Learning to cook easy dishes

[Night Elf]

So dd20 got out of the dorm this year. She shared a house this summer with a couple of roommates and in a few weeks will be in a townhouse with 4 other girls. Basically she has a true kitchen now which she didn't have in the dorms. She wants to start cooking for herself and stop eating out so much, and she's only going to have a commuter eating plan at school which allows for 80 meals total. So far I told her how to cook chicken strips so she can make fajitas/tacos, or put the chicken in rice with sauces like soy sauce. She never cooked at home (before college) because she was always afraid of the stove and oven. So now she's wanting to learn. I told her I'd put together a binder of recipes that are easy. We don't mind paying for convenience foods either. For example, she buys the chicken already cut up in strips because she doesn't want to handle the meat. She's home this week so we made burgers yesterday. Just watching me form patties in my hands made her wince. She wants to make hamburgers but she can't buy ground beef and make them herself. I told her I know that sometimes you can find ground beef already in patty form. We're going to go to the grocery store tomorrow and look at the way foods are packaged. 

I'm looking for simple ideas for someone who isn't confident about cooking. She'll have access to a crockpot as well as stove/oven. She prefers one dish meals as they are easiest to reheat for leftovers. She doesn't like any type of bean so don't include those. 

I thought about buying her a cookbook for college students but she wants stuff I make at home. Things that are tested and known to be good. But if you have a suggestion for a good beginning cookbook that makes easy comfort type meals, I'm willing to look it up.

Thanks.

[Tanaqui]

Quote

I told her I know that sometimes you can find ground beef already in patty form.

 

Heck, at my store it's cheaper in patty form than the other way! By a good 50 cents a pound! I feel so ridiculous buying patties only to mash them back up, add spices and onion, and then form them into patties a second time.

I don't have any cookbook ideas, but I can suggest spanish tortilla as an easy meal that's inexpensive and healthy. It's really a potato and onion omelette - tortilla in Spain isn't the same as tortilla in Mexico. Fry the onions while you microwave a potato. Slice the potato into half moons, toss it in, give it a good stir. Add salt and pepper, beat a few eggs, put in the skillet with a lid. When the bottom's done, toss it in the oven to do the top.

[HomeAgain]

We made a family cookbook for our kids.  Recipes they're familiar with and easy to learn because they know what they're supposed to look and taste like.

One thing that helps here - I don't like to touch raw meat, either, especially chicken and ground beef. I have a box of disposable gloves for those nights.

[Night Elf]

5 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

We made a family cookbook for our kids.  Recipes they're familiar with and easy to learn because they know what they're supposed to look and taste like.

One thing that helps here - I don't like to touch raw meat, either, especially chicken and ground beef. I have a box of disposable gloves for those nights.

That's a good idea. I'll ask her if gloves would help.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Teach her to brown ground beef- you don't really touch it for that, just plop it in the pan and break it up with spatula.  From there it can go into tacos, pasta sauce, chili (no beans!), etc.  Ground pork can turn into stir fry with an Asian sauce added to it.  I believe Walmart- and probably other stores- sell pre seasoned or marinated fish filets in the frozen section.  Fish is really easy to cook.  Using a pre-made pizza dough can make pizza-making doable even on a busy day.  Box mixes for muffins, brownies, and other quick breads are also easy ways to ease into baking.  Hot dogs are super easy- she can just pan cook them in a bit of butter or boil them.  Canned tuna plus relish plus mayo makes a healthy meal.  There are lots of recipes for mac and cheese at varying levels of complexity.  Find a simpler one to start out with.  Frozen lasagna is generally good.  Instant mashed potatoes are easy.  You can try teaching her an easy pork shoulder recipe for the crockpot.  Basically just throw the meat and some water in there, dump some spices on it, cook until it falls apart, then drain and add some sauce of your choice.    

A George Foreman grill was my best friend in college.  I used it to cook meat, but it also makes a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich!  

There are cookbooks out there that limit the number of ingredients to 5- these are good starting places.  

 

[Pen]

Baked potato (stab with knife or fork a few to so it doesn’t explode) is easy and can be topped with various things if she can eat potato. 

I would teach her how to make a good salad which could start with prewashed mesclun greens to make it easier, and can be topped off all sorts of things like cooked chicken or egg or bits of burger to make it more of a full single dish meal. 

 

There are one pot cooking cook books also. I like 

My ds likes Step by Step good Housekeeping cookbook which does lay out the steps and has helpful pictures. 

 

When I was in college I had one pan only and so often would make a sautéed group of frozen vegetables of various colors seasoned to taste good, and perhaps put some mushrooms or cheese on it.  A friend with a pot made a lot of soups. Sometimes she made pasta in her pot and I made topping in my pan and we combined them. 

[lavender's green]

I knew someone from a large family whose mom gave them each a family cookbook when they graduated high school. It was just a binder filled with copies of family recipes, but I saw the kids pull them out all the time.

Maybe check out a Pioneer Woman book - tons of comfort food! They have lots of pictures. More than I need, as an experienced cook, but useful for someone who doesn't yet know what each stage of cooking is supposed to look like. The one I have (I think it's about Dinners) includes lots of freezer recipes that you can make in a single batch, then thaw to use on their own or as part of another recipe. 

 

[marbel]

My family has been doing a lot more cooking lately because I've gone back to work.  I use recipes but work from a variety of sources so I've started a new binder with typical things we make a lot, such as "salsa chicken" which I found on a book website years ago (don't remember the actual name of the dish or the site), my variation on cheater chicken tikka masala using a jar of simmer sauce, tuna casserole scaled down to leave no leftovers...  My kids are starting to research more for themselves too, but sometimes recipe blogs are not reliable.

The Good Housekeeping cookbooks are good though. How about checking some out from the library to see if they're a good "fit?"

[Arctic Bunny]

Starting out, I really liked the Looney Spoons books. They do use a lot of canned items (tomatoes, mushrooms, etc), but it was easy to buy x and open, put in pan. I still make those recipes, substituting fresh ingredients. And I can’t think of many that didn’t turn out the first time. Lots of casseroles and soups, too.

[Bluegoat]

She might try the Jamie Oliver 15 min meal cookbook.  But there are a lot of student cookbooks available, most have good basic cheap recipes, often for just two servings.

[73349]

She might like this soup recipe: https://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/15525700/22705646

No meat-touching required, makes great leftovers, and it could be made with mostly canned/frozen veggies, store-bought broth and instant rice.

[snickerplum]

Maybe find a cooking magazine and gift her a subscription? That way she can get new ideas each month and typically they include seasonal ideas. 

Since she likes what you make at home could you help her cook a few things and freeze them? Soups freeze well in single sized portions, as do some pasta dishes and casseroles. 

Cook’s Illustrated/Cook’s Country/America’s Test Kitchen have a variety of cookbooks, some recipes are more involved than others, but they have some very good foundational recipes. Like how to sauté a  basic chicken breast  and 5 sauces you could pair with it if you want. Stuff like that. 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I agree with America's Test Kitchen!  And if she takes the time to read the recipe introductions, she'll learn a lot of good info on cooking, choosing ingredients, etc.  

[Night Elf]

She chose a cookbook specifically written for college students. We looked at the 'inside this book' feature on Amazon and she liked the look of it. I'm still going to give her some recipes though. Thanks for the tips so far.

[HomeAgain]

Night Elf, is there any chance she could do a meal subscription service like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron?  Dh did that when he was living alone.  He would cook every other night, packing up the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.  We continue the service on occasion now for my sanity but we have an entire binder full of recipe cards that I can pull and shop with.  Last night I made a Meyer lemon pasta dish that was fairly simple (the pasta only uses a lemon, butter, pasta water, and grated cheese on top), along with a salad and bruschetta.  Entire easy vegetarian meal in 30 minutes with leftover for the teen who worked late and some for dh's lunch today.

[aug17girl]

This Coursera course is geared towards people who don't cook at all. It includes meal planning and grocery shopping as well as videos showing how to cook simple dishes: https://www.coursera.org/learn/childnutrition 

[Chris in VA]

One thing that might help her is to teach her how to chop/dice using a knife held the correct way. Use a bigger knife (chef's knife) and grab the handle like you are shaking hands. Then take your thumb and forefinger and pinch the blade very close to the handle. Holding it this way changed my life! lol Well, not really, but it gives such a confident grip that it helped me have great control and I learned to use the knife efficiently and well. 

I'm obviously a beginner cook myself, if that is my best tip! hahaha

 

Oh--and I love the recipe book that Makenna Gott, a young Air Force milspouse, has for sale as an ebook. I've made her bbq pork, her asian dishes (peanut chicken, I think?), her coleslaw (really yummy) and a couple of other things. Super easy and delicious. You can find it here: https://www.gottloveyoutube.com/collections/e-books

[AngieW in Texas]

My middle dd needs to always have some kind of protein readily available. One of the easiest things she does uses IQF boneless skinless chicken breast. Since they are frozen, you don't really feel any grossness. Lay out the chicken breasts on a sheet pan (can line it with foil for easier cleanup). Drizzle some olive oil on all the chicken breasts. Then spice them up however you like. Put them in the oven at 350 degrees (preheat) for about 30-40 minutes. I recommend a meat thermometer to check the temperature when it's done. Bigger, thicker pieces will take longer. My dd would end up using a different mix of spices on each piece of chicken sometimes.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-frozen-chicken-247433

http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/easy-frozen-chicken-breast-265634

https://www.workingmother.com/momlife/13527336/how-to-cook-frozen-chicken-breast/

[I talk to the trees]

I'd recommend keeping salad ingredients (bagged would be easiest, but a bit more expensive) and a variety of bottled dressings and shredded cheeses  on hand. Add cooked chicken strips or diced chicken for a quick meal. If she likes pasta salad, swap pasta for the lettuce, and toss in a few chopped veggies of her choice.