First try, a success!
Oh! I forgot to post about this, even though it was a highlight of my week and I was very happy about it :)
Awhile ago I was following links and found this book called EatingWell Serves Two. I was really excited to buy it because we'd just bought a Weight Watchers cookbook - but the serves were for 6 or 8 people. I know that some people know how to deal with leftovers - I'm not one of them. I don't like eating leftovers. In fact, the chance of me eating something that's been put back into the fridge is little to none. I also don't like split ingredients as I always seem to mess it up somehow. So we exchanged the WW cookbook for the EatingWell book and I picked out a recipe to try, Marmalade Chicken. It was one of the few 15-20 minute recipes and that's why I chose it.
With the few ingredients needed, I took my time and read over the instructions a few million times. The last few times I've tried to cook/bake I'll either miss an ingredient (missed the cheese & mayo for this casserole dish - luckily no one had to eat it) or I'll not be ready for a step when I'm in the middle of a step already and of course it'll result in me burning something. So I read it long and hard, combined the ingredients, took my time and... I DID IT! Not only did I do it, I did it right, didn't burn anything, and it tasted so, so, so good! The only bummer was that I wanted to cook some rice to go with it - but I didn't time the rice right. It wasn't ready for a good half hour after the chicken was done and I wasn't about to let the chicken get cold and taste any less delicious than it was.
The most important thing about this whole endeavor is that its given me some confidence to try again. I told Paul I want to try to make at least one new recipe each week - let's hope I can do it!
My Groups
-
Game Over Updated: 3 hours ago
-
50 in 365 (host) Updated: 5 hours ago
-
Writing Prompts Updated: 2 days ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
Comments
to control portion size so there is no waste. Dave doesn't like to follow directions....while I always do...to the letter.
At least you did well with the chicken...I used to hate cooking but had to learn.
One of my favorite cookbooks is The Joy of Cooking. Beyond just the usual recipes it has instructions and suggestions on how to cook just about everything as well as a description about what it is. Not sure how to prepare a roast or how long to bake your turkey? JoC has you covered. I love that you can look up ingredients in the back and see a bunch of recipes that uses it as a main ingredient.
For example, I'm looking at turnips. First it has a description of what they are, what they look like(there are pictures too), how they taste, how to pick out good turnips, and how to store them properly. Then it says how to prepare them (boil, steam, roast, and even microwave) followed up by fancier recipes if you're feeling adventurous. The only downside is those recipes would have to be downsized for two people, but it really is great for the general info.
Congrats on making some tasty chicken! (Gonna share the recipe? I love marmalade :D)
Now I cook without books. I just watch the food channel when I am bored of my usual things to mix things up a bit.
But I had portion control problems too. Since I grew up cooking for a family with 2 teenagers I had to figure out how much my brother was eating because somehow my husband couldn't match him and 2 other adults (har har). I had no idea how much I could cut back!