recipes for a novice in the kitchen

[womet]

H and I visited SD this past weekend. Her mom is in the middle of a divorce. Since her budget just got a lot tighter, she is having to eat at home more instead of going out to eat. Well the problem is that she has little to no experience in the kitchen and doesn't know where to begin. I told her that I would be happy to compile some easy recipes for her that she and SD can make together. Help me put together some recipes to give her. Or easy dinner ideas that a novice in the kitchen can handle. Thanks!

[Deleted]

I would start at 5dollardinners.com, focusing especially on the crockpot meals.
www.5dollardinners.com/recipes/#slow-cooker

ETA: A lot of her crockpot meals are basically "take this piece of meat, add pre-packaged seasonings and liquid, cook for x hours"

It would be easy to pair a roast or whole chicken with baked potatoes or sweet potatoes (I always start in the microwave then crisp the skin in the oven) or rice - steam in bag microwavable is super easy - and a veggie or salad. Plus it would allow for leftovers.

[Deleted]

I'd really recommend the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's the red plaid one. It has very clear, step-by-step directions, with pictures.

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[Deleted]

Any sort of pasta + doctored up jarred sauce.

Eat as is or mix with ricotta, put in a casserole, add mozz cheese to the top and you have baked ziti.

[pierogigirl]

I would ditto the crockpot.

It's actually really easy to roast a chicken and then make soup from the leftovers (I don't have a recipe, but I usually put onion, carrot, and celery in the cavity, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Bell's, and roast at 350. Pair that with rice, potatoes, or stuffing and a veggie. For soup, if you don't want to boil the carcass, pick off the leftover meat, add carrot, celery, onion, low sodium chicken stock, a starch, and season to taste (salt, onion powder, a little sage or Bell's poultry seasoning). Simmer until veggies are tender.

[womet]

Thanks @mrsspunky, I'll check out the website and pick a few to get them started.
@ruralrabbit1, that's a good idea too. I might wait a bit on that, since I think it might intimidate her with all of the recipes.

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2013 13:39:49 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

I'd really recommend the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's the red plaid one. It has very clear, step-by-step directions, with pictures.

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This was one of my first cookbooks and I agree, it's a good book. It walks you through pretty much every cooking technique a novice needs and had recipes for pretty much every basic dish. I think there's an entire section on quick meals too.

[Deleted]

One semester, my roommates and I had only one cookbook: 1000 Beginners' Recipes. We ate dinner at home nearly every night, and I'd say we ate better than 98.473% of college students. I would ignore the one star rating on Amazon; it's highly rated on Amazon UK, where I think the bulk of its buyers live.

[Deleted]

My favorite easy meal of all time is probably salsa chicken. Outside of trimming the chicken, I can have a meal on the table in under 20 minutes.

I sprinkle chicken breasts with Goya adobo seasoning and cook in a skillet until they are cooked throughout, then throw on a jar of salsa and cook for a few more minutes. You could also just throw everything into the crock pot.

[womet]

These are great ideas. Keep them coming!

[winnied]

What about Pioneer Woman? I think her recipes, while not as cheap as a lot of crock pot meals, are easy to make and follow. More seasoned (haha, I'm so punny) cooks hate how many pictures she takes, but I found it helpful when I first got started.

[ddi741]

This is a Weight Watcher's recipe but it's really easy.

Serves 4
2 cups Shredded Cooked Chicken Breasts. (S&P chicken breasts, bake in oven @ 375, then shred with 2 forks)
1/4 cup bbq sauce 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
4 Hamburger Buns
Combine Chicken, BBQ Sauce and Chili powder in sauce pan and heat to serving temperature. Spoon into Hamburger Buns.
7 Points Plus per serving. 273 calories 8g Fat 2g Sat Fat 24g Carb 1g Fiber 25g Protein

[ddi741]

Food & Family Magazine is great with easy recipes. It comes quarterly.

[womet]

Apr 3, 2013 13:55:00 GMT -5 winnied said:

What about Pioneer Woman? I think her recipes, while not as cheap as a lot of crock pot meals, are easy to make and follow. More seasoned (haha, I'm so punny) cooks hate how many pictures she takes, but I found it helpful when I first got started.

I'll look over her site to see if there are any easy recipes I can pull for SD's mom. I agree that the pictures are really helpful.

[Deleted]

I don't know if they have these where your SD's mom lives but these make a great easy meal too:
www.alfrescoallnatural.com/FlavorDetails.aspx?ID=9679&nav=mp3

They are fully cooked so I just warm them and add a small can of crushed pineapple to the skillet along with a few tablespoons of soy or teriyaki sauce and wait for the juice to thicken. Then I put over steamed broccoli, but you could just as easily do rice. It is like an instant stir-fry.

[womet]

Apr 3, 2013 14:02:31 GMT -5 swizz said:

Quesadillas are super easy.

I just get the prepackaged "southwestern" chicken (this stuff seems to always be on sale), with some cheese between two flour tortillas. You can dip it in pre-made guacamole, salsa, or sour cream.

{I've responded to this post 3 times now, hopefully this one will work.}
This is an easy recipe and I think that using rotisserie chicken would make it even easier and something SD can make for herself before tae kwon do practice.

[womet]

Apr 3, 2013 14:06:12 GMT -5 @mrsspunky said:

I don't know if they have these where your SD's mom lives but these make a great easy meal too:
www.alfrescoallnatural.com/FlavorDetails.aspx?ID=9679&nav=mp3

They are fully cooked so I just warm them and add a small can of crushed pineapple to the skillet along with a few tablespoons of soy or teriyaki sauce and wait for the juice to thicken. Then I put over steamed broccoli, but you could just as easily do rice. It is like an instant stir-fry.

These look great! They sell them near their house, so I can mention these to her. And that sounds like an easy and very healthy dinner. (Suddenly, I'm getting hungry myself.)

[mbcdefg]

Ditto @vicmo, a meat thermometer is a really useful tool and takes out a lot of guesswork/fear. Mine was $20 on Amazon.

Easy crockpot meals:
* Cranberry pot roast: beef roast + can of whole berry cranberry sauce + splash of soy sauce. Plus chopped potatoes and carrots/onions.
* Chicken tacos: chicken breasts + packet of "try with chicken" taco seasoning.
* Pulled pork: pork shoulder/butt + can of root beer or Coke. Shred and mix with BBQ sauce.
* Chicken thighs with wine and mushrooms: iwasborntocook.com/back-to-school/ (bone-in chicken thighs are a very cheap meat - I can get 12 thighs for around $3-4, usually, which is enough for three meals and leftovers for the two of us)
* Short ribs: package of short ribs + diced carrot, celery, onion + salt and pepper + bottle of Guinness. I've got this cooking for tonight's dinner (normally I braise it on the stovetop, either with the Guinness or red wine).

Easy stovetop/oven meals:
* Roasted chicken: whole chicken + butter, salt, pepper, garlic on/under the skin + aromatics in the cavity. Pour a little canned chicken broth in the pan, and then when the roast is finished pour in the rest of the broth and stir (add a little flour) until you have gravy.
* Chicken broth: Chicken carcass in the crockpot, add garlic and celery/onions/carrots (I save the end scraps in a freezer bag when I chop them for something else, and use the scraps for stock). Small splash of vinegar, handful of kosher salt, handful of black peppercorns, add water to cover. 4 hours high or 8 hours low. Use the broth in other recipes, or add the chicken meat plus diced vegetables and rice/noodles for soup.
* London broil: London Broil cut of beef on a broiler-safe pan, salt and pepper, drizzle with Worcestershire sauce. Broil on one side for maybe 7 minutes, flip (S&P and Worcestershire again) and broil for 7 more minutes. That's for medium-rare.
* Chicken breasts: bone-in chicken breasts, add salt and pepper, brush with a little butter. Broil for maybe 10 minutes total.
* Penne vodka: Boil a pot of water, once it boils add salt, then add a package of penne pasta. Meanwhile, in a pan, saute some diced onion, then add minced garlic, then add a splash of vodka (be careful!). Add a can of tomato sauce and stir to combine, let it simmer, then add some half and half/cream. Salt and pepper to taste. If you make a big batch of sauce, freeze some of it for the future.
* Chili: I loosely follow this recipe. Chili is great because you can modify it without affecting it too much. I always make this cornbread with it. Chili freezes well.


I stock up on the steamer bags of vegetables when my Shop Rite has them on sale for 99 cents:


Favorite cooking blogs:

www.annies-eats.com/
sotastysoyummy.blogspot.com/
iwasborntocook.com/
thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2013 13:39:49 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

I'd really recommend the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's the red plaid one. It has very clear, step-by-step directions, with pictures.

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Yes, this is the best beginner cookbook! DH and I both have copies that we got in college when we were learning to cook.

[womet]

Thanks mbcdefg, these are all wonderful. I also stock up on frozen veggies at the store, so I'll be sure to mention those to her. I also really like the SteamFresh rice when I'm in a pinch and want rice.

[jenn248]

In college a friend gave me the Starving Students' Cookbook - in addition to being inexpensive, most of the recipes are easy and require very few pots/dishes.
www.amazon.com/Starving-Students-Cookbook-Dede-Hall/dp/0446679615

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2013 13:39:49 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

I'd really recommend the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's the red plaid one. It has very clear, step-by-step directions, with pictures.

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Agree. It has good basic recipes for everything and instructions for how to do things like bake potatoes, how long to bake a roast by weight, etc.

I love to cut up a package of smoked sausage toss it in a skillet with half a bag of frozen broccoli and serve over a carb with some parmasean and/or red pepper flakes on top.

[DarcyLongfellow]

I think baked chicken is the absolute easiest thing to make. I just take boneless skinless chicken breasts (you can even cook those individually quick frozen breasts while they're still frozen) and season them, then bake at 350 until done -- anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how thick they are. For seasoning, you can either marinate them in something (wine, a prepackaged marinade) or just sprinkle them with seasonings. Yesterday I used a bit of red wine, a dash of Worchester sauce, a bit of olive oil, poultry seasoning, oregano, thyme, and greek seasoning (Cavender's brand).

You do the same thing with chicken with the skin/bone, but it takes longer to cook.

You can then use the cooked chicken any way you like. I usually serve it with a starch and a veggie. I'm a huge fan of steaming frozen veg in the microwave. But you could also cut it up and put it on top of salad.

Pasta primavera is easy. I make this a lot for my lunch (with leftover pasta). I like to use whole grain so it's healthier. Basically, I just saute whatever veggies I have in the house and need to use up -- (I always start with onion and garlic), then zuchini, bell peppers, squash, baby spinach, even tomatoes -- in a little olive oil on the stove top. I season with whatever seasonings I feel like (like I listed above, my current mix is poultry seasoning, oregano, basil, thyme, and Cavender's Greek seasoning). Mix the cooked vegetables with the pasta, and add some protein (leftover chicken, beans, cheese, etc.). For the sauce, I usually just add some chicken broth and squeeze a lemon over the pan when I'm cooking the veggies, but you could also use a jarred sauce. Or even make a white sauce -- sounds intimidating for a beginner cook, but not hard at all (use a whisk to whisk together 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour over medium high heat. When it just barely starts to brown, add 1 to 2 cups milk. Season with garlic, salt, and pepper. Add cheese for a cheese sauce.)

[Deleted]

Another quick/easy meal:

Trimmed boneless chicken breasts
1/2 small jar sun dried tomatoes in oil - can be chopped or whole
2-3 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped or sliced
Salt, pepper
Italian seasoning

Lay chicken breasts in a 9x13 pan. You can line with foil if you prefer. I find it makes for easy cleanup.
Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Top with sun dried tomatoes and red peppers and drizzle a bit of the oil from the tomatoes on top. Cover with foil (or lid if using a casserole dish) and bake at 350* for ~30-40 minutes.