When you hear the word cook, you may think of luxurious meals that take hours and cost more than your budget allows. However, to be a cook, you don't have to be a well-trained chef. A cook can be anyone who puts food on the table, and whether you are feeding yourself or five other people, it can be extremely rewarding to make more than a frozen pizza, not to mention healthier. Here are some recipes and cooking items that have made the process of cooking for myself so much easier for me.
1. Breakfast
The first step to having a more satisfying breakfast is knowing how to cook eggs but the next more complicated step is convincing yourself to get up a tiny bit earlier so you can make it. In reality, an egg does not take that long to cook. However, that doesn't mean that five more minutes of sleep is much more tempting.
My answer is muffins. While muffins may not be as healthy as an egg, you can make a dozen muffins at the beginning of the week and either sit down and enjoy them with your coffee or grab one one the way out the door. My favorite recipe is cappuccino chocolate chip muffins, but I am definitely not on a diet. If you are, I wouldn't suggest trying them. You'll get hooked and you will hate me.
The recipe I make is a family recipe, but you can find another recipe I have tried here.
Lunch
Two words. Gourmet Mayonnaise. Alright, I may be slightly kidding but my point with lunch is that it doesn't have to be a turkey sandwich with no flavor. If you want to stick with a sandwich, try switching it up. Throw some sauteed vegetables or spinach on there. My favorite thing is salmon salad sandwiches.
You can cook some salmon the night before for dinner and use the leftovers. I split the salmon into pretty small pieces with a fork and then add Dijon mustard or mayonnaise and some capers. I love putting the salmon salad on a bagel with some jalapeno cheddar cheese to add some extra flavor. You can easily make a chicken salad sandwich as well.
Salads can also be a great, healthy way to a great lunch. I'm not a huge fan of traditional salad. I find it really boring and not filling on its own, but this week I started experimenting. I ended up finding this recipe. With the lime juice, peanuts, and honey, it tastes amazing. It is not like your run of the mill lettuce and veggie salad and I appreciated that much more as a main course.
If you are able to be home for lunch, it can be much more exciting. If you are like me this summer and work a regular job, it becomes difficult to make exciting lunches. So, be a chef and experiment. Find a salad you can make the night before or just grab some herbs or different veggies for your sandwiches.
Dinner
I have fallen in love with my Crock-pot. If cooking a big meal when you get home is what has you running to the freezer, I highly suggest it.
Soups, I have found, are the best thing for the crock pot if you plan on leaving it all day. I have made some soups this week and they are an amazing comfort food after a busy day at work. This week, I tried a bell pepper and corn chowder. You throw in potatoes, bell pepper, onions (if you are cooking for yourself, I have learned to have an onion on hand at all times), and corn with broth in the slow cooker. Add your spices and you can leave it for eight hours. When you get home, all you have to do is blend it up and add the milk and the rest of the corn. Then you can add fresh bell pepper and green onion on the top to bring out all the flavors. I would also add a little salt.
You can find the recipe I used, here.
I love to cook, but that doesn't mean having a job and being a student, gives me enough time to create elaborate meals. However, even when I take shortcuts, it is always awesome to see the meals I can create. Not only do I get to eat flavors I love, my budget also thanks me for it. When I hear the word cook, I think about what recipe I'm going to try next and I hope these little shortcuts help you get there too.
