Yeah. My wife makes me eat out every night. One time my jaw locked and my face and tongue went numb. Like 9/11, never again.

 

Those things are great.


What I usually do is I'll go to the grocery store, get some pasta, sauce, eggs, turkey/beef, veggies, and I just make my own recipes. For example one day I took Alaskan cod and put it in a pan, let it cook and chop it up a bit. Meanwhile, had some pasta going. Add some veggies to the fish, then some tomato sauce as the pasta is finishing. Add it all together and voila!

Cooking is about being creative, just get ingredients you like and have fun!

 

pretty simple and fun thing to do when you're free or hungry. What kind of cuisine or food do you like to eat? say you like to eat beef stew or thai curry..i started watching those short clips on how to make them on youtube and started making them at home. Cooking and eating at home save so much money...i spend about $20 a week on grocery and that's for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Watch some youtube video on how to make your favorite food.

 

Stirfry's and crock pot meals are a great way to start out. Even if you become a solid cook, you'll probably appreciate the convenience of them to not have to think about meal prep every single night.

Think of some key ingredients that you enjoy. Sounds like you may like seafood. Do a search online for fish/scallop/crab/shrimp dishes and try them out.

Some things that I do with seafood:

Seafood Pasta
- shrimp/scallops/squid or any combo of them fried up in a pan. If purchased frozen, thaw in a bowl or sink full of medium or warm temp water before pan frying/sauteeing with butter or oil
- Any type of pasta, any type of sauce. I like alfredo (cream-based) and think it goes well with pasta and seafood
- If you like a little something extra, add some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne powder to the sauce
- You can vary this dish SO easily by using different combos of ingredients, and you'd have to be blind and tasteless to make it inedible

Seafood Cakes
- Use crab or fish or chopped pieces of scallops
- Take the seafood bits (cooked & flaked fix / crab pieces / scallops) and mix up little blobs with breadcrumbs, shredded carrots, a few herbs (try different tastes to make interesting) and an egg white or two (no yolks!) to bind it all together.
- Bake it in the stove

Stuffed Fish Fillets
- Look for a recipe, but easy and yummy.
- Usually baked.


Like meat?

- Buy inexpensive hunks of meat (beef, pork, lamb) and marinade for days in different recipes you find online, and experiment with blends of sauces and condiments already in your fridge, and different spices and herbs from your cupboard
- Throw the roast in the oven for a couple hours, depending on size
- Cut up potatoes, boil to get them cooking and throw them in the over with the already-cooking roast, along with carrots, celery, and onions
make gravy out of the pan drippings very easily using a recipe from online
This is a very easy and delicious, but complex sounding meal


There are so many options, start watching cooking shows on TV. I don't like all the hosts, but some that will probably have ideas you'll like may be License to Grill, Guy's Big Bite, Good Eats (lots of food education in this one) and 30 Minute Meals, to name a few. You can also find all the recipes they use on the Food TV site.

Recipes are step by step and easy to follow. The TV shows are great for learning the difference between and techniques for chopping vs dicing vs mincing, how to seperate egg yolks from whites, and how to use all kinds of kitchen utensils and appliances.

Good Luck!

 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Very helpful.

 

Whatever you do, don't watch Giada's show "Everyday Italian" on the Food Network. I can cook now but only without pants.

 

 

 

I started cooking a ton a few years back, best hobby I've ever undertaken. Downside, I need to start working out more because I eat too well

I dunno about you, but I'm an engineer and when I started I needed precise instructions that make sense to the science-guy in me. Check out a cooking show called Good Eats -- this guy Alton Brown is like a cross between Mr. Wizard and an Iron Chef (he's actually the host on Iron Chef). He has a book that just came out (called "Good Eats: The Early Years") that covers every recipe he's done on the show, and all of his recipes aren't so much "here's how you make a meatloaf" but more like "this is the cooking techniques behind making a meatloaf, why it works, how to do it, then here's a recipe". If you try out his recipes and pay attention to what he tells you, you'll learn "how" to cook as you go and not just "how to make meatloaf". Now I'm the guy that can try a meal at a restaurant, and make a reasonably good copy at home without a recipe.

Don't waste your money on a big fancy set of knives and all the crazy cookware. You need a chef's knife, a cutting board, and a bread knife, that's it (and don't spend too much money). For cookware, a $10-20 cast iron pan (and knowing how to use it) is the best pan you'll ever buy. I'd make sure I have those basics, a good book, and be prepared to make some disgusting meals while you learn.

Don't get discouraged that cooking will take you forever when you first start. When you're first learning, basic dishes will take all of your attention and you'll take forever to do it -- you'll get faster, don't worry about it. Just worry about making something that tastes good.