How To Become A Better Cook
Some people find their prowess in the kitchen is best left to loading the dishwasher and taking out the garbage. Unfortunately, this could mean eating out and avoiding meals at home more often than not.
Over time, the expense of eating restaurant food can add up and in many cases, be extremely unhealthy. Cooking at home means you control the ingredients that go into the food and you know where things came from before they enter your body. You can also better control portion size and you will not be tempted to eat as much if you do not prepare it and put it on your plate. However, if the food you make tastes terrible, you and your family may find opting for the alternative makes for a far more pleasant evening. The good news is, learning to cook a few things well is easy. You do not need to be a gourmet chef to make your family a few healthy meals each week for dinner. The first step to being a great at-home cook is to get your kitchen organized. Take time to go through your pantry cabinet and see what you have. A full stocked kitchen means having plenty of kitchen pantry storage filled with the things you need to prepare a great meal.
Next, use fresh ingredients when you are cooking. Sometimes the simplest meals are the most delicious. Even the worst cooks can cut up fruits and vegetables to make a salad. By using the freshest, cleanest produce available, the food will taste better than anything you could get in a restaurant. Take an afternoon to shop for brightly colored fruits and vegetables, cut them into bite-sized pieces and toss them all together. You can use a store-bought bottle of dressing on the mix or simply drizzle it with a little lemon. Kids love fruit salad as much as adults and paired with a crusty loaf of bread and some grilled chicken, it makes a healthy, delicious meal.
One of the best tricks at-home chefs know is how to use spices to make bland food taste great. Sometimes the difference between making an average meal and creating something that tastes great is a little dash of salt. People who do not know how to cook may be surprised to learn that fixing a bad dish is sometimes as simple as just sprinkling a little seasoning into it. When cooking, taste little bits of what you are making along the way. Sample different spices and see what tastes good as you go. You are still going to make mistakes with seasonings, but eventually you will get a taste for how much and how to mix spices to make something taste great.
Sometimes the easiest way to make a meal your family love is to update something they already love. If your kids love grandma’s chicken casserole, get the recipe from her and make some improvements so it is healthier meal. If Thanksgiving is always a big hit with your family, serve them turkey cutlets and grilled potatoes a few times a month. The flavors are similar, but the preparation time is much shorter.
Finally, continue to eat out occasionally. Good chefs try new foods and learn to understand how food is prepared. Make eating out a learning experience and before you know it, you will be cooking great food at home.
Stewart Wrighter recently purchased a beautiful pantry cabinet for his remodeled kitchen. His wife ordered a kitchen pantry storage unit for her daughter’s new apartment.
By: Stewart Wrighter