How many of you DO NOT know how to cook?

i know how to cook to but I would definitely want to see your videos! I always love to learn something new! I say go for it! Mayyyyybe I'll even join you some day with my own video too!   Sounds like fun!

Lisa

I don't know how to cook my husband does all the cooking around here which is pretty much Cuban food so it would be great to get some recipes that I could actually follow and know that would be good for my sleeve.

I do not know how to cook and everything has to be very simple.  I also do not have a lot of fancy kitchen gadgets to aid in cooking.  Basically I am armed with a microwave oven, two burner stove with one pot to cook in, a toaster oven (real good quality), a george forman grill, a crock pot, a small ninja blender that I bought for $20 on sale at Walmart and not the real expensive one obviously, and not much else.  

I am hampered also with a very tiny kitchen.  Right now I am staying in an extended stay hotel to save on expenses and that is what has me somewhat hampered with respect to kitchen gadgets.  I don't do much on the stove top due to lack of pots and pans.  

I would enjoy getting tips especially if they are kept on a very simple level and can be done without fancy food processors and such.

Pretty much anything that can be done in a pressure cooker, can be done in a crockpot, and while I have a larger kitchen, who has time for using all the stuff! I think you can make pretty much anything with the equipment you have.  When I've stayed in extended stay hotels, it's usually the amount of space to work with that is the challenge!

Challenge accepted. I am going to put together a list of a couple things you could add to your cooking equipment that will get you over the hump in your small kitchen. For example, you said you don't have a lot of pots and pans. I am going to recommend you get yourself a chef's pan, with this you can fry, saute, stir fry like a wok, you can even use it like a pot so you can make soups and stuff. This one from target is $57 and you will not need another pan:

http://www.target.com/p/kitchenaid-nonstick-chef-pan-with-li d-silver-6-quart/-/A-12051728#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=chef+ pan

A Chef Knife (you need a good heavy duty knife for chopping, this one will feel nice in your hand and its $16

http://www.target.com/p/hampton-forge-continental-8-chef-kni fe-with-guard/-/A-14042177#prodSlot=medium_1_3&term=chef+kni fe

You need to keep it sharp (I sharpen my knife before each use 10 to 20 swipes)  this one is $10

http://www.target.com/p/presto-dual-stage-manual-knife-sharp ener-black/-/A-13264100#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=knife+sharp ener 

A cutting board, this one is good for meats and veggies - $10

http://www.target.com/p/oxo-prep-cutting-board-white/-/A-140 39351#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=cutting+board

Some cooking utensils - $3 to $7

http://www.target.com/p/kitchenaid-black-slotted-turner/-/A- 13370347#prodSlot=medium_1_21&term=cooking+utensils

Some wooden spoons $ couple of bucks. You can do 95% of your cooking with these tools.

I will think of some very simple recipes you can make in your small kitchen that have just a few ingredients but taste great. Are there any particular types of food you like?

I am afraid that the challenge is more challenging than you think.  I have no spare cash to buy any of the items you have suggested.  I do have some knives, a couple of wisks, a spatula, and a cutting board.  I also do have some measuring cups and spoons.  That is truly all I have to work with and of course limited space.

Of course due to the limited cash I also can't buy a lot of expensive food ingredients.  I do have some spices, I think a pretty good variety.  Also I would have to buy things like 90% fat free hamburger vs. prime rib.  As for foods I like pretty much anything but have never been a fan of red, green, bell peppers.  Have never been a huge fan of baked beans or a lot of similar types of beans.  I do like green, yellow, wax beans though.  Not likely to do something that requires a lot of onions.  I don't much care about asparagus and there are probably a few other veggies that I don't care much for. 

Since surgery I have found that fish tastes fishier so I am not eating a lot of fish.  It is really weird how tastes change after surgery.  I used to love the milder fish like tilapia, tuna, perch, orange roughy, and even trout on occasion the way my father would cook it was great (of course these were fresh caught by him and cooked out on a grill).  Since surgery I have found that even tilapia seems a little too fishy.  

So my limitations are using basically the kitchen tools that I do have and a low budget for food items/ingredients.  This is definitely cooking on a budget type stuff.

Ok challenge still accepted. What do you have for pots and pans? You said limited not none. 

Pots: I pot that is about 2 quarts I am thinking.  It is fairly small.  I am a single person and only cook for myself and therefore didn't see the need for a bigger pot.  I used to use it pre op for boiling pasta and not much else.  

Pans: 1 pan that is either 8" X 8" or 9" X 9", and 1 heavy duty cookie pan.

I bought my crock pot a few weeks ago and it somewhat intimidates me.  I think it is a 5 qt version.  I found a link that shows this digital crock pot but basically it has 4 cooking settings ... 4 hr, 6 hr, 8 hr, and 10 hr.  I think there is also some sort of warming setting.  The thing that bothers me has a bit to do with the size of this crock pot and me being only one person.  The other part that bothers me is portions.  I have a digital scale so that isn't the issue.  I tend to be a perfectionist and want to record everything in myfitnesspal as exact as possible.  With that in mind if I were to cook a soup with let's say a cup of carrots and I was portioning it out then some portions might be heavier in the carrots then other portions.  I realize that in the end it all evens out but things like that kind of bother me.  Something more like a chilli would be more consistent from one portion to another so less likely to bother me.  I have been told that being a perfectionist is a type of ADD.  Cooking would have to not rub me wrong in portion control.  I also don't know why I have issues with freezing things.  Something tells me that I shouldn't freeze things as they won't be as good after thawing.  I would rather cook in a way that I refrigerate leftovers and consume them every day until gone.  I know that doesn't allow much variety on a day by day basis but I am OK with that.

So as you see I do have lots of issues when it comes to cooking.  I have done a few things before so I am probably a hair above a beginner.  Not too far though.  I like to experiment with things when possible.  This gives you new flavors to enjoy.  I actually enjoy making my morning protein shakes ... I get to a point that when I am done mixing/blending it I will taste it and then based on the taste add something else or leave it alone.  I really like that kind of thing.  Or simple recipes like the Muffin in a Minute that you can alter easily and have a different take on it.  I like doing that.  

http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=5+Qt+Programmable+Slow+Co oker+Crock+Pot&category=0%7CAll%7Cmatchallpartial%7Call+cate gories

First sorry for taking so long to respond. I didn't men to leave you hanging. Great info and I think I can come up with things that can help you. I will have to go back over that post and make some notes as on the first read there was a lot of good details that I will likely forget if I don't. But off the top of my head there are a couple of things I wanted to address to see if we can make this more enjoyable and less of a thought process for you.

I have ADD so I know what you mean about being a perfectionist. The biggest thing I want to say to you about that is try your best to STOP being a perfectionist. Sometimes the best flavors come from not perfectly measuring and more importantly mistakes. What you should do instead is visualize what you are trying to accomplish. I have found this has replaced that perfectionist perspective and I end up being a better cook because of it.

As for freezing I agree with you except for a couple of things. I do not like to freeze stuff except for these things which actually taste better after freezing and thawing: chili, stews, soups, and sauces (like spaghetti sauce). The flavors of these things after they sit for a while, even frozen, are so much better. There is a trick though. Before freezing them let them cool to room temperature before putting them in freezer bags. Lay them flat and they take up less room. I do not freeze anything else.

On the pans it didn't sound like you have a fry pan or a saute pan or are you saying the 8/9" are round fry pans? On the pots you should be good. In fact I am going to give you your first recipe from my blog that 1) you should be able to make in your pot, 2) is inexpensive 3) taste really freaking good (this is one of those less thought process just throw some stuff together and see what happens dishes) and 4) is fast (about 25 minutes). Oh and it freezes quite well. If you don't like turkey you can use beef. This should not rub you wrong in portion control as everything is a can of this and a can of that. I have the recipe in my MFP already so i will take a screen shot and send it to you so you can plug it into yours. Here you go:

http://www.mybigfatfoodie.com/fast-easy-turkey-chili/

So I want to put together a potential shopping list for you to see if we can get you a good nutritional profile with your limited funds. I need to go back and look at the foods you like, but I am thinking you could be making things like burgers, chilis, depending on the pan a casserole. Definitely want to get you using that crock pot. you could do a small roast in there and it will be the tastiest jucyest and you can eat all week from it. The crock pot is a piece of cake to use and you will love it once you have used it a couple of times. My neighbor cannot boil water and her husband bought her a crock pot and she makes two or three things in it and they are really tasty in fact she makes a beef stroghenoff that is ont of my top 5 I have ever tasted (nothing beats moms).

I am sure I have more to say but I want to go back over our posts here and dig out all the little details I missed. 

Oh as for meats/proteins to maximize your $$$ at the grocery. Ground Turkey is usually fairly inexpensive you can separate it into bags so you don't have to cook the whole thing at once. Ground Pork is usually pretty inexpensive. Finding a local butcher or italian grocery is usually a way to get meats for less too. One last thing, one of my saving graces in all of this journey has been ZipLock round containers. They hold about 2 cups of food but they have a little line around the 1 cup mark. I just make sure whatever I put in them for my lunches stays below that line and I have my lunches ready to just grab, toss in the microwave and eat. I put on on my scale, load it up to 3 oz and spin the cap on. I love them.

That is a great idea Keith!

Lord have mercy, I was born with a wooden spoon in my mouth.  Cooking is my curse and my salvation.  I learned from my mother who was legendary even among other Italians.  She learned from her father, who was a chef in Italy.

My problem with helping other people is that I don't use recipes and hardly ever write down what I did.  I just cook by my senses.  I have been taking pics of things I prepare and hope to start writing things down to go with the pics.

Knowing how to cook can save people from resorting to unhealthy choices.  I look forward to your lessons.