Hi M.,
It sounds to me like you are "officially cooking" now! ;-)
For starters, think about what you made within the last week. Are those foods some that you would want to have again? If so, buy ingredients for them, and keep them in your pantry.
Libraries also have many cookbooks to borrow.
Here are some things we always have, we just add them to the list when they get low: lettuce, celery, carrots, onions, radishes (yep, salad is often on our table!); potatoes, canned mushrooms
Canned Chinese veggies --baby corn, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, sometimes bean sprouts (for stir fry; add carrots, celery, onions, garlic, meat of choice)
Ketchup, mustard, salad dressings (I also make a homemade Italian style one), bouillon cubes or powder
Canned soup, especially clam chowder and some kind of cream soup e.g. cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, cream of celery
Rice and various pastas (spaghetti and elbows most often)
Sliced or chunks of Cheese of some kind; parmesan always
Flour, sugar (white and brown), baking powder, baking soda, salt,pepper, tenderizer, cinnamon, chocolate chips (good cookie recipe on package,usually), vanilla
Tomato sauce and paste
Tuna
Eggs, milk
Frozen corn
Frozen chicken breasts; ground beef
Some recipes:
Chicken breasts over rice:
Thaw chicken. Brown in a little oil or margarine, may add garlic or other seasonings.
In a 9x13 pan, put in rice, and as much water as it says for that amount of rice (on package) Sorry, I don't know how many you are cooking for, this can be adjusted! use smaller pan if needed.
Lay chicken on rice, pour a cream soup over top.
Cover with foil or lid, bake 1 hr at 350. May remove cover for last 15 min to brown a little or if too soupy. May sprinkle cheese over at this time if desired. May substitute pork chops or pork steaks for chicken.
Broccoli-Rice casserole (my Mom's recipe)
Cook a package of frozen broccoli or a couple cups fresh. Add a can of cream soup, and some diced cheese, maybe a cup or so? not sure. It's flexible!! May add diced cooked chicken or meat, and/or chopped onion. Cover and cook at 350 for until heated through and cheese is melted.
Casseroles in general:
Take a starch (rice, cooked noodles, sliced potatoes), a cream soup, a veggie, and a protein (meat, chicken, cheese, tuna). Mix all and cook until heated through. If you ae addign raw meat/chicken, you have to cook longer.
GLOP (my husbands's name for it, also his recipe)
Brown a pound of ground beef in skillet, seasoning with a little allspice and cloves. Drain fat. Meanwhile cook about a half pound of elbow macaroni. Drain macaroni; he adds a blob of margarine, I prefer not to. Mix with beef in bowl, tear up a couple of slices of cheese and mix in. He and I like to add sauteed onions and mushrooms but our kids don't like that so we sometimes just fry those separately and add them to our plates.
Soup--Dice up any vegies you feel like, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, frozen corn. I like to saute the onions first. Add all to pot of water, add bouillon if desired. Simmer until veggies are soft as you like them. May add cooked meat, chicken, rice, noodles near end of cook time, to heat through. If you are adding raw meat or uncooked rice/pasta, cook longer.
Email me if you want more! Have fun cooking!
K. Z.