Ugh! Why is cooking so hard for me???

[aristocatz]

I've never been much of a cook. I can do basics-scrambled eggs, baked egg dishes, stir fry's.... My DH doesn't mind & he does some cooking as well.

I had my daughter in the Fall (first baby) & I decided I wanted to start gathering a repertoire of meals I know how to cook so I can make a variety of meals for her & maybe teach her some family recipes as well. She is only 7 months old, so I still have some time before she is eating regular meals, but it's been a goal of mine.

Tonight I tried to make lasagna for my DH. I found the easiest recipe I could find, yet it took me so long to prepare it, I had no idea if the meat was browned enough, made a big mess, & was so frustrated!! It's now in the oven but it looks kind of disasterous I know my loving DH will eat it, no matter how it tastes.

I just don't get it-people I work with cook every night & it's no big deal. It's such a stress for me! I'm motivated to learn, but I just have the hardest time!!

Any advice?

 

[superme80]

I wasn't much of a cook until I had DS #1. Then I had to be. What helped was going online and finding people who LOVED to cook. Their blogs inspired me. Also I made it as enjoyable as possible. I have a couple of go to meals that are quick and fairly inexpensive. I then try to branch out. I love All Recipes and Tasty Kitchen. They have lots of easy meal ideas. There are also more advanced ones. I have had days where I like spending most of it in the kitchen. My favorite kid's blog is Weelicious.com. She has lots of easy and tasty recipes for the whole family. Plus healthy eating tips for babies. DH and I were "taste testers" for these recipes before DS could eat them. Good luck!!!!

 

[PollyannaMom]

1) It sounds like you might prefer learning from a real person rather than a recipe book. Are their any classes in your area? (Or you might be able to get someone to come in to teach you.)

2) I'm a decent cook...when I'm not hungry. But come dinner time, my patience is gone, and I'm easily overwhelmed. If you feel like that too, try some crock pot or casserole recipes, where you actually do all the work earlier in the day.

 

[Chikabowa]

I never could cook until we changed our eating habits about 2 years ago. I was just able to get by, but my dh did the majority of the cooking. If I wanted to eat the new way I figured I'd have to figure out how to fend for myself.

My best suggestion is to just keep trying. You'll slowly stumble into the recipes that the family will love. You'll also make a ton of terrible tries as well. Not everything will be a winner.

You'll slowly start coming up with your own recipes and start mixing flavors together. And you'll also come up with a lot of prep time saving techniques so the meals aren't quite as laborious.

I still have some dinner disasters. Last night I ruined $12 of boneless pork ribs and $5 of brussel sprouts. I had to make a run to Costco for pizza after the food was inedible. It happens.

Look at it more along the lines of experimentation with food instead I perfectly planned meals.

 

[floridaminnie]

I never really cooked or liked it until I started using Cooks cookbooks. They are dummy proof that have been perfected over a hundred times and they explain why they work.

 

[Peanut Giggleface]

I learned how to cook by watching the Food network. They show you how to prepare things, give you meaning of cooking terms, and a general understanding of cooking basics. I highly recommend it, plus you get to see a dish go from start to finish.

 

[MommyJack]

Much of cooking is trial and error. For instance, if your lasagne doesn't come out right think about what may have gone wrong and make a note of it for next time. It takes experience to know things like how much to brown the hamburger. If you don't have much experience and you didn't have someone to cook with you, there are some basic things that you need to learn. If you don't have someone to show you go on you tube and watch cooking videos. Also, foodnetwork is a great resource. There are some basic techniques with cooking that will help you. Also, you could take a cooking class to teach you the basics. Don't give up. If you have a desire to learn how to cook then you should go for it.

I consider myself to be a pretty good cook and sometimes I hit a home run with a dish and sometimes it flops. I try to learn from what I've done and make it better the next time. When a dish flops my stock explanation to my family is "this isn't a restaurant and it can't be a gormet meal every night."

One other thing, just because you have a recipe, doesn't mean it's going to be good. There are lots of really bad recipes out there, it may not be you.

 

[mtemm]

I can cook fairly well, but I have to say I have learned some new techniques from watching the chew most days. I dvr it and watch it when I get a chance. I find myself becoming more innovative. They do a nice job for novices, too, I think in explaining what things should look like.

another great show was a Gordon ramsey one that was running on bbc America. It was called Gordon Ramsay Ultimate Cookery Course and was fantastic. I think there is even a book, check amazon. Really broke things down.

 

[kirstenb1]

I learned from working in restaurants in high school and college.

My advice is to ask someone who's a good cook to show you how to prepare basic meals. Really, just an afternoon or two should give you the confidence and skill to branch out on your own.

 

[Tozzie]

I've never been much of a cook. I can do basics-scrambled eggs, baked egg dishes, stir fry's.... My DH doesn't mind & he does some cooking as well.

I had my daughter in the Fall (first baby) & I decided I wanted to start gathering a repertoire of meals I know how to cook so I can make a variety of meals for her & maybe teach her some family recipes as well. She is only 7 months old, so I still have some time before she is eating regular meals, but it's been a goal of mine.

Tonight I tried to make lasagna for my DH. I found the easiest recipe I could find, yet it took me so long to prepare it, I had no idea if the meat was browned enough, made a big mess, & was so frustrated!! It's now in the oven but it looks kind of disasterous I know my loving DH will eat it, no matter how it tastes.

I just don't get it-people I work with cook every night & it's no big deal. It's such a stress for me! I'm motivated to learn, but I just have the hardest time!!

Any advice?

I love to cook, but I learned to cook watching my mother who was a awesome cook. in my opinion you are overthinking it, you are looking at a recipe and picture and trying to follow it hoping your dish will look like the picture, it won't so stop trying. I think if you took cooking classes or even watched some of the cooking shows that are on tv that would help.


.

 

[rwdavis2]

Try this. Before you do anything else read through the recipe and see what the ingredients are and what you need to do to them. Then look thought the steps of the recipe. Finally before you start actually cooking prep the ingredients: chop what needs chopped, measure out spices and put them in separate little bowls as necessary, then measure out anything else. That way you have all the ingredients at hand a nd ready to go.

Then you start working thought ths steps of the recipe. I found out that a recipe needs studied and organized before you start cooking.

Find recipes with pictures to start out with. Also clean as you go. Do not let the dirty dishes pile up.

Finally, it takes practice. Find some basic instructional books at the library or book store.

 

[vicki_c]

I highly recommend these cookbooks from America's Test Kitchen:

ATK Family Cookbook (red)
ATK Quick Family Cookbook (orange-very good, but many things are not healthy)
ATK Healthy Family Cookbook (green)- many of the same recipes as the red cookbook, but made healthier

If you pick a recipe that sounds good to you, I would guess you will have 95% success or better cooking from these books. And they are filled with lots of photos about how to do things - cut a chicken breast, chop an onion, etc.

We have never had anything flop made from these books, just a few things we didn't like that much.

 

[vicki_c]

Try this. Before you do anything else read through the recipe and see what the ingredients are and what you need to do to them. Then look thought the steps of the recipe. Finally before you start actually cooking prep the ingredients: chop what needs chopped, measure out spices and put them in separate little bowls as necessary, then measure out anything else. That way you have all the ingredients at hand a nd ready to go.

Then you start working thought ths steps of the recipe. I found out that a recipe needs studied and organized before you start cooking.

Find recipes with pictures to start out with. Also clean as you go. Do not let the dirty dishes pile up.

Finally, it takes practice. Find some basic instructional books at the library or book store.

Mise en place. When I don't do this and prep everything in advance, then everything goes to hell in my kitchen and it's no fun at all.

 

[TLuvsD]

America's Test Kitchen books, as previously mentioned are AWESOME. And they explain why it works the way it does. They have a show on PBS, they also sell the DVD collection. Your library might have them to check out (like a video). Not only what to do, but why makes a huge difference.

Lasagna is not easy. Lots of steps, and lots of "judgement calls" with how much sauce between layers, etc. I'd start with dishes that are more structured, less judgement needed. Not more complicated, just less "cover with sauce judgements until you are feeling better about what you are doing.

You can do it!

 

[OhMari]

Good for you for even trying lasagna. It is very hard meal to put together.
I am not a great cook either. People gave you some great advice. My biggest thing I have to do is "read" the recipe. I took a micro-wave cooking class 30 years ago, and I still make things I learned in that class. Maybe sign up for a cooking class.

 

[Southernmiss]

Learn some shortcuts. I buy 5 pounds of ground beef at a time. Cook it all and parcel it out into individual meal packages. That way it's ready to go for spaghetti, etc.

Use prechopped and washed veggies or frozen when you can.

I like to have my dinner meal planned in my head in the morning. That way I can determine how long I will need for preparation and cooking.

When dh and I married, I couldn't cook. We ate hamburger helpers. Yuck! That was until I got some local cookbooks with easy tried and true recipes from real home cooks and not chefs on tv.

The other night I made a quick macaroni and pasta like lasagna dish but without all the steps

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

The crockpot is my friend. ;0)

Sent from iPhone

 

[pigletto]

I think I learned through trial and error and necessity. It wasn't easy but I liked to eat.. so I had to figure it out

I can still remember the most horrendous pancakes that stuck to the pan and were gloppy and disgusting, chicken that was so gross it still turns my stomach to think about it, and making a meal for my boyfriend in my first apartment that took HOURS and left a humongous mess to clean up. Now I could make the same things in an hour on a weeknight and think nothing of it.
So just practice, practice, practice. And I love the tips about really thinking out and prepping the recipe beforehand. If you aren't cooking in a messy chaotic kitchen it's so much easier. Timing is key for some meals. Sure I could make a turkey and veggies and mashed potatoes. But watch the kids, clean the house, set the table and get everything out at the same time? THAT took a lot of effort.

 

[minkydog]

I agree about the lasagna--definitely not a beginner's recipe. Heck, I've been cooking for over 30 years and lasagna is just something that I'd rather buy than make!

OP, I was just like you when I first got married. I couldn't cook anything other than scrambled eggs and spaghetti sauce--not the noodles, just the sauce. Thankfully, DH could cook so at least we didn't starve.

I bought a Betty Crocker Cookbook. It has basic recipes and pictures so you'll know what your dish is supposed to look like. At first I stuck with recipes that had no more than 6 ingredients and not a lot of prep work. Eventually I got more adventurous and branched out. But it took awhile. My DH put on a brave face and ate everything I put in front of him. Even the stuffed eggplant (what was I thinking!) and the chicken noodle soup that I accidently salted twice. Neither of us like casseroles, so its main dish, two veggies and a starch of some kind for dinner.

At this point, I'm a decent cook. I still prefer simpler recipes without a lot of ingredients. If you keep working at it you will be a decent cook too. Just don't get ahead of yourself. It's not a race. Keep it simple while you're learning and don't stress yourself out.

 

[glammadiva]

My dad started me cooking at age 4, so cooking has never been an issue for me. Taste of Home magazine is good, even has a budget meal menu every month. Have fun learning!