Sauce to taste.

Cook the spaghetti and chili according to there directions.

Then dish out spaghetti with the chili on top add onions and/or hot sauce if desired and then top with Mexican cheese. Mmmmmm.

There is a more complex version of this in the cookbook if you want a more homemade taste.

 

[MyZoo2]

Ok, there is more to cooking than just reading a cookbook. You do need to know about cuts of meat, and how to cut, etc. If you buy a huge hunk of beef, and cut it incorrectly it doesn't matter how you cook it will be tougher than shoe leather! I would suggest the Betty Crocker cookbook for newlyweds, becuase it has all sorts of good info about that. Otherwise, find a good place to buy meat like Whole Foods or a butcher shop where they can explain the different cuts of meat to you. Some places are good about putting stickers items like "oven roast." That means it does best if it's roasted in the oven.

I have the most cooking and/or baking when I have company! Often times my best friend comes over and we experiment. My poor hubby! He is often forced to try our "inventions."

I would personally make the entire recipe, and freeze the extras or take them for lunch. The easiest things to cook for 2 people would be chicken & veggies, and grill the chicken. Other good things are spaghetti, hamburgers, etc.

You can also check out www.foodnetwork.com. They are nice because you can tell when you are searching recipes how it's rated (easy, intermidate, hard).

You could also see about taking a local cooking class at community college. A lot of times they offer classes for like 6 weeks, and you can learn the basic techniques.

 

[akstrohm]

These are two of my favorite, easiest recipes. They make 2-3 servings and the leftovers heat up really well. They are vegetarian as written, but you can add in meat if you want. They each only take about 15 min to make.

Rice, broccoli, tomato, and feta saute:
Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 bunch broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces (about 5 cups)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup water
4 oz feta
black pepper

Instructions:
Combine rice, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and let sit 20 min.
Heat a bit of olive oil (about a tablespoon) over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute 2 min. Don't let it get brown.
Add the tomatoes and saute another 2 min.
Add the broccoli, oregano, and water. Mix, cover, and raise the heat to med-high. Cook about 4 min until tender.
Stir in the rice, feta, and back pepper.

Rice with chick peas and tomatoes:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
15oz can chickpeas
1 1/2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes or one medium fresh tomato minced
2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked rice (cold)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
salt
pepper
1/3 cup parmesan

Instructions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the chickpeas and tomatoes. Cook 3 min.
Add the rice, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 min.
Mix in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and parmesan cheese.

In the future, if you want to thicken something with flour, mix the flour into some water first until it's smooth. Then add it into the dish. That way the flour won't be chunky.

 

[Pulsepoint129]

Thank you VERY much, everybody, for your responses! Feel free to keep them coming, in the meantime, I'm going to be printing this out and tacking it to my fridge so that I'll have some ideas in mind, as well as some inspiration to get myself motivated to cook.

 

[blackarrow]

Another thing you can do is make regular-sized recipes and freeze a portion for the following week. Cuts the amount of cooking you have to do in half.

 

[blackarrow]

Ridiculously easy three-ingredient Chicken Florentine with Pasta

-Three chicken breast halves (I often buy a bag of the individually quick-frozen chicken breasts which are nice to use here because they tend to be uniform in thickness - if frozen, defrost three in microwave)

-Two boxes of Birds' Eye creamed spinach (I know, you'd think it would be icky but it is fabulous in this recipe)

-One box whole wheat penne pasta

Start the pasta - cook according to package directions. (If pasta is done more than a few minutes before the chicken/spinach, toss with a few tsp. of butter or olive oil to keep pasta from sticking.)
While the pasta is cooking, cook creamed spinach in microwave according to package directions.
Brown chicken breast in a pan in a little butter. Don't keep flipping it over or it will toughen - brown one side lightly, then turn and brown the other side. Remove from pan, cut diagonally across the grain into bite-sized chunks and return to pan. Add spinach and heat through.
Serve over pasta.

 

[BabyBellie]

I haven't used this one myself, but I've heard that the cookbook Help my appartment has a kitchen by Kevin Mills is pretty good. It's geared for people who don't know how to cook so I would assume it has easier directions to follow. They have reviews for it on amazon.

 

[PiggieMamaKelly]

I learned to cook by watching Rachel Ray on the food network. She makes really simple food with fewer ingredients and often has shows aimed at cooking on a budget. I like her because she shows you cooking techniques and gives tips as she goes along. She just makes things look easy. I do realize that many people find her annoying.

The more you cook the more comfortable you will feel doing it. And don't forget, you don't always have to cook 'recipes'. I often just boil some pasta and add jarred spaghetti sauce, make rice and beans, a quick burrito etc.

 

[twiztedlilfae]

You could always cook the whole recipe and then freeze the left overs so that you can have something to eat on one of those nights you don't feel like cooking. I do this with left over spaghetti sauce. I also like cooking up a big meal so I can eat it for a few days or freeze it.

Cooking isn't that hard. I very rarely use the recipes to a T. I play around and experiment with things I like. What's your favorite food? I'd start off doing that. If you can fix your favorite food then you're off to a great start.

I honestly started cooking by using hamburger helper. I was 11 and needed something quick for me and my brother, mom had already thawed the hamburger so all I had to do was follow the instructions. If you can cook from a box by following directions then it's a bit easier to move onto a recipe book.

Sometimes scouring the internet for quick easy recipes is the best way to go. Don't get discourage if you don't do the best at first, it's something that takes time. You didn't jump into doing division before learning how to multiply. So don't jump into learning how to cook with the expectation you're going to be fabulous everytime. Like I said I started at 11, I actually made some bread for a class that was the most horrid concoction I had ever made. It was supposed to be a seasoned flat bread. Needless to say I didn't share it and went to class without anything for the culture fair.

To this day I still have bad experiences with cooking. I've left the cardboard on the bottom of a frozen pizza, I've burnt frozen vegetables, I've put too much seasoning into food, too little, burned stuff to the pan, caught the stove on fire, caught the frying pan on fire along with the contents, I've undercooked food, overcooked food, I've baked stuff before and checked on it only to have the cake fall on me and realize that the middle wasn't done, even though it should've been done.

So don't get discouraged, if I haven't given up yet and I've truly made some bad decisions with cooking, then you shouldn't either. It'll get easier once you get used to it. If all else fails frozen dinners are an option.

 

[GizzyandMe]

P.S--Also: The question may sound stupid, but I beg to ask it anyway--how can I get myself more excited and eager to cook?

I love cooking and I get overly excited about it all the time. So the best I can do is give you advice I have given to other friends who now even surprise me with their passion and experimentation in the kitchen!

You live with your boyfriend right? Well make it a FUN event! What is more boring than doing something you do not want to do. Invite him into the kitchen with you and make it an EVENT not a CHORE! Get him to think up the drink for the night to complement the meat you make (who cares if it goes against tradition!) Have him have a say in it! Start off with some easy like Spaghetti bolognaise!

Do not follow a recipe - get the basics out:
1 Take a Pot - fill with water a bit of salt and a dash of oil and throw your spaghetti in it
2 Grab a big pan and some mince meat (hamburger meat?) some onions, green peppers (if your piggies allow you to share) and then whatever other veg you guys can think of - you never know how good something will taste till you try it.
3 Fry everything in a bit of olive oil in the big pan and then each decide on a spice/herb or 2 to add and let it simmer
4 Do you best to figure out when the spaghetti is ready and toss off the water
5 Dish up each plate with the spaghetti and a topping of whatever ended up being in your big pan
6 Cover with garnish! NO BORING PLATES EVER
7 Garnish can be a sprig of parsley with a cherry tomato cut in two and a block of cheese - who cares - make it fun.
8 Take that along with another glass full of whatever boyfriend decided the drink will be - even if it is milk with chocolate sprinkles on top - and go sit together and eat

Trust me Dinner as an EVENT is way more fun - you will do this one maybe 2 evenings before it starts feeling natural and he will love it just as much as you - it is a stress less time to chat about the day while having fun thinking up new things to make.

Get rid of all your recipes - no fantastic meal has ever come from that! O I agree 100% that fantastic DISHES come from them but not a fantastic MEAL!

 

[PiggieMamaKelly]

I've burnt frozen vegetables,

lol I didn't even know this was possible!

 

[distancel]

Lol.
I just live on sandwiches, packet soup and instant noodles. It's way cheaper than cooking 'real' food. And no cooking required.