Cookbook for Dummies??

Thanks for asking this question. I'm watching the answers. I've been married 20 years and it seems like I make the same 5 or 6 things over and over. I really don't like to cook and I'm not very good at it. I do love to bake, but cheesecake and cookies do not make a balanced diet!!

:) M

The Joy of Cooking - Rombauer. A classic that should be on everyone's shelf. It was updated a few year's back.

The New Basics - Julee Rosso.

I second How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. He also has a weekly column in the NY Times that is worth reading.

If you shoot me a PM with your email address, I'll add you to the list... I'm compiling a 'cookbook' with recipes from all the moms on here :)

Being a good cook is nothing more than paying attention to detail and following instructions. If the recipe says 1 cup of milk, don't just pour from the jug into the mixing bowl and stop when you think, "That must be 1 cup". Use a one cup measuring cup.

Follow the instructions precisely and you will be a good cook and maybe even a great cook.

For the great cook books with fantastic recipes, I recommend the following:
Lion House Desserts (Carmel Dumplings, page 46, is fantastic and very easy)
Lion House Entertaining
Cooking with Mickey Vol 1 & 2 (Most requested recipes from Disney World and Disneyland)
Best Loved Recipes of All Time
Campbells also put out a cookbook that I think is called "5 Ingredient Cook Book". I sent it to my son when he first moved out and had to cook for himself.

Good luck to you and yours.

I received a cookbook at Christmas called Our Best Bites (they also have a recipe blog at www.ourbestbites.com). It is my favorite cookbook, and every recipe has been a hit with the family. I have seen this book for around $15 at Costco, Wal Mart, and several book stores.
I really like this book because it has lots of tutorials that make preparing food easier. The recipes are good family fare and are easy to prepare. Lots of crock pot options as well. In January, this was the only cookbook I used, and the family loved everything. In fact, if my kids ask what is to eat and I tell them "the recipe came from that new cookbook", they will actually be excited to eat it, instead of grimacing and complaining, lol. Some of the recipes we have liked (and you could look them up on their blog and try them if you like)

Honey chicken
Italian Burgers
Crock pot Roast Beef sandwiches
Orange chicken with snow peas
Crepes
Chicken cacciatore (THE BEST!!!)
Meatballs and rice
Guiltless Alfredo pasta
Homemade Pizza

allrecipes.com! They have super easy recipes!

I really like how to everything by Mark Bittman.

Kraft has a great website for meal ideas and you can pick your skill level and time available to cook. Plus Betty Crocker has a free app for the iPhone that is great! It has an amazing beef stroganoff that is super easy to make and freezes beautifully for later meals.

I have a very picky eater and he eats 2 helpings of this chicken! I serve it with rice and apple slices.

Honey chicken with bacon:
Cook chicken breasts in a large skillet (5-6 min per side depending on thickness)
Brush on Honey Mustard salad dressing
Layer on a few slices of bacon (I use the precooked bacon)
Top with Mexican cheese
Cover and cook for another 2 min (or until cheese melts)

Pan Fried Tilapia:
Take a Tilapia fillet and coat in flour
In a large skillet melt 2 teaspoons of butter with 2 tsps of veggie oil
Place floured fillet in heated butter/oil
Cook 3-4 minutes each side (fish fillet should be nice and golden colored)

Serve with rice and a veggie. This fish is very mild and can be eaten plain or I make different sauces for this fish. My 4 year old will eat 1 to 1 1/2 fillets by herself. Very easy and only a few pans to clean up afterwards.

This is not so much a recipe book (it does have some simple recipes in it though) but it fits the "dummy" category. :)
"How To Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman.
http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everything-Completely-Revised-...
HTH!

Hi. I just made potato soup last night - my family can't get enough of it!

peel and cut potatoes into good sized chunks.
(The amount of potatoes depends on the amount of ppl. I have a hubby, 12 yr. old, 9 yr. old and nearly 4 yr. old and myself. I used 7 potatoes last night.)
Peel and dice one half onion.
Place potatoes and onion into a good sized pan, put enough water into pan to cover plus an additional inch or two.
Add some garlic powder.
Boil.
Cut several pieces of bacon into little pieces and fry til crumbly.
When potatoes are soft (use a fork to test) get some condensed/canned milk (about 1/2-3/4 C. in a bowl, add about 3 Tbs. of flour and whisk to make sure there are no lumps.
Add flour and milk mix to the soup, stir. Flavor to taste with salt and pepper.
Allow to thicken to your liking. If too thick, add more milk.. too thin, more flour/milk mix.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon crumbles. I add diced green onion to mine and my daughter likes croutons on top.

Once, I got big bread rolls, dug out the center of the rolls, made home made croutons and served the soup in the bowls with the croutons on top. The kids thought it was so cool! lol

Best of luck!

Get a cookbook on cooking with kids. The recipes will be easier to follow and you can encourage your children to cook along with you! You might even look for a family cooking class to improve your skills and expand your repetoire.

Also, my personal, all-time favorite cookbook is "The Joy of Cooking", which is amazinginly instructive and has a wealth of information. Another favorite is "365 Ways to Cook Chicken." "The Moosewood Cookbook" is a great source of vegetarian recipes, and is a great resource even if you're not vegetarian, as you can use the recipes to liven up the vegetable side of a meal.

I feel the same. I'm not good at cooking and I don't really like it. I will let you know what I'm doing to make some changes and its helped.

First, I only cook Mon, Tues and Wed. I make enough to have a little leftovers. Thurs we eat leftovers. Friday is pizza and salad for Family Movie Night. Saturday and Sunday I wing it depending on what we are doing.

I recently found this website posted by a mom on here: makedinnereasy.com She emails you the dinner menu for the next week on Friday. Its the menu, recipes AND shopping list! The recipes are easy enough even for me to do and so far the kids and hubby have liked everything I've made. I usually pick a couple new recipes per week, not all five of them, but hope to get to the point that I can do all five of them. We don't like every single thing but I figure on the nights its something we don't like (like seafood) then I will make one of my old stand-bys. =)

I also will just google "easy dinner recipes" and use ones I think I will like. My easiest is tostadas. Its basically no cook and everyone loves them. I buy the shells premade, can of refried beans, shredded lettuce and cheese. Hubby uses hot sauce, the rest of us, salsa. I keep the shells and beans in the pantry for quick last minute dinner when I don't have plans for anything else.

I hope you get some good ideas. Good luck!

Two easy and yummy recipes:
Summer Spaghetti: 1 package spaghetti, 1 kilbasa, italian diced tomatoes (or a cup and half of cherry tomatoes, cut in half), clove or so of garlic, italian seasoning.
cook the pasta as instructed. In a fry pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive (or veggie oil), saute the kilbasa. add the tomatoes, garlic (to taste), and italian seasonings. Saute until warm, toss with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with parmesan.

Crockpot chili: assorted cans of assorted beans (the more the better: I use a can of black beans, kidney beans, white beans, etc). 1 jar of salsa, a can of tomato sauce, a package of chili seasoning, and cooked meat of your choice (i.e., 1 lb of ground beef, or a couple cubed cooked chicken breast, etc.) Drain the beans and add everything to the crockpot. You can add additional tomato sauce or diced tomatoes if needed for consistency. Cook on low. This is great cooked for as few as 4 hours or as long as 12. The longer it simmers, the better it is and it's geat with any variety of meat, or even w/o meat as a vegetarian dish.

Happy cooking!

I browse the used bookstore for both cookbooks and cooking magazines. I found I enjoy cooking out of Cooking Light magazines since it is very close to my family's taste in terms of food and health needs. Those magazines are undoubtedly my primary source for inspiration and recipes. I will subscribe for a year or two and then not renew for the next year or two. With a magazine coming in every month I find constant fresh ideas and perspectives not to mention so many different recipes. Also I like their quick cook recipes and seasonal take on food. By using ingredients in season you can really get maximum punch out of a recipe and your budget. Plus I find myself willing to try things outside my comfort zone since I know for the most part I like their dishes. Finally I appreciate that some of their recipes use the same base ingredients. For instance, I can buy a single pork loin and get a few different meals out of it by using different recipes. Good luck and happy cooking.

Well, I checked your profile to see what ages the kids were and it says you have a 4 month old and have been with hubby 6 years.

I was going to suggest my 2 favorite cookbooks but they are really sort of too young for your kids if they are indeed 2 years older than the profile states....

Anyway, moms who like cookbooks will most likely open your question so I'll post them anyway.

Baby and Toddler Meals for Dummies:

http://books.google.com/books/about/Baby_Toddler_Meals_Fo...

Idiots Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler:

http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Complete_Idiot_s_...

A great on-line source is bettycrocker.com. The site has recipies, how-to advice, and coupons. You can also sign up to receive their newletter and featured recipies.

I have a subscription to EATING WELL magazine. Most of the recipes take 30 minutes to make. they are all healthy and delicious and rely mostly on fresh ingredients / non-processed food. If you want to check it out before committing to a subscription, check out their website eatingwell.com. filled with excellent recipes for free :) Since discovering Eating Well, all my other cookbooks are collecting dust. Try the pork chops with fresh thyme and pineapple for starters. Dang but it's good!

Any thing written by Cooks Country or Cooks.com will be great. http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/index.php?Extc... This is the BEST online source and I use it a lot - even though I am a really good cook! Have fun with it, and sign up, it is worth the like $15!
L.

Most crockpot recipes are pretty simple with a limited number of ingredients. I even cook meatloaf in mine sometimes! I would start there - there are crockpot recipe books everywhere. I have also found some good recipes in Family Fun magazine, maybe they have a recipe section on their website? If you feel a little more confident and daring, I like Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country (same publisher), and Cuisine at Home magazines. Some of their recipes are more advanced but they usually have good instructions and may help your technique.

Just keep a couple of pizzas in the freezer for backup and happy cooking!

Well, don't fret, cooking doesn't have to be as hard as it seems. I don't love to cook, I'd rather bake, but I don't mind it too much! Even so it's hard not to get in a rut!

Easy websites are the Kraft one, I can't think of the exact site but if you google Kraft recipes it will come up. It has TONS of quick and easy meals plus all the recipes use normal ingredients that you have on hand. Plus most of them have reviews which are handy too. Allrecipes.com is also really good but it can be overwhelming. If you use it I'd stick with just looking at the first few recipes that pop up and choose from those. I'm pretty sure they come up with the highest rated ones first.

As far as cook books, there are so many. I would go the cook book section of the book store and just read through a few to get an idea of stuff that sounds good/easy. Also going to the library would be a good idea too that way you can check out some books without spending the money, they can be expensive.

If you know anyone who sells Pampered Chef and/or Southern Living I've found that both of their cookbooks make delicious recipes that are pretty easy.

Honestly, I'd take a look at the Kraft site first though, it really is user friendly! I think you can even type in the foods you have and it will bring up a recipe for you!

You are doing the right thing! The way to become a better cook is to start branching out and cooking different meals. Don't be afraid to try something totally new. I would advise you to pick one new recipe online or from a magazine (they have most at the library - Cooking Light, Sunset, any women's magazine will have recipes in the back it seems!) every week. Don't plan to cook something new on a whim with what you have yet. Plan out the meal...shop for these new ingredients during your weekly grocery shopping trip and just follow the recipe. Over time, over years, you will get to be better and better at this. If you feel like it is going well plan out 2 new meals a week. Good luck and happy cooking!

i need step by step instructions. Since you have kids you probably dont have tons of time...look up crock pot recipes...they are usually easy and you dont have to do very much after the intial prep. Crock pot girls or http://www.crockpot-recipes.com/.

Good luck...