Any Cooks Out There?

iamjoesgurl

Does anyone like to cook?  I love watching the Food Network and watch most of the shows. My favorite competition show is Chopped because I love seeing how creative they are with such weird ingredient combinations.  I love Diners, Drive-ins and Dives to see how different restaurants create their signature menu items.  And I really like Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals to get dinner ideas.  

Tonight I made Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes from one of Rachael's shows this week.  They were so good.  DH actually said mmmm when he bit into them which he never does.  (He is very picky and doesn't usually love anything I make unless it is like spaghetti, tacos or something else that isn't difficult to make.)

It is fun to be married and be able to cook for someone.  (For 17 years I lived alone so I didn't do a lot of cooking.)  I'm wondering if there are any other cooks out there and have you made anything recently that you really liked?  I love trying new recipes.

fpaemp2011

I LOVE cooking.  I just wish I had more opportunities to do so.  Mom and dad usually let me cook dinner when I go home for the weekend.  I love making baked potatoes in the oven. (425* for about an hour--until they're "squishy" through the foil--USE A MITT)  I spread softened butter on a piece of foil, toss some sea salt on there, and sprinkle with whatever spice I feel like using.  Wrap the potato up (each potato gets its own wrap) and toss it in.
I also made Chicken Marsala not too long ago using one of McCormick's Recipe Inspiration spice packs.  It was soooooo good. 

I've also recently discovered (and fallen in love with) Cake Mix Cookies. 

350* oven
Box of Cake Mix
Stick of Butter
2 Eggs
Tsp of Vanilla
1/2 cup of chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, whatever you love in cookies.

Mix the butter, eggs, and about 1/2 the cake mix until soft.  Then add the other half of the mix until incorporated, vanilla, and your add-ins.  Mix until it's cookie dough.

You can drop them on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 mins.  However, I've been having a lot of fun by placing a piece of parchment paper on the cookie sheet, spreading the batter in a rectangle-ish shape (it's not pretty, but it doesn't matter...make sure you leave plenty of room on the sides for the cookie to "grow"). 

Bake for ~12 mins.  Middle will be soft, but shouldn't be doughy goo. 

Remove from oven and let it sit on the stovetop (or you could put the cookie sheet on a cooling rack) for about 5 mins.  You want to give the cookie a little time to flatten out and firm up a tad, but don't wait too long. 

Take your favorite cookie cutter, and go for it.  (Note...possibly from personal experience...the cookie is still significantly warm, and metal cookie cutters will, in fact, conduct heat)

Be careful when moving the cookies to the cooling rack.  Sometimes, it might be easier to cut the cookies and then remove the "remnants" so you can use a spatula to carefully lift the cookies.

joyfulbride424

I cook often, I love to cook vegetarian. I am not a vegetarian, but I love cooking like one. I also loving making variations of granola. I love watching cooking shows but I don't have cable so I haven't watched many lately haha

iamjoesgurl

Joy - PBS usually has good cooking shows on Saturday afternoons.  Before we got married I didn't have cable and that was how I got to see cooking shows.  I also like cooking vegetarian things.  I found a recipe for a soup that sounds really good - it is sweet potatoes, parsnips, celery root and carrots.  You cut them into cubes and bake.  Then puree the ingredients together with chicken or vegetable stock and I think that's it.  If that sounds interesting at all to you, I can post the recipe.  I also have a recipe for granola that is awesome and I love making that too.

Emily - I'll have to try those cookies but first I'll have to get over the fact that there is a whole stick of butter in them!  

rachelea

I LOVE cooking, love Food Network (I subscribe to their magazine!) AND I'm currently watching it with FI right now We love Chopped, LOVED Dinner Impossible, I love Cupcake Wars and Challenge. We just love it I love sharing recipes, a sticky for recipes would be awesome...lol!

kellya01

I LOVE TO COOK!!!!!

I'm staying at my parents for the next couple of months until the wedding and I can't do a lot of cooking here because my mom kind of "owns" the kitchen (haha!) but I love cooking and watching cooking shows.  Since I've had part-time since August, I would watch a couple of Food Network programs before I leave for work a lot of mornings! 

My favorite recipe to cook is Chile Rellenos - I really LOVE mexican food and I saw someone on food network do it about 5 or 6 years ago and have been pretty obsessed with experimenting with it ever since! 

FI loves it when I cook fish -- he does NOT like fish normally, but he loves my fried shrimp and crab cakes.  :-) 

iamjoesgurl

Chile Rellenos - recipe please  

kellya01

Sadly, my recipe cards are packed up, but basically it's like this:

http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/techniques/ht/chilerelleno.htm

The first time I made the recipe, I did half of the chiles with the mexican queso in it, and the other half I made a mexican-flavored ground beef and rice filling and melted cheese on top in the broiler afterwards.  It was totally yummy!! :-)  

There is a great recipe for the salsa to use with this -- 

1) Salsa ranchera 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salsa-Ranchera-103852

2) Salsa Verde 

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomatillo_salsa_verde/

You could also do the Salsa Verde recipe but put in regular tomatoes instead of the green tomatillos, and that tastes fine as well, and is a little more "americanized."

It's a LOT of dishes to clean up, but it is totally worth it in the end!! :-) 

jkh1182

I never liked to cook till I met Dennis.  It's so much better when you have someone to cook for.

azdancer8

I LOVE to cook, but had a hard time doing it when I lived alone because I'm terrible about eating leftovers. But it is so much fun cooking for DH and having someone to share recipes with. So far he has liked everything I've made (and been quite complimentary), so I seem to be doing pretty ok.

joyfulbride424

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_christian-weddings_cooks-out-there?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:464687ae-7bc1-4360-9aea-999e11f1e1adDiscussion:d1225c27-3dd4-49e5-8186-2d28ccf40c9cPost:cc27211f-28d8-44c2-92a0-bd9f77a09432">Re: Any Cooks Out There?</a>:
[QUOTE]I LOVE to cook, but had a hard time doing it when I lived alone because I'm terrible about <strong>eating leftovers. But it is so much fun cooking for DH and having someone to share recipes with.</strong> So far he has liked everything I've made (and been quite complimentary), so I seem to be doing pretty ok. ;)
Posted by azdancer8[/QUOTE]

Me too! So bad at that... "woops, how long has this been here?" I've gotten better, but its hard! haha

I cannot WAIT to cook for FH :) YAY

BrideToBeBecauseHeLovesMe

I'm horrible at leftovers too!!  I can't even drink a whole 8 oz can of Dr. Pepper most of the time.  :P

My FAVORITE chocolate cake, we call Gallon Cake - because it takes a gallon of milk to get down.  I also love Pastel Cookies, and Chocolate Crinkles, and Drop Kick Casserole.  Recipes below. 

Gallon Cake:
3/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/3 cups water

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely and frost.

Frosting:
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup cocoa
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pastel Cookies:
3/4 cups shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3oz package cherry jello
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Heat oven to 400.
Roll dough into 3/4" balls, place on ugreased sheet, flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar.
Bake 6-8 minutes.

Chocolate Crinkles:
3/4 cups crisco
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder

Bake 15 minutes at 350.

Drop Kick Casserole:
2 pounds ground beef
15 oz tomato sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons chives finely crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
12 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheese
12-16 oz of dry, wide egg noodles

Brown and drain beef, add tomato sauce, garlic, onion, sugar, and salt.  Simmer 15 minutes.
Cook and drain noodles.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese in bowl.
Spray 9"x13" pan, layer noodles, meat, cream cheese, and cheese.
Bake 20 minutes at 350.

GJones27

I used to love to cook.  But once I developed gastritis (a lot like an ulcer), I can't eat 80% of foods anymore so it's just torture to cook fancy stuff I can't have.  I used to looooove watching the Food Network!  I hope I'll get better so I cook again (I'm starting to forget a lot of stuff I used to make).

seventh7alto

I also love cooking My dad is a really good cook, and so is my mom, so I grew up helping my parents cook good food
I enjoy watching food network, and I keep up reading a couple food blogs:
http://savorysweetlife.com/
http://poorgirlgourmet.blogspot.com/

I'm a recipe hoarder. As much as I like cooking, and am fairly good at it, I just have to have a recipe in front of me, unless I've cooked something a couple dozen times. I've asked my sister to make me a collection of the family recipes so I don't have to keep calling my mom up for them

KristyIan11

I love cooking and having a good presentation. My new favorite is hot spinach and artichoke dip in a hollowed out sourdough bread loaf with melted cheese all over the top. It just looks wonderful, and when you break through the cheese on top it fills the room with the smell of the dip and just makes me so hungry. My FI already says I cook better than his mom, so I enjoy cooking for him (and his family when we are at their house)

I made pulled pork sandwiches that I liked so much and have refined the recipe so it is so good that I am making the caterer at our wedding make the pork according to my specifications. Thankfully he is family so I don't feel bad giving him instructions and being picky.

Has anyone tried Paula Dean's gooey butter cakes with all the variations? I've made a few (pumpkin being my favorite).

yarmik89

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_christian-weddings_cooks-out-there?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:464687ae-7bc1-4360-9aea-999e11f1e1adDiscussion:d1225c27-3dd4-49e5-8186-2d28ccf40c9cPost:c7bbf83e-6232-43da-91a5-723b79a86dff">Re: Any Cooks Out There?</a>:
[QUOTE] It's so much better when you have someone to cook for.
Posted by jkh1182[/QUOTE]

THIS!! I looove to cook but never really did much of it since I've been living in the dorms since i graduated high school but since summer/this school year we've been making dinner together (cafeteria food gets ollllddddd after a while...i had to get away) and its so much fun! our current favorite is chicken with salsa, green pepper and rice. we're huge fans of mexican food too!