Simple recipes for someone who can't really cook!

carolt

At university, I had a great leaflet called something like '10 ways with mince' - basically, with just a few variations, you can turn one basic packet of mince into a huge range of main meals. Not sure I can remember what all the variations were, but the 4 I use most frequently and are my cheap and cheerful standbys (and I'm sure a lot of other people's too) are:

1. spag bol
2. chilli
3. meatballs in tomato sauce
4. shepherds (or strictly speaking, cottage) pie

Recipes are as follows:

Spag bol
Brown mince in a little oil - can do this from frozen, don't need to defrost first if you don't have time).
Add chopped onion and veg to taste - I usually add chopped peppers and/or mushrooms and/or courgettes or some people would add carrots etc.
Cook all together for a few minutes more till onions and veg cooked a little and onions translucent.
Add tins of tomatoes - 1-2 per 1 lb packet of mince.
Add squeeze of tomato puree, stock cube (vegi, beef, whatever) and herbs/spices to taste - I use oregano in and basil and garlic if you like it (chopped/minced).
Add enough water so it keeps it moist, stir, turn the heat down and go away - other than occasional stirring and adding more water if necessary,
Cooks in about half-hour to an hour, though the longer you leave it, the more the flavours will develop.

Chilli
Exactly as above but add drained/rinsed tin of kidney beans when add the tomatoes and vary the spices - I use oregano, chilli powder (go easy - you can always add more once you've tasted it but can't take it! - a tip from my mum who's a great cook but tendency to oversalt food..), ground cumin and cinnamon and a teaspoon of honey.

Meatballs
Exactly as spag bol but you need to shape the raw minced, mixed with a beaten egg to make it stick, into balls before you start - fry them first so they are brown all over and then continue as spag bol.

Shepherds pie
As spag bol but I personally add carrots/peas rather than other veg and use thyme as my herb. I don't add any tinned tomatoes, just more water. So it tastes more meaty than tomatoey IFYSWIM. Then top with mashed potato and grated cheese on that is nice too, and bake in medium oven for about 20 mins/half an hour.

So as you can see, effectively 1 recipe = 4 dishes, with a little variation.

From this site I learnt to cook up vast quantities of basic mince mixture and then subdivide into 2 or more pans, varying the spices/veg in each one, to make loads of portions of 2 or more different types of meals. Once they're cool, I then put a couple of days worth in the fridge, and freeze the rest in old plastic takeaway containers - just take out a portion whenever I want one and either microwave it or heat it in a pan (except shepherds pie, which I'd warm in the oven in a suitable container to get crispy). Has saved me loads of time and means I now only need to cook a big vat of something once a week to have a range of instant, healthy home cooked food 7 days a week.

Just remembered, off the original poster - 2 other recipes were kebabs and burgers - mix defrosted/raw mince with grated onion and an egg to bind and any spices to taste and shape into kebabs round a skewer or burgers and then grill or fry.

Wish I could remember what the other 4 were!

Also, if short of cash, this site has great ideas on making portions go further eg bulking out with more veg/beans/fillers - see threads for excellent ideas.

mrs_metal

What meals do you want to cook? Tell us your favourites and we'll give you suggestions

Many of the ready meal type meals are quite easy to do from scratch. A spag bol or a chicken curry for instance are very easy.

jay_mi

Hi
I would love to make some sort of fish pie for little one-have never cooked fish so really need step by step to this
love lasagne, spag bol-thanks i will try thi and the meat balls sound great!
How do you cook a chicken from scratch? I have never done this i have been reading you can make alot of meals from one- i have always bought it already done.
love cassarols, ect stew
thanks so much for the help! i will get the how to boil an egg book

carolt

jay_mi wrote: »

Hi

How do you cook a chicken from scratch? I have never done this i have been reading you can make alot of meals from one- i have always bought it already done.

Can be fancy about it - but if want the basic - put oven on (mine is about 200 degrees C), put chicken in roasting tin, sprinkle a little oil/salt/herbs to taste over skin - go away.

Come back in an hour or two, depending on size of chicken.

It really is that easy. DO remember to check if it has any giblets in first (inside stomach in a little plastic bag in some pre-packed) - cooked plastic bag not nice!!!! I think the labelling on the packet would say if it had giblets though - most from Tesco etc don't these days.

The length of time is calculated as 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes, so eg for a smallish 3 pound chicken you'd be looking at 1 hr 20 minutes.
Ideally, you'd baste the chicken with the juices, every 20 minutes or so to keep it moist, but can get away without this. Or cover with foil or put in a roasting tin with a lid to make it self-basting.

If want to do the full roast, traditionally potatoes are supposed to be peeled, par-boiled (cooked for 10 mins) and drizzled with cooking fats/oil to make crispy. Then sat next to chicken for last half-1hr of cooking time. But I save time by just using small raw new potatoes (unpeeled) put in at start of cooking time - a lot easier and healthier too. Parsnips can be sliced and par-boiled but I've found fine without par-boiling - don't put them in more than about half to 3 quarters of an hour before end though or they do burn.

For lots of dishes using chicken, search 'rubber chicken' on this forum - amazing ideas......

trying-very-trying

:hello:Hi Jay-mi, and well done you on losing all that weight.

Cooking is a dawdle, imho, compared to dieting.

My 19yo dd has just moved into her first flat. One of the first things I got her was a slow cooker (got it on Freecycle so very mse). All you have to do is bung the meat and any available veg in the pot, add some stock or a can of soup, switch on and leave for 8 hours. You don't have to follow a recipe as such, although you'll find plenty of sc recipes on this board.

DD's first attempt was some chicken pieces, couple carrots sliced, a chicken oxo cube and a tin of chicken soup. When she got home at night, she phoned me, "mum it's all watery". I just told her to put her dry rice in the pot and give it another half hour...result lovely!!

It gives you a "can't go wrong" start to producing real home made food.

Good luck, and have fun experimenting.

Seakay

Check out Beyond Baked Beans - a website and 3 books, primarily designed for students but great for any beginners on a budget, and it's not all recipes for 1!
http://www.beyondbakedbeans.com/categories/20070729_1
Also, the divine Delia is always totally reliable. Borrow her books from the library and also see her website http://www.deliaonline.com/ for recipes.

themmackas

I dont know if you like yorkshire puddings but i have a really easy way to make them and they rise every time.
In a bowl put a cup full of plain flour, eggs and milk, add a pinch of salt and a shake of pepper and mix really well, i usually leave this for a while to let air into it.
next
put your oven on quite high i have a gas oven and usually put it on about 260 and warm your y.pud tins with a little bit of oil in them. when your tins are hot put the mixture into them and back into the oven. check them after 20 mins and when they are brown they should be cooked.
You could also put the mixture in a big tin with part cooked sausages and have toad in the hole.

gunsandbanjos

For tasty easy recipes you cant beat good old Delia, i love making her stuff and its idiot proof(handy for me!):rotfl:
Definately worth investing in her books, she has ones that start as simply as boiling eggs too.:T

duchy

That reminds me need to start looking for idiot proof things for Christmas day.
I like stuff I can prepare in advance and keep Christmas day simple.
Are you cooking Christmas dinner this year Jay-Mi ?

kethry

duchy wrote: »

That reminds me need to start looking for idiot proof things for Christmas day.
I like stuff I can prepare in advance and keep Christmas day simple.
Are you cooking Christmas dinner this year Jay-Mi ?

there's the christmas board on MSE which may help, but i have to recommend Delia's Christmas book for christmas foods.. there are some lovely recipes in there, some of which can be done ahead of time. for a christmas pudding recipe, look here (it can be microwaved, no faffing around with steamers on the day), Delia's traditional christmas cake is lovely made around now, and even a bird/joint can be cooked ahead of time. It's possible to get 90% of the meal done ahead of time - bird, stuffing, some veg (for e.g. not traditional but easily reheated - red cabbage)... about the only ones that won't reheat well are roast spuds, especially if you do home made and not aunt bessies lol.

HTH

keth
xx