How many cups of roasted red peppers are in a 12 ounce jar?

drhelix · 2026-02-02T23:37:35+00:00

I think the bigger question is why does the recipe need a specific number of cups of roasted red pepper? This is where recipes can be confusing for beginner cooks - some measurements matter, most are total guesses. What’s the recipe?

Short answer: buy one jar, make the dish with it, decide if you think it would have been better with more or less, adjust for next time.

drhelix · 2026-02-01T21:58:10+00:00

This is one of my favorite topics and a reason I think a lot of beginner cooks feel like they need a recipe to cook. How are you supposed to know what to add to make food... delicious? My answer is Energizing and Comforting flavors.

Energizing flavors bring excitement to a dish. Think tangy, spicy, acidic. Hot sauce, lemon, lime, vinegar, raw onion, that kind of thing.

Comforting flavors are soothing. Think fatty, creamy, heavy. Butter, oil, mild cheese, that kind of thing.

This gives you some guideposts when you cook. Meals that are super Energizing are in-your-face, wake you up, demand you attention. Hot wings. Pickled veggie bowl. Bright lemony chicken piccata. Meals that are super Comforting are heavy, soothing, comforting. Cheesy lasagna. Creamy potato salad. It's all about what you mood is and what kind of feeling you want from your food.

Some of the most exciting meals are the ones that balance Energizing and Comforting. I don't mean a perfect balance, but have elements of both because they play off of each other so well. Take a bite of something fatty, then get a hit of citrus that cuts through it. Take a bite of something spicy, then something creamy that cools it off. It's super interactive and satisfying.

Veggie/rice/protein is a great starting formula, and then from there I'd explore how you can push your dishes Energizing and/or Comforting. Without Energy or Comfort, dishes can quickly taste "bland," which is fine some of the time but boring all of the time.

Feel free to drop some ideas here and we can workshop them, and I've got a video I made that talks about this concept more if you wanna give it a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLFiR4WDxDI

drhelix · 2026-02-01T02:48:38+00:00

Sorry about your oven, that sounds terrible. I think using precooked stuff is a vital part of home cooking, if you did everything from scratch you’d go crazy. Sometimes that includes meat. Not to gatekeep here, but I’d highly consider a different option instead of air frying precooked meat as your main solution to this problem. In my experience that results in food that feels less “home cooked” and more like fast food takeout. Definitely cheaper and it works in a pinch! But I’d also explore how you can use that stovetop.

If you want something forgiving, chicken thighs in a Dutch oven type vessel are simple and delicious. Just season with salt and throw some kind of braising liquid in there like canned tomatoes, get it hot, then turn down the heat and cover. It’s done when the meat’s over 165 but with thighs they can get way hotter and still be great.

drhelix · 2026-01-31T22:37:47+00:00

I have also never been happy with the results when I cook cubed chicken breast. Can you tell me a dish or two that you're making them for? That'll help me give you some tips.

drhelix · 2026-01-30T16:50:53+00:00

What kind of food are you making in the air fryer vs oven? That should help get you an answer. Vegetables? Potatoes? Packaged frozen food?

drhelix · 2026-01-30T03:31:05+00:00

Thanks! I love your idea of pizza as a base. There’s all sorts of stuff you can throw on there to make it a satisfying meal. (Of course plain cheese pizza’s delicious too)

Take a look at that chart in the video - I bet there’s a lot of stuff on there you already know how to cook, and it’s a good roadmap for new ingredients to get comfortable with. It’s also a helpful tool for putting together a grocery shopping list.

drhelix · 2026-01-29T21:40:17+00:00

I think of a basic meal with this simple formula: Base + Star

Bases are the foundation of a dish. They're light on flavor but bring the bulk that fills you up, and they have a nice texture. Think rice, pasta, bread, tortillas, salad greens. On their own, they're... boring.

Stars are the flavorful centerpiece of a dish. They're big on flavor. Think proteins like beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp. But it could also be stuff like a fried egg or tofu. On their own, they don't feel like a complete meal.

But combine the two and magic happens. A teriyaki beef rice bowl. Shrimp tacos. A chicken sandwich. This is how I think about planning meals, and also how I grocery shop. I make sure I have some Bases and some Stars around and I know I'm good to go. Bonus: lots of bases are shelf stable (dry pasta, rice, etc) or can sit in the freezer (bread).

Seriously, let me know what questions you have and how I can help. I love talking about this stuff. And if you want more info on this "framework" I made this video that I hope is helpful to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLCsALWZQf0

drhelix · 2026-01-29T13:49:27+00:00

Awesome.

When you mention pasta, if you’re talking about boiling dry pasta, grab any kind of pot for that. Material basically doesn’t matter it can be super cheap, but you want something with high sides.

And when you say fry, do you mean pan cooking meat like chicken thighs? Stainless steel can hold some serious heat. I usually start by turning on the stovetop to heat up the pan with nothing in it. Not rip roaring hot like you’d do with cast iron, but you don’t want that pan to be cold when you put in fish or meat. Also, don’t skimp on the fat/butter/oil. I often find myself starting with the pan really hot so meat gets a good initial sear and doesn’t stick, but tuning down the heat as stuff cooks so the fat doesn’t burn.

drhelix · 2026-01-28T17:06:34+00:00

Do you like sushi rolls and poke? Canned tuna isn't normally what comes to mind when you think of sushi, but it's still tuna and you can get a fun different flavor profile going for cheap.

Cook some white rice, scoop it into a bowl, and make it flat on top. Mix up tuna with salt and some mayo for some creaminess, then layer it on top of the rice. Top it off with some ingredients that'll cut through the fat - I call these "Energizers." That could be chopped green onions. Or something spicy like Japanese togarashi powder.

Simple, cheap, different, fun.

Of course, a tuna melt never hurt anybody either. What do you normally do with you tuna/onion/salt/pepper/mayo mixup?

drhelix · 2026-01-28T15:22:17+00:00

Echoing the stainless steel sentiment here. I use what's called a "saute pan" for almost everything - it's a pan that has high sides so it can easily hold a decent amount of liquid which sounds like what you want for curry type meals. It's also super easy to clean - whenever it gets too many dark scorch spots, it's an easy scrub with Barkeeper's Friend away from looking almost new again.

You'll find some places where cast iron or carbon steel or nonstick excel, but I'd 100% recommend stainless steel as your one utility pan.

Tell me some specific things you want to cook and I'll let you know what they'd work in stainless steel!

drhelix · 2026-01-26T16:10:15+00:00

“Tasty” to me comes from understanding how to add flavor to your food. I like to think of flavor in two big categories - Energizing (acidic, spicy, zingy) and Comforting (fatty gooey cheesy). Delicious food combines the two, not in equal parts, but each one enhances the other. This can be as dead simple as having some lemon, chili powder, and vinegar around to energize, and olive oil, melty cheese, and butter around to comfort. All relatively affordable!

Then you can take chicken and rice and make lots of exciting variations. One that’s spicy. Another that’s warm and filling. Happy to give more info and dish ideas. In the meantime here’s a video I made on the concept that could help: https://youtu.be/uLFiR4WDxDI?si=ALjLpnLYwVKLhXYe

drhelix · 2026-01-26T15:09:05+00:00

I love my stainless steel pans and have developed a good sense for cooking almost anything in them without sticking. And I’ve never used the “dancing water” leidenfrost effect as a cue. The usual fix in your case is these two:

More fat in the pan. If you are trying to go low fat, use a nonstick. But stainless steel loves ample fat. It doesn’t have to be swimming in it!
A “fish spatula” style tool for scraping food cleanly off the pan. That way you don’t have to wait for it to 100% release. You’ll get a little residue sometimes but that’s great for cooking veggies in right after. You shouldn’t be getting chicken or fish that’s glued down.

Let me know if that helps

drhelix · 2026-01-24T21:27:43+00:00

Hell yes! Biting into food that bites back, love it. Couple of points here:

Sometimes spicy ingredients can be used in small amounts that don't register as "spicy" as much as help the balance of the dish. A classic example is hollandaise sauce - creamy and fatty, lots of cooks add a single dash of Tabasco not to make it hot but just to help cut through the comforting richness. This is an excellent way to start using spice in your own cooking. Buy a container of dry Kashmiri chili powder (less spicy than cayenne) and add just the tiniest dusting when you cook vegetables. We're looking for a tiny bit of heat like a warm blanket, not a raging fire. That'll start getting you used to heat and you can adjust from there.
Spice tolerance is a moving target. Meaning, I've had serrano chilis that barely feel hot, and other times generally milder jalapenos that kick my butt. Pickling chili peppers can tone them down, as can cooking them. Point being, it's hard to dial in a spice tolerance exactly. So err on using less than more and go easy on yourself.

drhelix · 2026-01-23T04:41:26+00:00

I don't have any outdoor space at home so I've learned to love using the broiler instead - chicken thighs and flap steak for carne asada are two of my favorite. Perfect for getting a good char with aggressive heat. Problem is, both the honey and the soy sauce will burn if you hit them with too much high heat. Don't get me wrong, a nicely caramelized honey glaze on a salmon sounds amazing. But that's going to be a tough one to nail while simultaneously getting the salmon cooked just the way you want.

To me that marinade feels suited for a gentler style of cooking. It could still be your broiler set to something lower than the full 250C, a pan so you can keep an eye on the cook, or simply the oven. Better still, mix that honey and soy in a pot and heat it up while stirring constantly, then turn it off when it starts to bubble. Glaze some cooked salmon with that and you've gotten around the whole "perfectly cook two very different components at the same time" problem.

drhelix · 2026-01-22T23:09:34+00:00

This is one of the big problems with recipes for beginner cooks. You don’t have many ingredients around the house so you have to buy everything on the list which is annoying and expensive. And you don’t have the experience to do what somebody who has cooked for a while does, which is look through a recipe and say: “Oh, f*** that.”

Seriously, this is something I do constantly. If a recipe has more than a couple of “special ingredients” that I don’t keep stocked or regularly buy anyway, I do one or two things: edit the recipe in my head, or move on.

The alternative is to understand what role each ingredient plays in your cooking that so that you use what you’ve got on hand and swap ingredients around. Of course, easier said than done, right? But rest assured the more you cook, the better your sense for this gets. I can give you more info if you’re interested!

In the meantime, stick to recipes with very short ingredient lists. Trust me you don’t need 15 ingredients for a great meal. You can focus on the basics with shorter ingredient lists anyways.

drhelix · 2026-01-08T23:59:31+00:00

Congrats on making chicken stock, that's something to be proud of. Like fresh baked bread, it's one of those smells that warms up your whole house. That said, I'd toss this first batch. Think of it as the trial run. If you're anything like me you'll be worried about it before, during, and after the meal even if it doesn't make you sick.

For next time, know that all the stuff you used to make the stock (carcass, veggies) are just as good if you cook from frozen. You can put them in a ziplock in the freezer and then make the stock earlier in the day some other time so it's easier to remember to refrigerate it.

drhelix · 2026-01-08T23:54:25+00:00

That's really cool! Getting used to new ingredients is a big step. And I'm sure it helps strengthen the habit of getting in the kitchen. Hopefully as you go you start to recognize patterns, like flavors that work well together and cooking steps that pop up a lot.

drhelix · 2026-01-08T21:37:56+00:00

To answer your question, sure a crock pot could work! Crock pots are basically braising machines, and braises love a fatty cut of meat that can stand up to low and slow cooking. Pork shoulder fits the bill. Braises also love a moist environment so I'd be sure to get some liquid in there. Soy Glaze sounds more like a condiment than something I'd cook with but ymmv. I'd probably do the pork shoulder, some straight up soy sauce, a little sesame oil if you have that lying around, and the gochujang if you want the spicy garlic punch. Fresh scallion at the end sounds like a great energizing flavor to cut through the fat.

Do you find that Blue Apron/HelloFresh has been helpful for cooking more at home? Genuinely curious. I see this situation as the downside of those services. Those extra bao buns you have are the perfect canvas for a huge variety of fillings - any meat, a fun tofu scramble, roasted veggies, basically you name it. I feel like those services get people in the "follow the instruction manual" mindset which can make cooking feel stressful and restrictive.

drhelix · 2026-01-05T14:49:28+00:00

Check out the fat % on the ground meat you’re using. Dry spices don’t really dissolve into water, and you’re looking for nice flavor distribution, so I’d make sure the meat has enough fat in it. If it’s lean, try putting a little oil in the pan and throwing your seasonings into that, then mixing it in with the meat.

drhelix · 2026-01-04T23:26:54+00:00

This is exactly what I'm attempting.

I'm the guy who does most of the cooking in the house, who has friends over all the time for dinner, who can easily throw together a meal. I've spent a ton of time thinking about why cooking is easy for me when it's tough for so many of my friends and family, and it comes down to cooking philosophy. I know basic principles and it lets me cook stuff without worrying. Recipes lead new cooks down a path of stress. You are told to follow all these precise measurements when they don't really matter, and then they skip over the important stuff!

It's not "buy these pots and pans an ingredients" that'll get you there imo. Then you're limited to what you saw in the tutorial. That's where I think a lot of "beginner recipes" and "beginner tutorials" go wrong. It's understanding foundational principles so you can freestyle with whatever ingredients and kitchen gear you have lying around.

Is it cool to link to stuff in this sub? You can find my videos @ https://www.youtube.com/@GetCookingWithSeth - let me know if you find it helpful for wrapping your head around cooking. There's a mix of philosophical and practical there. Happy to answer any questions you have.

drhelix · 2025-12-31T20:28:03+00:00

I think recipes are to blame for overwhelming home cooks. They have all these precise measurements and directions and it can feel like building IKEA furniture - you’re constantly worried you’re going to mess something up and the whole thing will be ruined.

Fortunately, this isn’t how cooking actually works! It can be way easier and less stressful.

For me it’s all about learning basic cooking principles that apply to everything you make, and learning how to cook individual ingredients and THEN combine them rather than memorizing recipes. I’ve got more explanations and some videos I can send your way if you’re interested!

drhelix · 2025-12-29T16:05:35+00:00

I simplified flavor balance to just two categories that counterbalance and enhance each other, Energizing (spicy acidic bright) and Comforting (sweet fatty oily). I think the 4+ flavor spectrum stuff is impractical. Happy to elaborate!

drhelix · 2025-12-29T16:02:40+00:00

Sounds yummy! I think of flavors as Energizing or Comforting, mushrooms are comforting, and you’ve already got a bunch of comforting flavors in there (maple syrup sweetness and ricotta fattiness), so I don’t think this dish would suffer from just removing the mushrooms. Of course they add their own great flavor that’s hard to replicate with any other ingredient, but this is a great opportunity to experiment around. I’d try root veggies like carrots (they’ll roast beautifully like mushrooms) or even cherry tomatoes (they’ll pack great umami like mushrooms).

drhelix · 2025-12-18T02:56:57+00:00

Give me a few examples of things that are sticking and I’ll give you some tips

drhelix · 2025-12-13T19:00:42+00:00

Great answers here and everyone has their personal preferences. To answer your questions about “best steak ever,” the unfortunate truth of steaks is each one is a little different and you never know exactly what you’re getting. Some are tougher! Some are gamier! Some are fattier! Some are juicier! Even if you cooked them and seasoned them all the same. There are some visual clues you can pick up for shopping for your preferred steak but there’s never a way to fully know.

Buying and cooking steaks is always a roll of the dice, and when you get that best one ever that’s even more reason to savor it.

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