Ten Easy Meal Ideas for the Beginning Cook

An important consideration in cooking is time. Many beginner cooks may simply not have much time to learn to cook. Here are ten easy meals for the cook just beginning the cooking adventure.

Macaroni and Cheese

You can’t go wrong with macaroni and cheese. It’s a meal that can be cooked in under twenty minutes in most cases. Sure, cooking macaroni and cheese from the box is acceptable. But cooking the dish from scratch is just as easy. All you need is elbow macaroni pasta, a big pot of boiling water, and some cheese. It doesn’t just have to be cheddar cheese either. Try something new with mozzarella cheese or even Parmesan cheese. You can use any cheese that melts well. Add some canned chicken or ground beef for an even heartier meal if you’d like.

Sausage and Sauerkraut


Another great quick meal is sausage and sauerkraut. You can use any sausage but I prefer Polish sausage. Most sausage you buy at the store is already cooked so all that’s required is to cut up the sausage, add the sauerkraut, and heat the mix. You can brown the sausage before adding it to give it more flavor.

Scrambled Eggs and Bacon

An easy breakfast for beginner cooks to make is scrambled eggs and bacon. Bacon takes longer to cook so start it first. If you want to cut the bacon into smaller pieces, use scissors. It’s much easier to cut bacon using scissors. Fry up the bacon on medium until it’s crisp. Watch bacon carefully as it can burn very easily rather quickly. While you are waiting for the bacon to cook, you can make the scrambled eggs mix. Crack the eggs and put into a bowl. Add a cup of milk to every three eggs. You can add herbs or pepper and salt to the mixture too. Stir with a whisk or fork to thoroughly mix the scrambled eggs. Cook the egg mixture in a separate frying pan on medium low until they are done. The scrambled eggs are done when they are no longer runny.

French Toast

French toast is another easy quick breakfast meal for the beginner cook. The trickiest part to French toast is separating the eggs. You can buy a cheap tool called an egg seperator to separate the yolk from the egg white. Once you separate the eggs, mix the yolks with milk, add some cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger to the batter. Dip the bread in and fry it up for some yummy French toast.

Rice

Rice is a quick meal in itself or as a side. Many different rices exist on the market. Those instant bags are the quickest, cooking in less than five minutes in most cases, although the taste is bland. But adding spices, salt and pepper to the instant rice adds another layer to the taste. Other rice to consider is brown rice, Jasmine rice, or Basmati rice. Some exotic rices like Chinese black rice or green bamboo rice also add vibrance to an otherwise bland meal.

Roasted Chicken and Green Beans

Roasted chicken is not only tasty. It’s also better for you than fried chicken. Add some herbs like rosemary and thyme or lemon juice for additional flavor. You can even cook the green beans with the chicken especially if you buy frozen or fresh green beans.

Spaghetti

Spaghetti is another meal that is popular and easy to make. Just boil some water, throw in some spaghetti noodles and when they’re done add some marinara sauce or tomato sauce and it’s done in about twenty minutes.

Chicken Salad

If you want something easy, quick, healthy, and light then a chicken salad is for you. Make a salad as you like. Salad’s aren’t just made with iceberg lettuce anymore. There are many different kinds of lettuce today already pre-packaged for your convenience. Once you’ve made the salad to your liking, then cook and cut up some chicken to put on it. You could use canned chicken chunks if you’d like although grilled or roasted chicken is traditional for chicken salad.

Couscous

You might never have heard of couscous before but you should really try it. Couscous is a very fine, small grained pasta that cooks in as little as two minutes. Just boil a cup of water. Once it boils take the pan off the heat and add a cup of the couscous and cover. Let it sit for two minutes and fluff it with a fork and it’s done. It goes well with almost anything including beans, mixed vegetables and even with a little olive oil, herbs, and salt. Find this grain in the pasta section or the world foods area of your grocery store.

Smashed Potatoes

Cook some potatoes and smash them with a potato masher. Add some sour cream or butter and herbs and other spices and you have a side dish that doesn’t take much planning or thinking. You can even leave the skins on if you desire. Cook the potatoes in the microwave to save even more time. Cut slits in the potatoes and cook them for two to three minutes on high per potato. Test them with a knife to see if they’re done. If the knife easily cuts through they are probably done.