Im a horrible cook - HELP!

I would suggest starting off with basic, no-fail (but healthy) recipes like:

Breakfast: omelet, egg casserole, breakfast wraps
Lunch: homemade chicken salad, grilled chicken, leftovers
Dinner: Chili, spaghetti, biscuits, grilled chicken wraps, pizza, lasagna
Snacks: veggie pizza, fruit salad, blueberry muffins, healthy apple pie


Don't start off too difficult, and only make things that you know you'll eat. Also, don't start making substitutions until after you have mastered a recipe.

If you would like help or recipes for anything listed above, or anything that you want to make, just let me know. I love cooking

I suggest two websites as well: hungry-girl.com and allrecipes.com

A really easy recipe and is delicious and healthy is Salmon Cakes. All you need is to mix bread crumbs, a can of salmon, some spices, green onion and eggs. Moosh them in a bowl with your hands into patties. And fry them in a no fat cookie spray or oil and voila! Easy and delicious!!

This is one of my favourites right now

Ok.. I knew there was a reason for us to meet.. I love to cook. You can ask me anything.. You need to visit allrecipe.com. They have thousands of recipes with detailed instructions that have advanced search engines.. Like you can search by name, or ingredients you have on hand. As well as by user ranking.. I use it all the time... I have to say that im in to grilling veggies these days. Love grilled squash, or green tomatoes.. Good luck...

When I got married almost 15 years ago I could make sauce from scratch. That was it. I really sucked. I learned watching the food network...No lie. But they did not have a whole lotta healthy on the food network back then Sooo with that said I am the best cook I know. However if you eat here u gain weight from the smell alone

I guess I am telling you this to let you know your at an advatage...Dont look at this like its a disadvatage cause its not! Your going to learn how to cook healthy thats heads above anyone I know!!! Its heads above me!

If I were you I would look at the food you like. Start there with say your favorite soup. There are a TON of websites that offer up some really good recipes! Hungrygirl is one of them, allrecipes is another I use. Then if there is anything your not sure on how to do google it or youtube it. Theres almost always something on youtube...I once found a link for someone on youtube on how to seperate an egg...The info is there dont be afraid to access it and attempt it!

Last thing I am going to tell ya is that there will be plenty of times u mess it up and burn it lol. Thats ok Keep on trying! You will get the hang of it! :flowerforyou:

I started cooking following recipes out of Glamour and Cosmo. They're usually pretty simple and healthy.

start easy. crock pot cooking is awesome when planning ahead. Stick with recipes under 5 ingredients. A favorite here is chicken and peppers. A healthy version of philly cheese steaks. As for pizza, you can't go wrong with making pita pocket pizza. It gives the pizza love without lasting to the hips for a lifetime. I was a horrible cook when I started this. With motivation, you can do it. Spark People recipe site is a great place to start. Real foods that are healthier. Half of all meals cook come from spark recipes. Soups, soups, soups Make a double portion so you can cook once and eat twice. You can do it lady

I think if you're able to follow a recipe exactly, you should be able to cook! Maybe look up some beginner recipes online, or buy some cook books. They give you the exact measurements you need for everything and tell you how long to cook it, etc. As long as you have measuring cups, can read, and have the right ingredients, it shouldn't be a problem!

My first attempt at making gravy in my 20's for my hubby was a disaster. It was a big ball of flour in the skillet. I was mortified.

I love to cook, and I would be happy to share recipes and help you learn how to cook. PM me or friend me if you'd like some yummy easy recipes.

Alicia

Here's a pretty easy recipe to make.

Pork Tenderloin Recipe For Healthy Cooking
Ingredients:

Pork Loin (approximately 2 lbs)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 cup celery
1 medium onion
1 chicken bouillon cube
3/4 cup water
2 TBSP flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 TBSP soy sauce


Brown the meat in the butter. (This just gives the meat a pretty color. I usually do this and dump everything else in the crockpot, but I'll write it as my recipe actually reads) Add mushrooms, celery, onions to skillet. Crush chicken bouillon and water, stir untill dissolved. Stir into flour, salt, pepper, blend until smooth. Add to vegetables and cook until thickened. Stir in soy sauce. Pour veggie/sauce mixture over meat. Cook in oven at 325 for 1 1/2 hours or on low in crock pot all day. The gravy is good with mashed potatoes or rice.

When I brown the meat, I don't slice the pork tenderloin, I cook it in the roast form and just keep turning it till it's a nice brownish color. sometimes I don't even brown the meat, I just dump everything into the crockpot.

Crock pot recips are an easy way "cook". If you can thrown ingredients in a crock pot, stir it up, then you pretty much got it in the bag. It's cooking without actually cooking. I also suggest checking out some cookbooks that say specifically that they are easy and require only a few ingredients.

I agree. This is the best way to get started without burning your food to a crisp.
One thing to remember about cooking from scratch. Turning up the heat does not make the food cook any faster.

Le Cordon Bleu graduate with 20+ years experience in a the kitchen.

HAHAHAH i love that - turning up the heat comment!! good one!

and if i could marry my crockpot i would.

Hi Emmaleigh! I can totally relate! I'm 43 and my only real accomplishment in the kitchen is an omelette. I started the year by setting a goal of making one new thing in the kitchen each week. Mostly I focus on a new ingredient which makes it more interesting for me. I chose chipotles one week and then looked for recipes to use them in. I just typed "chipotle recipe" in google and a thousand sites came up. Since I'm a newbie, I tend to stick with the ones that have fewer ingredients (not as overwhelming) and I make something so that I can take it to work for a few days or freeze a good portion of it. It is all so giddy new to me that I find it fun! Just give it a go and see what you like. As Julia Childs says, BE FEARLESS and above all, HAVE FUN!!

I have found alot of use out of my search bar when I don't know what to do with food, how to cook, chop or tell if it is good. I just type in "how to chop peppers" and there is usually an ehow.com article or video that will give you complete instructions on that type of food. The other day I wanted to cook asparagus for my family for the first time, but I did not know the first thing about it. So I just typed in "how to tell if asparagus is good" and "how to cook asparagus" My 3 year old, 7 year old and husband all loved it.
I also have a good crook pot recipe book called "Fix it and Forget It Cookbook". It has a ton of simple recipes that are simple and a few that are fancy. I use my "Taste of Home" cookbook for fancy stuff and allrecipes.com most of the time. Trial and error is the best way to learn. I sometimes forget which way I liked things best so write down what you get right so you can do it again. Feel free to add me as a friend.

Go to your library and ask if they have any back issues of Taste of Home's "Light & Tasty" magazine. All their recipes include the nutritional information. So before you make the recipe, you'll know the Calories, Carbs, Sodium, etc..... Taste of Home also has a website with tons of recipes & info. Good luck!!

I can cook about anything with a recipe, but being a single guy, it's just a lot of trouble. I don't like to spend time cooking or doing dishes, so I keep it simple.
Crock Pot meals are easy as others have already mentioned.

If you like vegitables, it's pretty easy to steam or microwave fresh vegetabels. For me there is no substitute for FRESH vegitables.

My usual dinner is some variation of this 1 skillet dinner... I use a large non-stick skillet and prepare all of the following in it, I sometimes use a tablespoon of olive oil, but not usually.

You say you don't know how to cook, so I am giving instuctions below as if you do not know anything....

Meat - Boneless / skinless Chicken Breast or Pork Loin chop. (one typical boneless skinliess chicken breast will give about 6 oz of cooked meet - enough for two 3oz servings.) Could also use whole peeted shrimp.
Slice chicken breast of pork loin chop into thin (1/4 or so) slices.
Using FRESH vegitables.... I use some combination of the following: Usually use two or three of the following: (of course you should rinse all vegitables before use)

Brussel sprouts, (cut the hard end off and discart the outer layer of leaves)
broccilli, (cut the crowns off and use them seperatly, also can slice the stem into 1/2 inch or so slice.)
snap beans. (green beans) Cut both ends off, and cut the remiander in halve or not.
Colliflower (cut off and use the crowns, you can probably also slice up the stem, but I don't)
carrots, Cut or slice to desire length.
yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2 in slices then cut in halve.
egg plant. Cut into 1 inch or so cubes.

Usually use the following every time.
de-seeded bell pepper (red or green) Simply cut around the stem and pull it out, cut pepper in halve top to bottom, trim away the white fleshy part. Slice the remaing into 1/2 inch or so wide parts.
mushrooms - whole mushrooms cut in halve or can buy already sliced.
1/2 sweet potato. - wrap whole medium size sweet potato in paper towel - microwave on high 6 minutes, turning over at 3 minutes. Let it set for 3 minutes. 1 sweet potato make 2 servings for me.

Prep whatever vegitables that I choose for the meal. (see notes above for prep)
Heat skillet on medium high. brown chicken or pork for a minute or two on both sides.
Lower temp to midium.
Add a tablespoon or two of cooking wine. Soy sauce will also work, but it's high in sodium.
Throw any dense vegetables into the skillet. (brussel sprouts, carrots, califlower)
Hit start on the microwave to start the sweet potato cooking.
After 3 minutes - turn the sweet potato over.
Throw the rest of the vegitables into skillet, and stir around. If cooking yellow summer squash don't put it in yet.
I usually only season with a little course ground black pepper.
Every minute or two stir the contents of the skillet around.
When the sweet potato is finished at 6 minutes total, add the yellow summer squash to the skillet.
Let the sweet potato set for 3 minutes while the skillet finishes cooking.

I normally allow 4 oz (uncooked) of each vegitable per person.

I sometimes substitute brown rice or a regular bake potato for the sweet potato.
Be warned if you use canned or frozen vegitables it is rather blend tasting. I stop AT the grogery store every couple of days to buy fresh vegitables. A local farmers market would be better, or during season from a home garden.
This takes about 20 minutes total to prep and cook.

Because I eat this most days for dinner, I cut whatever meet / vegitables I buy and store in plastic bags in the refriderater for a couple days. When I get home from work, it is very quick and easy to throw a healthy meal togather in less time then it use to take me to run the fast food resturant.

Yes, allrecipes.com is a great site!! I love it and have found some things that are now my signature dishes. People think I am a great cook because of recipes I found on there! But I have also started to cook more healthy. I just get some veggies, put them on a pan with a little olive oil and garlic salt and bake or broil them. I do the same with chicken and fish (or saute it on the stove with a little olive oil and seasoning- I love Lawrey's seasoning salt) and some rice. Its easy, delicious and healthy! If your mom was a good cook, you have it in you too, you just start doing it and it will build your confidence. Every time you make a meal and someone likes it, you are one step closer to being a great cook. But remember, we all experiment and we all fail from time to time, so if a meal comes out un-edible every now and then, its ok, just don't do the same meal again!!