NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

My family keeps making fun of me because I'm not the best cook. They keep saying "how can you get married, you won't be able to feed your family". It's starting to hurt my feelings. Anyone have any simple recipes to share? It would be greatly appreciated!!!

PS - Another reason I need to learn how to cook, FH's mom is italian and makes everything from scratch...including noodles! I have alot to live up to.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

aww, i know how you feel. my fi and his family always crack jokes at my expense when it comes to cooking...like how i would burn water and such. i don't have any recipes to offer bc i am in the same boat. just know you are not alone! i too am domestically challenged. ~lacey

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

i'm not too bad at cooking when I actually do it...I just have NO interest...seriously, I think I would rather saw my left leg off than cook a meal

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

i was in the same boat. i didn't get any comments, but i just had never cooked before we got married. i TOTALLY recommend any of the rachel ray 30 minute meals cookbooks. even if you don't like watching her on TV, her recipes are easy and really good and really help you build up your confidence in cooking.
also, a crockpot is a REALLY good tool... get the "Fix it and Forget It cookbook"... basically, all of the recipes are just dumping some stuff in the crockpot and turning it on before you leave for work in the morning... and then you come home to a good meal and the house smells really good
it all just takes time... have fun

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

I totally hear you on this! my MIL is also Italian & a wonderful cook! she even makes home made pizza. yea, great! that makes my questionable cooking pale by comparison. I have learned to deal with it. I will never cook like she does. and thankfully, my DH doesn't mind at all! he loves to cook and CLEAN I picked me a winner!

ETA: no one should be making fun of you for not knowing how too cook. the next time someone makes a crack you should say something like "MYOB!"

Message edited 12/19/2005 9:13:27 PM.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

I love my BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS cook book it is really easy to follow. The other great cookbook I have is from the 1960s The Settlement cookbook. (I tried to post a pick but it would not load - but I saw they had it on ebay for a few dollars).

I have an idea - if it is palatable (sorry for the pun) - ask your FMIL if she would be willing to give you lessions on how to do the basics and if possible some advanced stuff too.

Message edited 12/19/2005 9:35:35 PM.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

great recipe - here goes - phone and a takeout menu...

works for me every time...

If you want my FH to come over and cook your family a meal, I'll ask him...

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

The Betty Crocker Cookbook has never done me wrong, and I am a good cook.

What kind of recipes are you looking for?

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

Try epicurious.com. You could type in the meal, dessert, breakfast that you want to make. It comes up with really good recipes from Gourmet, Bon Apetit, etc...

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

I have to say that I am not a cook either (and Fi and I already live together!) but theWeight Watchers cookbook has some really simple and yummy things. For example, FI loves chicken cutlets so I make this often:

Boneless, Skinless cutlets
loaf of wheat bread
eggs

Crumble up the wheat bread (make tiny crumbs)
seperate egg whites from the yolk
Discard yolks

dip cutlets into egg whites only and dip in the bread crumbs.

Put cutlets on a bake sheet and pop it in the oven.

It is much healthier to bake in oven than to do on the stove top in a frying pan. It is actually pretty tasty. Serve a side dish with it and Viola!!!

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

This is Emeril's Chicken Marsala recipe. I made it and it's absolutely DELISH and it's not that hard to do. Any of Emeril's recipe's I've tried have tasted fantastic. You can buy the Essence in stores instead of mixing your own, if you want:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)
3/4 cup Marsala
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives, for garnish

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.


Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

My mom (and me) make this dish:

Turkey sausage
3 potatoes
1 large onion
2 red peppers or green frying peppers

Preheat oven to 325
Spray pam on the bottom of a glass 13X9 pan (lasagna)

Peel potatoes and cut into small pieces
cut onion
cut peppers
cut sausage into bite size pieces

Spray pam on the top of the mixture and add spices (I use garlic powder, oregano and adobo)

Cook for 1 hour (sometimes more, until the sausage is done and the potatoes are soft)

and enjoy....it is yummy !!!!

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

All kidding aside - If you are vegetarian - or interested in making a healthy dish - Moosewood cookbook rocks!!!

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

If you go to the foodnetwork.com they have recipes listed w/ gradings of easy,medium,and hard. Rachel Ray always has easy recipes and Tyler Florence usually does too.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

i'm in the same boat as you. i used to HATE cooking because it seemed so difficult, but fh loves it and we cook a lot of meals together now. we use allrecipes.com, since they offer different "difficulty levels" for the same dishes and they recalculate the recipes for you depending on how many portions you need to make.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

I;m a cooking freak. I love to cook. I watch alot of Food Network. I would recommend you get Rachel Rays 30 minute meals. Excellent recipes, never had anything bad. The comfort food cookbook by her is awesome too if you like mac and cheese, meatloaf, soups and sandwiches, stuff like that.

Also check out allrecipes.com. Some good, easy stuff and you can read the reviews of the finished product by people who have tried it. I got alot of recipes from there too.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

allrecipes.com is one of the best. I always read the reviews on the recipes too. There's a site called copykat that has an awesome "wet burrito casserole". Sounds gross, but everyones loves it.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

---

Posted by lipglossjunky73

great recipe - here goes - phone and a takeout menu...

works for me every time...

If you want my FH to come over and cook your family a meal, I'll ask him...

---

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

Cooking actually isn't that hard. But here is a really simple, and YUMMY dish my mother invented.

You need
artfical crab meat
a little butter
a can of cream of mushroom soup
Pasta (any kind, rice could work too)
a jar of White Alfredo sauce
garlic (spices of your liking)


You take the butter you put in a pan at med. heat. Mince the crab meat then put in the pan until warmed.
Add the soup and sauce and mix in together nicely. Add spices to your liking. Garlic goes great with this dish. Cook for about 15 mins, make sure it doesn't burn, stir as needed.

On the side begin making your pasta or rice. (boil water add pasta, stir as needed strain it after 10 mins)
Add the crab meat sauce to the pasta and there you go!

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

Truthfully, I am no domestic goddess and whenever I feel like making a good cooked meal, I just go to the seafood store, buy some salmon filets, put some butter or olive oil on the filet (not a lot) and sprinkle with seafood seasoning that you buy at the grocery store. Then I cook the salmon at 450 for 10 minutes or until the fish flakes when cut and with that I steam some broccoli or asparagus with some chopped fresh garlic and I make a rice. It is good and easy.
Also i do a roast chicken which is really easy.
Buy a whole chicken, clean it and take ouit the bag of goop. Sprinkle the chicken with kosher salt and leave for at least an our in the fridge (this extracts all impurities from the chicken.) Then rinse the salt off, rub chicekn with olive oil and some "rotisserie chicken" seasoning that you buy at walbaums (Mccormicks) and you can add other seasonings then put in ove that has been preheated at 325-350. Bake for 20 minutes per pound. I buy red potatoes and quarter them and through them in the pan with some olive oil and rosemary and let it all cook. I suggest buying a good chicken like Murray's or Empire.
Ok that is the extent of my cooking.
Check out www.epicurious.com or www.foodtv.com or buy goodhousekeeping cookbook. Oh, one more easy recipe... buy frozen shrimp (already peeled and deveined) at trader joes. Buy some frozen stir fry vegetables, stirr fry with good teriyake put over rice, poof you have easy home cooked meal without the fuss!!!

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

That's right. Can you get to a Trader Joe's? They have so many stir fry mixes and sauces you can make anything. Cheap too. My freezer is stocked from Trader Joe's.

Re: NWR - I'm not very domestic...anyone have recipes to share?

thanks girls! i feel better now. i actually went to target today and found a dvd of rachel ray's 30 minute meals. i was too busy shopping today to try it out but my sister swears by it and says its great! i saved all of the yummy recipes shared on this thread...any others would be appreciated too!!!