Start small and work up. Trying to do too much at once can be
overwhelming. Read the ingredients and pick up what you need for any
given recipe. Most grocery stores have precooked chickens and with a
bag salad, some dressing and dinner roll, it makes a good meal. And one
chicken should make two dinners, with some leftover for sandwiches.
Michelina's come on sale at our store occasionally for a buck apiece.
It does take two to make a meal, but they're not bad. Some of the
cooking shows use so much stuff that I don't keep on hand, so I'm
building my spices etc. slowly. Hope this helps.....Sharon

wrote:
>
> OK, I will confess. I am an older bachelor, and a lousy cook. But
> there is at least partially a good reason I am a lousy cook. The
> reason is that I never have the right ingredients. For example, I
> bought a box of that Zatarins (sp?) rice mix. I get home and find
> that it needs to be mixed with a can of diced tomatoes. I dont have
> any canned tomatoes..... I live in a rural area, and the nearest
> grocery store is 6 miles away, so I am not driving all the way to town
> just to get a can of tomatoes. Heck, by the time I burn up all that
> gas, if I get to town, I'll eat at a fast food restaurant and probably
> save money, not to mention eating better tasting food.
>
> My question is this: How does anyone know how to have the right
> ingredients at home, or do all the good cooks go to the store at least
> 3 times a day? I guess the other option would be to buy a few cans,
> jars, and boxes of every product sold in a grocery store, but I cant
> afford that, and half the stuff would spoil, not to mention where to
> keep it all. I opened another box of something awhile back that said
> "just add one cup of chicken". OK, I sat there thinking about how I
> was going to load my rifle, and go find me a chicken, chop off one
> cups worth and proceed to finally cook my meal a week later..... yeah,
> right !!!!
>
> So, what do you people really do? Do you actually read these entire
> boxes while you are in the grocery store, and make lists and fill out
> plans and menus for the week, etc etc??? This may be fine for a
> housewife that has nothing more to do, but I am just not all that
> serious, nor interested in cooking. When I buy a box of something
> that is meant to be made into a meal, I expect EVERYTHING to be in
> that box, except the water and maybe some oil or milk. (I always have
> oil and keep powdered milk for those occasions). Unfortunately it
> dont work that way. If I need a cup of chicken, what am I supposed to
> do with the rest of that chicken.......???? There's got to be a
> better way to deal with food, so it dont become a full time job, which
> I do not have time for. In all honesty, if it were not for health
> concerns, and times of bad weather where the roads are too bad to go
> to town, I would just eat fast food daily. It always tastes better
> than what I make, and by the time I figure all the wasted food, dish
> washing detergents, fuel to cook, and everything else, it's much
> cheaper to eat out, and that dont include my time either.
>
> By the way, I made that rice stuff without the canned tomatoes, but i
> dumped in a can of tomato soup instead. It was ok, and got rid of a
> can of tomato soup that has been sitting around for ages, because I
> can not eat tomato soup by itself. That stuff is just plain nasty.
>
> Rob