tonight i offered to make linguini with clam sauce for my husband for dinner. (he seemed rather surprised and pleased because i don't like to cook) i looked up the receipe, went to the store, got discouraged and ended up buying 2 cans of progresso clam sauce. i cooked the linguini and poured the heated sauce over it. husband says to me, "honey that is the BEST linguini and clam sauce i EVER had!" men!! i still can't stop giggling!!!
See, it's not that hard to make a dinner that everyone will love! It's ok to take "short-cuts" especially if the end result (some appreciation) comes after....
Hey, it's not like you tried to pass off take out as your own! Glad he liked it.
If cooking really isn't your thing, maybe start with a cookbook that makes a meal with 5 ingredients or less. My daughter has no interest in cooking and found such a cookbook and is really gaining a lot of confidence in the kitchen. Just a thought...
Good for you! At least you used an excellent brand! Growing up, Progresso white clam sauce was a staple in our home when fresh clams were unavailable. It still is.
LOL We have a tea room/caterer who passes off store-bought frozen lasagna as her own. An ex-employee told a relative/friend who told another who told another...small town...now everyone knows.
Reminds me of a currently running soup commercial where the young wife is calling the soup company for their recipe that her MIL has been requesting she share with her only to realize MIL was standing behind her within earshot. It's okay to cook in part with commercial ingredients as many of us do for various reasons such as budget or time restraints, but I predominately prefer from scratch especially when it comes to baked goods or due to a fresher taste or to cut down on bad fats, high sodium, or preservatives. I encourage this poster to try a recipe from scratch even if they think they hate to cook. The satisfaction that results and the compliments you're bound to receive are well worth your time and effort. Through trial and effort, you'll not only learn and grow, but you'll discover a newfound sense of confidence. In time, you'll find yourself putting your spin on basic recipes making them unique.
The Net is full of cooking sites offering a vast array of recipes with things like photos, ratings, alternative versions of said dish and helpful reviewer's comments. Also, if you sign up for a cooking course, you will meet people with a common interest as well as glean chef's techniques, helpful tools, the science of cooking, the art of presentation, tips and tricks. A beginner's cooking club might also be of benefit. You might also encourage your DH to join in.
Posts: 16810 | Location: Right here, duh! ;) | Registered: Nov 03, 2005
My favorite story involves a former coworker. She was not much of a cook to say the least. She was complaining about making a recipe which used cream of tartar. She said the hardest part of the recipe was "taking the little pieces of pickle out" ....she was using tartar sauce!!!
Posts: 2601 | Location: central PA | Registered: Jan 08, 2007
When I really don't feel like cooking but we're hungry Progresso white clam sauce is a sure go to for me too and has been for at least 25 years. I drain the clams from the sauce, heat the sauce to a simmer for a minute or two, take it off the heat and put the clams back in, that way they don't become chewy. It's really good and I can get fresh clams 365 days of the year, but when you don't feel like cooking, this is even better! And if you sprinkle fresh parsley over it, it gives it a fresher "feel".This message has been edited. Last edited by: Spanish Revival,
Posts: 577 | Location: East Coast of Sunny Florida | Registered: Aug 22, 2003
I came across a funny cooking story on the Web. It went as follows... A young girl was watching her mother prepare a beef roast for dinner. Her mother cut off the ends, seasoned the roast and tied it with string. The girl asked, "Mom, why do you cut off the ends?" The mom replied, "Because...that's how my mother did it." When the grandmother came to visit the girl asked her the same question and her reply was the same. Shortly thereafter the girl visited her great grandma in a nursing home and posed the same question to which her great grandma said, "So it would fit in the pan."
Posts: 16810 | Location: Right here, duh! ;) | Registered: Nov 03, 2005
My Aunt and godmother was the baby of my Dad's family and did not know how to cook much.
As a newlywed in the 1950's, she decided to host her first Thanksgiving meal to impress her in-laws and other family members.
Thank goodness my Mom was present in the tiny NYC apartment when my Aunt started on the mashed potatoes. Mom looked in the pot of hot water and saw that it was all muddy.
Apparently, my Aunt had thrown in a bag full of whole potatoes into the pot without washing them or peeling them first. Mom came to rescue and the potatoes were salvaged.
We still laugh about this more than 50 years later. My Aunt eventually became a fabulous home cook.
Originally posted by Grapefruit: My favorite story involves a former coworker. She was not much of a cook to say the least. She was complaining about making a recipe which used cream of tartar. She said the hardest part of the recipe was "taking the little pieces of pickle out" ....she was using tartar sauce!!!
This is a true story A lady in the Ch urch I was going to made twice baked patatoes for a ch urch dinner. After she baked the spuds and scraped out the inners she through the inners out and made some instant mashed patatoes and filled the skins with the mashed junk. very few people ate the baked patatoes. (This was about 40 years ago.)
Handie Ann
Posts: 3149 | Location: Des Moines, Wa. USA | Registered: Jan 05, 2004
When I was first married I wanted to give potato salad a try, so of course I called my Mom for her recipe. I made it a day before as Mom always did. The day of the 4th of July party when everyone was there my mother and I were in the kitchen while I was adding the additional BIG potato just before serving the salad. She asked why I was doing that and I said because that's the way you always did it. She said, "That's because everyone was always picking at it throughout the day and I always ended up short and needed that extra potato so we had enough!". She still teases me about it to this day!
Posts: 577 | Location: East Coast of Sunny Florida | Registered: Aug 22, 2003
NrseDebbie - Can we be friends???! I HATE TO COOK and am thrilled to find someone else that does too!!! I have 2 cans of that Clam Sauce in my cupboard as we speak - and of course Linguini!!! That is a staple in my house (pasta). I even tried to 'time' cooking a simple pasta dish while watching Rachel Ray and it still ended up taking a lot longer than 30 minutes. Every night I delay cooking dinner as long as possible and then panic that I better come up with something or I won't have anything ready in time. I hate cooking, hate cooking, hate cooking. I rather be doing anything but cooking......I'd rather be sailing and I am afraid of deep water....This message has been edited. Last edited by: Wavy,
Oh, you guys are funny! Loved the chili cookoff. That would probably be my reaction to them, too. I don't do hot chilis, even though I like the flavors.
I've gotten to the point that I do use some prepared foods. I can cook, I just don't want to do it much any more.
This story has nothing to do with cooking...it's got to do with prep. I pulled no surprise punches with 1st DH when I told him that I do not clean fish. Early one morning a friend of his dropped by the house with some catfish. DH had to go to work. I had not started working outside the home yet. So...he turned to me and said, You need to clean the fish. I said No. He said Yes you will. I said NO I won't. He said, You mean you'll let those fish ruin?! I said, Yes. I do not clean fish.
Wait a minute. That was a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure I said it like this: YES!!! I DO NOT CLEAN D**N STINKING SLIMEY FISH!!!!!
Okay. That's more accurate. I feel better about being truthful.
Fussing and fuming he went to work and called his mother. She was grinning when she came to pick up the fish.
