Not talking about some pale iceberg lettuce drizzled in dressing – I’ve been making some awesome and healthy salads that often include spinach, carrots, blanched broccoli, pecans, dried cranberries, and much more. It doesn’t use a stove or oven, but I chop, dice, and slice! AND, it’s helping me lose weight, too! 3 weeks ago

Simplify the ingredients! Using the model of the “Whole 30” meals, I stuck with just meat, vegetables, squashes, etc. Some herbs and olive oil to cook with. Lots of simmering and roasting. Turns out to be very healthy as well as very tasty! Also, I learned to make bread from scratch using the book “Kneadlessly Simple…” which allows me to make bread over a few days and still have it turn out awesome. I think I’m satisfied with my cooking now. :) 1 month ago

Making:
Yogurt
Cheese
and more complicated breads like:
brioche
foccacia 1 month ago

The pleasure of having friends over for dinner at my house is awesome and rewarding after a long week of the same old rutine. One friend is almost done with his career to become a professional chef, been a close friend made it easier to ask him for help, or better said, to get him into the kitchen to cook. We all got the ingredients first and told him that I wanted to see every step so I could imitate. Most of the steps were easy to follow and my friend is great at teaching, with a easy-going conversation to feel comftarble in the kitchen made me felt a safe zone to try to cook more over the following days after we had prepared lasagna.
So far, I learned how to do really good omelettes.

*Photo posted as an example of how I have made them, the picture is not mine.

My advise is to find someone that loves cooking in your circle of friends and ask who would be willing to help you out in the kitchen as a mini class. 3 months ago

I cooked Christmas dinner. I even made a turkey (well, sort of). I bought a Jennie-O pre-cooked turkey. After 4hours it was done. I didn’t need to season it, baste it or anything, I burned the rolls and the yams, but everything else was great and gone in 2 days! I fed 8 people and they requested extra food to take home. YAY! 4 months ago

There are enough recipes on line to make this work. I have to accept that with my ADD I’m never going to be one of those cooks with recipes in their heads. 5 months ago

Ny aunt can REALLY cook. She taught me how to make a turkey, cheese and macaroni and dressing from scratch. I can cook a little, but it was my first time making Thanksgiing dinner. Everyone thought that my aunt made it, but it was all me. Tomorrow I’ll make Jack Daniels pork chops. If that turns out well THEN the goal would be reached. 5 months ago

Through the years, being a new wife and mother has forced me to learn how to cook. I’m glad. My husband loves anything I make, and I’ve been the go-to for holiday dinner three years in a row now, so I think this qualifies as being done with this task! 5 months ago

I really really want to cook good different fun meals! Delicious, yummy food! Cooking is such a good hobby! 6 months ago

Ok, I can consistently make a decent pot roast in the crock pot now. Yay! 7 months ago

My girl friend’s mom made me an apron! Her mom is like my “other mom” – I always stay with her if I’m in town – so the fact that she made it for me is extra special. When I’m wearing it and cooking, I feel like I’m with family. 7 months ago

One of my best friends stayed with me for a week. She’s an awesome cook, and she even made it fun. She advised me on what things I should have in the kitchen and she and her mom bought me a crock pot and a blender as a housewarming gift. So, we cooked like crazy when she was here:

• Pulled Pork in the crock pot – so easy & so yummy!
• Pot Roast in a crock pot – all these years I’ve cut up the meat, but she showed me that you really don’t have too
• Lasagna, from scratch, with sauce made from scratch!
• Banana Bread
• Peach cobbler

• Penne Pasta with Chicken Alfredo – 100% from scratch!
• Penne Chicken Noodle bake – tomato and sweet red & yellow bell pepper based
• Nachos – with taco meat and all the fixin’s

I think I may actually enjoy some of it, if I’m not rushed. I’ll be starting my new job soon, though, so I won’t have time during the week any more. Still, it was kinda fun – and my DH and son both say that the food was edible! 7 months ago

I have started familiar cooking without recipes more even at the risk of screwing them up. I made a chowder, and a tomato sauce based on inspiration from online the last few days.
Soups, pastas and casseroles are the easiest things to improvise.

I have a new found love for fancy cheese that I didnt care for before going to Europe: Brie, Camembert, even Gorgonzola.

I loved the simplicity of some of the food in France- like the beautiful platters, and was in awe of the more complex creations – like pastries. I want to do both!
Simple: raclette, cheese plates
Difficult: Lava cakes, pots de creme, creme brulée etc 8 months ago