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Useless at cooking
- Thread starter Mercury12
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Grim147
Well-Known Member
cook a piece of fillet , let it cooldown , letterce, baby corn(fried), baby tomatoes, fetter cheese , slice the fillet steak thin throw it in, toped it with abit of ceaser salad dressing 
quick easy use the left over steak to make a sandwich
quick easy use the left over steak to make a sandwich 
RustyPrincess
Expert Member
Open a can of chopped tomatoes
Empty contents into a pot
Put stove on medium heat, and warm up tomatoes (you can add some garlic if you want)
In a separate pot, put some pasta on to boil. (there are instructions on the packet)
Drain pasta and mix with tomato.
You can add some of that pick n pay chicken to give it more substance.
Empty contents into a pot
Put stove on medium heat, and warm up tomatoes (you can add some garlic if you want)
In a separate pot, put some pasta on to boil. (there are instructions on the packet)
Drain pasta and mix with tomato.
You can add some of that pick n pay chicken to give it more substance.
Well, there are some heartier salads you can make that contain meat and are still quite filling.
I also recommend pastas, as the basic ones are very easy to make. You can easily make most of the sauces, and many of them will freeze. This is handy if you're cooking for just yourself.
If you'd like some recipes, private message me your email address and I'll send you a PDF that has some recipes that I use.
try the following cookbook ---> "Knuppeldik aan Koningskos" English version is called "Fit for a King"
This is quite a nice, easy to use cookbook
Easy and filling is bolognaise.
Take one medium chopped onion into a pan. Allow onions to cook (+-5 Mins)
Add one finely chopped clove of garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
add pack of mince, brown the mince. (5 minutes)
add one can chopped tomatoes, add one packet tomato paste, add two teaspoons of sugar.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
(Some guys add grated carrot to make it stretch, also if you add water to the sauce you can throw a few bread roll's cut in half over the sauce when almost cooked)
Seperatly cook some pasta in a pot.
Boil water, add to pot, add however much pasta you want (about half the water's height is ok) Throw in a pinch of salt. Cook for +- 10 minutes depending on your pasta.
Enjoy
Take one medium chopped onion into a pan. Allow onions to cook (+-5 Mins)
Add one finely chopped clove of garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
add pack of mince, brown the mince. (5 minutes)
add one can chopped tomatoes, add one packet tomato paste, add two teaspoons of sugar.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
(Some guys add grated carrot to make it stretch, also if you add water to the sauce you can throw a few bread roll's cut in half over the sauce when almost cooked)
Seperatly cook some pasta in a pot.
Boil water, add to pot, add however much pasta you want (about half the water's height is ok) Throw in a pinch of salt. Cook for +- 10 minutes depending on your pasta.
Enjoy
I should also say, go to a bookstore and check out their cookbooks. There are some that cater specifically to beginning cooks.
I also like the site recipematcher.com. It has both simple and more difficult recipes. But the great thing about this site is that you can enter the ingredients you have at hand and it will recommend things to make.
I also like the site recipematcher.com. It has both simple and more difficult recipes. But the great thing about this site is that you can enter the ingredients you have at hand and it will recommend things to make.
cerebus
Honorary Master
1: Learn how to use eggs. They are cheap, easy and incredibly versatile. Frying or boiling an egg is the easiest form of cooking there is. Then on bread with mayo or what have you.
2: Instant noodles are also a great resource for students - leave out the packet 'flava' and rather boil with some ingredients from your fridge like frozen veg, lunch meat, crack an egg into the water, add aromat or other spices, it's hard to go wrong.
3: I think the lesson of how to make spaghetti bolognaise should be passed on from father to son. It's a sort of bonding ritual. Start really basic with a tin of sauce and meat, then slowly learn how to make your own sauce with tinned tomatoes as a base.
4: Leftover rice can easily be turned into egg fried rice (see eggs again). They need to have been sitting out for a day to get the right consistency otherwise they become mushy when they fry, but just fry them on a pan for a short time, then add an egg and whatever else you have lying around - any veggies will work, a tomato is good - and some soy sauce.
5: Make sure to stock up on ingredients like minced garlic, beef/chicken/veg cubes, dried herbs and spices, aromat - and always have the most fundamental (and cheapest) food items in your cupboard like potatoes, rice, onions, tinned tomatoes, chutney.
6: Frozen veggies are just as healthy as fresh, last forever and are pre-chopped. Never be without them. They can be added to nearly anything, either as a part of the dish or as a side dish on their own boiled and with a dollop of margarine.
Hope it helps!
2: Instant noodles are also a great resource for students - leave out the packet 'flava' and rather boil with some ingredients from your fridge like frozen veg, lunch meat, crack an egg into the water, add aromat or other spices, it's hard to go wrong.
3: I think the lesson of how to make spaghetti bolognaise should be passed on from father to son. It's a sort of bonding ritual. Start really basic with a tin of sauce and meat, then slowly learn how to make your own sauce with tinned tomatoes as a base.
4: Leftover rice can easily be turned into egg fried rice (see eggs again). They need to have been sitting out for a day to get the right consistency otherwise they become mushy when they fry, but just fry them on a pan for a short time, then add an egg and whatever else you have lying around - any veggies will work, a tomato is good - and some soy sauce.
5: Make sure to stock up on ingredients like minced garlic, beef/chicken/veg cubes, dried herbs and spices, aromat - and always have the most fundamental (and cheapest) food items in your cupboard like potatoes, rice, onions, tinned tomatoes, chutney.
6: Frozen veggies are just as healthy as fresh, last forever and are pre-chopped. Never be without them. They can be added to nearly anything, either as a part of the dish or as a side dish on their own boiled and with a dollop of margarine.
Hope it helps!
Easy Spag-bol:
Buy 500g of lean mince. Check the expiry-date
Boil a pot of water (3-4 cups of water), with a pinch of salt and a tsp of cooking oil. Boil a handful of spaghetti and let it boil for 10-15min. Stir the pot occasionally with a fork. Test the spaghetti after 10min, to see if it's cooked. If it's soft outside and just slightly chewy in the center, it's done. Pour into a strainer or colander over the wash-basin, rinsing with the same amount of cold water and leave to drain.
Slice a small onion (no bigger than an egg) and a clove of garlic into thin slices. Chop a ripe tomato into small cubes, or use a can of chopped tomatoes. Heat a pot at 1/2 heat (so '3' on a stove that has 6 settings) and add a tbl-spoon of oil. Stir-fry the onion for 3-5min, then add the garlic. Crumble in the mince, with some herbs (oreganum, mixed herbs, etc) and fry for 5min. Add tomato and allow to simmer for 10-15min, stirring occasionally. If the sauce (fluids from the mince and the tomatoes) is too little, add a little tomato sauce and water (even chutney works).
Whilst mince is simmering, pour 3-cups of boiling water (from the kettle) over the spaghetti, to reheat, or place the strainer over a pot of water on the stove at a low heat. Serve up with a little grated parmesan or just cheddar.
If you're confident with this, you could start the mince and then cook the spaghetti whilst the sauce is simmering, so that you serve up when the spaghetti's cooked properly and still warm. If the pot is not tall enough, break the spaghetti in half.
Vary the above using ingredients like mushrooms, green peppers, baby marrows, etc.
With practice you can expand the above approach to other "one-pot-wonders" from stir-fried veg to risottos
Buy 500g of lean mince. Check the expiry-date
Boil a pot of water (3-4 cups of water), with a pinch of salt and a tsp of cooking oil. Boil a handful of spaghetti and let it boil for 10-15min. Stir the pot occasionally with a fork. Test the spaghetti after 10min, to see if it's cooked. If it's soft outside and just slightly chewy in the center, it's done. Pour into a strainer or colander over the wash-basin, rinsing with the same amount of cold water and leave to drain.
Slice a small onion (no bigger than an egg) and a clove of garlic into thin slices. Chop a ripe tomato into small cubes, or use a can of chopped tomatoes. Heat a pot at 1/2 heat (so '3' on a stove that has 6 settings) and add a tbl-spoon of oil. Stir-fry the onion for 3-5min, then add the garlic. Crumble in the mince, with some herbs (oreganum, mixed herbs, etc) and fry for 5min. Add tomato and allow to simmer for 10-15min, stirring occasionally. If the sauce (fluids from the mince and the tomatoes) is too little, add a little tomato sauce and water (even chutney works).
Whilst mince is simmering, pour 3-cups of boiling water (from the kettle) over the spaghetti, to reheat, or place the strainer over a pot of water on the stove at a low heat. Serve up with a little grated parmesan or just cheddar.
If you're confident with this, you could start the mince and then cook the spaghetti whilst the sauce is simmering, so that you serve up when the spaghetti's cooked properly and still warm. If the pot is not tall enough, break the spaghetti in half.
Vary the above using ingredients like mushrooms, green peppers, baby marrows, etc.
With practice you can expand the above approach to other "one-pot-wonders" from stir-fried veg to risottos
Last edited:
Polymathic
Honorary Master
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My bolognaise takes about 3 - 4 hours to cook. Oh it's not really bolognaise if it doesn't have veg. Pasta dishes are always easy though
Edit: bake beans also very easy to cook and also goes well with pasta
Last edited:
fastesthamster
Senior Member
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Get a Jamie Oliver cookbook. Follow instructions to the letter.
Seriously, it's that easy. No offense, but I've never really understood the "hopeless at cooking" spiel. If you can follow instructions, you can cook. And Jamie Oliver's recipes are pretty fool proof.
cerebus
Honorary Master
Jamie Oliver cookbooks suck. They're all like ... 'Wander around Tottenham farmer's market sniffing odd mushrooms for hours every day'...not good advice.
Open a can of chopped tomatoes
Empty contents into a pot
Put stove on medium heat, and warm up tomatoes (you can add some garlic if you want)
In a separate pot, put some pasta on to boil. (there are instructions on the packet)
Drain pasta and mix with tomato.
You can add some of that pick n pay chicken to give it more substance.
hahahaa, this was a common thing I made at res!!!! Tomatoe and onion mix, fry up some meat if you can afford it, mix together, cook pasta, mix pasta with sauce and meat!!!
I know i am gonna get shot, but some of those knorr cook in powder sauces type things are decent. follow same procedure, fry up meat or chicken, add sauce/powder with water, cook rice/pasta...mix...
Soups are easy as well, buy veggie mix, put in pot with water, add chicken cube and salt/pepper, leave till veggies are soft. Blend. Voila, ur done.
butternut soup just as easy..
Mince mate is not bad either as a student....
The list is endless for cheap food, we usually cooked in pairs to save costs! Worked out to like R6 - R10 a meal!
Agreed, I have never made anything decent from one of his recipes!
What a useless dickwad. FHM magazine ran a useful column. You nominated a TV personality who deserved a harpoon through the face. I recall Jamie Oliver (the TV cook) was one who achieved this dubious honour. I agreed wholeheartedly.
fastesthamster
Senior Member
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I see people are cooking tomatoes (fresh/canned) at medium heat. Tomatoes are pretty acidic and also have quite a pungent taste.
Fry up your onions&garlic and a bit later when there is less moisture add some mixed herbs and fry some more which will release the flavour. Now turn the heat up more and add your tomatoes and cook at high heat for about 7-10min. You will find it less acidic/pundgent when cooked over a high heat. You can now also add a teaspoon or so of brown sugar if needed. Add boiling water to increase volume at this stage and let simmer as you would have cooked off a lot of moisture by now.
Use herbs people, fresh is nicer but a bottle of robinsons mixed herbs goes a long way. Herbs should ideally be fried with a bit of oil to release their flavours.
If you want to learn schit about food watch Heston Blumenthal, he explains why you do X like this and Y like that with the science behind it. It's easier to cook from understanding than watching Jamie waffle about crap.
Eish, now I feel like cooking...
Edit: Tomatoes and some other acidic foods react with aluminium/alloy cookware so rather use stainless or cast iron cookware.
Fry up your onions&garlic and a bit later when there is less moisture add some mixed herbs and fry some more which will release the flavour. Now turn the heat up more and add your tomatoes and cook at high heat for about 7-10min. You will find it less acidic/pundgent when cooked over a high heat. You can now also add a teaspoon or so of brown sugar if needed. Add boiling water to increase volume at this stage and let simmer as you would have cooked off a lot of moisture by now.
Use herbs people, fresh is nicer but a bottle of robinsons mixed herbs goes a long way. Herbs should ideally be fried with a bit of oil to release their flavours.
If you want to learn schit about food watch Heston Blumenthal, he explains why you do X like this and Y like that with the science behind it. It's easier to cook from understanding than watching Jamie waffle about crap.
Eish, now I feel like cooking...
Edit: Tomatoes and some other acidic foods react with aluminium/alloy cookware so rather use stainless or cast iron cookware.
Last edited:
cerebus
Honorary Master
Grief there are some complicated recipe ideas here. The guy just wants to be able to cook for himself and not have to eat chicken chips every day.