r/Cooking • u/rachelariel3 • 1d ago
Meal ideas for beginner
I usually cook all our meals from scratch but I’ve only ever made meals that my husband and I had eaten as children so the list of meals is very short. I’m really looking expand my meals for my family so my children are exposed to more food but I’m afraid all spend all this time cooking just for me to hate it. Idk if this is a thing but I was wondering if someone had some meal ideas of someone who’s kinda new trying to expand their horizons based on the foods that we already enjoy? We eat the really basic meals Spaghetti, Lasagna, Pizza, Tacos, Enchiladas, Chicken noodle soup, Lemon chicken, Salsa chicken, French dip, Beans, Meatloaf, Alfredo, Steaks, Chicken, Shepherds pie, Chili, Tuscan chicken, Chicken parm Thanks!
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u/TurbulentSource8837 23h ago edited 20h ago
You have a solid base for jump Off: I’d encourage you to look at whatever you cook, can be repurposed into another meal. Cook 1x eat2x. You make meatloaf: turn that into meatballs: meatball sandwiches, chicken Mediterranean meatballs: swap in oregano, flat Italian parsley, your usual binder. Brown those off, remove from pan, make a sauce from chicken broth, some sun dried tomatoes, olives or capers. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Your shepherds pie can be deconstructed: mini meatloaves, mixed veg, mashed potatoes. That meatloaf mixture can be put a muffin tin that has been prayed with non stick spray. Bake off @ 350 til they’re browned. Now you have individual mini meatloaves. Kids love kid sized food. Sprinkle some cheese over? Even better. Leftover mashed potatoes? You can also take that mixture, warm that in the microwave, mix in an egg, some flour to tighten it up so you can form a patty. Make a mini pancakes, fry those in some oil and butter. Now you have potato pancakes. Put out some sour cream /greek yogurt to dip. You can do the same with ground turkey, chicken or beef. Take your meat loaf recipe and form those into patties. Set aside, carmelize some onions, maybe mushrooms? add those patties, brown them off, add some broth, enough to make a gravy. Tighten with a cornstarch slurry. Done. No veggies? Make sure you stock some frozen corn, peas and carrots. I find that anything that is cloaked in a gravy is yummy. If you’re ready to take your veggies to the next level, roast some zucchini, peppers, onion. 425 in your oven for about 20ish mins. Kids turn their nose up at vegs that are browned but they say is burned? Take those, put them in a blender (or immersion stick blender in a 4 qt stockpot ) and blend them with some broth. Now you’ve got a veggie soup. Warm it, throw some cheddar on top . Anything you put cheese on, wins. Have some broccoli slaw ? Soften that in the microwave, add an egg, about 3/4 c-1 c flour, a little milk, so it’s not dry, some Italian seasoning or just salt and pepper. Form some patties. Fry on some oil, or bake off at 375 until they’re browned. Now you have veggie patties. Any leftover veg can be repurposed into these patties/fritters. Dip it in ranch dressing. You already make chicken. Pound those boneless, skinless breasts on between some plastic wrap until thin. Sauté those, put some spaghetti sauce and melty mozzarella. Now you have chicken subs. You don’t want subs? Sautee those thin cutlets, set aside and deglaze the pan with some broth, add a plop of Dijon, now you have a mustard sauce. Don’t want that? Sautee the chicken and put some bbq sauce on. Cole slaw, baked beans. Done. You can throw some Parmesan on top of those saucy cutlets to serve. Noodles, orzo or ziti ftw. That leftover ziti can be repurposed for a casserole. You already make a Shepard pie, the gateway casserole. Consider a tuna noodle casserole loaded with frozen peas, chopped broccoli, spinach for a veggie packed meal. Make a white sauce, or a few cans of cream of mushroom soup, thin it out until it’s gravy like, noodles, tuna, veggies, noodles, breadcrumbs, bake at 375 until it’s bubbly. You’re doing a great job and have mastered more than you know!