Food Advice

[endlessmike]

Just curious. What did you eat in the presumably many years that you ate food before you lived in an apartment?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Just curious. What did you eat in the presumably many years that you ate food before you lived in an apartment?

The magical preparations from mom that he never spent ten minutes trying to figure out how to do, mountain dew and, bagel bites of course. Just like 90% of all 'youts' who'd starve if it weren't for fast food.

 

[makken]

also living alone, and I found costco to not be much better cost effective wise than my local grocery stores.

Roast veggies are a quick and easy side, I make them at least 4 or 5 times weekly. Just grab whatever veggies are on sale, coat them with some olive oil and some salt and pepper and toss them in the oven.

you can always jump on youtube and look up a bunch of ideas for dishes. Foodwishes usually have some nice easy dishes you can make:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml6GGWqRlSA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSRZRp2Ovqc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb6fujqqwo

 

[l0cke]

Just curious. What did you eat in the presumably many years that you ate food before you lived in an apartment?

Before this my diet was mostly canned soup, sandwiches, rice, frozen food, cereal, and eggs. Neither of my parents really cooked, but I'm trying to learn.

 

[FMX]

Good thread.

I'm mostly a frozen chicken / pizza / cereal / sandwich / pasta type guy. Simple tastes.

 

[Smoblikat]

I might not be the best example, being 18 and all, but chef boyardee, PB&J, burgers, HOT POCKETS!!!!!

 

[RossMAN]

I might not be the best example, being 18 and all, but chef boyardee, PB&J, burgers, HOT POCKETS!!!!!

When I first moved out at 18, hot pockets were always a quick and easy meal.

 

[OverVolt]

Roast a chicken in the oven then. Its actually really easy. It'll test how comfortable you are with cooking

The famous mix of "onion, carrot, celery" goes on the bottom. You don't need much, like 2-3 stalks of celery, half an onion, half a carrot. The "onion carrot celery" mix actually has a special name in cooking, but it makes roasted chicken taste delicious.

Also rub some olive oil on the skin, and whatever herbs you want.

I think im gonna go buy a chicken 2moro...

Get an oven thermometer so you know its temp, then just follow the directions on the chicken, I tend to cook my food near the high end of the ranges they give. A noob mistake is to keep opening the oven. You let out all the heat and it takes about ~5min for cooking to resume. Thats about it.

The chicken soaks up all the celery, onion, carrot broth mmmmmmmmm.

 

[chusteczka]

I have lived on my own for a few years now and do not cook. Sometimes eggs or oatmeal for a warm breakfast and rarely a stir fry dinner with meat and chopped vegetables.

I sometimes visit friend's for dinner, not often enough to be a pest and I pay back the meal in various ways. Often, I will repair computers and rather than accept money, will accept dinner as payment.

Other times, I go to the Polish deli. They have lunchmeat, vegetables, and freshly baked bread for sandwiches. That is my staple. They also have a prepared food section where they cook and sell breaded pork chops and breaded chicken. They often have other things like cooked and fully prepared ribs, fish, chicken, meatballs, meatloaf, sausages. This is what I eat. They also have prepared vegetables like vegetable salad or sliced cucumber, sliced carrots, or a greek salad.

Everything is available at the deli, already cooked and prepared. I take it home, stick in the microwave, and eat.

 

[Rastus]

Hit up the hotels with happy hour food every day. My roommates and I lived on that for a couple years back in the day. Saturday is sample day at Sam's, Costco, etc...

Sunday you didn't eat because you were too sick to eat (hangover).

God, I miss those days. Now I pay for my food. Ugh.

 

[endlessmike]

Before this my diet was mostly canned soup, sandwiches, rice, frozen food, cereal, and eggs. Neither of my parents really cooked, but I'm trying to learn.

OK, then let's think of some basic but good things to get you started. Things that don't need a lot of odd ingredients or are labor intensive will be good. People have given some good suggestions already.

Get a crock pot, you'll use it a lot. Look up any recipes for pot roast online. A small amout of work and a handful of ingredients will get you guys through a couple meals easily.

You can also throw this same cut of beef in there with a can or two of salsa, some onions, whatever you like, and shred it for tacos.

Spaghetti, as lots of people have said. Sams Club actually has pretty good frozen meatballs, I bet Costo might too. Make some garlic bread with a good loaf and some butter mixed with chopped garlic and herbs, way better than the frozen stuff and cheap.

Have salads with dinners, that you'll use it before it goes bad, and you're getting your daily veg easily. Heads of grean leaf or romaine are cheap. Sometimes even the pre-cut bag salads are on sale for a good deal too, just make sure to check the dates on those and wash them well. What other veggies do you like? Carrots, green onions? Throw in whatever you like. Add some chicken, hard eggs, whatever and it can suffice on its own.

Speaking of, eggs or other breakfast things are always a good dinner. Eggs are generally cheap and keep well.

General things you should have on hand. With this stuff and whatever special items your recipes need, you should be set. Even with nothing else available, you'll be able to get by for a while on these things alone.

Pantry:
Dried pasta
Rice
Beans (black, kidney)
Olive oil, canola or veg oil
Canned tomatoes (I like whole, you can crush or dice them yourself if you want)
Tomato paste (I like the tube because I put a little bit of it in a lot of things, but it's good to have some cans too for bigger batches of sauce, chili, etc)
Cans of tomato sauce (Hunts, Red Pack, whatever's on sale.)
Cans of chicken and veggie stock/broth, and ceam of mushroom/chicken, french onion soup, and beef consomme
Cans of whole potatos
Box if instant mashed potatos
Tuna
Tortillas
Peanut butter, jelly
Salad dressings, or red wine/balsamic vinegar
Ketcup, mustard, soy sauce, bbq sauce, taco sauce, salsa
Cereal
Flour
Sugar
Baking Powder/Soda
Salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic, chili powder, maybe rosemary. These get used a lot. Get others as you need them, when they're on sale.

Frozen:
Bags of frozen veg, better than canned. Don't waste money on the steamer bag kind, you can microwave the regular ones just fine.
A pound or two of ground beef frozen into 1/4 lb burgers
Chicken (if you have to buy a lot at once)
Chicken patties (makes good, school cafeteria style chicken parm with some cheese and sauce)
Waffles
Never hurts to have a bag of fries or shredded potatoes on hand either

Fresh:
Cheddar, mozz., parm. I like other cheeses for just eating, but these go in a lot of recipes.
Lettuce
Carrots
Potatoes and onions (they'll keep for a while but don't buy huge bags. You'd be fine to just get a 5 lb back or just few as you think you'll need them.)
Milk
Bread
Butter (Real, salted butter.)
Eggs


And like loki said reuse those leftovers. I'll always keep some plain leftover pasta to make a frittata with, or slice up some leftover chicken or salmon to throw on a sandwich or salad. Make a little extra rice, and have fried rice a night or two later.

 

[Scotteq]

Rachael Ray has made a bazillion dollars promoting easy to cook recipes for average people which you don't need Skillz to complete. Buy a book or two from her, and follow the instructions. If you don't like RRay, then Jamie Oliver.

Steaks and Potatoes are easy. Every culture has some version of 'Chicken and Rice' {even if your "recipe" involves a few thighs, half cooked in a fry pan, then finished in the same pan by following the directions on a box of Zatarain's...}. Italian food is relatively easy to prepare - "Basic Italian" {ISBN 1-130603-96-7} is a good book.

If you live near a market, then you may wish to shop as you eat: Simple recipes are best (dependent, even) using fresh ingreds...

 

[wirednuts]

Pizza is a bachelor's dream food. 25-30 bucks and you have yourself at least 4 meals if you don't pig out on it. When I work night shifts I always order a large and it lasts me for my whole set of nights. (usually 4 at once).

As for healthy... yeah, it's not exactly, healthy.

well that depends entirely where you get your pizza from

you order a large from dominoes and you eat it for 3 days straight, yea youre not going to feel great that week.

but you go to your local grocery store and buy one of their non-frozen totally fresh ingredient pizzas, well those as just about as healthy as it gets.

 

[wirednuts]

Good thread.

I'm mostly a frozen chicken / pizza / cereal / sandwich / pasta type guy. Simple tastes.

same here. all of those are healthy if you do them right.

 

[nageov3t]

Rachael Ray has made a bazillion dollars promoting easy to cook recipes for average people which you don't need Skillz to complete. Buy a book or two from her, and follow the instructions. If you don't like RRay, then Jamie Oliver.

Steaks and Potatoes are easy. Every culture has some version of 'Chicken and Rice' {even if your "recipe" involves a few thighs, half cooked in a fry pan, then finished in the same pan by following the directions on a box of Zatarain's...}. Italian food is relatively easy to prepare - "Basic Italian" {ISBN 1-130603-96-7} is a good book.

If you live near a market, then you may wish to shop as you eat: Simple recipes are best (dependent, even) using fresh ingreds...

Rachael Ray? really?

I'll recommend Cooks Illustrated cookbooks to the day I die. flawless recipes and they typically include articles that explain exactly what to do and why you're doing it (eg: the recipe doesn't just call for vodka in the pie crust, it explains that the alcohol helps create less gluten than water and makes for a flakier pie crust that's easier to work with)

the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks are also good for that (and if you're trying to eat healthy, I appreciate the fact that they usually include a nutritional breakdown of their recipes)

 

[endlessmike]

well that depends entirely where you get your pizza from

you order a large from dominoes and you eat it for 3 days straight, yea youre not going to feel great that week.

but you go to your local grocery store and buy one of their non-frozen totally fresh ingredient pizzas, well those as just about as healthy as it gets.

Another good thing to have is some Betty Crocker (or store brand, generic) pizza crust mix. A pack of that and some water is fresh pizza dough in minutes, and a great way to use up some veggies, cheese, or the last bit of a jar of pasta sauce in the fridge. A stick of peperoni keeps too, and you can use it for other things.

We also make them with just olive oil, garlic, spinach, and cheese, good stuff.

 

[alkemyst]

Canned goods are slightly healthier than frozen dinners.

Get a steamer and fresh veggies. VERY good for your body. Also, I really like Bob Evans dinners, much better than instant food.

Bob Evans is typical fast food. High in fats and sodium.

http://www.bobevans.com/Menu/Nutritional-Information

 

[crashtestdummy]

I try to avoid the boxed frozen dinners as much as possible. Not because I think they're unhealthy or evil, but because I don't tend to think most of them taste very good. I find for only slightly more effort, I can make some really decent food (not the quality of my wife's cooking, but certainly edible).

Some thoughts:

• The grill is your friend. Steaks, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, even salmon and chicken breast are easy to make on the grill with very minimal preparation. It takes almost no effort to make a dinner of lamb, dry rub, rice, and sauteed peppers and onions. Or chicken, barbecue sauce, corn on the cob, and green beans. Find a local meat shop that makes their own sausages, like this one (don't know them, but this kinda thing).
• Stews and my family's tomato sauce recipe take a long time to cook, but freezes incredibly well. Since the time and effort don't really depend on the batch size, make a huge batch once every few months and freeze it in portions. That way, you won't get sick of eating nothing but beef stew for a week.
• If you want to make a more elaborate meal, consider getting together with some friends once a week and have the meals rotate between you. It's not worth spending a couple hours making dinner for just yourself, but when it's for a bunch of people every month or two and you get awesome meals for no effort all the other weeks, it works really well.
• Lastly, if you want just one cookbook to work from, I recommend the Cook's Illustrated one. It has every classic food, stripped down to the easiest, most efficient and tastiest recipe possible. They try to avoid hard-to-find ingredients and take out all the unnecessary steps that they can.

Edit: Loki beat me to the Cooks Illustrated. Consider this a seconding.

 

[shopbruin]

Rachael Ray? really?

I'll recommend Cooks Illustrated cookbooks to the day I die. flawless recipes and they typically include articles that explain exactly what to do and why you're doing it (eg: the recipe doesn't just call for vodka in the pie crust, it explains that the alcohol helps create less gluten than water and makes for a flakier pie crust that's easier to work with)

the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks are also good for that (and if you're trying to eat healthy, I appreciate the fact that they usually include a nutritional breakdown of their recipes)

Cook's Illustrated is awesome, but for newer cooks, some of their recipes can be intimidating, which is why Rachael Ray may be a better place to start.