cooking

[quinn]

So..
I'm moving into an apartment pretty soon, and I'd like to start cooking food to save money and have good food to eat.

Interests I have in mind:
1. Cheapness
2. Quality
3. Time (I don't want to spend more than an hour cooking any particular meal)

I have some cooking experience, so I'm not really inept.

Please post your ideas.

Pasta.

You can make a million variations, as much or as little as you like and it's good.

...and Top Ramen.

[tbach24]

Something like chili or a stew that you can make a lot of and not have to worry about cooking for a few days is good.

[FatOtt]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0028610105.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Blarg]

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http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0028610105.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

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That was a very good answer.

P.S. -- A few tips:

A lot of good cooking comes down to the quality of your ingredients.

It doesn't have to take a long time to be good.

Remember to think about texture, not just taste. Sometimes you want a unified texture, sometimes you want some contrasts. Remember what textures you're after when you're deciding when to add an ingredient -- don't let a quick-cooking vegetable or other item you wanted to taste light, crispy, or fresh get bland, rubbery, or unappealing because you let it cook the same amount of time as something that takes ages to cook. This ties in a bit to the next tip...

Always taste. Cooking is fun and interesting if you pay attention to the results, and think how you could make things better or worse. A lot of cooking's appeal comes from appreciating it as a skill and a challenge, rather than looking at it as a chore or necessity.

Ask others for their opinions, but don't be afraid to value your own judgments, too. Many people just have poor taste or don't like anything different or new. That's why so many of us like Mom's cooking, even if nobody else would.

[Jeebus]

mexican food.
meat + cheese + salsa + various size and configuration container= lots of different meals.

[manpower]

You can make a pretty wide variety of stir fry chicken + rice dishes pretty easily. Just alternate out types of seasoning, sauces and veggies as you please. Grab some asian seasoning next time you go to the grocery store, sweet chili sauce is very +ev.

A personal favorite of mine, and very easy, is to take boneless chicken thighs, let marinate in bbq sauce for an hour. Cook on Foreman grill and eat as a hamburger with bun.

[oddjob]

get yourself a crock pot. it's very easy. throw in meat (i'm fond of short ribs) celery, carrots, onions, potatos, spices and water. let braise for a long long time. this is somethign you can start the night before, or that morning.

from there you can graduate to different things or experiment with different spices or ingredients.

[ThaSaltCracka]

get a bbq.

[zoomOut]

[ QUOTE ]
A personal favorite of mine, and very easy, is to take boneless chicken thighs, let marinate in bbq sauce for an hour. Cook on Foreman grill and eat as a hamburger with bun.

[/ QUOTE ]

ummm, this sounds really good to me. I might just have to try this.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
get yourself a crock pot. it's very easy. throw in meat (i'm fond of short ribs) celery, carrots, onions, potatos, spices and water. let braise for a long long time. this is somethign you can start the night before, or that morning.

from there you can graduate to different things or experiment with different spices or ingredients.

[/ QUOTE ]

These are really great, and easy to use too. You can make really good soups, stews, sauces, chili, potato dishes, etc., in it without heating up the house on a hot summer day, or using much electricity, or doing much work. You don't have to watch it, but can just dump your stuff in and come back hours later to a great meal. You can even make bread and cakes in them.

[BruinEric]

Cooking really pays off in normal quantities. That is, cooking just for one is more expensive financially AND in time spent.

Therefore, get yourself some nice tupperware and learn to freeze food appropriately. You will be able to make nice frozen meals for extracting the best value for your money. Spruce up the dish with a few different sides and you won't feel like you're eating leftovers.

[Chobohoya]

[ QUOTE ]
Cooking really pays off in normal quantities. That is, cooking just for one is more expensive financially AND in time spent.

Therefore, get yourself some nice tupperware and learn to freeze food appropriately. You will be able to make nice frozen meals for extracting the best value for your money. Spruce up the dish with a few different sides and you won't feel like you're eating leftovers.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is very good advice. Be willing to eat the same thing for a few lunches and dinners in a row, most recipes are 4-6 servings.

Get a (really cheap) gas grill. You can make the aformentioned BBQ chicken no sweat. Also, burgers. Get some reasonably lean meat (90%/10%) and form patties from straight ground meat. Throw it on the grill 4-6 at a time. Put a coat of Season-all on there, and some Worstershire sauce. Flip after a few minutes, season again. Two more iterations, and you should be good to go.

Learn how to stirfry. Someone already mentioned this. It's really easy, I would bet if you made another post titled "I want to learn to stirfry" you would be set. If that doesn't work out, just get a chinese cookbook, the normal ingredients are really cheap:
Oil, garlic, salt, ginger, oinions, some meat, some vegetables, rice. Done.

GL

[Cancer Merchant]

The Microwave is your friend. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157954892X/104-6453729-8842368?v=glance)