Simple recipes for newbie cook?

Question

I can't cook for c**p, what's some really simple, nutritious recipes? Like my mum always cooks my food and she is so good and when I try to cook my own stuff she always takes over so I want to try and make something nice when she is out lol

Answer 1

Check out rachael ray's recipes.

Answer 2

My quick and simple meals that are fail proof are as follow.

1)Tuna and pasta casserole

Make a cheese sauce, add a tin of tuna,some cooked pasta, frozen peas and corn and cook until heated through

2) Pumpkin and onion Pasta

Roast bite size pieces of pumpkin and onion that have been sprayed with cooking oil(not to much) in a moderate oven until cooked and brown. Cook some pasta. In a pan heat olive oil and add some crused garlic and chili. Then add all ingredients together and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

3) Gourmet Scrambled eggs

Make scrambled eggs. Cook toast. If you want you can make if even more fancy and use turkish bread or sourdough. Top with eggs and some smoked sliced salmon. yum yum

4) Spaghetti bolignase

You can't go wrong with spag bowl. google it. It's very easy but to much to write,lol.

Good luck. All I can say is experiment with new things. You will surprise your self.

Answer 3

Indian Eggplant

• 1 eggplant

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped

• pinch teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• 4 sprigs chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat the oven broiler. Place eggplant in a roasting pan, and broil 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until about 1/2 the skin is scorched.

2. Place eggplant in microwave safe dish. Cook 5 minutes on High in the microwave, or until tender. Cool enough to handle, and remove skin, leaving some scorched bits. Cut into thick slices.

3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, stir in the onion, and cook until tender. Mix in eggplant, and tomatoes. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Continue to cook and stir until soft. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Japanese Pork

INGREDIENTS:

Breading:

1 ½ pounds pork (or chicken)

½ cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Sauce:

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons water

½ cup sugar

¼ cup vinegar

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

3. Mix the ‘breading’ up in a bowl big enough to roll chicken pieces in. Coat each piece with the flour mixture and then put on the baking sheet and then spray each piece with cooking spray as well.

4. Bake for 30 minutes, turning each piece at the 15 minute mark.

5. Then turn down heat to 350° F, and pour a little of the sauce over each piece. Continue to baste, or pour the sauce in the pan and then roll each piece in the surrounding sticky sauce as it cooks.

6. Once sauce is added, cook for additional 30 minutes, or until desired brown color is achieved and internal temp is 165° F.

Miami Chicken

1/2 c. ketchup

1/4 c. vinegar

3 tbsp. oil

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. Lemon juice

1 tbsp. basil

Dash of salt and pepper

2 minced garlic cloves...or about 2 tbsp. of garlic power/salt

Mix everything together and pour over chicken. Let the chicken sit in the marinade for about an hour and a half at room temp.

After it has sat, put in the oven at 350 or put on grill

Use the marinade to baste the chicken while you’re cooking it.

Turn the chicken every 10 to 12 minutes and continue basting.

Cookbooks-

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Teens-C...

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Clueles...

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Teens-C...

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Cooking...

Answer 4

Go to http://www.recipezaar.com

They have a huge search engine and a great community of forums.

There's also conversion charts so that you can convert American recipes into UK recipes.

One of the things I like about this site is that there are cooks of all levels from rank beginner to professional.  

Answer 5

try this simple and nutritious spinach recipe its easy and delicious

http://cashsunshine.blogspot.com/2008/06...

Answer 6

Chicken drumsticks

1 can cream of mushroom soup, mixed with 1/4 cup white wine

Place chicken in crockpot, cover with mixed soup/wine, cook on low for 8 hrs

Elegant and delicious!

Answer 7

try this website, they have tons of simple recipes. I use it all the time.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf

Answer 8

Don't worry! Cooking can be done by anyone who can read a recipe! Here are some easy ones:

Pasta with meat sauce:

This takes a little while in the oven, but the actual prep is only 15-20 minutes once you get the hang of it, especially if you have 2 burners on your stove!

Brown a pound of beef in a pan while boiling some ziti or penne in a pot. Once the beaf is browned drain the grease (or keep it in, my mother hated the taste of grease and she taught me to drain it), and mix in marinara sauce, as well as some mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Then, mix the pasta and the meat sauce together in a baking pan, and sprinkle the top with more mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Feel free to cut up some Italian bread to go with it.

Tacos:

Brown some beef in a pan, and pour in a store bought taco mix, as well as water and whatever ingredients the mix indicates. Put out some tortillas, and bowls with cheese, tomato, lettuce, sour cream and salsa. Let people combine amounts as they wish.

Meatloaf:

Take a pound of ground beef and place it in a bowl. Mix in an egg and a half cup of breadcrumbs (very important, it helps keep the meatloaf together!), as well as a half cup of parsley, a dash of garlic, salt and pepper, and a squirt of ketchup. Place it in a greased meatloaf pan and cook for 45-55 minutes. You can boil some green beans and cut up a cantalope or watermelon or something to go on the side.

Chicken Quesadillas:

Cut up boneless chicken b*****s into small pieces, and cook in a pan with just enough canola oil to cover the bottom. Once cooked add in store box chipotle mix (or whatever else you find that might fit your fancy) and a can of crushed tomatoes. Use a second pan to place in a buttered tortilla (face down) and sprinkle in some cheese (chedder or mozzarella or whatever else you like) and then some of the chicken/tomato mixture on ONE HALF of the tortilla. Then fold the uncovered half over onto the half with the meat, and hold it there with a spatula. Once the side facing down is toasted, flip it over and toast the other side. Then, removed from the pan and cut in 2-4 pieces, based on the size of the tortilla.

And, probably the easiest:

Stir-fry:

Start off with a store-bought stir-fry mix (I personally prefer teriyaki, but there's also barbeque, sweet and sour, etc) and make sure you have the ingredients needed (usually just water). Then take the chicken or beef and cut it into strips. You can start with meat already cut into strips at the store to make it even easier, but I don't because it's usually a little more expensive. Place it in a pan to cook with just enough canola oil to cover the bottom. Then, add in slices of peppers (green, red, yellow, whichever you prefer), a can of tomato chunks, green beans (probably a good idea to boil them lightly first!), diced carrots, squash, and whatever other vegetable you like. Stir in mix, and voila! It's done. You can eat it like that, or put it in a wrap with cheese and have a stir-fry wrap. This is nice because you can use chicken, beef, pork, or tofu, and you can use whatever veggies you like!

If it's your first time cooking, make sure to watch what you're doing carefully so that things don't burn. Also, don't try making too many things at once, cook things one at a time when you first start off. And don't be discouraged... you won't be Rachael Ray on your first attempt! It took me awhile before I was doing okay in the kitchen, and I started off first helping my mother, then my mother helping me, then I went to just doing it on my own.

Enjoy!