im a mother of 3 little children and a fiance’ of a good man who also has a daughter from a previous relationship. as i was coming up, i didnt have 2 cook. i was an only child so my mom done everything for me. i didnt hang out in the kitchen alot so i dont know how to cook really. i mean sure, i can fry a hamburger, chicken with a "fry daddy" and i can fix helper meals. a nice lady was kind enough 2 give me recipes 2 follow and i am really wanting 2 use them but i was wanting 2 know what are some main cooking utensils that i would need on a day to day basis for different meals. also i would like 2 know about different spices and condiments, ingredients, etc. due to the fact that no one in the house eats pork products, we will only be cooking like the main foods like hamburger, chicken, steak, etc. not 2 big and not 2 little. i have a pretty nice size family and i want 2 be able 2 do more for them like a woman should and i feel that me cooking more would help a lot. please help me!
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I just remarried 8 years ago to a woman that used her stove as a place to store house plants. She was 42 and had never cooked anything that wasn’t microwavable. It has been a slow process but she can follow a cook book, hmm fair anyway. Cooking is not her cup of tea but she does make some tasty meals once and a while.
You sound like you may be a little more motivated to be a good cook. The main thing is to care. If you care about how the food is going to taste and how healthy (or not healthy) it is, you have the main ingrediant for a good cook.
Recipes are great but developing your own style is an important part of cooking. Don’t be afraid to change things around a little bit, soon you will be creating your own recipes.
Measuring cups and spoons are very important for recipe followers. Understanding how to double and half and the pints in a quart etc.. conversions are important. A good set of mixing bowls and several in the 3 quart to a gallon size. Wire wisp, graters, peelers, sharp knives, spatulas (metal and plastic), mixing spoons (metal, plastic and wooden), cast iron frying pan, potato masher, stove top or electric griddle, electric hand mixer, blender, several sizes of strainers, rolling pin, steamer basket with a pot that it fits in, knife steel (use on knives just before every use), meat thermometer, tenderizer hammer, several cutting boards, serving bowls and platters, cookie sheet, pizza pan, loaf pans (for meat loaf and bread), cake pans, muffin pans, and the list can go on and on… As you follow recipes and you find yourself without what they tell you to use you will find more things that you need. Most people DO NOT use a food processor, if you don’t have one and think you need one just hit a few yard sales and you will find a nice selection of never used ones at a tenth of the new price. In fact that is a good way to see the things you don’t need, all the never used gadgets at the yard sales. (good place to find un-used exercise equipment too)
Hamburger helper meals are really simple to make from scratch, They are really quite healthy as you add some extra ingredients and omit the garbage. You can put a certain amount of vegetables in chili-mac without the kids complaining. They get some of their veggies in the yummy stuff and then you have fewer of the pure stuff to convince them to eat. You have to watch the amount though, go to far and they reject it. My son can pick a pea out of a gallon of spaghetti and meat sauce. Look at the ingredients on the boxes of hamburger helper and you will see the main items, you don’t need a recipe. There are spices like seasoning salt that have a nice variety of spices that will flavor up most anything. Mrs dash has a lot of good spice mixtures without the salt if you need to cut salt back. Onions and garlic, either in the spice box or fresh, are good in a variety of dishes.
Good cooking takes a long time to master and you will do it as you try new things and get recipes and ideas from friends and family etc.
You do need to watch the "like a woman should" statements. You know men like to cook to and sometimes it could be their job in the house. I am feeling a little stereotyped… I am joking!!!
Some of the main utensils I use on a day to day basis are: spatula, wooden spoons, tongs, ladels, big forks, mixing bowls, baking pans, etc. I think you may want to go to the library or a bookstore and check out or buy a few cookbooks. Once you start cooking, it’s easy to get the hang of it. I have been cooking/baking for nearly 20 years, and I love it. (I didn’t cook much either when I was growing up. My mom was a WONDERFUL cook!) I got a few recipes from her and then I ventured out on my own. You can also watch cooking shows, too. HGTV has a lot of good cooking shows. The internet is also a great place to find recipes. I hope this helps. Good luck to you!
i could answer but i feel that the best thing you should do is to watch some cooking shows on tv and buy some cook books. talk to your girlfriends, your mom or grandma. it seems that it would take too long and be tooo hard to teach some one in one answer. i learned to cook by watching and doing for years as a kid.
Stews and soups are really easy to make, and they feed alot of people. Next time you are at the store, get a beef stew spice packet. It will tell you everything you need to put in the stew, and how to cook it. Get some canned dinner rolls, and pop them in the oven for ten minutes, then serve with soup. Also, get a meatloaf spice packet. This will give you the directions too. If you don’t know how to cook, spice packets are the way to go!
Run out and buy "The Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer. It’s a wonderful cookbook that gives you all of the basics but also has some really fabulous recipes. For a family of 6 you’ll need 1 small and 1 medium sauce pan, 2 large stock/soup pots, 1 medium and 1 large frying pan, 1 nice large roasting pan, a couple of casserole dishes, a good colander, measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoons, spatulas, mixing bowls.
The easiest things for a semi large family (i.e. six) will be soups and stews. So easy! Just put together ingredients per cookbook and let simmer for hours. Also roasts (ham, roast beef, turkey breast, whole chicken) Good luck!
You should have a big pot, at least two smaller pots, and a couple of frying pans. If you don’t have lids, you can use foil. You should have a spatula and slotted spoon. You should also have a casserole dish. You need bowls to mix in. You will probably also want serving spoons and a ladle. You should also get some knives. You should be able to buy pots and pans as a set. Basic cooking utensils as a set, and knives as a set. I would recommend that for you.
I have too many spices. If you are just starting out, I would recommend black pepper, an italian seasoning, and some sort of garlic. Lots of people love Johnny’s seasoning. It can be used on all meats.
A rice cooker is wonderful. You add the right amount of water and rice, flip the switch to cook, and it will stop cooking when the rice is ready. It is so easy!
I also like to have teriyaki sauce on hand – just throw your meat in a Ziploc with sauce and let it mariniate over night. You can also experiment with other marinade flavors available at the store. It’s good to have mustard, mayonaise, and ketchup on hand.
You may wish to have Bisquick, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, milk, and eggs on hand.
Packaged muffin mix is not too hard to use. Get a muffin pan and use baking cups – you can spray them with cooking spray.
Yes, you should have some cooking spray and olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
If you have cable and the Food Network is available, try watching some of the cooking shows. They have great tips. Rachel Ray makes pretty simple foods. My favorite website is Allrecipes. People rate the recipes and tell how they made them to suit their tastes better.
You can also look at crockpot recipes. It’s amazing at how simple a great tasting meal can be.
Another tip for you is to make a big meal on an easy day. For me that is during the weekend. If you make a beef roast, then on Monday you can have French dip sandwiches. On Tuesday you can have beef, rice, and brown gravy. On Wednesday you could cook up a stir fry.
Go to your local library and check out some cookbooks. See what works for you. Then you can buy a cookbook at another time.
A favorite magazine of many of my friends is Taste of Home. There are great recipes in there, but you may not be ready for that. They also have a magazine called Simple and Delicious – I’ve never seen it though.