There is nothing special in those jars, in fact if you're already cooking the mince and some veg then just use a tin of chopped tomatoes instead and the results will be just as tasty!

My top tip for bolognese is to start with a couple of rashers of streaky bacon if you've got some knocking about and a splash of wine if you got some that needs using up but the most essential ingredient is the tomato purée, don't be stingy with the purée and you can't go wrong!

J.

thanks guys im actually quite excited to start cooking. i always say to the OH i want to be the type of girlfriend who makes the food properly and its ready for when he gets in from work his mum never cooks properly its always things like fray bentos pies, chicken in white sauce out of tins, microwave rice or ready meals. he hates it, so im going to be a domestic goddess

I do a bit of both. I do use jars and tins but I like to make things from scratch too. One of the best things to learn is a white sauce as you can make loads of meals based around that. I do chicken pie, lasagne, macarroni cheese, fish pie......the list goes on. And thats all from teaching myself one basic thing. I get real satisfaction from making a meal from scrath and watching the family devour it! I dont actually like ready meals so rarely eat them but will do shopped made things like pie, kievs etc. The evenings are to short to cook from scratch every night!

I've been cooking from scratch since I moved into my house - nearly 7 years ago!
It's so much more tasty and better for you! The only 'tinned/jar' stuff I use is tinned tomatos/beans [kidney/baked etc]!
I actually save money buying 'proper' ingredients rather than tinned, and my OH loves it

i love watching cooking programs like come dine with me and all sorts. so hopefully i can become a good cook!