Learning to cook, recipes for simple dishes please!?

Question

I would seriously like to learn to cook, for now, I just know how to make scrambled eggs which is really depressing. Is there any easy and fast food recipes that I could live on? I want to learn how to cook good and healthy foods but in a short amount of time.

Recipes with rice, pasta/noodles, chicken, (everything else thats easy to make) would be very helpful. I want to learn simple things first...but still, thanks in advance!

Answer 1

My favorite dish is non-breaded chicken cordon blue. All you do is buy boneless skinless chicken breast, a block of swiss cheese, garlic pepper, tooth picks and very thin sliced ham or beef (not corn beef or brisket) from the deli.
Preheat your oven 355.
Lay the breast face down then lay the ham or beef in the middle of the breast. Put a chunk of the swiss 1/2" slice long ways cross the ham or beef. Roll the thinner section of the breast up to the thicker section. Put a tooth pick in to hold them together.
Spray a oven pan with cooking spray, place the rolled breast with the picks down in the pan. Season with garlic pepper and place in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Make your favorite veggies to go with it.

Answer 2

Brownie points to you for wanting to cook properly and look after yourself - good tactic when you have lots of hungry friends or can attract other admirers. Advice - 1. Cook very slowly then you have time to rescue near disasters. 2 Prepare everything in advance this includes all shopping 3. For gawd's sake don't buy anything ready, it is not good for you and tastes bloody awful.

Stick to something simple like past, rice and potatoe dishes. Rice - rinse 7 times to get rid of the sticky starch, cover the rice with cold water (measure with a finger, i.e. water should reach above the rice by one finger joint - try it it never fails) Bring to the boil, salt, stir once, cover, put on the lowest heat possible in a heavy pan, don't look at it for 20 mins. turn off heat and leave until needed. Works every time. Cooked basmati rice is wonderful and then you can chuck in anthing - cooked chicken, veggies, nuts, fruit, herbs and spices.
You have some good answers but don't try anything complicated to begin with or you will be disappointed. Master the basics. Go to your local library and try Delia, etc. Gary Rhodes is an artist not a cook. Gordon Ramsay is an entertainer not a cook now.

GOOD LUCK this is my favourite hobby ( only to read about now)
so enjoy learning. And don't forget, disasters can be a laugh!! xx

Answer 3

This is an easy one, and great as you can change it as you get more confident. It serves 1.

CHOW MEIN

1 chicken breast
1 clove of garlic
A selection of veggies - onion, red and green peppers, mushrooms. As much as you want to eat.
1 block of medium egg noodles
Tablepoon of sunflower oil

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
Half teaspoon of chinese five spice mix (find it with the herbs and spices in the supermarket)

Put on a saucepan of water on a high heat to come to the boil.
In the meantime...
Mix the ingredients for the sauce together.
Cut the chicken into chunks.
Peel and finely slice the garlic.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Test if it's ready to cook by putting in a small piece of garlic - if it starts to sizzle then it's ready.
Add the garlic to the pan and cook until colden.
Add the chicken, turn the pieces regularly until it starts to turn golden as well.
By this time the water in the saucepan should be boiling.
Add the noodles and boil for 3 minutes.
During this time, add the veggies to the frying pan and mix with the chicken and garlic.
When the noodles are done, drain them in a sieve or colander.
Add them to the the saucepan, pour over the sauce and mix.
Warm until the sauce bubbles, then tip onto a plate and eat... Mmm, yummy.

Change the recipe by adding ginger, lemon juice, or fish sauce - experiment! Sometimes you won't like what you cook but it all helps you learn what goes together and how.

Answer 4

This is a simple, quick to prepare, sure-fire winner. Buy some cherry tomatoes. Wash and put in an oven-proof dish. Add some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper and sugar. Then place in oven at 180C for about 45 mins. About 5 minutes from end place some FRESH pasta, available from your local supermarket, in lots of boiling water, with a little salt and olive oil added. Boil pasta for 3-4 minutes and drain. Then place in a large, warmed dish and empty tomatoes. Serve with some fresh, French bread. Lovely.

Answer 5

its nice to know that there are girls out there who 'want to learn' how to cook !! welcome !!

i would suggest you buy a few cookery books - but nothing heavy or complicated - the simple ones.

start with pasta dishes - boil the pasta (as per instructions on the packet) and try different pasta sauces with it. always keep basic ingredients in the house.

i cook regularly and enjoy every bit of it, and I'm sure when you get into cooking - you will love it too !!

I am into Indian cooking and can give you recipes for some great veggie Indian meals, if you're interested, add a comment.

Answer 6

Salsa Chicken
Chicken Tenders
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup Salsa

Mix the mayonnaise and salsa together. Place the chicken in a zip lock baggie and add enough mayo/salsa mixture to cover. Marinate at least 30 minutes. Grill while basting with the left over marinade (or make more if necessary). The chicken is really tender and juicy and has a great flavor to it. It's also low in carbs. You will need to adjust the ingredients depending on how may people you are feeding.

Answer 7

OK, this is really easy so bear with me.

Get pork chops (one or two per person). Bash them up a bit so they're about half as thick and cut off the thick rind. Beat an egg and mix it with a teaspoon of mustard and some oregano on a plate. On another plate put some breadcrumbs (you can buy them) and some parmesan cheese. Then, dip each chop in the egg (both sides) and then the breadcrumbs and let them dry for a minute. Then fry for 5 minutes each side until golden brown and serve with salad, new potatoes, rice, pasta, whatever. Yum! (Plus, they look really impressive but are so easy and are good for you too).

Answer 8

Make Over 200 Juicy, Mouth-Watering Paleo Recipes You've NEVER Seen or Tasted Before?

Answer 9

Quick Ratatouille:

2 Large Courgettes
Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Large Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, chopped

Slice the courgettes
Shallow fry them turning them over when brown
When 2nd side brown, add to mates onion and garlic.
Allow to simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes.

Can be served hot or cold with almost any main course.

Answer 10

build on what you know!

turn scrambled eggs into an omelet, then just keep experimenting by adding things like ham, peppers, sweetcorn etc etc.

another good way to survive is to make big dishes that you can freeze (like stew or spag bol).

stew is a good one 'cause you can't go too far wrong and it's easy to re-heat (and actually tastes better the second time!) and it's just a load of veg boiled in a stock (buy the cubes, they are fine), add some meat and simmer for a couple of hours. serve with some nice bread. try this:

you need (for 2-4 generous servings)-

500g fresh meat, whatever you want but I find lamb is best
3-4 carrots
3-4 potatoes (maris piper or king edward)
1 medium onion
1 leek
2-3 parsnips
1 small swede
butter
olive oil for frying (or a groundnut oil as this goes to a higher temprature)
stock cubes - around 3-4 veg and mabye 1-2 meat ones
some nice fresh herbs (basil, flat leaf parsley, chives)
2-3 tablespoons of gravy granules
bread (to serve)
wine (to drink and chuck a glass or two into the stew if you fancy)
a damm big thing to cook it in (a very large saucepan or stock pan, as big as you can fit on your stove, means you can cook more to freeze)

to do the deed-

prep all the veg, chop everything into roughly the same size bits - makes it easier to serve and eat.
wash the veg and set it aside to drain
in a large jug, add the stock cubes and gravy granules to some boiling water, stir until everthing has dissolved
in the aforementioned damm big thing, add some oil and heat gently (medium heat)
add a knob of butter to the pan and turn up the heat
add the meat quickly but not all at once - a little every second to allow the pan to retain the heat
brown the meat for about 3-5 minutes
set aside
add the veg and add enough water to cover
add the contents of the jug with the stock in
bring back to the boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer
roughly chop a good handful of the herbs and set aside half, add the other half to the pan
drink some wine, add some to the stew if you fancy (white is best for this)
stir the stew every so often, usually for around 1 1/2 -2 hours
make sure you taste it!!
add salt and pepper at the end, to taste
the starch from the potatoes and parsnips should natually thicken the stew to a good consistency, still a liquid but just before a think soup stage - it's up to you really
chuck the bread in the oven for about 5 mins on 160 to warm
add a knob of butter and the rest of the fresh herbs to the stew and stir

serve and enjoy!






as you have the 'net, there are loads of resources - ask Jeeves or Google.

Answer 11

Pasta w/ Chicken Pesto and Walnuts
12oz box pasta, bow tie shape
one 10oz can chicken drained (or use one boiled boneless chicken breast chopped up)
one 8-10 oz jar prepared pesto (either by the spaghetti sauce in the grocery aisle or use the refridgerated kind)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cook pasta according to box directions. Put chicken in a bowl and separate with forks into bite-sized pieces, add warm pasta to bowl, top with pesto sauce and toss to coat. Sprinke in walnuts and toss again.
Serve with some toasted garlic bread and you are done.
This looks like you worked really hard, but it is super easy!!
Hope you enjoy it...also check out allrecipes.com
it is an awesome website with lots and lots of great recipes.