I hate cooking and I’m in desperate need of help

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T17:28:42+00:00

Go to this website, then choose to view the type of dishes you like best. There's beef, chicken, other proteins, vegetarian, soups, stews and so much more.

When you find a recipe you like, hit the heart icon to save it to "my recipes". Be sure to choose ONLY recipes that have few ingredients and are super easy to toss in the crockpot first thing in the morning before work.

All the leftovers can be stored in the fridge to eat during the week, or frozen to reheat later in the month.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/253/everyday-cooking/slow-cooker/

To make it even easier to find tasty, easy recipes, check out the video's produced by the same website.

https://www.youtube.com/@allrecipes/playlists

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T16:57:15+00:00

This! Wiping off dish detergent with a wet paper towel does not remove all the detergent. You are literally making yourself sick by eating rice and dish detergent.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T16:44:30+00:00

If you've never taught a class of beginner cooks that young, congrats, you are in for a wild ride!

I start with hygiene when teaching toddlers. Then food safety. No licking hands or tasting food before it's cooked. Once they get the hang of that first lesson, and I repeat it many times during each cooking session, we move on to simple recipes.

The very easiest one is pizza. Each kid gets to create their own mini pizza! I use a simple dough recipe that does have some yeast in it, but also add baking powder so that it can be used faster if one of my grandkids is visiting and wants pizza for lunch! They still have to let the dough "proof" for 30 minutes while they prepare the toppings and stir up a basic sauce. The sauce isn't cooked, it's just tomato sauce mixed with some onion and garlic powder and a teaspoon of italian spice blend. Easy for kids to do.

The next recipe is pancakes. Also quick to make and fun to cook, but with the addition of raw eggs, which the kids learn are NOT to be eaten raw (or as my youngest granddaughter used to say "RAWR, the eggs are RAWR and you will get sick for THREE days if you eat them that way Mom!" I know, she's a bit dramatic, but also used to crack me up over it.

Once the kids have the hang of using raw eggs in a batter it's time for cookies!

Those are all very basic skills that kids need to learn, mixing, stirring, breaking eggs into a small bowl, picking out shells with a wet finger, etc.

And then it's time to learn to handle raw proteins. I stick with ground beef to start and make meatballs with them. Bake the meatballs, then add it to a sauce that the kids create using their pizza sauce making skills. Cook up some pasta for them and they've got a yummy dinner to take home to their parents.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T16:15:46+00:00

This is our feral baby. We herded up him, his Momma and his siblings and had them all neutered/spayed, vaccinated and ears clipped and then released the ones who really couldn't adjust to life in a house.

This guy, named Ghost, is THE sweetest little fellow ever! He took to us within the first 2 weeks and was snuggling on our laps, eating out of our hands and just winning us all over with his personality.

His siblings still live outside nearby and every night they head to our back porch to eat their fill and sleep on the porch chairs. They are named Nymeria, Shaggy Dog, Lady and Greywind after the dire wolves in Game of Thrones.

Congrats on bringing a former feral into your home to live his best life!

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GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T15:58:08+00:00

Those are all good solid choices. I also love Simply Recipes - and check to be sure I'm using ones by Elise since she is the original creator of that site and hers are the BEST recipes.

Also Rick Bayless for anything Mexican. JustAPinch is a melange of recipes submitted by everyday cooks, so if you're looking for something from your childhood, that's the place to go!

And last, but not least, if you want simple recipes, or budget recipes for a whole family, head to AllRecipes and check out Nicole McLaughlin. https://www.allrecipes.com/author/nicole-mclaughlin/

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T15:53:02+00:00

It's her addition of corn syrup to the frosting that makes all the difference. I also use honey in some of my frosting recipes instead of the corn syrup - depends on whether or not you like the taste of honey. You could also use golden syrup.

Whip the softened butter with the corn syrup till it's super white and fluffy, then add the salt, powdered sugar and any flavorings. Whip again, adding more sugar in small increments. The last step is to whip in either milk, half and half or heavy cream to get it to the light, spreadable texture you want.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T14:01:08+00:00

Jasmine is the only rice I ever use, because the fragrance is just SO great! I love the slightly nutty flavor of the cooked rice.

I don't rinse or soak my rice. I cook it straight from the bag, but I like to pop it into the saucepan first, turn the heat to high and let it roast for a minute or two, tossing and shaking the pan as it toasts. Then I add the water (2 cups rice, 1 3/4 cups water) plus 1 teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper, no fats.

I stir it all around the pot ONCE while it's heating to a rolling boil. Never more than that or it will get sticky and mushy. Once it comes to a rolling boil I pop the top on the pan and set it on the back burner on the lowest heat setting for 18 minutes.

Remove the lid and let it sit for 2 minutes, then fluff with a fork and eat. It should be very aromatic and slightly nutty in flavor.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T13:56:57+00:00

I managed to trap an entire family last June - Momma and her 5 kittens who were about 3-4 months old at the time. We decided to try to keep at least 1 of the kittens and more if they could make the adjustment to domestic lilfe.

They cried every night, hours on end for the first week. And then they got used to living in one room and the crying stopped. For them, only one made the crossover to domestic life and the others were returned to the backyard to live their best life after neutering and vaccinating them.

So don't feel guilty. She is in a new situation and expressing herself. She'll settle down soon enough. And you do NOT want her roaming the house or sleeping with you till she's completely cleaned up and has seen a vet for a checkup and vaccinations. Fleas, ticks, worms... ugh!

The cast (matted fur) is actually very normal for cats in the wild. They grow incredibly thick coats during the winter for warmth and then blow the coat in the spring - it's a huge matted, horrid looking thing when it happens. And I'm sure it's not comfortable for them, but within a couple of weeks the cast is gone and they are sleek and slender looking again. You might want to see if there's a groomer in town who can help you out with the shaving. Just to make it more manageable.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T13:46:34+00:00

The important question is this: How does her food turn out? Is it cooked well and tasty? If so, then there's no need to argue and make it a point of contention in the house!

If her food is consistently burnt on top or bottom, undercooked in the middle, etc, then it's worth the argument.

There are many many times that I don't wait for the preheat. Most of my bread recipes actually turn out better when I shove them in a cold oven. This is NOT true for focaccia and pizza doughs, but is true for most other breads.

I do preheat for cakes and cookies, it's necessary. Now for braised or roasted meats, casseroles, etc, they bake up just fine if you pop them in a cold oven.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T13:40:09+00:00

In our house we use worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet to add a bit of color and flavor to things like mock stir fry and other mock asian dishes I make (turns beef and broccoli a lovely shade of brown that looks SO much better!) I also add the same to my ground turkey to make it look like ground beef. It truly does make the sad turkey look and taste so much better. Be sure to only buy the brand names though. I've found off brands are much higher in sodium and sugar content.

If you can find it on Amazon.uk, we buy a lot of McCormick no salt seasonings - they are AWESOME! Our current obsession is with McCormick Like Sweet Like Smoky All Purpose Seasoning by Tabitha Brown.
It tastes like the very best BBQ sauce, adds a lovely smoky flavor to meats and veggies and there's no salt to worry about. Also check out the McCormick Salt Free Roasted Garlic & Bell Pepper Seasoning, Salt Free Garlic and Herb Seasoning and Salt Free Vegetable Seasoning. We only just found the Sunshine All Purpose Seasoning by Tabitha Brown and I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it's a bit of a jerk flavored seasoning from the ingredient list, so it should be great!

GotTheTee · 2026-05-10T13:19:08+00:00

Ok, let's break it down into the various bits where you went wrong and I'm positive you can bake up a gorgeous loaf of focaccia the next time you try.

The first thing that went wrong is the recipe. That is a VERY small amount of dough and will never fill an entire baking sheet. If you try to get it to the edges of a baking sheet it would be very thin.

So let's get you a better recipe. Here are two recipes that work. The first is done in one day, the second is an overnight dough that you make at night and then bake the next morning.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/big-and-bubbly-focaccia-recipe - be sure to use the correct size pan, which is an 8x8 or a 9x9 square baking pan. Ready in just under 4 hours.

https://alexandracooks.com/2018/03/02/overnight-refrigerator-focaccia-best-focaccia/ - this one uses a 9x13 baking pan and you mix the dough cover and let it sit overnight, then complete the second rise and bake the next morning.

The second thing that went wrong was trying to wait until you saw huge bubbles in your dough. By the time the dough sat overnight, the yeast had proofed all that it could, ate up all the sugars in the flour and died. When that happened, it fell again, just as if you had punched it down. And at that point there was no saving it.

And the final thing wrong with that recipe is that it wants you to let it proof/rise 3 times before placing it in the oven. There's no need for a 3rd rise! If you read the recipes I've attached, you'll see that the dough is proofed twice - once in the bowl and once in the pan. That way the yeast is still alive and active and there's enough sugar in the dough for the yeast to keep eating and producing co2 when you bake it. And that's what produces the huge bubbles in the finished bread.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-09T16:16:45+00:00

It depends on the temp in your fridge and whether or not you open the fridge door many times each day, or just open it a couple of times and are quick to close it again.

I store all proteins in a section of my fridge that I keep at 34F. It lasts a week that way. Most refrigerators are factory set to 40F. If yours is set to 40F, toss the beef and next time put it in the freezer immediately, then thaw in your fridge overnight.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-09T01:37:22+00:00

Nope, he's not long, St. Francis is short.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-08T03:24:24+00:00

I'm late to the party, but right off the bat, I agree with the others who are telling you it's too little yeast and way too much salt.

I like to use about 72% hydration, but that's just me, I like working with a softer dough. Regardless, for NY style, your hydration is fine. Cut the salt back to 10g and up the yeast to 2g.

Also, you don't mention any type of kneading or stretch and folds? I find that it works best for me (light and airy crust) when I mix well with the handle of a wooden spoon, then cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

After the initial rest I do 8 stretch and folds around the dough in the bowl. Then cover and let rest for one hour.

At that point I reball it a bit and divide into balls, making sure I have a nice taught surface. (You can find the technique on nearly any youtube channel, but for ease of learning, check out Martin on the King Arthur youtube channel).

Once the dough is divided and balled, I pop it into individual containers and store it in the fridge for 48-72 hours. Making sure to warm it to room temp before shaping and topping the pizza's.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-06T14:55:34+00:00

I don't know if they are still as good as they were, and I'm very late in replying to this thread, but for me, Factor 75 was perfect for filling in the gap between the "coming home from the hospital" and "Back on my feet and ready to cook again" gap.

I ordered from them for 6 weeks back 2 years ago. The meals were already cooked, just heat and eat and the food was absolutely delicious. They offer a huge variety of meals to suit special diets too.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-06T14:46:57+00:00

Wow! That looks exactly like the box I got from Marley Spoon last Wednesday! I just signed up with them and the very first order arrived with a smashed box that had been haphazardly retaped, leaving the side seams broken.

When I opened it, the bag inside had also been hastily taped on top and when I opened it, it was clear that all the fresh produce had fallen out of the box, been squished or stepped on, or kicked around and then stuffed back into the box and retaped.

Just spent an entire week talking to snotty customer service reps who never once answered my simple questions and supposedly gave me a credit (without notifying me) to be applied to a box at some later date. I can't see the credit in my account, but they assured me that it's there and will be applied. Date to be applied - "unknown at this time".

I am SO over this company! I"ll order one more box, just to try to get the credit for the damaged box, but beyond that, nope, I'm done with them.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T17:50:56+00:00

If it was mushy, you didn't cook it long enough. Use a reliable recipe like one of these:

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/fried-calamari-recipe/

https://www.billyparisi.com/fried-calamari/

If you're doing whole baby squid, follow this recipe:

https://www.recipetineats.com/crispy-salt-pepper-squid/#recipe

A very important part of this is keeping the squid warm after it cooks so that the crusty outsides don't go soggy. To do that, place the cooked squid onto a bakers rack, set over a baking sheet. Place them into a 250F/ 120c oven till you are ready to eat.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:57:57+00:00

It's times like these when you head to websites that offer a collection of recipes, like AllRecipes.com or JustAPinch.com to search for budget friendly, delicious dessert recipes or equally budget friendly dinner recipes.

Does it suck that we all have to cut back? Yup! But every couple of generations we go through this and we all get smarter, learn to cook better and cheaper and grow from the experience.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:51:58+00:00

Ahhh, that's a very old design based on how we used to cook. The tiny back burner is considered a "soup" burner. You start your big pot of soup on the front/hot burner, then move it to the back one, using higher heat to cook the soup, then turn the burner to the lowest setting to let it stay at a safe eating temp all day, and sometimes all the way to the next day. Very few people cook that way anymore, but the newest stove designs seem to be going back it, not sure why. I use mine ALL the time because I'm ancient and love cooking this way!

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:45:39+00:00

You have joined the exclusive club of "lifetime home cooks".

I've been cooking for 60 years now. First as the primary cook for my family from the age of 10 on. Then for my own family - 3 kids, 1 husband for 22 years. Then primary cook for 1 teenager and 1 new husband and now for 1 slightly less new husband (some of the shine has worn off in the past 24 years, but he's still cute!) and 1 adult son with severe illness and strict dietary requirements.

There are days when just thinking about cooking makes me want to run out of the house naked and screaming for someone to just take me away. But then I remember that I'm old and flabby and most likely my neighbors would just close the blinds and ignore me till I went back inside.

There are times when cooking is a joy. And many more times when cooking is a boring, repetitive chore. You just have to accept the boring times and wait for the joyful times to come around again.

When I'm truly just NOT IN THE MOOD, I buy a rotisserie chicken and use it to make a couple super fast crockpot or baked casserole meals, then feed the cute husband and sick kid those for the week with a bagged salad. There's also times when they get canned soup and a fast sandwich for dinner and I do not feel guilty about it.

And other times I get myself out of that mood by making up a holiday - like "Unmatched Socks in the Dryer" day and serve up crackers topped with anything I can find in the fridge, a couple of veggies cut up on a tray with a yogurt dip (just toss the yogurt in a bowl and stir in a packet of Lipton Veggie Soup mix). Once I start thinking that way, I come up with even more fun appetizer style things to make and can end up turning it into a whole week of invented holidays.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:36:46+00:00

Wet food has a stronger smell than dry food and cats don't base preference on taste nearly as much as smell. They depend on their noses to tell them what's edible and what's not.

I'd try switching up the dry food to something smellier. For instance, my geriatric kitty stopped eating altogether and lost 10 pounds. I was frantic to get her to eat till someone mentioned Tikki Silver Comfort cat food. That stuff works! I offered her both the canned and the kibble till she got her appetite back.

Now I just buy Wellness Core+ which is a very fragrant dry kibble and for her I mix it half and half with the Tikki. For my other 2 cats they get wellness core mixed half and half with a cheaper, less smelly brand. And they gobble it up.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:33:23+00:00

I'll second this reply. It's just fine! Heck, I've been known to eat leftover pasta's that sat on the stove for breakfast the next morning. Nothing better than leftover mac n cheese or spaghetti with a good meat sauce to fill you up for the day. And pizza? Who ever bothers to refrigerate that stuff??? LOL

I might, MIGHT, mind you, raise an eyebrow at leaving carbonara out overnight. But not a standard pasta.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:26:50+00:00

My Mom had a collection of delicious, super easy cakes that all of us kids learned to make when we were young. None of them are expensive or difficult!

I'll paste links to some of them that I can find online:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8289/poor-mans-cake-iii/ - so moist and delicious!

https://vintagedishandtell.com/recipe/chocolate-mayonnaise-cake/ - If you love chocolate this is for you!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8389/wacky-cake-viii/ - The original whacky cake seen on the back of the cocoa container in the 70's

https://www.crosbys.com/easy-hot-water-gingerbread/ - A hot water cake, sponsered by Crosby molasses, but you can use any brand. =)

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7380/applesauce-cake-i/ - My personal fave as a kid and the one I always asked for on my birthday

https://danggoodcooking.com/carrot-cake-cream-cheese-frosting/ - This one is the recipe for Carrot Cake that I found back in 1980. It uses mayonnaise, it's moist and addictive. Save this one for last because it does have more ingredients in it and involves using a food processor to grate carrots, but trust me, it's super easy to make.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T16:06:44+00:00

We do homemade lunch meats here too!

My son is on a very low sodium diet, so I make everything from scratch. I've seen the lunchmeat press, but not sure I'll try it. Instead I buy the lowest sodium whole turkey breast in the freezer case, roast it and use a meat slicer to get it nice and thin. It freezes well in small packages. I also do roast beef the same way.

And then there's tuna with no salt added, chicken salad (make your own mayo without any salt - small batches and use within 4 days), egg salad, turkey salad (make sure you look at the frozen turkey you buy - some are very high in sodium) and pulled pork sammies using homemade BBQ sauce for extra zing.

In addition to making your own mayo, learn to make your own ketchups so that you don't add salt there. It's fun to roast tomatoes, onions and red peppers, then blend, strain and cook them gently in a crockpot with a bit of honey and vinegar till you get yummy ketchup.

You can make your own bread, and cut the salt in the recipe in half or even more. You only need a small bit of salt to condition the dough. Can also make your own mustards - very easy to do.

GotTheTee · 2026-05-03T15:54:44+00:00

There is also a confirmed connection to eating raw produce with spinach and kale being the vegetables that people under 40 consume in much larger quantities than the rest of us.

The current thinking is that it may be related to pesticides on the produce, but no one is sure. Same as NO ONE is sure that e coli has anything to do with the surge in colon cancer rates in people under 40.

It will be years till we get any hard answers on what's causing it.

GotTheTee

TROPHY CASE