Easy Cooking Tips, Kitchen Basics
Quick and easy Cooking 101 recipes and ideas
First apartment? First kitchen? Learning to cook? Cooking on a budget? Here are some Cooking 101 quick and easy recipes and kitchen pantry tips.
For college students, newlyweds, and anyone who's moving into their first apartment, putting together your first kitchen can be a challenge! If you're cooking on a budget, learning to cook, and looking for quick and easy recipes, you might feel a little overwhelmed as you wander around the store with your grocery list. What you need right now isn't advice about gourmet cooking, so turn off the Food Network and keep reading for some basic survival tips about setting up your first kitchen and Cooking 101!
The trick is to start simple. First, figure out the inexpensive convenience foods that you need to stock your pantry. Have food on hand that you can prepare quickly, and make sure some of that food is healthy. Also, make sure you have plenty of non-perishable food on hand (food that doesn't go bad quickly). Buy perishable things like milk, vegetables, cheese and meat in small quantities so that they don't go bad before you get around to using them.
Here are some links to grocery lists of basic foods to keep on hand for snacks and quick and easy meals:
In addition, what you need is to find is some quick and easy recipes that you can throw together. Sure, you can subside on Ramen Noodles, frozen pizza, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but why would you want to? With just a little effort, you can learn how to put together quick and easy meals that are much more satisfying than frozen pizza, not to mention cheaper and healthier.
To find quick and easy recipes, ask around. Your parents, family members, and friends will be happy to help. (Your mother may cry when you call her for advice on how to cook a chicken.) Your easiest resource is probably the Internet, as there are countless recipes online. One recipe website I recommend is CDKitchen.com, which is run by my old friends Valerie and Brent Whitmore. In addition, check out the Food & Drink section of Suite101.com, and when you get the basics down, check out the Gourmet Food and Seasonal Cooking sections. In the meantime, here's some quick, easy, and yummy Cooking 101 recipes to keep on hand!
- Tuna Casserole
- Bean Burrito Lasagna and Guacamole
- Quick and Easy Egg Scramble
- Easy Pasta Toss
- Quick and Easy Snacks
If you have some recipes you'd like to contribute or some other suggestions, please email me or join the discussion below. Good luck cooking!
