Learn to Cook

Anyone can learn to cook if they set their mind to it. Remember to stay focused. When you follow a recipe, pay attention to the measurements and the ingredients.  One of the biggest mistakes you can make is adding too much or forgetting to add it at all.

Some of the basic things you need are a cutting board, a sharp knife, mixing spoons, a hand blender , mixing bowls, a colander, pans and of course, the ingredients. Something very simple to cook is mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes

6 medium size potatoes
1 ½ cups of milk
1 stick of butter
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Rinse the potatoes with water making sure you remove all the dirt from the skin. 

Cut the potatoes in half and then cut them in half again. This is called quartering. Put the cut potatoes in the large pan and cover them with water.  Place the pan on the stove and turn the heat on high. The potatoes need to boil for about 15 to 20 minutes.  When you can easily stick a fork in the potato it is done. 

Drain the potatoes and then put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes and combine all the ingredients. If you don’t have a potato masher, use a fork to mash the potatoes and then a hand blender to blend all the ingredients. 

Now let’s make a main dish.

Meatloaf

2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg
1 onion
2  8 oz. cans of  tomato sauce
3 slices of day old bread
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. mustard
 

Turn the oven on 350 degrees. Cut the onion into small pieces. If you rinse your knife and onion in cold water before you start chopping, you’ll be less likely to have the onion irritate your eyes. Put the onion in a large mixing bowl.

Tear the day old bread into small pieces and add it to the bowl. 

Add the ground beef, egg and 1 can of tomato sauce to the bread and onion.  Mix the ingredients by using your hands. Shape the mixture into a loaf and place it in a baking pan.

In a small bowl mix the can of tomato sauce, brown sugar and mustard.  Pour the mixture over the meatloaf and place it in the oven for 1 hour.

Let the meatloaf cool a few minutes before slicing so that the pieces won’t crumble.

Now that you can cook these recipes, heat up a can of vegetables and have a complete meal you can be proud to say you cooked yourself.