My meals from scratch all turn out bad

freyasmum

hwalkerh wrote: »

The macaroni cheese was layering cooked pasta and cheese and then add egg milked with milk and put in the oven for 45mins.

I dunno why they told you put an egg in macaroni; it's not like it really needs to be any richer? :undecided

Make a simple white sauce, add cheese, seasoning and a bit of mustard (means you can add less cheese) and cover the pasta - you want to put the pasta in the dish first and then pour over the sauce so that you don't accidentally have to much sauce with no room for pasta

Shortbread should always be cold - you work with very hard, cold butter and work as quickly as possible. I also sometimes put biscuits in the freezer before cooking.

Stroganoff, I've never heard of using yoghurt! I always use cream (naughty, I know but everything in moderation), and always double - single cream doesn't have sufficient fat content to stand being that hot.

I love delicious and bbc good food magazines and, though I do buy a hard copy of each, you can check them out online :T

Anyway, don't worry. It takes time and practice to be a competent cook. You'll get there

And I don't like Delia :A

Buddingblonde

Can I recommend the Bero flour web site - it gives you the basics for sweet and savoury foods and also sauces - like the sauce for mac cheese.

charlies-aunt

Try and look at car boots or charity shops for a copy of the Bero book - basic and cheap but good results every time

Delia is good too - very well explained and practical

annie123

Don't give up, first loaf of bread I made, we literately used as a door stop:o and then tried rolls and hubby used them as frisbees :rotfl:

I can now make reasonable loaf;)

hwalkerh

Thanks for all your tips. I can make a good white or cheese sauce so might try macaroni cheese again with that.

I think i might stick with my bbc food cook books rather then the magazine. I might use the magazine for ideas but then look the recipes up elsewhere so they don't turn out bad.

Also i might have had a few bad attempts but maybe i need to keep reminding myself that I can make some good classics well, Shepherds pie, fish pie and lasagne all turn out well when i make them.

Thanks for all your help, feeling more positive about trying something new again

eleanor73

The bbc good food website is useful as people rate the recipes so go on there and look for some of the five star recipes - I've never failed with any of them. Good luck

tigerfeet2006

I second the BBC Good Food website.

misscousinitt

I definately recommend the bbc good food web site.

I always use sour cream for my stroganoff! That mac & cheese sounds a little odd....

Please don't loose heart, sounds like you have some good staples under your belt already, its always trial and error until you get new dishes off pat and they way you like them.

Wishing you lots of luck.

GetRealBabe

annie123 wrote: »

Don't give up, first loaf of bread I made, we literately used as a door stop:o and then tried rolls and hubby used them as frisbees :rotfl:

I can now make reasonable loaf;)

Hi

I had the same problem when I used a bread mix. It was vile. :eek::rotfl: A friend lent me his King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion cookbook and my bread has improved so much. My sourdough bread is definitely improving.

Thanks to posters on this thread i bake much more and really enjoy it.

bluemoon_3

I wonder if adding egg to macaroni cheese could be an American thing? I have an American vegan cookbook that has a recipe for vegan 'macaroni cheese' - it says that it forms curds around the pasta like 'cafeteria-style' macaroni cheese rather than being smooth. That sounds something like what you have described.