Learning to cook,what's the best way?

Answer 1

Congratulation, good for you!

In today's world, cooking is as easy as eating pie. But before we go into cooking, here are some REALLY quick ways to feed yourself with "pre-cooked meats".
Smithfield, Hormel, Armour have packages of PRE-COOKED beef tips, roast, pot roast, pork roast, chicken, ham, meatload. Use this for your meat dish with a side dish or two of vegetables, rice, or potatoes. You will find these packages near the meat section, they are not frozen. Read the directions on the packages as to how to heat.

Tyson's fully cooked whole chickens are delicious. I serve them often with S&W canned sweet potatoes, Stove-Top dressing, microwave chicken/turkey gravy, a vegetable, cranberry sauce, and Pillsbury Microwave Biscuits which are better than I can make. A frozen pie defrosted and fully cooked. Perfect for one or two people at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Read the directions on the package to see how to heat.
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You can buy a roasted chicken at your supermarket's deli section. They also have all types of salads and vegetables already cooked. Some have roast beef already cook. Just heat and heat or may sandwiches out of it.

Two things you need to buy for yourself:
A Crock Pot and a Microwave. Both are very inexpensive if you buy from WalMart, Target, K-Mart, etc. or on the internet. You can even buy a crock pot at your supermarket and some might have microwaves too.

Crock pot cooking:
Put the meat and vegetables/potatoes into the pot early in the morning and cook on low all day long. It will be ready for you by dinner time. BE SURE TO READ THE BOOKLET THAT COMES WITH THE POT.

Microwave cooking:
Only takes seconds or a minute or two for cooking or heating frozen dinners.
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Crock Pot recipes:

Beef Recipes in Crock Pot (see other types of meats at the very bottom of this link):
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/beef-crock-pot-recipes/index.htm
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Chicken Recipes in Crock Pot:
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/chicken-crock-pot-recipes/index.htm
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Scroll way down this link for more chicken recipes:
http://www.worldfamousrecipes.com/crock-pot-recipes.html
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http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm
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http://www.anniesrecipes.com/Kitchen/crockpot.htm
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Microwave suggestions:
Go to your supermarket and check out the frozen food section. Take a look at Stouffer's, Marie Calendar's, Boston Market's, Michael Angelo's, Swanson's.....frozen dinners. All are delicious and you just pop into the microwave to cook for a minute or two. Read the directions on the containers. Do not over cook or food will be dry. OR make your own frozen dinners to eat later.
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Microwave cooking from scratch:

1. Savory Pork Chops:
2 or 4 medium pork chops
1 can (10 oz) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Trim fat, arrange in baking dish in one layer, spread soup over top, cover with microwave cling wrap or a lid, and microwave about 18 minutes or until tender.
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2. Pork Chop and Apple Roast:
2 or 4 pork chops trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tart apples, cored
1 large onion
Blend sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmed. Coat chops thoroughly. Stand them upright in a glass loaf pan. Cut apples into slices and the onion into slices. Place one of each between the chops, and the extra apple slices at each end. Cover, microwave 14 to 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
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3. Saucy Chicken (one of our favorites.....can't stop eating it!)
2-1/2 to 3 lb. frying chicken, cut up
1 can (10 oz) golden mushroom soup, or cream of mushroom soup
If you all like mushrooms, you can add 1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, drained to the soup
1 tsp. salt
Arrange chicken skin side up in baking dish. Place the largest pieces toward the outside. Spoon soup over chicken, cover, microwave about 25 minutes. Turn dish occasionally.
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4. Meat Loaf
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
1/2 pkg. dry onion soup mix (found in a small package usually in the soup section)
1/2 cup V-8 or tomato juice
salt, pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder if you wish
6 soda crackers, crushed
Combine all ingredients. Then press mixture into a loaf pan. Cover, microwave 18 minutes, turning 1/4 turn every five minutes. After ten minutes drain excess juices. If desired, spread catsup over top the last five minutes. Let stand five minutes before serving.
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5. Ground Beef Stroganoff:
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped (you can buy pre chopped onions in a package in the frozen section.....see, I told you I don't like to cook.....ha, ha, ha!)
1 can (10 oz) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms WITH the juice
1/2 tsp. instant beef bouillon (if you have it)
1 cup (1/2 pt) sour cream or sour half & half (you can now get sour cream in a can!!! Keeps on the kitchen shelf for a long time)
Crumble beef into a 1-1/2 quart casserole. Add onion. Microwave uncovered about 6 minutes (remember this is for a 700w oven). Draim off as much fat as possible. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well, cover, microwave 7 minutes until heated through. Can be serve over rice, or noodles, or toast.

Answer 2

The best way is to just get into the kitchen and start cooking with ingredients you love! There are a lot of good food websites - my favorites are these:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/
http://www.epicurious.com/
And get yourself a good, basic cookbook like Better Homes and Gardens, or Betty Crocker, or The Joy of Cooking.
But the only real way is to start making some simple dishes, and realize that you will make some mistakes - you can't truly learn though if you aren't even trying! lol!
Watching cooking shows can be inspiring too, so if you have some time, try checking a few of them out!
Best Wishes!

Answer 3

What has worked for me in the are those introductory cook books. They kind of introduce you to basic principles and get you used to reading recipes. Then if you have a friend that cooks really well, ask them to make a few dishes with you until you get the hang of it. As a friend once told me, if you can read you can cook. Also, find a good cook book that has recipes you like and cook a new thing each week. It really isn't as hard as it may seem.

Answer 4

Get yourself a good cookbook that has easy to follow instructions and pictures - some good ones to begin with are Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, Better Homes and Garden's New Cook Book and Pillsbury's Cookbook. The recipes are good home-style cooking, do not use fancy techniques and they have sections on cooking basics - explaining terms, measurements, etc. Once you begin to master the basics, you can begin to experiment with seasonings and other things and then branch out to the fancier cookbooks.

Answer 5

Buy the basic Betty Crocker Cookbook and cook from the recipes in it. Just start and go from there. The more you cook the better you will become. You will make mistakes. I have been cooking for 35 plus years and I still do. But you know what it's fun to laugh with others and just go on and try again!

nfd♥

Answer 6

If you want to become a chef, i would recommend going to a cooking school such as Le Cordon Bleu, or the Culinary Institute of America. If you wish to merely learn the basics of cooking, i recommend watching the Food Network, and also reading cookbooks, such as. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman, that is an excellent cookbook, if you wish to learn vegetarian cooking.
Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook) by Rachael Ray, this book is a good general purpose cookbook, and the recipes are simple and easy.
Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Giada De Laurentiis, if you wish to cook italian food, this is one of the best books you can buy.
If you want more recommendations, eMail me.

Answer 7

I find that watching cooking shows on tv is a good way to learn the tricks of the trade.

Also, check to see if your local hospital, community education center, etc. have some cooking classes. Our hospital will have classes like "heart healthy" or "cooking with whole grains." Also check the community college in your area if you want to seriously get into cooking.

The other thing you can do is ask a friend who cooks a lot to give you some lessons or pointers. It is a fun thing to do together: make dinner and then share it while you watch a movie. This is actually how I got to know my friend, who is now my husband.

Answer 8

Watch the cooking shows on TV. I think what you want to do is try to pick up techniques. By that I mean roasting, grilling, braising, baking or frying that sort of thing. I believe having a few techniques down well will enable you to do more with what you have. It's good to have recipes but if you have the techniques you can cook anything.

Answer 9

Always start the cooking on a low fire and get use to it.Use a recipe and proof read it.Measure exactly no guessing.One more,don't be afraid to cook something new.If you like what someone else cooks ask them for their recipe...Be careful and don't get burned....

Answer 10

Watch some of the shows on Food TV. Great source of picking up ideas and tips on how to prepare different dishes. You can also get recipes at their website ranging from easy to difficult. Other than that, just experiment with it. In time you'll see that you can use a recipe as a basic guide, and modify it to your liking as you go. Good luck!

Answer 11

Hands on experiance is the best way. Get yourself a job in a local resteraunt as a cook or dish washer or some other job. keep pestering the chef to let you help even if you have to do it off the clock. You will learn more than you ever amagined.