Unfortunately, most of us will have the task of preparing a meal for someone else. This idea may seem like a nightmare, especially if your parents never taught you how to cook except when it came to using the toaster or microwave, but have no fear because cooking is not as scary as it looks. Yes, there is a fear that you may not boil your hard boiled eggs long enough or you might burn something, so here are some tricks to erase your anxiety when in the kitchen.
1. You don’t know how to prepare meals with fresh vegetables or fruits.
Have no fear, just swap out fresh vegetables for frozen ones. Here, you can just pop a bag of mixed frozen steamed vegetables into the microwave. Once they’re done in the microwave, you have freshly steamed vegetables that are ready to be eaten, seasoned, or put into another dish.
2. You don’t know how to cook meat.
Cooking meats is often one of the biggest challenges new cooks face. A simple tip, especially for college students, is to pick yourself up a George Forman grill. You don’t have to fuss as much with making sure your meat is cooked all the way, because the grill heats the meat on both sides at the same time. Not to mention this grill makes clean up a lot easier than dealing with a full grill or pans.
3. You don’t have a good relationship with boiling pasta or even ramen.
The real struggle of cooking any type of pasta or pasta-like food is that one is never sure when it’s really ready. So avoid the guessing game of if your pasta is done by cooking your pasta with a frying pan. It cooks the pasta more evenly and saves you the hassle of draining out the water.
4. You really just don’t want to prep your foods and you’d rather make them if everything is set for you already.
Okay, so I get that measuring ingredients, finding the right ingredients, and getting them all prepped to cook your meal might be a bit overwhelming. Luckily, there is a company that, for a small fee, will send you already prepped ingredients with a recipe so you can make a foolproof meal, ingredients wise. I have faith in you, but cooking the actual meals is up to you. So if this tickles your fancy, check out BlueApron for more information on their services.
5. You feel like you’re not creative enough to cook.
So, you only know how to make two or three dishes by heart and don’t think those dishes are going to impress anyone–especially if you’re cooking for you significant other. Here’s a solution, check out what the Internet has to offer. A lot of websites such as Pinterest, Food Network, The Cooking Channel, and others offer step by step directions and videos to create fun dishes that make you look like an advanced cook to whomever you’re trying to impress.
The next time you’re asked to cook a meal for someone, take a deep breath and just take some time to find out what you need to do to make the meal not become a disaster. I know it might seem scary and seem like a lot of pressure if you mess up, but it’s okay because there is always delivery pizza if your meal becomes a struggle bus. So best of luck and get to cooking!
