A pretty easy recipe that cover a lot of techniques would be mac and cheese.
all you need
milk
Cheddar cheese
butter
flour
noodles
Boil your noodles, and while that's going on, melt a couple of teaspoons of butter into a 2 quart pot over medium to medium high heat. once the butter melts add small amounts of all purpose flour (maybe a teaspoon at a time) stirring constantly. make sure each one is blended thoroughly before adding the next. Once it starts to form a paste add about a cup to a cup and a half of milk (I like it creamier so i lean towards the cup and a half). bring that up to a boil and reduce your heat until you just get a good simmer. Start tossing in cheddar cheese a handful at a time, mixing with a spoon until each handful is melted, until the mixture is the desired consistency. Toss your noodles into the pot (that's why we did this in a pot that big)
this is a simple dish that introduces a roux (the butter/flour paste). That's a big part of many soups and sauces. Who doesn't like mac and cheese?
Another relatively easy one that is really good is sauteed spinach
slowly cook 2 strips of bacon that have been cut into confetti sized squares over low heat to render the fat off. you really don't want to cook it crisp, just hot enough to liquify the fats. Into that add a good teaspoon or so of garlic (I use the minced stuff in the jar. It's quick and easy). Turn your heat up to medium high and let the pan get heated up. Toss in enough fresh spinach that it looks like it will never fit into the pan well enough to stir. It will cook down quite a lot. Toss the spinach around ocassionally until it is nice and tender.
simple baked chicken breast
What you'll need
Boneless skinless breasts
Butter
Bread Crumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
melt about half to 2/3 a stick of butter
make a 50/50 mix of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese
pace the butter and the mix in separate containers that are large enough to dip the chicken breast. Dip each breast into the butter then roll in the crumb mix to coat.
Put them on a cookie sheet and into a preheated oven (425 degrees) for 30-35 minutes
That's 3 easy recipes that cover three of the main cooking methods. baking, boiling, and sauteeing. Play around with them too...maybe use seasoned bread crumbs on the chicken, or use some finely diced onion in the mac and cheese.
Alton Brown has some great books out ';I'm just here for the food'; is a great book it has some good recipes, but more importantly does a fairly entertaining job of describing the processes used in cooking, and why we do what we do.I'm really interested in learning how to cook..any recipes that wont scare a ';virgin'; chef??
Hmmm.... pastas are generally easy dishes. I make any easy shrimp pasta. I sounds fancy but trust me it's fast and easy. 30 minutes or less and not much chance of screwing it up unless you burn it.
1 bag frozen shrimp, peeled deveined and cleaned
3/4 stick butter
1 clove garlic (peeled and slightly smashed, but leave it big so you can remove it)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
3TBLS flour
11/2 - 2 cups fresh shredded parmesan
1 box linguine
In a large sauce pan melt butter and let garlic hang out for a few minutes over really low heat so you don't burn the butter. Remove the garlic. Add flour and stir for about a minute. Add heavy whipping cream and heat through and then add parmesan and stir while it melts. Add shrimp and if they are already cooked just heat them through. Cook pasta according to box directions, drain and add shrimp and sauce. It's also good with chicken and broccoli. This is one of my favorites because it tastes sooooo good and can be down in less then 1/2 hour.
I also make the same pasta but with lemon garlic butter and parmesan added later so it doesn't completely melt. I also add chopped fresh parsley for color and flavor.
Easy homemade dressing for salad is:
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 fresh lemons squeezed seeds removed
little fingernail lenght of anchovie paste (I don't like anchovies but this will not make the dressing taste fishy at all, just adds a bit of flavor.
3 times the amount of veggie oil as lemon juice. I just eye it and give it a taste.
Put garlic in bottom of dressing container (cruet or whatever you have) add about 11/2 tsp salt. Shake it around and let it sit until you see the garlic has formed a ';paste';. Add anchovie paste and lemon juice. Mist until you can no longer see the anchovie paste and then add oil.
Easy meat pie/pasty - excellent leftovers too!
store bought pastry dough (Pillsbury)
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
3 carrots peeled and chopped
1 small onion chopped
3 potatoes peeled and chopped
salt and pepper to taste (I'd use about 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper)
2 Tbls butter (cut into quarters)
When cutting your veggies cut the carrots thin because they take the longest to cook and the potatoes into 1 inch by 1 inch squares.
Line the bottom of a 9in pie plate with 1 pastry dough. In a large bowl break up meat and add potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands. Add filling to pie crust and dot with the butter. Put 2nd pastry crust over top and cut slit in dough to let steam escape. Seel edges and put tin foil just around crust to keep it from burning. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours. Remove and let sit 15 mintues.
Good luck!
Hello,
Nice first step. You can start cooking with Pasta, Macaroni %26amp; Cheese. They take less time and less energy to cook.
I don't know recipes from American cooking. So, i am not big help.
Good Luck with your cooking.
Get a kids cookbook, they are too the point but give you step by step instrucions!!
easiest thing ever to make is baked chicken
place raw chicken in a glass baking dish, season with pepper or Mrs dash, cover with a can of either cream of mushroom or cream of chicken and bake for 30 minutes in a 375 oven (make sure chicken isn't pink anymore)/serve with minute rice and either frozen corn or a can of green beans
another thing that's good is tuna noodle or chicken noodle faux-casserole
boil noodles (any kind will do) until done, while they are boiling mix in a microwavable bowl two cans of cream of mushroom soup,a splash of milk,pepper, and two cans of either chicken or tuna place in microwave on high for 3 minutes
take bowl out and stir add 4 slices of American cheese or a small hunk of Velveeta cut in cubes and place back in microwave for 3-4 minutes till cheese is melted, stir once u get out of microwave
serve over noodles with corn or green beans
umm i have a few other recipes if u need them and if u need clarification just email me these recipes are real simple Ive been cooking since i was 13
To cook is not about receipies anymore...There are several meals that requiered not cooking skills...Like Bertonni's pasta., Stri fry vegetables, just add chicken...
Lasagna ready to bake.
The art of cooking is to make a meal out of ingredients.
Yes, having a children cookbook is the best way to grasp the information.
Just remember...that cooking is never perfect but fun
Try recipes that use partial pre-prepped foods (mixes), shelf-stable foods (canned broth, etc.) and a short list of ingredients. Start with Kraftfoods.com and their ';Food %26amp; Family'; free quarterly magazine. They give you an online ';recipe box'; where you can save your favorites, the ';1 Bag, 5 Dinners'; list, and a monthly feature for a basic recipe you can make 4 ways. Examples are a casserole that starts with Minute Rice, a meat (choose from pork chops, chicken or ground beef), a frozen veggie (peas, corn, broccoli) plus a sauce (salsa, velveeta, mushroom soup, etc.) Easy peasy! Most of these recipes are ';family safe'; and ';mom-tested';. Also try Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee; she used pre-bagged, pre-cut common items to make fabulous dinners. And don't be afraid to buy ';ginger root'; or some other new ingredient; you might find great new ways to use an exotic ingredient you're not familiar with. Just because it's new to you doesn't mean it has to stay a stranger. Roasted red peppers in a jar and couscous are now two of my staples that I use for healthy, quickie meals!
Go to kraftfoodandfamily.com Order their quartly magazine for free. Also the website has a lot of great recipes on it that are quick easy, and fool proof.
It depends what you like I guess.
Try http://allrecipes.com
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