I cannot cook and it makes meals frustrating!

[ariatrance]

Okay, I am a baker. Love, love, love it! I excel at baking. BUT I don't think it's very healthy to eat baked goods only....not really a 'diet,' you know? I also haven't found time to bake all that often due to my children.

However, I cannot cook. I'm not terrible but my best meals are probably that only because there isn't any way to go wrong. I am the main cook in the family though because I am the stay at home parent. My husband's work schedule is such that he really can't cook the evening meal or we'd be starving/running into bedtime.

Soooooo, if you think you want to take on a challenge, can you help direct me to easier ways to do what I am doing/want to do? I would like to make cooking simpler, time efficient and less frustrating for myself. When it's only my thoughts rattling around in my head, I am not getting anywhere!

Grains:

Bread/Baked Goods - I need whole grain but NOT whole wheat, so I've been purchasing rye (for myself only; the others get ww). I'd rather bake my own bread but don't have time unless I give up my only free time during the day - after the kids are in bed and before my bedtime. Not sure I want to do that.... I also don't know what flour to use in baked goods to make them whole grain but acceptable for me to consume (i.e. not whole wheat flour).

Rice - I finally have a rice cooker, so maybe I can start making not-crunchy rice. But how do I use it??? No manual, of course, and not one online. It's a Black and Decker 3 cup model.

Pasta - I've been using brown rice and don't think I'll be making my own. I'm comfortable here!

Others - haven't branched out. A bit intimidated because of my lack of skill....

Fruits:

My kids eat any fruit and this category makes up 75% of their diet. They really love it! I only eat limited amounts of fruits (it's too tart for me) and mostly eat it in smoothie form. I do wish there was a way to have more variety in the fall/winter months without relying on expensive frozen bags - but I simply cannot can/preserve (I have two spirited children - it is not in the cards yet). I can, however, freeze! But how do I find cheaper quantities? The produce is still $1.49-$2.99 per lb. for seasonal fruit where I shop.

Veggies:

I try to get in as many as I can but I do rely on frozen bags for lunch convenience. The prep work is horrible - again, cramping my after-kids-bedtime-before-my-bedtime limit - but they do eat them! I would ideally like to serve at least two veggies at each meal but it is not happening. Mostly we get one at lunch, one at supper and if we're lucky, one at snacktime. I am talking independent sides here - I am not including any main course veggies (tomato sauce, casseroles, soups, etc.).

Protein:

Meat - I would probably be a vegetarian if my husband didn't protest. I have nothing against eating meat, but purchasing and cooking meat, I find absolutely repulsive. I still do it - ground beef and chicken breasts only - but I would really rather not. It is just gross and really wigs me out! I tend to cook it so long it is very well done, not inedible, but almost charry.

Tofu - I haven't gotten into tofu because I don't know what to do with it for storing. There is lots of water!

Eggs are fine - the kids eat them scrambled and so do I. I fix them other ways for husband but so far, the other three of us are not branching out.

Yogurt/Cheese - yes, please!

Beans - I purchase dry because those are more affordable but it sometimes takes me up to two weeks before I sort them for soaking/cooking. Not very good since they aren't readily available like if I bought pre-cooked cans.

I do okay with recipes but I feel boxed in and limited by them. I also don't have tons of spices, seasonings, vinegars, oils, etc. that I find recipes requiring. I find that annoying! The crock pot is okay but I seem to keep picking recipes that require lots of prep work - although if I just bought a can of tomatoes instead of chopping my own, I would have saved a lot of time two days ago.

I also would like to find better ways to freeze stuff. I use pint jars but everything freezes in a huge clump making it very hard to portion out (duh!). But I don't have tons of space if I wanted to freeze in a single layer. I can fit a cake pan in there, but that's it.

Any thoughts or suggestions from experienced cooks or at least those who have overcome some of my hold-ups/drawbacks? I am constrained to a $75/week budget and that doesn't buy a large quantity of simple, whole foods. I could buy all the hamburger helper/mac n cheese/packaged food I wanted but I don't want to, you know?!

Any help is much, much appreciated! Thank you!

[JamieCatheryn]

Most meals I center around a meat and a veggie, with a few exceptions. DH doesn't do well on grains though if he was in charge we'd live on pasta. We just got a Cuisinart which makes slicing, grating, or pureeing vegetables really easy on me but if wasn't so bad just to chop things by hand really quick before. Frozen bags of fresh vegetables are wonderful, some of my faves to get that way are peas, green beans, corn (off the cob), chopped spinach, sliced okra, and chopped green peppers. Some of those (green beans, peas, corn) I just toss in boiling water for just long enough (5-10 minutes), strain, add salt and butter and serve. Some go great on pizza or in a stew.

Speaking of stew, saute some chopped veggies and onion and if desired some meat, add a broth then if you want some cooked beans, maybe some cooked rice or pasta, some bread on the side and you've got a great hearty warm meal. Look up recipes for inspiration for ingredients and spices but the process is usually the same. My favorite stews to make take cumin and chili powder (black bean), curry powder and ginger (curried veggie), and oregano and cayenne (fish stew). I haven't made this stuff in a long while because it's been hot, we've been grilling instead, so we're all looking forward to them again.

For the bread, you can mix up a bulk batch of that "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" stuff and keep the dough in the fridge to bake real quick each day. I hear the taste improves with age up to a point, souring pleasantly. Or save bread for rare occasions like we do and make it a family project.

Oh when you do meat, a meat thermometer would help you be sure to get the it cooked but not overdone. Or if presentation's not important, cut it open to take a look when it might be done.

For bulk fruit, good fresh stuff and sometimes organically grown, visit your nearest farmer's market and talk to the farmers about getting a deal on a lot of it. Right now it's mostly just apples and pumpkins here, I guess you could freeze applesauce or sliced apples but it's just as easy to can TBH. I'm about to put up applesauce and apples for pie for $20 or less for 42#. Berries and peaches you can stock up on next year and freeze them, but for those I expect you will still pay about $2/lb in season.

[Magelet]

Originally Posted by ariatrance

Okay, I am a baker. Love, love, love it! I excel at baking. BUT I don't think it's very healthy to eat baked goods only....not really a 'diet,' you know? I also haven't found time to bake all that often due to my children.

However, I cannot cook. I'm not terrible but my best meals are probably that only because there isn't any way to go wrong. I am the main cook in the family though because I am the stay at home parent. My husband's work schedule is such that he really can't cook the evening meal or we'd be starving/running into bedtime.

Soooooo, if you think you want to take on a challenge, can you help direct me to easier ways to do what I am doing/want to do? I would like to make cooking simpler, time efficient and less frustrating for myself. When it's only my thoughts rattling around in my head, I am not getting anywhere!

Grains:

Bread/Baked Goods - I need whole grain but NOT whole wheat, so I've been purchasing rye (for myself only; the others get ww). I'd rather bake my own bread but don't have time unless I give up my only free time during the day - after the kids are in bed and before my bedtime. Not sure I want to do that.... I also don't know what flour to use in baked goods to make them whole grain but acceptable for me to consume (i.e. not whole wheat flour).

Why is whole wheat unacceptable for you? hard to recommend grains if I don't know why wheat doesn't work.

Others - haven't branched out. A bit intimidated because of my lack of skill....

Fruits:

My kids eat any fruit and this category makes up 75% of their diet. They really love it! I only eat limited amounts of fruits (it's too tart for me) and mostly eat it in smoothie form. I do wish there was a way to have more variety in the fall/winter months without relying on expensive frozen bags - but I simply cannot can/preserve (I have two spirited children - it is not in the cards yet). I can, however, freeze! But how do I find cheaper quantities? The produce is still $1.49-$2.99 per lb. for seasonal fruit where I shop.
Buy in bulk directly from the farmer. At the farmers market, or farmstand or pick your own. When you buy 20 pounds of anything it's often 1 a pound here. I've gotten amazing tomatoes, apricots, etc for that much because I bought in huge bulk. Or buy seconds (ones that are a bit bruised, etc) still not sure those will get you under 1.50 though. honestly 1.50 a pound is pretty good for more fruit. It's why in general, we eat lots of veggies and not much fruit. We can't afford to eat lots of fruit and lots of veggies and fruit as a treat meets our nutritional needs just as well. (and properly prepared veggies are yummy). I think it's not very natural to eat a lot of fruit in winter honestly, and I eat very little in the winter, mostly dried.

Veggies:

I try to get in as many as I can but I do rely on frozen bags for lunch convenience. The prep work is horrible - again, cramping my after-kids-bedtime-before-my-bedtime limit - but they do eat them! I would ideally like to serve at least two veggies at each meal but it is not happening. Mostly we get one at lunch, one at supper and if we're lucky, one at snacktime. I am talking independent sides here - I am not including any main course veggies (tomato sauce, casseroles, soups, etc.).

I'm not sure what advice you are looking for here, but I have to say, we almost never do veggie sides here. It's just too much work to cook a side. Instead, we do mixed things. It's also cheaper. So stews, stir fries, soup, pasta sauce (we often do veggies in pasta sauce. not sneaky, but outright. tomato sauce with sliced zuchini is a big one in summer. etc), grain or legume and veggie and cheese salad (lentil salad, quinoa and eggplant salad,) things like that. To me, as long as I'm getting a variety of veggies throughout the week, and plenty of them, I don't care if I get variety in my day. so often, it's the same veggie for lunch and dinner. (or more usually, for dinner and the next day's lunch as leftovers), lots of it. And given that we eat seasonally, it's usually very few veggies at a time. For instance in summer we eat tons of corn and squash and some tomatoes and eggplants. A few other things sprinkled in but we often eat squash 5 nights a week because it's cheap and delicious. It will be out of season so fast, why not gorge while it's in season.

Protein:

Meat - I would probably be a vegetarian if my husband didn't protest. I have nothing against eating meat, but purchasing and cooking meat, I find absolutely repulsive. I still do it - ground beef and chicken breasts only - but I would really rather not. It is just gross and really wigs me out! I tend to cook it so long it is very well done, not inedible, but almost charry. I'm not sure what to say against grossness.

Tofu - I haven't gotten into tofu because I don't know what to do with it for storing. There is lots of water!
I buy tofu fresh just before I want to use it (up to a few days before), keep it in the water in the fridge, (if it's fresh (from a local company, and not sold in a water pack thing) I stick it in a jar or tupperware with water), until I'm ready to use it. In terms of cooking it, what tofu is great at is absorbing flavors. It has almost none of it's own. So marinate it in something, or put it in a really flavorful stir fry with flavored oil (with spices, garlic etc in the oil) and some soy sauce or something. I don't eat a lot of it because I don't think soy is great for you, but sometimes it's perfect.

Eggs are fine - the kids eat them scrambled and so do I. I fix them other ways for husband but so far, the other three of us are not branching out.
If you wanted to try branching out, quiche or fritatta are pretty easy and so tasty. I also love migas: fry a few cut uptortillas in a little olive oil or coconut oil until golden. Add some tomatoes (usually I add a can), some salt and pepper and cook a bit. Then add an egg per person or so, (4-5 tortillas and a can of tomatos feeds two hungry adults for breakfast or for dinner with beans), stir until the eggs are cooked, and serve with tomatillo (green) salsa. (I just buy it. it's cheap and it's easy enough to get stuff w/o preservatives and its' the only time I eat it)

Beans - I purchase dry because those are more affordable but it sometimes takes me up to two weeks before I sort them for soaking/cooking. Not very good since they aren't readily available like if I bought pre-cooked cans.
Honestly? I don't really sort my beans. That said, I have noticed that the beans I get in the bulk bins are very clean, I've never noticed any twigs or rocks or dirt in them. Beans freeze quite well too, I recomend cooking a really big batch and freezing them in reasonable to eat sizes. then it's as easy as a can.

I do okay with recipes but I feel boxed in and limited by them. I also don't have tons of spices, seasonings, vinegars, oils, etc. that I find recipes requiring. I find that annoying! The crock pot is okay but I seem to keep picking recipes that require lots of prep work - although if I just bought a can of tomatoes instead of chopping my own, I would have saved a lot of time two days ago.

I would recommend finding the spices, seasonings etc that you like, and keeping those on hand and cooking from those. For us, we use huge amounts of cumin, corriander, cinnamon, curry powder, chili powder, chili flakes, cayenne, oregano, thyme, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic and ginger, sesame seeds, and mustard and more. so we keep lots of those on hand. It gives us options. They turn into thai with buying a little lemon grass and galengal and basil (all fresh), indian, mexican, italian, french, etc. It's flavors I love to cook. I love garlic and thyme, in soup or salad dressing or other things. Rather than going with recipes, I would look at recipes you love, and look at the spices, then try using those spices/seasonings for similar types of food, then branching out. (so take a recipe for a stir fry, take the spices, and try another stir fry. or a soup.)

I also would like to find better ways to freeze stuff. I use pint jars but everything freezes in a huge clump making it very hard to portion out (duh!). But I don't have tons of space if I wanted to freeze in a single layer. I can fit a cake pan in there, but that's it.
Me too. I use plastic bags. which I hate for obvious reasons.

Any thoughts or suggestions from experienced cooks or at least those who have overcome some of my hold-ups/drawbacks? I am constrained to a $75/week budget and that doesn't buy a large quantity of simple, whole foods. I could buy all the hamburger helper/mac n cheese/packaged food I wanted but I don't want to, you know?!

Any help is much, much appreciated! Thank you!

I hope that helps.

[ariatrance]

Thanks - it gives me some things to think on.

I cannot eat whole wheat because it gives me migraines and mouth ulcers. This has been going on my whole life but it is not an allergy (negative on all allergy tests). My parents always gave me crappy white bread with no nutritional value but as I've been improving my diet over the last few years, this is the last big thing that I'd like to find a better solution than plain white bread. I don't have a problem with rye bread but honestly, I get a little bored with it all the time. Plain, processed wheat flour gives me no problems (at least that I'm aware of) but I'm not sure I can just throw various whole grain flours into a basic recipe AND have it turn out edible.

As for beans, I have found several wrinkly, weird looking beans in the bulk bins but no rocks so far, thankfully. But what I have read says to throw out the wrinkly ones as they are 'past due.' Does it really matter? Because that would save me a bundle of time.....

[Magelet]

I mean, they might be old and seize, (not cook to softness totally), but I haven't found it to be a big problem, and if there's a seized bean or two (and only one or two), I don't mind, at least if I don't have company. Personally, I'd be lazy and if you aren't getting stones or twigs or stuff, I'd not sort too much.

In terms of whole grains, there are all kinds of other traditional breads. I mean, they might not be all the same, but you've got barley bread (here's a recipe to try tinkering with here. I'd change the oil and sugar for something better, but could be good), oat bread, rye bread. can you eat spelt? whole spelt flour cooks really just like whole wheat flour and is scrumptious. this recipe from 1918(though scaled for 50 people, would need to be scaled down, which I know isn't 1:1 with levaning but you can tinker with that and I wouldn't use corn syrup but honey might sub nicely) sounds good. both of them. the last line on buckwheat bread reads 1 1/3 tablespoons soda and then 1 1/4 qt sour milk or buttermilk (if you click on the recipe you can see.) here is the googlebooks that came from with a section on wheatless quick breads on page 22 (and possibly wheatless breads elsewhere. A lot of very low wheat breads you could try maybe using a smidge of white flour and a bunch of other whole grains? I think it's a wartime rationing book hence the wheatless. It does use corn syrup but you can sub honey for that, or maybe even maple syrup.)

I know it's not bread-bread but this looks so good I can't wait to make it http://thehealthyeatingsite.com/barley-bread/

As for cooking other grains, I like quinoa a lot. It's best soaked for at least 30 minutes or so and sort of aggitated a bit, then rinsed, to get rid of bitter saponins. then I like to drain it, toast it in oil, add some water to cover and cook (look up the proportions online, I forget). you can also blanch it. It's very high protein. other than rice, it's the main grain I cook with though I'd like to branch out.

[ollyoxenfree]

If you like baking, how about focusing on main meals that mostly use the oven? In other words, keep on baking, but with savoury foods.

Roasting vegetables (bell peppers, summer squash, winter squash, onions and garlic, root vegetables - parsnip, carrots, sweet potato....) is pretty easy. You can simply brush with a little oil and spices, or you can make it more complicated with fancier preparation and seasoned dressings.

Most casseroles don't take any more preparation than a cake or a pie. For that matter, chicken or beef or vegetable pot pies are delicious. You can even make an all-vegetable pot pie for yourself and add a little chicken or beef to another for your dh.

Soup is another easy meal. Once you learn basic soup making techniques (saute the vegetables and spices, add stock, bring to boil and reduce to simmer), you can have a nutritious meal ready quickly and most of the work is in the prep - cutting up the vegetables before they go in the pot. You can put your attention into making a nice baked good to go along with the meal - some cornbread is nice and it only takes a few minutes to prepare. Serve with cheese and it's a well-rounded meal.

HTH

[ariatrance]

Ahem. Good suggestions; however, I find I have some drawbacks.

Casseroles - okay in theory and not so bad (I haven't screwed up terribly yet anyway) but the prep work is pretty horrid. I sliced my finger peeling potatoes for a meal. And it isn't the first time. It also took about 30 minutes to peel and roughly chop (as in big chunks) 2 small sweet potatoes, 4 new potatoes and 1 small acorn squash. Should it take that long? That seems too long.

I have burned more vegetables trying to roast them in the oven than in any other way. I am not good at things that have to be stirred. I need to be able to leave it and not come back until it is done.

Do you find your kids eat lots of soup? I have been trying more lately (I want cooler weather sooooo bad!) but neither really 'gets' soup - how to eat it, why we're eating it. Plus they aren't filled up. Now I do drain off a bunch of liquid for my 19 mo. old - should I do that for my 3 yr. old too?

The rice cooker did okay! It bubbled over terribly and is all icky on the outside but the rice was good. It also took an hour to steam brown rice - that's normal, right? I think that is what I read on the instructions way back when I used to buy bags instead of bulk.

I think, with the cooler weather promised to be coming, using the oven won't be so bad. I may just try to stick to rice/noodle based casseroles for awhile. If I can improve there, then I might try my hand at another category. Of course, I'll still use the crockpots but maybe I can do vegetable 'side' dishes in those (or dessert!) if the main meal is in the oven. Good plan? Improve one step at a time?

[jeanine123]

Are you wary about cooking because you're not comfortable with the techniques (as in, chopping, slicing, sauteing, etc) or you're not sure what to combine with what else for a meal? If it's being uncomfortable with the techniques involved you could watch videos on YouTube or Food Network's website on the techniques to see how it's done. As for roasting veggies, I don't stir them either. I just cut the veggies into nice sized chunks (if they're too small they'll turn to charcoal in no time) and roast them at 425 for 10-15 min.

Yes, it will seem like the prep takes forever at first, especially if you're not used to doing it and you're not comfortable handling a knife. But the more you do it the faster you'll get at it and the more confidence you will have. It also helps to have a sharp knife, your local butcher or the folks at the meat counter at your local grocery store should be able to sharpen them for you if you don't have a sharpener at home.

[phathui5]

This site has some cooking tutorials:
http://www.cookingdude.com/

Here are a lot of "how-to" videos:
http://www.5min.com/Category/Food/Kitchen%20Skills

Healthy kid foods:
http://weelicious.com/category/videos/

[philomom]

Pot pie
quiche
meal in a muffin
pizzas


I'm a better than basic cook but when I'm tired or rushed, I fall back to my childhood. A meat and three veggies. Or pancakes and bacon for dinner.

Also, if I know I'm having a big day.. I load the crockpot before I leave the house in the morning and come home to stew or soup. Yum.

[Magelet]

Do you find your kids eat lots of soup? I have been trying more lately (I want cooler weather sooooo bad!) but neither really 'gets' soup - how to eat it, why we're eating it. Plus they aren't filled up. Now I do drain off a bunch of liquid for my 19 mo. old - should I do that for my 3 yr. old too?

In terms of veggie prep, it's definitely practice, and a sharp knife. It also saves time to only peel the things you must. I pretty much never peel potatoes. the skin has lots of nutrients and saves time. I work in a kitchen, and have a lot of expeirience chopping, but it would take me about 5 minutes to chop into big chunks those veggies. (only peeling the squash) Basically, as you get more practiced and comfortable cutting, you can do it much much faster. If you see amazing professional chefs, their knives fly at terrifying speed. But even as a home cook, as you get more comfortable, your speed will increase. (also knowing tips, like always cut first so that there is a big flat surface to put on the cuttingboard so it doesn't rock.)

I don't have kids yet, and can't really speak to how to eat it or why to eat it, but for more filling soup, I have a couple suggustions: make sure you put plenty of fat in it, to help fill you up. Make it chunky/thick. Whether I'm making pureed soup or chunky soup, I always put a lot of stuff in it (usually a carby something as well. potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, winter squash, etc). A brothy soup isn't super filling. Also, I almost always serve soup with bread and butter.

[lookatreestar]

LOL this sounds a lot like me, i only cook ground beef and chicken breasts too. haha meat freaks me out!!

[ariatrance]

First, an apology. My message last night was quite negative. I was in a bad mood and I do believe it showed. I really do appreciate all of the suggestions and tips that have been given - I really, really do!

Okay:

In terms of veggie prep, it's definitely practice, and a sharp knife. It also saves time to only peel the things you must. I pretty much never peel potatoes. the skin has lots of nutrients and saves time. I work in a kitchen, and have a lot of expeirience chopping, but it would take me about 5 minutes to chop into big chunks those veggies. (only peeling the squash) Basically, as you get more practiced and comfortable cutting, you can do it much much faster. If you see amazing professional chefs, their knives fly at terrifying speed. But even as a home cook, as you get more comfortable, your speed will increase. (also knowing tips, like always cut first so that there is a big flat surface to put on the cuttingboard so it doesn't rock.)

Are you wary about cooking because you're not comfortable with the techniques (as in, chopping, slicing, sauteing, etc) or you're not sure what to combine with what else for a meal? If it's being uncomfortable with the techniques involved you could watch videos on YouTube or Food Network's website on the techniques to see how it's done. As for roasting veggies, I don't stir them either. I just cut the veggies into nice sized chunks (if they're too small they'll turn to charcoal in no time) and roast them at 425 for 10-15 min.

Yes, it will seem like the prep takes forever at first, especially if you're not used to doing it and you're not comfortable handling a knife. But the more you do it the faster you'll get at it and the more confidence you will have. It also helps to have a sharp knife, your local butcher or the folks at the meat counter at your local grocery store should be able to sharpen them for you if you don't have a sharpener at home.

I am very wary of cutting. I am not comfortable at all after I sliced my right index finger to the bone while washing one of my knives last December. I am right hand dominant and I just get the willys (still) whenever handling the knife. I also generally have small children running around which just ups the anxiety level. I have some of the best knives (Shun) but they just scare me because they are sooooo sharp.

I think I may pass on veggie prep to my husband. He can do it a lot faster than I can and if he does it the night I buy the groceries, then all I have to do is throw them in the pot to cook. He needs a job in the kitchen anyway!

I may try thicker soups. I generally add more water than necessary (eyeballing it) because I usually forget that the food also imparts water into the mixture, especially veggies. That's one of my biggest problems - I forget to add something or not add enough or cook too long, etc.

Maybe I should do all my cooking at midnight when I can concentrate without the kids. Ha!

This site has some cooking tutorials:
http://www.cookingdude.com/

Here are a lot of "how-to" videos:
http://www.5min.com/Category/Food/Kitchen%20Skills

Healthy kid foods:
http://weelicious.com/category/videos/

I will check these out! Thanks!

[jeanine123]

One thing you could try is having your hubby take the kids for a few hours or so on a weekend and then prepping a bunch of meals and putting them in the freezer to cook later on. Then you won't have to spend so much time prepping while the kids are running around.

And if you have hubby cut up some of the veggies and stuff, you'll want to soak the cut potatoes in water or else they'll discolor. I don't think it'll affect the taste much but they won't look all that great and since you eat with your eyes first it could be a turn off.

What about getting a metal mesh glove to wear while you're chopping? The mesh will help protect your fingers/hand from any wayward knives.

[JamieCatheryn]

Originally Posted by jeanine123

What about getting a metal mesh glove to wear while you're chopping? The mesh will help protect your fingers/hand from any wayward knives.

Ohh an excuse to wear chainmail (machine made butcher gloves), I might consider this myself!

[ariatrance]

Dinner Fiasco Again!

I am so angry and frustrated with myself....again....for a messed up dinner. I am about ready to just eat from a box!

I was trying to make soup. I had a box of potato leek soup and added zucchini, white beans, milk and thyme. The plan was to blend it into batches to make a thick, creamy soup.

So I start the soup box heating at 5, adding in the zucchini as I chop it, then adding the milk, beans and thyme. It's 5:15 and still cold. I turn up the heat. At 5:30, it is barely lukewarm, so I crank the heat up more. About 10 minutes later, it bubbles over onto the stove at a full, rolling boiling. Super... So I turn the heat off and start prepping the blender. I add a little soup to make sure I'm not going to break the glass carafe. Seems okay, so I add enough soup to the 2 cup line (4 cup carafe). I put the lid on, flip the switch - EXPLODING SOUP! All over the kitchen!

By now it is 5:55, so I just clean up, ladle soup into dishes to start cooling off and get the kids to the table. After 10 minutes of cooling off, the once-boiling soup is now lukewarm.

I cannot win! I can't blend, I can't heat, I can't keep it hot. An hour to freaking make soup????! This is stupid and ridiculous and makes me feel inferior to a magazine recipe.

So where did I go wrong? What can I do next time to make a thick, creamy soup in less than an hour??? Should I just start cooking at 4 to make it to the table by 6? Ugh!

[BetsyS]

I find that cooking with kids around does take a lot longer.

My mom always started supper at 4 (we ate at 5:30), and when I moved out, I wasn't sure why it took her so long. Cause, as a single woman, I could whip together supper in 30 minutes or so.

And, then I had children. LOL

I allow at least an hour and a half to cook supper. If,on the rare occasion, everyone plays independently, no one needs to nurse, no messes are cleaned up, no one needs help pottying, etc, then I might finish earlier. In which case, we either eat earlier or it simmers on the stove. But,mostly, life happens, and it takes that long to make (fairly simple) suppers.

[ollyoxenfree]

How do you coach your 3 y.o. when s/he tries to learn a new skill and s/he gets discouraged?

I was going to use the example of moving up from a tricycle to a bicycle, but according to your siggie, you probably haven't had to deal with that scenario yet since your kids are so young. What you'll find is that they understand the principles and have some skills - pushing on pedals, steering, that sort of thing. Adapting to new mechanics used in a different way takes some practice though and a willingness to fall down and get back up again without giving up. They'll need to practice a lot and develop some resilience when things don't go well at first. So it's fantastic that you get to model all of that for them right now while you develop your cooking skills.

Right now you understand lots of principles of cooking, but you're developing your skills and learning the practical quirks of your appliances. You may never love to prep vegetables but you'll get better at it and it won't seem like such a lengthy chore. That won't happen without some repetitive work though. You'll figure out how long it takes for your pots to heat up on the elements of your stove and where the hots spots are in the oven and that it helps to cool the soup for a few minutes before you put it in the blender (or get an immersion blender to puree right in the pot).

Good on you for caring about your family's health and wanting to provide healthy, delicious meals for them. Best wishes with it.

[JamieCatheryn]

Electric stoves or heavy pots and pans take forever to heat up, a big amounts of liquid do too. I solve it by preheating pans or keeping the heat on high until things are initially heated up, and adjusting it way down after that. Glass lids on pots are great, a must for me to heat up a large quantity of liquid, you have to keep the heat in, but you have to see it to catch it before it boils over. If I walk away and something does begin to boil over the smell instantly alerts me to my mistake.

I kinda like the handheld stick blender for pureed soups, no worries about moving hot soup. I got mine for $10 I think, 4 years ago.

New recipes are killer, you have to be patient with yourself the first time through something. I try and make old favorites most of the time and try new stuff when I have the time and calm enough attitude to deal with possible failures. It helps a lot that my DH will gladly eat anything that makes it to the table.

I've made baked beans that weren't thoroughly cooked and tasted like ketchup, caught an apple pie on fire, accidentally served chicken that was raw in the middle and had to go back in the oven or grill, served steak very very well done, more than once added too much milk to mashed potatoes and had to cook it down, and had dinner at 9pm because of various delays on many occasions. But I think I've learned some, and we still eat at home from scratch every night. A new chance every day, we have to have some winning meals in the end right?

[cristeen]

I think ollyoxenfree had some good advice about developing skills.

Really, i think you're being far too hard on yourself, your expectations are unrealistic right now. A couple things that jumped out at me - how did you cut yourself while peeling? How while washing the knife? Did you learnanything from these incidents? Were you using a knife or a peeler to peel? When washing knives, my hand never gets near the blade... I hold the handle in my left and w a soapy brush, brush, flip, brush, rinse, into the drying rack. Never set it down in the sink - first rule of a professional kitchen. For peeling, i only peel things w inedible skin, like butternut. Always cut it into smaller chunks first and use a peeler away from yourself, not towards (this took me years to feel comfortable).

When do you do your shopping? Do you meal plan? Do you take the kids shopping? Meal planning and prepping can be huge time savers. Along w prepping large batches of things like beans. When i make beans, i dont sort either. I soak 3 c overnight, then cook the next day during the day (not durint dinner prep). Let them cool and scoop out 2 c portions into bags and freeze Flat (thats one can's worth). Those 3 c of dried beans give me about half a gallon of cooked. And then i dont need to make beans for a few weeks.

When you get home from the grocery store, instead of putting the veggies away, prep them first (assuming that your dh is distracting the kids). There are a few i wouldnt prep, like potatoes, since they oxidize, but washing and cutting things like onions, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, etc can save you a lot of time later.

There are definitely tricks and tips that you learn as you go. I bet you'll never make that mistake w the soup and blender again. With hot things in the blender, crack the lid open for steam, cover w a towel and hold onto the lud when you turn it on. And never fill it more than halfway.

Rather than constantly trying new recipes and getting down on yoyrself if theyre not perfect, id suggest 1 new recipe a week. Try it. If you need to tweak something, make s note and try it again next week. If you dont like it, no harm no foul, just move on. If you do like it, you can add it to the rotation. A few months of that and you should have a good selection of recipes to work from. I would also suggest investing in a kitchen timer. Mine has saved dinner more than once. I can carry it w me and have 4 different timers going at once. If i rely on my memory, all too often we're eating overcooked food.

Oh, and for the chicken breasts, have you tried poaching or braising? Those both can allow you to cook the meat to your comfort level and still be tender.

As for soups, there are very few that i can serve as a main dish and be satisfied. It has to be thick w plenty of fat and texture. Broth based soups leave me unsatisfied.

Hth