This last July my mom had a stroke so my sister and I are holding down the house and helping dad pay bills. Obviously she was the chef of the household and we`re trying our best to feed everyone but I`m tired of ramen, fast food, hamburger helper, tuna helper, chicken helper, helper helper, etc...

I just tried to grill hamburgers and failed horribly. Anyone got something a simpleton can fry, bake, or whatever???

 

frying stuff is easy man. you just wait until it changes to the right color. too too dark and it's overcooked. use non-stick spray so the burgers don't stick to the pan. don't get water in there or it'll start exploding.

it's just like a BBQ. you can make a bunch of cool salads too. use the right temp, it's easy. i started off my making fish, shrimp, calmari--all very quick.

now the hardest part of frying is washing the aftermath 02.gif once you do it a few times, you'll learn your way around the obstacles, then you'll learn what to avoid and how to eat healthy. for now i just buy a bunch of stuff and throw it all together.

 

Do a search for my NM Green Chilie Stew. It's pretty hard to mess up, and will fill you up GOOD.

A few simple cooking rules.

1. You can always cook something longer, but you can't take away once you've added the heat. COOK at Medium/Low for a longer time, you'll get tender food, with more taste.

2. You can always ADD flavor, but you can't take it away. ADD A BIT of salt/garlic/pepper at a time, then taste it, once it's in there, you cant take it out.

3. FOLLOW RECIPIES on boxes for a bit, then once you have them down, MODIFY them. Add some cheese, some sliced ham, whatever it is, to whatever you are making.

4. GET A FOREMAN STYLE GRILL!!!

 

home made mac 'n' cheese is awesome..
boil noodles, put in glass pan with velveta cheese. stir til it melts.. put 8 oz. shredded chees on top. broil for 5 min..

tune noodle casserole is very good (its my specialty lol) easy to make
2 cups elbow noodles
can cream of mushroom
1/2 cup milk
can peas
1 12oz can tuna
1/2 tsp. salt

cook noodles, drain. add all ingredients. MIX. bake at 350 for 30 min.

hot turkey sandwhiches
3 lb turkey breast (cook as directed)
gravy packet-comes with turkey (cook as directed)

slice turkey into chunks. put on fav. bread, pour gravy on top.

cheesy potatos (awesome side dish) easy to make
12 servings betty croker potato buds ( if they seem runny dump extra potato flakes in)
12 oz. cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
2 tbl. spoons parsley flakes
8 oz. shredded chedder cheese (last 5 minutes)

Preheat to 350 deg. Make potato buds as directed on package. Mix in crème cheese. Then mix in sour crème and parsely flakes. Mix until smooth. Put in bowl overnight. Bake for 60 minutes.. last 5 min put on the cheese..

^these make a TON. will last for a few days.


alright, thats all i know off the top of my head.. im sure you will love all the recipes..

sorry to hear about your mom dood.

 

Oh, shit, one more thing man, START WATCHING THE FOOD NETWORK ALL THE TIME, Rachel Ray FTW.

 

I LOVE stews, soups and chilis, not too mention seafood and asian. I`ll have to try the NM Green Chilie Stew. The more you can make at one time the better, something I can make one night for dinner and then take some to eat at work all that good stuff. Something that can feed a small army!

One thing that I`d like to share is try Zataran`s Jumbalya Mix (low sodium) and instead of using hamburger, use spam (low sodium). If you use regular spam and mix it comes out way too salty.

Cant find the NM Green Chilie Stew recipe REDZ!!!

 

Once you get the basics down, check out allrecipes.com
I go there all the time for new ideas.

 

if you have time and BBC america you may want to watch some of Chef Gordon Ramsay. His thing is quick good meals. Some stuff you may not be able to do right away but he teaches some of the basics of economy shopping. I just bought a 10lb ham the other day and you can make ham steaks, sandwiches,stews, dice it for salads. 15 bucks for 10 lbs of meat, Cant beat that, Best part? PRE- COOKED so its just a matter of heating and its very easy to trim the fat.

Redz has some really good points as well, fight the urge to "man" cook. The stove has more then Afterburner on and off... the seasoning suggestion, always true, always add to but cant take away.

 

#1. Put a bunch of stuff on a tortilla and throw it in the microwave.
#2. Grab a hot pocket and throw it in the microwave.
#3. Grab a corndog and throw it in the microwave.

Sorry man, I'm a soldier, I live in a very small barracks room and I only have a microwave. You can get pretty creative though. You can make eggs and stuff in there.

 

Another thing you should get if you do not have one is a large crock pot. I am not talking about one of the small round ones, get one of the big oval ones. You can make a roast that everyone will enjoy with about 10 minutes of actual prep work. Buy the McCormick roast seasoning and get all the ingredients off the back, just follow the directions.