Introduction to Cooking

If you arent the worlds best cook, thats okay. No one is good at everything...but as long as you putting forth effort to try to better yourself & your skills, thats all we can ask for! That is also why God invented crock pots ;) A crock pot (or slow cooker) will your very best friend and a life saver if you arent the best cook, or if you just dont want to soend all day in the kitchen. You can pretty much make anything in the crock pot as well, even breads and desserts. I have 5 & use them often! I can put a main dish in one, sides in another, dessert in another and a hot beverage (such a cider) in the last. So if you cant cook, here are a few things that I think every wife should know how to cook/bake/make that are basic and will get you started. You should know how to make homemade biscuits. Homemade biscuits is a recipe to perfect and experiment with. You can add garlic, cheese, jalapenos, or make your own gravy! Gravy also comes in oackets in the seasoning aisle if you arent too confident. But theres no harm in trying!! :) remember, you want to push the limits youve made for yourself. if you dont, you wont progress! HOME MADE BISCUITS: 2 cups all purpose flour 1tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 c shortening 3/4 c milk --preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles. Pour in the milk slowly while stirring with a fork. dough should be moist and pulls away from the side of bowl. Roll dough til half inch thick and cut with cookie cutter. Roll unused dough up and repeat until all dough is used. Place biscuits in lightly greased pan and cook for about ten minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter or jams. *remember that biscuits arent just for breakfast! They pair well with many meals such a souos or stews or southern chicken dishes. Heres a recipe I found that is not only delicious but very easy to make. It looks imoressive when finished too! CRISPY CHEDDAR CHICKEN: a few chicken breasts a sleeve of ritz crackers a bag of shredded cheddar cheese 2-3 eggs a 10oz can of cream of chicken soup a few tablespoons (2-3) of sour cream depending on your taste dried parsley Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs and place chicken breasts in egg mixture and coat. crush ritz crackers in another bowl and mix with the shredded cheese. you decide how much cheese youd like! take the egg coated chicken breasts and place them in the cracker cheese mix. coat well. pkace coated chicken in lightly greased pan. i like to top the chicken in a little more of the crunchy cracker mixture to add a little more flavor! place the pan of chicken in oven and let cook for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. while that is cooking, its time to start the sauce! put the can of cream of chicken soup in a saucepan, and let heat through. then add 2 tbsp of sour cream, add more if youd like the sauce to be a bit more tangy. let simmer until chicken is done...stir frequently, you dont want it to scorch. if it gets too thick, add a little milk. once chicken is done, put on a dish to serve, add a coupke spoonfuls of sauce over the chicken and then top with some dried parsely. enjoy!! BALSAMIC CHICKEN (a crock pot meal) this is one of my fave meals! its so easy and is my go to meal when I dont know what to cook that night and havent planned ahead bc i almost always have these ingredients on hands. lets get started! 3-4 large chicken breasts 2 large onions 2 cans of diced tomatoes 1/2 cup strong balsamic vinegar egg noodles or rice Throw all of this in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hrs or on high for 3-4. you want the chicken to shred and be very tender. *remember, if you want more onions, add them. less tomatoes? use one can. ive also added extra things such as green peppers or mushrooms to this dish as well. make it your own! serve over egg noodles (my favorite) or rice if you dont have egg noodles. BEEF STEW: (another slow cooker meal!) 2lbs or so of beef, cut into chunks 2 potatoes, cut into large chunks 2 onions in large chunks 1/2 bag of baby carrots, whole beef stew seasoning packet throw it all into crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. id suggest the longer time setting, its more tender that way. make those biscuits with it, or cornbread. i lovenusing the jiffy cornbread muffin mix found in the baking aisle. theyre super cheap, super easy and come out delicious!! bake them in muffin cups bc they stick to the pan real bad. A good cook needs to be diversified so lets throw a fish dish in here too. BROWN SUGAR SALMON: all you need for this is some salmon filets and some brown sugar! thaw the filets and rub a few dashes of brown sugar on too of the filets. a little bit goes a long way here. a couple sprinkles will suffice! spray down a pan with Pam cooking spray and bake for about 15-20 minutes on 400 degrees. the fish should flake easiky with a fork when done. i like to serve this meal with steamed asparagus and wild rice. CHICKEN POT PIE: Ive been told my chicken pot pie is this best that theyve ever had and I am very proud of my recipe. Idk what exactly makes it so delicious, but Im not changing it! Its not hard. 2 chicken breasts a half bag or so of carrots, chopped a couple stalks of celery, chopped small a cup of chicken broth can of peas 2 10oz cans of cream of mushroom soup pre prepared pie shell put all of this in a crock pot and let cook for about 3 hours on high. make sure carrotts are tender when youre done! if they arent, cook til they are. place crock pot mixture in the pre made pie shell, cut a few slits in top shell and bake according to package cirections or until crust is golden brown. allow to cool 10mins, and serve! i dont pair this with anything...its ine of those dishes thats great all by itself :) Now for a dessert. An easy dessert that requires little effort are strawberry shortcakes. You could make them with those pre made little shortcake bowls, or, for an added "ooomp" you should make them with the biscuits! they are prettier and show that you can actually cook! lol *I will be adding many more recipes to this blog, trust me! I love Pinterest and have found so many yummy new foods to cook. I do really enjoy cooking bc I really love eating! HA! Of course, we cant go around eating fried chicken everyday...Id like to live to cook another day ya know...so I have a lot of low fat recipes and healthy dishes I make, with the added fried deliciousness every now and then! You cant be a perfect wife if youre unhealthy!! ;)