Hate Cooking, Cant Cook & the Joy of Mother Hood

Cooking can be a challenge, I don't mind the baking part ( i have a sweet tooth and am always experimenting with making healthier versions of the cakes, pies and breads and brownies that i love) but when it comes to the stove top i want to run the other way. Sometimes I cheat and use the freezer section of the store to make the meal at home ( it is healthier than going out and I don't have to add much at all.) they have the meal in a bag type dinners or simple stir fry that you add meats to.

I'm the same way, but married a man who can cook. Any chance you can pass off that duty to DH? I'm perfectly happy sticking to washing dishes and laundry! ; )

Do you follow recipes or just try to throw things together like the chefs on TV? The more you cook the better you will get. Like running a marathon you do not go out the first day and do it, you start by running short distances. I am a good cook but I really do not enjoy it. You can also try places like super suppers, they do all the prep work, you choose the recipes and assemble them there. You do not need any skills other than thawing and heating. A crock pot is also great. Most importantly find a few basic recipes and master those. There are also a lot of frozen meals that are good and easy, healthy and cheaper than eating out. Good luck.

Step one....buy a rotisserie chicken. You can make a whole meal around a chicken already roasted for you.
So, you have your chicken......
Meal #1
Mashed potatoes (easiest food on the planet to make)
steamed vegetable of your choice OR raw veggies with dip.

Meal #2 pull chicken off the bone and serve it on tortillas with your choice of taco or burrito filling.

Meal # 3
Pull chicken off the bone and put it on a bed of lettuce or spinach and make a nice salad.

Meal # 4
Remove chicken from bone
Make a gravy (if you can't find a good recipe, just use a mix, we'll never tell!)
Mix the chicken, gravy, some frozen mixed veggies (such as peas and carrots) and throw it in a baking dish.
Put biscuits (Home made or refrigerated, your choice) on top of chicken mixture and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (or until the biscuits are golden brown, I would follow the biscuit directions for baking).

Oh, and Riley is right on! Food Network website is FAB!!!

And don't feel bad! One of my friends absolutely RUINED a box of Kraft mac n cheese. I gamely crunched through a "meal" of undercooked noodles and watery sauce (she didn't read the part about draining the cooking water) and I lived! :)

You can make Macroni and cheese from a box right??? Jarred spagetti sauce over boiled spaghetti noodles. Change up the noodles and change up the sauce, Jarred alfredo sauce and bowtie pasta.

Taco's are pretty easy, brown the meat on medium, drain the fat, add the packet of seasoning, and turn it back on low for a few minutes until it sets up.
there are easy enchilada recipies.

Try the crock pot, Thaw your meat the night before, (you probaby don't have to but since you have had trouble this just is your extra guarantee that it will turn out) put the chicken in shake some poultry seasoning, and a 1/4 cup of water or chicken broth and cook on high for 7 hours.

Don't try to do too much at each meal. cook your meat or what ever and just microwave some frozen veggies really quickly when the meat is done.
I know i have trouble if i get distracted.

Allrecipies.com is great!! I don't know but i wonder if YOUTUBE has videos of people cooking.

YOu might get some more specific advice if you let people know what you are trying to make.

I never really thought I could cook, and I am DEFINITELY not one of those people who can just "throw" something together and have it taste good. No one in my family took the time to teach me to cook, and my grandmom is from the "cook it till it's dead" school of cooking.

I can follow directions, though, so I stick to easy recipes, etc, that others have already found to be good. Part of your problem with hating to cook is probably because you don't know how and aren't good at it yet. I don't LOVE to cook, but I don't hate it either. It's just something that needs to be done (I DO hate to clean - LOL).

You may be trying to cook things that are beyond your skill level. If you can, hit the library and see what cookbooks they have. specifically for beginners, people who hate to cook, etc. Perhaps you could even see if they have a teen or college student cook book to get you started on the easy stuff. Once you're comfortable, try something a little more complex.

Also, if you have friends that you know can cook, let them know what you're trying to do and see if they'll teach you an easy recipe, or at least give you the instructions.

The internet is also a good resource for info, though it does have too much info sometimes. Google things like "recipes for people who can't cook", etc - I found this site for you - http://cantboilwater.com/ . Have your hubby cook too (mine is a better "instinctive" cook than I am - he can just throw things together.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Take your time. I have a nice recipe for crock pot chili if you want it :) Just click on my name and send me a message and I'll send it to you.

Buy all your dinners from Dream Dinners. It's a place where you go, they have all the ingredients prepped for you, you assemble the dinners into freezer bags, and then you take them home and put them in your freezer. On Sundays, take out a couple of bags, put them in your fridge to thaw. Then every night, take a bag out and prepare the meal according to the very easy to follow instructions. We've been doing this for several years now, and have found the meals to be healthy, tasty, and REALLY easy to make! Give it a try and see what you think - my husband and I swear that it saved our marriage because we both don't really like to cook, and were in such a rut making the same 3 or 4 dishes all the time. Thank God for Dream Dinners.

I am a decent cook, but I hate cooking. I don't like fast food, and I don't want my family eating out all the time, and we can't afford it anyway. Our solution is Schwan's. We love it! I've used them for years. I order the food online, and then every other Wednesday they deliver it to our house. It's easy to prepare, healthier than eating out, and cheaper than eating out. Everything is frozen, so you need some freezer space. I love it because I don't have to spend much time cooking, but we still get to eat good food. Everyone is happy. Check them out www.schwans.com. Good luck!

I hear ya! I don't like to cook either and when I was first married and had children I was really terrible at it. But I figured out that I can follow instructions. So that's what I started doing. I would look for a recipe for every meal and it worked! I don't feel so lost now and the food comes out well. I recommend www.food.com that's where I get all my recipes from. You can put in a main ingredient or a dish you'd like to make and get a ton of recipes with no hassle and no advertisements to sift through, plus its free and easy. They have recipes from very simple (like pancakes or corn on the cob) to very complex. They also have lots of very healthy recipes as well so I can feed my children well.
Good luck, don't give up! It does get easier. I still don't like to cook, but I have to so I've figured out how to make it work.

There is an old joke told about asking directions in New York City. "How do you get to Carnigie Hall? Answer . . . Practice, Practice, Practice."

How can a lousy cook become a good chef? Practice, Practice, Practice. You've heard that practice makes perfect? Almost. Perfect practice makes perfect. You live in or around Dallas. You have a computer. Look on these web sites and GO TO SCHOOL to learn how to be a wonderful cook. (You had to learn how to drive. Your read and studied the rules and practiced.)

You don't have to get a degree to become a really good cook. Lots of places have a one day or one week class. One of the cruise lines has a culinary cruise where you can learn about cooking while on the cruise and the cruise chef's are extrodinary.

LeCordonBleu-Dallas.com
www.cookingschools.com/cities/dallas-cooking-schools-inst...

BTW, I started out the same way, but I had my mom to teach me, and I practiced and practiced and practiced. I have been asked to smoke the turkeys for our church's Thanksgiving dinner. I have won 4 chili cooking contests. 3 of them with a chicken chili recipe I "invented". You are welcome to the recipe if you want it. My girls asked me for help when they had to do a cooking homework assignment for their high school home economics class.

Good luck to you and yours.

Cooking doesn't have to be hard or take a lot of time. Just choose 5 easy dinners and cook them each week. Kids don't mind eating the same thing every week. Whole wheat pasta and a jar of sauce makes an easy meal. They have meatballs in the frozen section you can throw in the sauce as it heats if you like. BLT's and grilled cheese sandwiches are easy and you can make the BLT's healthier by using turkey bacon and whole grain bread. Serve them with baked chips and some fruit or a bowl of canned soup in the winter. Baked potatoes are easy and good. Serve with a salad. Make your own pizza with those premade crusts. Just add your favorite toppings and bake. Kids love to help with this. Have breakfast for dinner one night. My kids love it. You can buy frozen waffles and pancakes and cook some turkey bacon or sausage to go with it. Maybe cook eggs and roll them in tortillas with cheese. Hope these suggestions help!

Check out thepioneerwoman.com in her cooking section. She spells out how to make her recipes with a ton of pictures. Everything I have made from her site is delicious. Just as with anything you endeavor to do, it takes time and practice. Most people aren't born with it. You don't have to make souffles. Start with something easier. Follow the ingredients and instructions carefully. Once you start to get the hang of it, you can play around with the ingredients. Also, from that site, you can also link to tasty kitchen, which has other good recipes. But, start with PW ones first.

I haven't read all the responses, so if I repeat I apologize.

You may want to check and see if there is a Dinner by Design, Dream Dinners, or similar program. If you're not familiar with the program, you go in and assemble all the dinners in one trip. Take them home, throw them in the freezer, and pull them out as needed. Cooking instructions are included.

Some people will complain about the cost but it would definitely be cheaper, not to mention healthier than eating out all the time. It's worth a look.

OmG, I totally feel you on this one.

Before I got married, I NEVER cooked. I ate out all the time or ordered in food. I had the attitude of why should I spend so much time cooking a dish that only takes me five minutes to eat when I can just go out and buy it. At least at a restaurant I can just relax and wait until I'm served.

Then I got engaged. My husband insisted that I should learn how to cook because he said that he couldn't be the only one cooking. We both knew we'd need to curb our dining spending after the wedding and if we were going to have a baby. I wasn't really all gungho about it. But then one day when I was pregnant, I came to the realization that I didn't want my son to complain that he didn't want to eat mommy's cooking. I remembered that I really didn't want to eat what my mom cooked, except for one dish that I wish I knew how to make like she did. She rarely cooked.

During my pregnancy, I watched A LOT of Food Network. I know it's crazy. I thought Rachel Ray was entertaining and her food seemed easy enough. I would look up the exact recipes online and follow them exactly. Then the one important lesson that I learned from her was that she wasn't just teaching you a recipe, she was teaching you a method of cooking. She was always saying what you could use instead for any particular ingredient. After I felt comfortable with some recipes and made them multiple times to taste satisfaction, I started to become more confident in my ability and recognizing what flavors taste good together. Sometimes I just put together whatever is left over in my fridge and pantry. That's a great money saver.

You may feel like you're wasting money right now, but you're in a learning process. In the long run, you will build up your cooking skills and money saved. Good luck!

My husband and I use E-mealz.com and love it! They do all your menu planning and give you quick and easy recipes. We have much better things to do than plan menu and watch half-used food go bad in the fridge!

If you SAY you can't...you CAN'T . . .But you CAN, so relax! :)
You have some great suggestions from other moms.
Tell yourself you CAN learn, and choose some simple changes to start with.
Your daughter can partner with you in making some choices for maybe 3 dinners to try for the week. I find I really like to have a few fresh veggies on hand (didn't use to do that at all) - they are easy to steam, spray some butter on them, and a few seasonings.
Seasonings can help spice up the average meal too. I like already minced garlic, dried parsley (it's pretty), onion flakes, and your favorite seasoned salt. You can cut potatoes in any shape, onions, zuchini or yellow squash, peppers - any of that - I toss them in a bit of olive oil, with your seasonings and bake it on a pan sprayed with Pam (lay a piece of tin foil over it) at 400 for about an hour.
Tips...if you're baking meat, bake the veggies too (easy).
If you're stove-topping the dinner, stir-fry the veggies.
Lighten up, grab some confidence, and give it a try!

Check out the Pioneer Woman's website. She is a fantastic cook, her recipes are amazing and her blog give you pictures tutorials-takes the guess work out. I have yet to make a bad meal of hers.

Good luck!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

How old is your daughter? Maybe the 2 of you could take a cooking class together?

I am not that great of a natural cook either...I always have to follow a recipe!

Go to AllRecipes.com pick a recipe (you should start with a quick 30 minute meal) and make sure it has good ratings (every recipe is rated and has comments from people who have tried them) and you should be good to go. After you've made a few meals you will get the hang of it and it will come naturally.

N.---Like every new experience, every new habit, it takes time to be better. Not liking to cook is one thing, but not liking to cook because you don't know how to is another. Cooking at home is the healthiest way to do it, if you are starting from scratch. Many boxed and prepared foods do not contain the nutrients necessary to help the body to prevent disease. So, I urge you to decide that your family's health is worth it. It will be a challenge at first, until you get better at it and into a routine.

I really like the website www.eatingwell.com. I cook a lot (because I like to eat) so I am very adventurous with recipes. But I also know that this website has sections on all kinds of cooking and meal plans---for 2, for kids, for easy and quick meals, etc. I'm sure you can find all kinds of great, healthy recipes that will amaze and excite your family.

How old is your daughter? On the weekends, my family and I all get together, open a bottle of wine, and dig in and make dinner together. It's great fun. You can give your daughter age appropriate assignments and your hubby can help as well. Mine is a great cook on his own (his mother worked and frequently went on strike for lack of appreciation) but usually he is cleaning up after me (not one of my strong suits in the kitchen).

So, I say this in good humor, gut it up, find some easy recipes to try and HAVE FUN with them. Feel free to contact me for any other ideas or for some recipes. This is what we are having tonight, http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/skillet_gnocchi_with_ch..., super yummy, healthy AND easy.

Good luck and be well, D.

Edit note: Another thing that may help you as you start this adventure is to take some time, find some recipes and plan your meals for the week. You can go grocery shopping once to have all necessary ingredients and then it will be faster to make your meals each day. I have a great chart that tells you what to have in a well-stocked kitchen in order to make life a little easier. Let me know if you'd like it and I'd be happy to send it to you. Then, when you find recipes that you like, be sure to make a list of those, or have a notebook to collect them after printing, or, many websites also have a recipe box within the site where you can collect your favorites. Later.

I was, quite honestly, not a very good cook when I got married. I knew how to bake, and loved baking, but cooking was (and still is) a chore. We ate out a lot.... Anyway, I found myself in a situation where we had to cut our costs down as much as possible, and so I started to cook more.

The single biggest thing that helped me was....changing my attitude toward. My goal was to learn to cook better so that we could have decent, and health meals at home and save money. So I focused on my goals, and took great pride in the amount of $$ I was saving -- it made me feel good to know that I could contribute in a very real way to helping our family financially by cooking and shopping frugally. And I challenged myself to try new recipes... I'm pretty adventuresome when it comes to trying new recipes, but DH loves to eat the same things he loves (he could eat pizza every day for 2 weeks straight, I think! LOL).

Focus on the positive. Take some cooking classes or watch the Food Network. Think of food as a way to bring your family together. Start with easy things your family likes, and google stuff. I honestly still don't know very much about cooking, but I know that I can follow directions, and I can bake, so I figured that I could find my way through to cooking decently....

I tried a couple of cookbooks and I like the Better Homes & Garden Crockpot book. It has tons of crockpot recipes, plus a bunch of simple 5-ingredient skillet meals. I've made about half the recipes in the book, and found every one of them to be really good.

For online resources, I use allrecipes.com and only go with recipes that have 4 or more stars--that means that people have rated the recipe as a 4 out of 5 or better. I also like to read the reviews to help tweak them some (though that might be a bit intimidating for you at this stage). There is also a website called www.foodsubs.com or something similar, where you can search for substitutions for ingredients if you don't have what you need on hand.

If you have the time, watch some cooking shows. Even if it's just on in the background. I love watching cooking shows because they give me ideas of foods to make that I may not have attempted otherwise. Growing up you eat a certain variety of foods, and I find that we often get stuck in a rut of eating the same things over and over, so I appreciate the inspiration. But even more, you can learn a lot from actually watching someone else cook. I particularly love America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country (they're essentially the same show, just different styles of food) on PBS. Not only do they have great recipes, but they have exhaustively tested each one and found the best way to do it so it doesn't come out bad. They teach you how, but more importantly they teach you why to do things a certain way. Good luck, and keep trying. Start simple, with things you like to eat already, so you know what they are supposed to look and taste like. And also, make sure you have the right tools in the kitchen, sometimes that can make a big difference.

I am a recipe follower to the teensiest detail. I've had a few failures, but decided to keep things very simple with no more than 4 to 6 ingredients. I reared my children on meatloaf, skillet dinners, stew, fried chicken, and other plain dishes. To hear them talk, I was a wonderful cook!!! My daughter became a gourmet cook in spite of me!!! I couldn't stand having her in the kitchen messing things up. But she learned anyway. So don't beat yourself up. Just follow recipes and ask friends for their simplest and favorite recipes. That's what I did.

i don't realy know what you are going through but i love cooking no one showld me how to cook, i had to learn myself i don't look at it as a chore i take my time cooking, maybe if you open up alittle to cooking and realax don't look at it as a chore try to enjoy maybe that will help.

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Cooking classes, easy 123 cookbooks etc. We all had to start somewhere. Good luck.

I am so in your shoes!!! =) My kids all have food allergies and gluten will not clear or go away. My husband is hyper-sensitive with how things taste and I have one child who doesn't like anything. I hate cooking and I'm not very good. I've definately improved from when we got married 19 years ago but it's a constant battle. I am also a health freak and read ingredients like crazy! I curse labels in the store because I can't believe they'd actually put THAT in there...LOL I shop at Sprouts and Fresh and Easy a lot. I use Bisquick for pancakes and biscuits because they're ingredients are good. I make the meals that everyone likes. I make a lot of Mexican food from scratch because everyone likes it, it's easy and healthy. I chop lettuce and fresh veggies really small and sprinkle it on tacos, spaghetti and more. I make smoothies with fresh fruit and frozen juice concentrate and I'll add the healthiest fruits and veggies and even chopped spinach. I give us all Melaleuca vitamins because they have a patented process that allows for maximum absorption and their antioxidants don't get destroyed during the process like vitamins normally do. We do eat out a lot but I even get the healthiest things I can for the kids. I get them the healthiest junk food possible once a week treat like gluten free cookies from Sprouts that is sweetened with cane juice or fruit juice. Good luck!

I would work on a repertoire of recipes. When you eat something you like of a friends, ask for the recipe. Start with one or two and add a new recipe when you can fit it in until you have enough to plan a bi monthly menu. Have a few things you can make that are nearly effortless (for me this is costco frozen stir fry, pre cooked rice, and a bottle of teriaky to flavor with). Mexican is mostly just chopping, I do burritos and tacos all the time. You can do a lot of meals like that, that are more about assembling than cooking. How about a fancy salad bar at home? I love to boil artichokes. It takes time but no effort and it makes any meal feel fancy. I love baking frozen tilapia fillets. I just add salt and butter and serve with lemon. Then I can add the sides, like asparagus and baked cubed potatoes in foil. I make so many simple easy healthy things. You just need more ideas.

Ask relatives and friends for recipes that are their absolute favorites, that they cook again and again that are easy. Lots of times they'll have a recipe that they got somewhere and changed up a bit and made it better.

Also, anytime you eat something someone else has cooked that you like, ask for the recipe. I'm not shy about it, I do it all the time and am accumulating quite a list of my favorites. I have 3 kids under age 4, so I have to have quick meals that are also healthy(ish).

Do you have a good basic cook book? Better homes and Gardens. Is so easy to use and follow.. Just make the basics.. Baked chicken, pot roast, omelets, broiled fish.. Purchase a chili mix and follow the directions on the package..

Just follow exactly the directions every time.

Follow the directions on the brown rice package . Use chicken broth instead of water..

I have a VERY good friend that also absolutely hates the whole cooking process.
She tries to purchase mostly prepared meals.. Roasted chickens and frozen mashed potatoes or will make noodles (boiled in salt water) then season some butter salt and pepper . Then a bag of salad..

Or she will make spaghetti with jar sauces, slice up some zucchini in the sauce.. Frozen meatballs or brown up Italian sausage.. Bag of salad..

She will purchase frozen eggplant parmigiana.(microwave it) . bag of salad..

Taco seasoning mix.. follow the directions on the package..

The secret is making sure you have all of the ingredients. That you follow all of the directions and that you cook on low or med heat.. There is no use for high heat.. ever..

Try emealz. The website is www.mealtimemakeover.com. It's not very expensive (maybe $5.00/month or something?) and they give you easy recipes that are tried and true. I've done the family friendly version for about 6 months now and my family has pretty much liked everything. There are a few that we didn't like, but for the most part, it was all good, tasty, and it keeps your dinner meal budget to $75.00/week. It does the planning and makes the shopping list for you, so it's a time saver and for me, if I have a plan, I don't mind cooking as much.

Until this year, I worked full time and the kids were in aftercare. I didn't have "time" to cook so I made quick, easy meals. I hate to cook and don't feel like I'm a "good" cook either. This year, I'm leaving work early to get the kids home from school so I'm actually home every day at 3:30 so I have time to cook! So I went online and googled "easy dinner recipes" and went thru crockpot, casseroles, etc. and picked out one's by looking at the ingredients that I thought I could cook and that the family would like. I started this year and so far, so good! Actually tonight the chicken wasn't done in time so we had canned chili over mashed potatoes and salad! Sometimes you just have to wing it! Don't be so hard on yourself! Figure out some meats and things the family likes and search for those in some recipes. Good luck!

I have a great option for you! Check out www.smartcooking.com/thebeenes.

Its great tasting healthy foods that are prepacked in individual servings. Breakfast is an omelet and either bacon or sausage, lunch and dinner are a meat and a vegetable package of your choice. My family loves it because they get to choose what they eat and the price is better than eating out (we average $35+ per family dinner out) and it is HEALTHY! Better yet is that it is ready to take with you to work, just grab and go.

I suggest you get with other moms. Trust me, I've gotten to be a better cook by listening to other ideas. Also, several here suggested recipes. That is also a great idea. As long as you follow it you can't fail, and eventually you will start adding your own touch. If you want more suggestions email me privately.

I owudl suggest trying www.samthecookingguy.com His recipes are super easy and really yummy. for a lot of his chicken recies you buy a rotisserie chicken from grocery store and then shred and add other things. \
Get a easy crock pot recipe book as well, super easy, just throw everything in the morning and come back 6 hours later and dinner is done. (If you want soje let me know and i will mess you)
Also you can see if they have those places by you where you pick your meals and they give you all the ingredients adn all you have to do its put together and heat up at home.
I think the trick is 1st finding some staple recipes that are easy for you and also taste good then slowly moving your way up form there.

Buy Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. Start working through the recipes. They are simple, easy, fully explained and taste great.

Good luck
VickiS

I hear ya. I had to start cooking when my girls had food intolerances and I had to eliminate 44 foods from their diets for four months. WOW, I was overwhelmed but God got me through it and now cooking is not as intimidating. I found out that I have to have a plan for the week. So, I have three weeks of menus, each week having 5 meals planned. I figured one night is leftovers and one is maybe eating out or something. I listed on the back every ingredient for each meal, down to the spices needed (I only follow simple recipes I have found). I also love it when I find crockpot recipes that are easy; I have found three or four and that helps. Anyway, this system works for me; I know what we are having each week, and my grocery list is already made out for that weeks meals.....I just rotate the meals. As I find better recipes I either plug it in and replace a meal that is our least favorite or I am not trying to make four weeks to rotate through. I started by listing all the meals my family liked, then I sorted them so that each week would have a variety of different meals. That is it....without knowing what I am making or if I have the ingredients makes cooking SO stressful. This plan has made it much more pleasurable and my family eats most of what i make.

My mom was a horrible cook so I had to teach myself too. I started simple:

Baked chicken breasts:
Put a single layer of breasts in a 9X13, pour some itialian seasoning over them and cook for 30-45 min depending on their thickness. You can also sprinkle a seasoning mix over them too or bbq sauce. Add a side of steam in the bag veggies which heat up in the microwave in 5-6min. Add a side of mashed potatoes, a rice dish, or a pasta salad (all from a box) and you have a meal that tastes fabulous but was very easy. I also usually cook extra chicken and then cut up the leftovers for sandwiches or salad the next day.

Boneless Pork Chops:
Fry till brown on both sides. Add a can of Cream of Mushroom w/Roasted Garlic condensed soup and 1 cup of milk. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles with a side of veggies or salad.

All the the Campbell's condensed cream of __ soups have recipes on the cans which helped me find some good basic recipes that I changed over time as I learned what seasonings go with what. Make sure you taste as you go. Just keep trying and you will get there.

I got hooked on cooking by watching Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals. They were so simple and delicious and quick, my family eats so healthy with her recipes. Watch one of her episodes on food network, she is easy to follow and you will be a natural in no time!

I am sorry you didn't learn how but sometimes life gets in the way and you don't have an interest while growing up to learn or no one to teach you. My niece had to go to culinary school before she got married because she couldn't either. My advice would be get the Joy of Cooking book and do like Julie in the movie Julie & Julia-begin with a somple recipe, measure exactly and cook or bake and grow as you learn.
Another choice is ask someone if they are willing to teach you. I don't know where you live, how old your daughter is, etc. but I am willing to help you. I have been cooking for over 46 years and love it. I budget and have a lot of home cooked meals that are easy and delicious to eat.
There is a lady who records Rachel Ray and her 30 minute meals and fixes the same dinner that night (or the enxt night) and her whole family loves everything she makes. She also has cookbooks and a magazine. There is a lot of help out there for you-so go for it.
Let me know-ok? Good Luck!

Thats why COOK BOOKS were invented momma! The best starter cook book I ever had is Betty Crockers Cook book. It has many recipes that are easy to follow. Good Luck!

How about a buddy system? Got a friend? Get together and make a couple of meals to freeze. She shows you her tricks and gets your company while she is making food for her family too. Lasagna freezes well :)
~A.
Ps Try watching that Julia Child movie for some inspiration :)

I got a few ideas for when No. 3 shows up... Thanks.

The one thing I did not see mentioned when I scrolled through was the crockpot. I love using mine. You can cut up the ingredients the night before, toss it all in in the AM and set it so that you can eat at a good meal at a reasonable hour. My favorite book is "Fix-it and Forget It". I've taggged the ones we really like and often go back to those. In particular, we enjoy the cranberry and pork loin, making chicken stuffed with lemon/thyme/etc., the one with the peppers and pork loin, and the corned beef. I've used it to make soups and chilis too. I make extras of these items and freeze the leftovers in about 3 to 4 person serving size containers. This makes things easier too.

I also was doing "Homemade Gourmet" for a while. This was great because I could cut up all my meats and freeze them with the seasonings and have them ready to go pretty quickly. The various seasoning come with recipes and side recommendations. I did not find a single recipe that I did not like.

I think if this is something you are really committed to, it will come. Just give yourself a break and start slowly - even if it is just one or two nights a week. And you know what, we have all had really good sounding dinners become really bad dinners that got tossed! That is what pizza (with a side salad) is for! :-)

Good luck.
~C.

Go get a crock-pot and a crock-pot recipe book! (Also called slow cookers.)

The food will taste amazing, and the recipes are VERY easy to follow!

You've had some great suggestions. I too hate to cook and I'm not the best. I am very blessed in that my husband likes to cook so I do all the planning and shopping but he makes most of the meals. To fill in those gaps we do easy stuff (frozen meals, etc). Is that something that might work for your family? Could you trade another chore with him?

If you are already eating out a lot and your hubby can't/won't pitch in, then consider doing a lot of the prepared foods, salads, etc. Yes, they are way more expensive but still considerably cheaper than eating out. Someone mentioned Dream Dinners - they are awesome! You go there and work through stations where you put the meals together and you take them home and freeze them (again, compared to eating out, much cheaper). Take a girlfriend and it can actually be fun. You can also buy the frozen ones at the store. . . and someone else mentioned crock pots. For some reason I don't hate putting stuff in a crock pot in the morning nearly as much as cooking at the end of the day.

Whatever you do, remember to take it in baby steps. Don't overwhelm yourself all at once or you'll crash and burn. Good luck!

Cooking is a skill and has to be developed. I would suggest you start by seeking out some recipes based on foods you know you and your family like. If KFC spicy fried chicken is on the list then google 'recipe for spicy fried chicken', and so forth. Look for recipes with good ratings and read the reviews for pointers. Not all recipes are good or will be to your liking, so you may have to try a few diff variations of recipes for the same types of food until you find one you like. Once you find a keeper than copy and save it to start you're own cook/recipe book. I would start by picking you're family's three favorite, most healthy meals and branch out from there. Keep in mind that you don't want to get in over you're head, so if you all love chicken cordon bleu, then perhaps you should save that one till you're a little more confident, since it envolves tequniques that can be tricky and time consuming. Also, focus on the main dish and keep the side dishes easy easy easy, for instance; bake potaoes (the only reason I use a microwave) and frozen broccoli. Look up three recipes for each dish. You can base a shopping list off the ingredients you'll need. It'll be a slow process at first, but determination pays off! Remember, when in doubt, GOOGLE :) I didn't know much about cooking when I first started and now I'm confident enough to try just about anything I care to, plus, I have a bunch of go to meals I can wip up quickly and I know my family likes them. Also, once you find a recipe you know you all like, make extras purposly for left overs so you can have them the next day or freeze them for a quick future meal. This saves me a ton of time and I can do the bulk of my cooking when i feel like it. Something I've been wanting to do is take some cooking classes, if you can afford it. You could even get the family envolved if their of age. Having the older children and hubby helping to cook family meals is a WIN! Another wonderful kitchen aid is the slow cooker *loving sigh* I would be a sad women without my slow cooker, plus the recipes are plentiful and the work minimul. Hope some of this helps you out. May God bless you and yours~ Chell

I don't cook frequently so I am not the "most comfortable" in the kitchen.... you might try a crock pot- there are seasonings in the packet section at the grocery store for pot roast, beef stew, etc. I like those crock pot cooking is impossible to mess up- and you are using real ingredients, just in an easier fashion.

Another thing to consider are casseroles- lasagna is basically assembly and there are lots more assembly meals out there. What about salad with grilled chicken and lots of different toppings? Not sure about your little one- but I love that(no cooking required really) and it is good for you!

Make sure you have lots of healthier snacks for her too- that is as important as everything else.

I've been staying at home for seven years now. And the first month after I quit my job, I felt just like you. I picked up a copy of Everyday Food on the newsstand. It's the small, pocketsized magazine that's done my Martha Stewart. Don't let that scare you. It offers simple, fast, healthful meals. It has a section eat month on how to cook an ingredient in season. It offers Grocery Bag, where it puts together five meals and a shopping list, so you know you have a week's worth of meals. A subscription is around $15/year, and it's the best thing I've done to learn how to cook. I love that it shows up in my mail, usually with just the right things for the season. I'm looking at September's issue right now and it has quick tomato dishes, muffin-tin meals, and a section on kids' lunches.

If you're interested, check it out online:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.4a...

Also, they have an iPhone app that is $.99 and is super, super helpful.

Good luck, and keep trying! You will get there.

www.foodtv.com

Video tutorials -from how to hold a knife or grate cheese, to how to pick out veggies or make a souffle), great recipes, lots of reviews from others who have made the same dishes. The recipes are checked about 1000 times (since they're "celeb chef" recipes. I've yet to have one flop).

I learned to cook in a restaurant. My mum cooks, but can't. We're talking all veggies in her house are boiled to DEATH. Tasteless, disgusting, mushy things. What a revealtion to find out a little olive oil salt and pepper and sautee makes even frozen veggies taste good. Meats she "sniffs" and if they pass are cooked to death (I though diahhreah and vomiting a couple times a month was normal growing up... amazing how I quit getting the "stomach flu" / aka food poisoning when I moved out.). Anyhow, I learned to cook by following the restaurant's recipes, using their ingredients, and watching others who knew what they were doing.

If you want to learn to cook, WATCH people who can, and practice. The foodnetwork is great for that. So are friends. Volunteer to prep under supervison at friend's houses.

Anyone who can "throw stuff together" is working off of a large knowledge base. I can't even *count* the number of times I've ruined food. Ha! For a long time I couldn't even boil an egg. Then I started working in a kitchen 8 hours a day, and 15 years later (only 2 in that kitchen), and I can wing it with the best. But we're talking sometimes things go badly. Mostly not. Cooking is all about practice. Practice bad cooking, and you won't get any better. Practice what you already KNOW is good, and you'll improve.

If you don't want to cook, you've got options. DreamDinners and other make and take dinner places are a solid choice.

Hi
I myself don't like to go in kitchen but slowly I learned cooking & now in potlucks I get lot of good reviews for my dish .....I am not boasting ...just sharing to give you some hope.......what I did is....I used to call mom and ask her some easy recipies ...& use cookbooks....but practice makes perfect. Keep at it .
You can look for somebody in your local area from whom you can buy home made food.
But I will suggest keep trying You can do it.
Good Luck

I certainly can't say that I LOVE cooking, but I'm actually pretty good at it.
I taught my son, who does absolutely love it and would like to be a chef.
If you stick to a few basic ingredients I don't know how things can come out so horrible. Are you adding too many funky spices? Too much salt?

Cooking does NOT have to be such a challenge. There are really great and simple recipes that don't take much time and don't cost much.
Example:
Get 2 boxes of whatever brand fettucine. The kind that has the spice pack in it and all you do is add water, milk and butter..
Cook according to directions.
Drain one (or two) cans of tuna packed in water. Add to the fettucine mix.
Add a small can of chopped olives.
Place in a casserole dish and top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake in the oven until heated through and the cheese melts.
Serve with some steamed broccoli, a couple cans of green beans or salad.

It's virtually impossible to ruin and tastes great every time.

Best wishes.

Make the Cooking channel your friend, I think that it is on the Food Network. They show you how to cook and everything that needs to be known about the subject; a lot of these shows are made from chefs. They also vary in the types of foods: Italian, southern- soul food, Mexican, Chinese, etc. This will help you to appreciate cooking and give you a feeling of satisafaction because you will know that cooking is no longer a weakness.
Thanks, N..

Updated

Make the Cooking channel your friend, I think that it is on the Food Network. They show you how to cook and everything that needs to be known about the subject; a lot of these shows are made from chefs. They also vary in the types of foods: Italian, southern- soul food, Mexican, Chinese, etc. This will help you to appreciate cooking and give you a feeling of satisafaction because you will know that cooking is no longer a weakness.
Thanks, N..