Cooking for cheaters

[Lara]

Whether we can't cook (me), are too lazy, or don't have time, I bet pretty much everybody cheats at food preparation sometimes.

I am a fan of microwavable mac and cheese (which probably has less nutritional value than the box it comes in) and making omlettes out of the kind of egg that comes in a box. Shameful!

What are your favorites?

[billf]

I actually prefer to cook myself. This comes partially from years of living off boxed junk for years, and partially because I once had a roomate who had no problems with stealing my food. I soon found out he had no idea how to cook at all, so I started buying stuff I had to cook and he stopped eating my food.

[Gouf_Custom]

The only foods I can "make" are scrambled eggs (though I do use real eggs), cold cereal, ramen noodles, PB&J, and brownies made with my mom's recipe. Kinda hard to cheat on those.

[Teranfirbt]

Hmm
I'm not too bad at cooking... Of course I'm usually not too bad at anything I do.. Problem is I'm too spread out, so I don't really have any specialization...

[iMav]

Ain't no rules, ain't no vow, we can do it anyhow:
I'n'I will see you through,
'Cos everyday we pay the price with a little sacrifice,
ramen till the ramen's through

[Arcanos]

I am actually a fairly good cook myself. Like today I made up a full dinner myself of grilled steak and salmon, (for those people who dont like bloody cow flesh) and potato salad, Biscuts, a decent green tossed salad.

but I really prefer to do fancier stuff like bacon stuffed breaded chicken. or crab stuffed mushrooms, when cooking for people...

my main problem is that for myself only.... I dont cook... and thus I starve or subsist on lesser food like carboard pizza ($0.69 cents aprice... you know the ones.) and Ramen... good ole ramen, and the 12 ways to cook it for diferent flavors... (though there might be more... oh and the limit is using ONLY what is in the package +water and a pan)
so yeah I am a good cook and proud of it (since my girlfriend cant cook worth crud and is the first to admit it) but only for other people... dear gods I am lazy... but thank gods for leftovers.

[Infin8Cyn]

I suck at teh c00k.

[SothThe69th]

I make Ramen. I don't have to cheat.

[UrzaPlanezwalker]

i can make speghetti, steak, and stir fry. thats about it. i cheat on everyhting else...

oh, and if you want an easy and totally awsome recipie:

take a tortilla, add shreded cheese, add a tablespoon or 2 of enchilada sauce to the cheese, then roll it up like a buritto and microwave for like, a minuite and a half.

viola, the enchidea. hybred of the quesadilla and the enchilada.

[Wite_Rabit]

vive le chef! that's me >_> Like Arcanos, except I can cook for myself, too - which I will do, now.

[Imperator Severn]

WHat is this "cheating" of which you speak? There are no rules in cooking.


Incidentally, there is crying in cooking.

[BadMonkey]

Onions: Nature's way of telling you to just fucking order something in, you bitch.

[Catamaul]

I love cooking. My favorite "challenge" is when my wife says "we have no food in da house" and I take what food we do have and whip up some insanely delicious meal.

It all began when I got a job as a saute cook for 3 years here at a restaurant in town. Next job was in a pizzeria for 2 years. I really enjoyed cooking but I was not sure it was something I wanted to pursue as a career, because I may not like it because it was work. I worked in a kitchen that belonged to a prominent chef here in Columbus to see if I could enjoy work in that environment, and I decided I would pursue it as a hobby instead. I now cook about 5 - 8 times a week, and especially enjoy it when my wife sits in the kitchen and watches me, or if I have family over and they can watch because I really do try and make it entertaining.

A few of my favorite things to cook (all made from scratch and of my own recipe):

Sour Cream Waffles
Southern Style Dry Rubbed Curry and Chilly Pork Barbecue
Fire Roasted Tomato Salsas

I also really enjoy making Chili, Turkey, Fire Baked Pizzas (Earned me the title "Iron Chef Campfire"), and anything in a saute pan that requires any flare or style while cooking it, or that I can recipe tweak and personalize. One of my most proud techniques is that when I am done cooking, there are no dishes other than what is required to serve and hold the meal. Our last house had a 20 x 28 inch countertop and that was the only room I had to cook, so I have conditioned myself to work in very small areas, and thus need to keep dishes out of the way.

If you are interested in learning how to cook, I would suggest mastering either one cooking method (baking, saute, grilling) or what may be more fun one style of dish or ingredient (omelettes, steaks, salads). It will get you in the kitchen, get you familiar with all the ingredients out there and will not be overwhelming. Then if you ever have company you can try and make a few other things, and if you screw them up, your company will say "...but that was the best steak I have ever had".

Sorry for the rant, but I love to cook.

[FireAza]

I have a method I call "modding". I take a meal (usually a packed rice meal) then mix whatever seems suitable with it. Another part of modding is taking ideas and methods from a recipe (i.e the cooking directions from the back of the packet) and using them in a different way. For example, to make stir-fry noodles, you need to leave the noodles to soak in hot water. What's something else that needs hot water? Cup 'o' soup! Just add the noodles to the soup and they'll cook, leaving you with soup and noodles. The only real meal I can make is sushi (and I have the certificate to prove it!)

[adamjaskie]

I... made a paella. With shrimp in it. I... used pre-shelled and deveined shrimp