I never know what to make

[The Sum of Awe]

The only things I really enjoy eating (from home) are - chicken strips, cheeseburgers (onion on top), tacos (ground beef/cheese/onion), steak and potatoes (on occasion, it's definitely too pricey to eat all the time), pork chops and potatoes... I have stir fry, but I tried mixing ground beef/bacon bits with it and it is sorta bland. Eggs... eh, I used to like eating them because they're simple to make, but I really don't care to eat them anymore. They're not bad but just incredibly meh. I suppose I enjoy salads, they're simple to make, but only on occasion.

I like cereal, but I can't eat that all the time.

I need some meals that are healthy, easy to make, filling, and cheap.

 

[Vinayaka]

Spice, spice and more spice. That fixes bland. I do salad for lunch daily, and use dried basil which I buy on-line one kg at a time. Nothing wrong with garlic and chili peppers either.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Spice, spice and more spice. That fixes bland. I do salad for lunch daily, and use dried basil which I buy on-line one kg at a time. Nothing wrong with garlic and chili peppers either.

That may be just what I need. I never use spice outside of salt and pepper

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Spice, spice and more spice. That fixes bland. I do salad for lunch daily, and use dried basil which I buy on-line one kg at a time. Nothing wrong with garlic and chili peppers either.

The reason I do not eat salad too often is because I am trying to build mass.

 

[Viker]

Try these. Some are great.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Try these. Some are great.

A few things on there did look good. Thank you for the ideas. I need to get more ingredients!

 

[Vinayaka]

The reason I do not eat salad too often is because I am trying to build mass.

Mass comes more from working out than from eating.

 

[Vinayaka]

That may be just what I need. I never use spice outside of salt and pepper

Lots of people don't know there are other spices, lol. Besides all the regular western spices, our cupboard is filled with eastern spices. I'm guessing there are about 20 different spices in there, maybe more. It'll be fun for you to experiment too. There are a couple I cannot stand.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Mass comes more from working out than from eating.

I have noticed that working out was not effective when I was not eating enough (and I was eating my average 2 medium sized meals and a bowl of cereal in the morning. It might have something to do with my very fast metabolism

 

[Shadow Wolf]

That may be just what I need. I never use spice outside of salt and pepper

Oh you poor, deprived soul. You must definitely expand this.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Oh you poor, deprived soul. You must definitely expand this.

Any recommendations? Especially for eggs and hamburger? Tbh I like the taste of burgers and pork without seasoning. Tacos I prefer regular beef to seasoned for example

 

[Vinayaka]

I have noticed that working out was not effective when I was not eating enough (and I was eating my average 2 medium sized meals and a bowl of cereal in the morning. It might have something to do with my very fast metabolism

Could be. I'm certainly no expert. But it's good to have the challenge of trying to gain mass rather than lose it, as so many folks these days have.

 

[Subduction Zone]

What do you like to eat when you go out? I like to try to make the same meals I can get at a restaurant. Some I can make much better and much cheaper. Knowing how to buy spices helps too. Locally we have a chain called "WinCo". They have a section where they sell spices by bulk. A big problem with spices that people buy is that they do not use them often enough so they get stale. At WinCo you can just buy a few cents worth of the spices that you need for a meal. Though they made it so I was not afraid to use herbs and spices. "Italian seasoning" is just usually a mix of herbs, some of them used fairly commonly in Italian cooking, but they would not mix all of them at once. It is still a useful herb mixture to have on hand. A larger container from the regular spice section would easily be ten dollars. I found that I could refill it for about 50 cents in the bulk spices section.

I would work on one recipe at a time. Tell me a meal that you like and I might be able to recommend a recipe.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

What do you like to eat when you go out? I like to try to make the same meals I can get at a restaurant. Some I can make much better and much cheaper. Knowing how to buy spices helps too. Locally we have a chain called "WinCo". They have a section where they sell spices by bulk. A big problem with spices that people buy is that they do not use them often enough so they get stale. At WinCo you can just buy a few cents worth of the spices that you need for a meal. Though they made it so I was not afraid to use herbs and spices. "Italian seasoning" is just usually a mix of herbs, some of them used fairly commonly in Italian cooking, but they would not mix all of them at once. It is still a useful herb mixture to have on hand. A larger container from the regular spice section would easily be ten dollars. I found that I could refill it for about 50 cents in the bulk spices section.

I would work on one recipe at a time. Tell me a meal that you like and I might be able to recommend a recipe.

Hmm. I like Hyvee’s sesame chicken and fried rice. I do not own a rice maker though.

 

[Exaltist Ethan]

I need some meals that are healthy, easy to make, filling, and cheap.

Ramen spaghetti. Make ramen noodles and instead of using the salt packet, pour spaghetti sauce over it. Easy to prep and delicious.

Grilled cheese tomato soup. This one is more difficult but basically grill some grilled cheese, cut them up, put them in a bowl, and pour hot tomato soup over it. It's my signature dish and I always really enjoy it.

Whenever you make a sandwich, instead of just using plain bread, toast the bread instead. I find that toasting bread and putting a little spreadable butter on goes a long way on how tasty the sandwich comes out afterwards.

Don't forget to stock up on Chunky's soup, Dinty Moore and Chef Boyardee. The easiest meals to make when all you have to do is nuke it in the microwave for a minute or two. And get some shredded cheddar to put over some of it! Makes it taste a lot better.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Ramen spaghetti. Make ramen noodles and instead of using the salt packet, pour spaghetti sauce over it. Easy to prep and delicious.

Grilled cheese tomato soup. This one is more difficult but basically grill some grilled cheese, cut them up, put them in a bowl, and pour hot tomato soup over it. It's my signature dish and I always really enjoy it.

Whenever you make a sandwich, instead of just using plain bread, toast the bread instead. I find that toasting bread and putting a little spreadable butter on goes a long way on how tasty the sandwich comes out afterwards.

Don't forget to stock up on Chunky's soup, Dinty Moore and Chef Boyardee. The easiest meals to make when all you have to do is nuke it in the microwave for a minute or two. And get some shredded cheddar to put over some of it! Makes it taste a lot better.

Hmm. That all sounds good. Admittedly I never really thought about making sandwiches for a home meal. And grilled cheese, do you just throw a slice of cheese between two breads and put it in a skillet?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Any recommendations? Especially for eggs and hamburger? Tbh I like the taste of burgers and pork without seasoning. Tacos I prefer regular beef to seasoned for example

Eggs I like making scrambled eggs with either cayenne pepper scrambled onto them or cooked whatever way with a good hot sauce.
With spices and flavoring, it depends on who the cook is and preferences but I try to enhance and compliment the flavor. It's why pork can work with rosemary, brown sugar or hot peppers and burgers can be drenched with cheese or bbq sauce or be made to be a slab of flavor that needs no toppings.
Garlic powder and salt; seasoning salt; to save money an Italian seasoning blend (otherwise things like thyme, basil, oregano, parseley, garlic and sometimes mushrooms); cayenne pepper; lemon pepper; and there's this Cajun blend stuff I get at Winco that I love putting on a steak.
But, it's not just in what you use but how you cook and use things. Bay leaves, for example, lots of dishes you are fine using just one or two. Learning how to properly cook a steak will get you on track to making better than many restaurants in no time. Properly made scrambled eggs are vastly superior to all other ways. And, truly, a lot of this just starts with proper cooking tempuratures and preheating your oven/skillet/pot/whatever. That alone you'll have to have down before the spices and seasonings can let your cooking soar.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Hmm. I like Hyvee’s sesame chicken and fried rice. I do not own a rice maker though.

Okay, how to make rice. Pour rice into a pot. How much? I don't know, how hungry are you? Remember that it will expand a lot so definitely less than half full. Usually I will fill a pot about third of the way with rice. Rince rice in cold water very well until the water is no longer cloudy. That keeps it from sticking too much. You can add a bit of salt but that is not necessary.

Now add cold water. You might was well put it on the stove. I usually keep a very precise tool for doing this, but I misplace it. As Uncle Roger says "Use finger". Use your index finger. When the water above the rice is up to the first joint in your index finger that it is enough. Heat to boiling. Turn down the heat to low and place a lid on the pot. Keep it at low for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Turn off the heat and wait another ten minutes. Perfect rice, no rice cooker, no measuring. I have found that most recipes tell you to use too much water. Especially if you wash your rice.

If yo don't wash your rice you can follow the directions on a pack, but the rice will be very sticky.

That gives you basic rice. If you want to make fried rice it is best to let that rice sit for a day. Freshly cooked rice makes terrible fried rice. You want the old stuff. I would just practice with vegetable, oil and eggs for the wild rice. Ideally for the cooking you want your pan hot hot hot. Oil, stir and toss energetically so that it does not burn. I will often cook things in stages and mix them at the end. A bit of sesame oil helps a lot too. Do not cook in pure sesame oil, think of it as a herb itslef.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Hmm. That all sounds good. Admittedly I never really thought about making sandwiches for a home meal. And grilled cheese, do you just throw a slice of cheese between two breads and put it in a skillet?

You butter the outside of the bread and then put it in a skillet. Not too hot. You want to give the hat time enough to go through the bread.

Sometimes heat is your friend and sometimes too much heat is not your friend.

And heat up a can of Campbell's Tomato soup. They really go well together.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Hmm. That all sounds good. Admittedly I never really thought about making sandwiches for a home meal. And grilled cheese, do you just throw a slice of cheese between two breads and put it in a skillet?

How I make those is sometimes, not always, I'll either butter or oil the side of the bread that gets fried (then it's just toasted without the fats) add in two or three slices of cheese, and cook it over a medium flame going to low (you'll eventually just learn and pick up on this, even if it's an electric). Most call for higher temp, and while mine takes longer to cook you'll get a better crisp out of it and even slices of real cheese will be melty and stretchy.
And when you make pasta, no matter what anyone says do NOT oil the water. Oily noodles ensures the sauce will not coat the noodles well, and when pastas are made right the sauce coasts the noodles well and it's a much better quality of dish (the pasta sauce also should not be watery or leave a puddle on your plate).
ALWAYS sift your flour unless you're making specifically Toll House chocolate chip cookies (to my best knowledge every other recipe but that one requires sifted flour).
Premeasure your ingredients and having them waiting off to the side.
And another for proper temperatures. This is for preheating, doneness, and as well what things should be when you start to cook them.
And bear in mind a cooking tempurateur that is too high will burn the outside of the food while leaving an undercooked middle. Sometimes you'll need a very hot cooking temp, but for most of your cooking the only time you'll use high is for boiling water.