Cant cook! Help!

mystery07 · 1 April 2007 at 10:11PM

Hi All

(Not posted in here much, but keep being told how great you all are....so here goes!)

Need some advice, Im now spending roughly £200 - £220 per month on groceries/household bits/pull - ups (for toddler))

Would like to reduce this down a little....under the £200 mark constantly would be great, started meal planning, spending diary, but not going brilliantly (Im a bit disorganised - there doesnt seem to be the hours in the day!!)

So a quick explanation of why(I think!) Im spending so much (there is only me & a toddler!!!)....

I come from a family of bad cooks, when i left home, only a few years ago, I had never turned an oven on, let alone cooked a meal from scratch. Growing up, my mum cooked everything from either a jar, pre-prepared or chips.

Probably because of this Im quite a fussy eater & dont like much, only recently for example have i started really eating vegetables. On top of this, I am utterly strapped for time, so meals most of the week have to be quick ones. (I tend to buy pizza's, ready meals, jacket potatoes, salads, ready made pies & veg etc etc)....even on sundays when I cook a sunday lunch, most of it (yorkies, roast potatoes etc) are frozen....

I probably sound like a lost cause to all you super mums but im not entirely hopeless ( before i had my little one, i used to cook quite a bit, that was quite good! - but even then it was expensive)

Some people have suggested "slow cookers" as a time saver, but Ive been too embarrased to say that I dont even know what one is!!!!

Ive been reading lots of posts on here for a while & most of the ideas I find are just beyond me........

So could a few people offer some basic tips, for meal planning, some ideas of quick things that I could cook cheaply?

What's a slow cooker? How does it work? & what can I cook in it?

For instance, I have never ever bought a whole chicken, but realise that it would be much cheaper than buying chicken breasts etc....But I dont buy it, because I dont know what to do with it?! :rotfl:

Can anyone help? Without falling over with laughter?

XxX

Jayar · 1 April 2007 at 10:31PM

1st thing to do is to visit your local library and arm yourself with a cookbook for beginners.
Next I would start to plan your meals a week in advance. Then you can make a list using that plan and your cookbook to take shopping. That way you are less likely to buy things you don't really need.
A slow cooker is a piece of electrical kitchen equipment which uses only a small amount of electricity to cook meals (can't remember exactly how much). Slowly, obviously,(we're talking sometimes 8-10 hours here) which in effect means that you can use cheaper cuts of meat and it really does a great job with them. As there's just you and your wee one, you could make enough to do you for a couple of days at a time and freeze the excess.
If I were you I'd stick to simpler meals to begin with until you gain a bit of confidence.
Best of luck

mystery07 · 1 April 2007 at 10:39PM

Aha! Cookbook, yes good thinking lol....& will join the libary, on my to do list for this week!

thanks.

So, if I used cheaper cuts of meat, a slow cooker would make them taste better? Ive never known of any1 with a slow cooker, until i came on here.

xxx

janeawej · 1 April 2007 at 10:45PM

yes a slow cooker is great if your short of time, you can prepare everything the evening before you want it then just pop it inot the slow cooker in the morning before going to work, turn it on and you have a meal ready when you get home, as there are only 2 of you I think I would cook several meals worth then freeze the extra in meal sized portions to be used at a later date, do you have a microwave? as then you can reheat your homemade ready meals very quickly, pm me if you want to chat and a few very easy recipes, and dont be embarressed we all had to start somehwere! when i am feeling complacent about my cooking i asways remember a camping trip rice diaster i made! it was so bad even the ponies who destroyed our campsite in the night and ate everything else left it after only a small lick of the pan!!Jane

Jayar · 1 April 2007 at 10:46PM

mystery07 wrote: »

So, if I used cheaper cuts of meat, a slow cooker would make them taste better? Ive never known of any1 with a slow cooker, until i came on here.

xxx

That's exactly right. The l o n g s l o w cooking allows the flavours to mingle and makes cheap cuts of meat really tender. I think Argos are doing a Cookworks on special offer at the mo, and I've read some good reports about it, but have a look around for the best deal if you really want one. There is a dedicated slow cooker thread on here somewhere which may help.

mystery07 · 1 April 2007 at 10:56PM

janeawej wrote: »

yes a slow cooker is great if your short of time, you can prepare everything the evening before you want it then just pop it inot the slow cooker in the morning before going to work, turn it on and you have a meal ready when you get home, as there are only 2 of you I think I would cook several meals worth then freeze the extra in meal sized portions to be used at a later date, do you have a microwave? as then you can reheat your homemade ready meals very quickly, pm me if you want to chat and a few very easy recipes, and dont be embarressed we all had to start somehwere! when i am feeling complacent about my cooking i asways remember a camping trip rice diaster i made! it was so bad even the ponies who destroyed our campsite in the night and ate everything else left it after only a small lick of the pan!!Jane

Thanks very much. Yep have a microwave, so batch cooking could be a good idea, just never done it! Will Pm you 2moro, off to bed shortly. Thanks for the invitation

Jules x x x

MrsTinks · 1 April 2007 at 11:33PM

If you buy chickens from Tesco (booohiss lol) then they have the cooking time and instructions on the packs depending on weight - very handy until you get the hang of it

For an easy start why not put either butter and fresh herbs under the breast skin, it will taske lovelly! OR slize a lemon thinly and slide the slizes up under the breast skin and viola! Lemon chicken!
Slowcookers are great - I did a brisket of beef in mine today after reading a thread here. Stuck it in this morning, with 1 tin of guiness that had been hanging around the house for months, some beef stock (had to resort to a knorr cobe I am ashamed to admit) and a chopped up onion, some celery and carrots. I sealed the brisket in a frying pan before sticking it in but I guess you don't HAVE to do that

Now that Brisket I think cost me a couple of quid and both OH and I had dinner tonight and there is still 2/3rds if not 3/4ers left! So tomorrow when it's cooled down I will slice it and chop bits and freeze them. They can be used for sandwiches, beef curries, stirfries, oh just about anythign that inspires me

Definitely something I will try again!!

angelatgraceland · 2 April 2007 at 12:37AM

Yes a slow cooker is like a casserole dish with a plug on! About a tenner in Argos I believe. You only need a small one I thin approx 3 litres. Imagine what it holds-that is like 3 cartons of orange juice. I made cottage pie in mine today. The potatoes are cooked in a saucepan as normal and the rest put in the slowcooker. I used half mince and half soya. 10 servings worked out at £3. Thats an easy dish to make and a toddler can eat that too. As its cold now, Ive just put most of it in the freezer for when Im in a hurry. I do my "big cook" on Sundays and don't spend much time cooking during the week.
Best value chicken fresh whole is Iceland-£3.99 for a large one. Always make sure the juices run clear and test it before eating it. Never put a frozen chicken in the oven unless it has completely thawed.
Best value chicken breast are frozen ones from Iceland. a pack of 5 for £2.50

mrbadexample · 2 April 2007 at 12:47AM

mystery07 wrote: »

I probably sound like a lost cause to all you super mums...

I doubt it very much! If this lot can help me, then you ought to be a doddle.

mystery07 wrote: »

What's a slow cooker? How does it work? & what can I cook in it?

I vote for the slow cooker too...they're fabulous.

Have a look here to see my first effort with the slow cooker. It's a bit long-winded but covers a lot of questions.

angelatgraceland · 2 April 2007 at 1:00AM

Try this link-the series was very helpful for a learner.
http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/

squeaky · 2 April 2007 at 8:47AM

You miight like to take a look here before choosing a book...

The Complete Old Style Book Collection

And here for slow cookers...

The Complete Slow Cooker Collection

And here for all sorts of tips...

Getting Started

HTH

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Cant cook! Help!

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