Cooking meals from scratch - just bought some cook books

for my new years resolution (one of them anyway) is to cook more meals from scratch and learn how to cook properly (im pretty useless at the minute )

but ive bought one called thai dishes and one is stir fry. and a bargain at £1.50 each from pound stretchers!!!

they had loads more too so might have to nip down and get a couple more looks like there is some really nice food in them so i can get cooking

I did the same last year

I don't think I've used the cook books much tbh - instead the the dishes I have learnt, have been by searching the web. The BBC site is good - as it lets people rate the recipes - so you know which ones are likely to taste good, then from that list just look for recipes that only use natural ingredients

The other thing I've done is try things from M&S, and then if it's something I like the taste of, try to recreate it from scratch- by looking at the ingredients list. Often you will end up with nicer, because you can subsitute or miss out things (like sugar) if you want.

It takes a few goes but keep at it - my latest practise run was to try and perfect homemade gravy (as well as cook a nice tender beef joint - as they always used to end up tough lol) Think I have cracked it now



Keep at it - and the best advice is to practise. That's easier when you 'know' something should taste nice (as I mentioned above - by going for things highly rated, or trying to recreate something from M&S that you like. The reason I use M&S because they tend to use more natural ingredients anyway).

i agree, i couldnt cook anything when i moved in with dp and we lived off frozen veg and ready meals haha!
I made some atrocious 'meals' and couldnt bake for toffee but these days i google one new recipe a month and make it once a week until i get it right, last month was chilli con carne - mince and i dont really get on too well but this is my last attempt and i got some lovely spices and a few other bits and i intend to make it work tonight haha!
i cant cook in my slow cooker - always tastes like mush...

Lol you sound like me - years ago I even bought a new fridge/freezer with a larger freezer compartment I;m glad it broke down - because the older one with more refrigerator space is back up now I hardly used th freezer at all now - just to store minced beef or other meat/fish in case of emergencies.

I don't like slow cookers either - the food tastes so bland unless you pile in 'cubes'/crap/flavourings. And some of them have a weird smell to them! lol

*runs from the slow-cooker lovers!

i want to be able to cook proper meals. can do things like spaghetti bolognese and stuff (although with the sauce out of the jar )

as for frozen veg and things i dont mind using them, or sauces in jars but want to learn how to do some "proper" food.

it amazed me that you can buy microwave cheesy mash, or potatoes ready to be roasted. it coult turn into a very lazy world when it comes to cooking if this is what the younger generation have on offer.

I've been cooking things from scratch for about 2 or 3 years now. I'd say we might use stuff from a jar maybe once a month.

Obviously, I used tinned tomatoes, or beans (e.g. kidney or butter beans); and use some stuff for a curry from a jar - e.g. tandoori paste (not sauce though); but that's about it.

I also make a lot of breads by hand - as well as normal everyday bread, I also make naan bread, and garlic baguettes - all very easy!

I found that picking up a lot of the food mags - delicious or taste - gave me a lot of inspiration - they often have a section on 'quick suppers' or 'meals under a fiver' - which are really inspirational. Once you've mastered the basics, it's dead easy to change a few things to make the recipe your own.

It was only a few weeks ago we thought about getting a takeout Indian meal - I looked at the entire menu and realised I could make about 90% of the things on it from scratch; and that it wasn't worth paying money for someone to make the same things I could, so I made a chicken balti, naan bread and onion bhajis that night instead!

Am sure you'll soon be cooking up lots of lovely meals Simple recipes with not too many ingredients or processes are often the best. Good basic store cupboard ingredients and couple of decent knives n pans always helps. Slow cooker have found good for brisket beef and ox tail (nothing else with success). Good luck and enjoy

oh i agree, everyone that i speak to adores them but non of us can bear the bland sludge that appears from its hidden depths LOL
I really enjoy making new meals now and agree it is definitely all a matter of trial and error - i have had some SERIOUS disasters LOL my main thing is spices,gotta have the seasoning

I think it must depend what you put in a slow cooker as to whether they are liked or not, certainly my gammon and chicken stew is not bland or gloopy in anyway. Also although they say put everything at the start if you put some fresh or frozen veg in later it improves the flavours and textures enormously.

I think you will really enjoy learning hun.

I love cooking, always have done, I cook from scratch, although I much prefer using fresh vegetables (usually off our allotment).
I use my slow cooker when doing casseroles etc.,
I love to do all the ''old fashion stuff'' game pies, Jug Hare, Pigeon pie, game stews, my own soups, home-made cornish pasties, homemade pickles/chutneys etc etc.

If you get adventureous....give me a shout I'll send you some reciepes