cant cook - need help

[jj_jonathon]

geez...the worst thing im seeing about college dorm life is cooking...i have a full kitchen in here, but i dont know how to use it! lol...ive exploded frozen meatballs that my mom gave me, turned frozen pre-cooked chicken breasts into bricks and burned pre-cooked sausages!! lmao....so the only things I've successfully made are lipton rice packages, ramen noodles and home fries...i cant live off side dishes...lol...and i refuse to not cook! im not living on pizza and publix chicken either! (however good it is )...anyone know of some easy recipes that are yummy? or some good frozen/pre-cooked stuff that they think is worth me trying? btw... i dont have a barbeque, so most beef is out of the question...but im open to try anything if you mention temperatures and what it should look like when its cooked (i hear salmanila sucks...lol)....

im sure some of the women on here have lots of helpful hints and some of the men learned some tricks when they didnt have the women who know how to cook (hehe, not sexist, my mom is awesome and my dad can only bbq...so its not so much a stereotype )...take it as a huge compliment ...

please and thanks for any opinions beyond frozen dinners...lol

~jonathon

Well here's a couple of easy ones.
spaghatti (sp) and sause, just buy the sause thats already made, fry some hamburger and add it to the sauce. Then boil your noodles or whatever you want till its soft. I taste it to make sure its done, then just mix together. You could buy you some fresh rolls or the pre made garlic bread, which probably would be easier for you and there you go.
Then theres the easy fish sticks etc. you'll find them in the frozen food isle and read the directions on the package, get you some pre made cole slaw and there's another meal. Well I'll come up with some more later, here's a start. Odie

[jj_jonathon]

ive actually already done the spaghetti, thats where i burnt the meatballs in the microwave...lmao....but the fishsticks sounds like a plan, i have some cole slaw left from the sausages i managed to burn too...lol thnx for now

[tireburner163]

Humm....there is tireburner's famous "WTF is that" Chili.

Brown some hamburger meat, throw in some beans, and anything hot you have laying around, add galic, throw in anything else you have handy that looks like it might go in chili, heat till it starts bubbleing, add 1/2 bottle of hot sauce.....enjoy.
*Side note, you will prob. not like the outcome the next day*

Odie's idea was good, "F" the meatballs, just throw some sauce on that hamburger meat.

Burrio's
Brown some hamburger meat(seems like lots of stuff involves browned hamburger meat), add some taco seasoning to that.

Get some sliced tomatos, letuce, sour cream, olives, and what ever else you like on yours.

Put the tortias(sp?) in the microwave with a wet paper towel over them, nuke them for about 30 seconds.

Throw all the stuff on the tortia and add 1/4 bottle of hot sauce, roll it up and enjoy.
*See above side note*

You can't go wrong with fish stick sandwichs either. Burgers are easy to make too.

I'd just like you leave you with some of my older brothers words. "You haven't experinced college life till you've put BBQ sauce between two peices of bread and called it a sandwich."

Take it easy,
Josh, aka the tireburner

[jj_jonathon]

Originally posted by tireburner163
I'd just like you leave you with some of my older brothers words. "You haven't experinced college life till you've put BBQ sauce between two peices of bread and called it a sandwich."

omg lmfao....i nearly fell off the chair from that, that is now a quote in my info for AIM and in here...dayum, THAT is a classic...

im not big on the whole chili/hot sauce thing...but fajitas sounds like an options...so to cook hamburger all i need to do is fry it until it browns? sweet...that doesnt take overly long and comes with 1000 options....thanks for the info

[Crazy Horse GT]

here's my easy recipe- get married, bwahahahaha, lol

[jj_jonathon]

actually my gf is up here and she makes pasta really well...and both our moms send us up here with "care-package" (frozen) meals when we come back on weekends...so thats covered as far as it needs to be marty lol

[Crazy Horse GT]

Originally posted by jj_jonathon
actually my gf is up here and she makes pasta really well...and both our moms send us up here with "care-package" (frozen) meals when we come back on weekends...so thats covered as far as it needs to be marty lol

just trying to help johnathan.

[Topless In Texas]

Hey Jonathon..
You will surprise yourself!!! You dont need a bbq to do beef...You have an oven, right? And it has a broiler? You can broil steaks, burgers, and cook chicken in the oven. I do steaks in the broiler all the time, cuz I'm too lazy to set up my Keg-a-Que that I got from a car show. (pit) The trick is in the seasoning!!!! Get some Good Fajita Seasoning, and some Tony Zaterainnes..(sp?) I like to marinade steaks and stuff in a mix of Soy Sauce, and Teriyaki sause myself...( i like that Chineesy taste!) BUT NO RICER! lol! And you want it a few inches from the flame, if the broiler is on the top. Other wise you will have 'blackened' steak..I hate blackened anything, tastes like charcoal. I personally like my steaks med/RARE...very pink. that grosses alot of people out, but thats what I like. You need to watch it and I like to cut into it to see how its cooking. Try flipping the meat over to do both sides more even, so you dont end up charring the top! It might cook it a little faster too. I also like to use the chopped garlic in the jars for all my meat...I LOVE garlic, but dont like to cut it up. Takes too long..And a jar of mushrooms on meat, or better yet, cut up fresh ones and put them on before you cook it!

A good small investment is a Pressure Cooker! You can get one for prolly about $35-60. You can cook Roasts and things like that.(throw some potatoes, carrots, onions, and other veggies you like and you have a meal! They usually come w/ thier own VERY detailed 'cookbooks' as to cook meals in them! They make awesome roasts..very tender!

Tacos are good and easy as well. You can also do porkchops(breaded or not) in the broiler and also in the oven. You can also do them breaded, and cook them in a skillet in Butter! YUMMY...fattening as hell, but it tastes good!

Check out your frozen section for bags of 'StirFry' meat and veggie combos...just throw it in a skillet and follow the directions...You dont have to worry about buying the meat and cutting it up and slicing veggies. Also, one of my all time favorites...Grilled Chesse and ketchup!

I'll let ya know if I think of anything else....Some things you always wanna have on hand if your gonna cook anything cuz you never know if you'll need: milk, eggs, butter, breadcrumbs,rice, oil. A bag of frozen chicken breasts will get you far! And on all the Campbells Creamy soups, (like Cream of mushroom, Broccoli etc..) usually have very easy recipes on the can that you can throw them in w/ some chicken or something and just bake it! They make a great meal...

Good luck, and it might not be a bad idea to have a fire extinguisher on hand....Just in case!

Happy Cooking! TNT

[Hethj7]

Well, they are kind of expensive (about $5 bucks or so a piece), but those skillet meals they have in stores now actually can be pretty good. They have some where you add meat and others where the meat is already in the package. Everything is pre-cooked, so you just throw it all in a skillet and heat it up.

[mustangII460]

Go to the food store and buy this.

A pork tenderloin, its in a clear plastic bag with a marinade in it. It looks like a club. Also buy a box of those oven bags. Taders.

Put tenderloin in bag, in pan with taders or whatever inside with tenderloin, place in oven @375 or so. Time just depends on how you like it. I go about 45 min. (Cut taders small if not cooking long)

When its done you'll freak!

Bonus: Pork sandwitches for several days, don't forget the BBQ sauce.

[jj_jonathon]

Thanks for all the sugestions so far I'm definetly going to try some of these....keep em coming, because I'm sure lots of people on this board know how to cook easy foods

Thanks again,
Jonathon

[streetracinchik]

Get some frozen chicken breasts, put em in a pan of cold water to thaw (about 20 mins or so) & put them in a pan with some BBQ sauce.. this can b done on the stove or in the oven, whichever is easier.. dont forget the frozen Tyson chicken breast tenders (already breaded & cooked) directions for the oven are on the bag. These make good snacks or a meal, u can fix some Stove Top & a vegetable & bam a meal! Or a package of Lipton noodles & broiled chicken..

you can check out www.allrecipes.com for some more ideas..

[929PhoenixSquid]

Home-made pasta sauce:

In a large saucepan, bring 1/4-1/3 cup Olive oil to a simmer with 1/2-1 diced onion, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper.

Once the oinions begin to soften and turn slightly brown, add 1 can peeled fresh tomatos (squish up with your hands before adding to the pan).

Bring the sauce to a full boil for about 12-15 minutes (stirring occassionally) and keep simmering until your pasta of choice is ready to serve.

[Nightingale]

This ones easy

shopping list

2 cans chicken (white meat) near the tuna
rotel tomatoes,
cream of chicken soup
doritos
tub of sour cream
grated cheese ( yellow/white mixed)

find large bowl drain chicken and mix it with tomatoes, soup, sour cream and about a cup and a half of cheese.
get a deep glass pyrex dish
put layer or doritos in pan pour in half of mix, layer chips, layer of mix. top with 1/2 cup cheese bake @ 350 for 30-40 min. It will thicken up. have a 20 year old that can eat the whole thing.

goes well with cole slaw and ranch style beans.

steph