Beginner Cook

The Lovely Muffin

Hey,

Can anyone recommend some good websites that have easy recipes for a beginner cook? I'm cooking for one.

I like pasta, pizza, soups, spuds/veg, but I won't say no to trying something new. I'd like to get a bit of variety into my diet.

Currently I rotate between, soup, pasta, spuds/mean veg and I'm getting a little fed up of them at this stage.

I'm not a big fish eater, but again, I won't say no to it, so long as it doesn't have a strong flavour. I am allergic to chillies/peppers, but I can use a small amount of chllie powder.

Oh and I'm a student on a budget. I also don't have a lot of storage space (1 cupboard, 1 little tray in the fridge and a small drawer in the freezer.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Honey-ec

I love www.allrecipes.com It has everything from the most basic recipes, to really involved stuff. You can search by several ingredients, so if you have, say, chicken, tomatoes and spinach, you can search specifically for recipes involving those components.

I prefer the US site, purely for its size and scope, so set your regional preference the first time you visit (scroll down to the very bottom of the page and you'll see the regional settings). Some of the US terms need translating, but you'll get used to them very quickly. For example:

Hamburger meat - minced beef
Cilantro - coriander
Griddle - fry
Broil - grill

Etc. etc.

The Lovely Muffin

Honey-ec wrote: »

I love www.allrecipes.com It has everything from the most basic recipes, to really involved stuff. You can search by several ingredients, so if you have, say, chicken, tomatoes and spinach, you can search specifically for recipes involving those components.

I prefer the US site, purely for its size and scope, so set your regional preference the first time you visit (scroll down to the very bottom of the page and you'll see the regional settings). Some of the US terms need translating, but you'll get used to them very quickly. For example:

Hamburger meat - minced beef
Cilantro - coriander
Griddle - fry
Broil - grill

Etc. etc.

Thank you.:)

S.R.F.C.

www.bbcgoodfood.com is a handy one.

One thing i'll say is as your starting out, don't be afraid to vary from recipes, they're not strict, they're guidelines. Obviously it's nice to have a few classic ones under your belt but if you think a bit of that or bit of this would be nice, chuck it in, see how it turns out, you'll be constantly learning as you go along, and enjoy it, make sure you enjoy it!

Also just to add, the 'Easy Peasy Recipes' thread on here is probably a good one for you, and when you're feeling a bit more adventurous maybe a few from the Cooking Club!

The Lovely Muffin

S.R.F.C. wrote: »

www.bbcgoodfood.com is a handy one.

One thing i'll say is as your starting out, don't be afraid to vary from recipes, they're not strict, they're guidelines. Obviously it's nice to have a few classic ones under your belt but if you think a bit of that or bit of this would be nice, chuck it in, see how it turns out, you'll be constantly learning as you go along, and enjoy it, make sure you enjoy it!

Also just to add, the 'Easy Peasy Recipes' thread on here is probably a good one for you, and when you're feeling a bit more adventurous maybe a few from the Cooking Club!

Thanks a million for your help!

I've a few from the 'easy peasy recipes' thread and cooking club already bookmarked!

Just gotta find time to make 'em all!

nesbitt

S.R.F.C. wrote: »

www.bbcgoodfood.com is a handy one.

+1 the bbc website is very good. I use their 'binder' facility, so if I see something I fancy I just store it in my binder on their website and come back to it later. I use this site a lot.:)

TrueDub

BBC's site is excellent, as is www.jamieoliver.com - lots of basic recipies.

OP, you could do worse that investing in a couple of good cookbooks - I'd recommend the Ministry of Food one.

The Lovely Muffin

TrueDub wrote: »

BBC's site is excellent, as is www.jamieoliver.com - lots of basic recipies.

OP, you could do worse that investing in a couple of good cookbooks - I'd recommend the Ministry of Food one.

Thanks for your help.

I'll look into that book when I have a bit of extra cash lol!:D:o

jc77

Here is one of my bookmarked favourites, really handy for student budget also. Just tick off the ingredients you have and it suggests some receipes for you.

The Lovely Muffin

jc77 wrote: »

Here is one of my bookmarked favourites, really handy for student budget also. Just tick off the ingredients you have and it suggests some receipes for you.

Thank you, I have been looking for a site like that for ages!

The Lovely Muffin

What noodles are used in stir fries?

Is Tagliatelle ok to use?

The Sweeper

It depends on the stir fry. The golden coloured noodles you get in stirfries from the chinese takeaway in Ireland are usually egg noodles. You can also use rice noodles (they're finer and taste like, well, rice.)

You can use tagliatelle in a stir fry, because basically pasta is similar to noodles in that it's a starchy, relatively flavourless vehicle to carry the flavours and textures of the stir fry that you make, however the texture of tagliatelle versus noodles will be quite different. Additionally tagliatelle usually takes longer to cook than noodles, so be sure to cook it and drain it well before incorporating it into your stir fry.

Another way in which they'll differ - when cooking noodles for a stir fry, it's a good idea to boil rapidly to perfection, drain and then refresh in cold water to stop them cooking any more. Then you can drain again and toss in a little sesame oil to stop them sticking to each other. When you add them back to your stir fry pan at the last minute, they'll reheat quickly because they're so skinny. Tagliatelle won't work as well for any of that.

The Lovely Muffin

The Sweeper wrote: »

It depends on the stir fry. The golden coloured noodles you get in stirfries from the chinese takeaway in Ireland are usually egg noodles. You can also use rice noodles (they're finer and taste like, well, rice.)

You can use tagliatelle in a stir fry, because basically pasta is similar to noodles in that it's a starchy, relatively flavourless vehicle to carry the flavours and textures of the stir fry that you make, however the texture of tagliatelle versus noodles will be quite different. Additionally tagliatelle usually takes longer to cook than noodles, so be sure to cook it and drain it well before incorporating it into your stir fry.

Another way in which they'll differ - when cooking noodles for a stir fry, it's a good idea to boil rapidly to perfection, drain and then refresh in cold water to stop them cooking any more. Then you can drain again and toss in a little sesame oil to stop them sticking to each other. When you add them back to your stir fry pan at the last minute, they'll reheat quickly because they're so skinny. Tagliatelle won't work as well for any of that.

Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.

Michellenman

When I first moved out I found this site and it's been a godsend

http://www.studentrecipes.com/

There's a lot of crap stuff on it too, and overly basic stuff like how to boil and egg, and beans on toast stuff, but if you search there is some truly delicious recipes.

The mushroom stroganoff in particular is insanely delicious.