~Bonus Post Cooking~

Hello all! Sheepdog here with a How to Survive Post-College Cooking Class!

Well then, let's take a look at where college grads are coming from. Unless cooking is a hobby of yours, it is more than likely you grew up eating whatever food your parents or guardians cooked. Furthermore, food is usually provided in college, either by the college, or by enthusiastic roommates and rabbits! The afore-mentioned roommates probably only baked sweets, and didn't do too much actual cooking as supplies and kitchen utensils were limited. As my master quickly realized once out on his own, there are a few key things to keeping oneself fed and watered: cooking utensils, ingredients, time, and recipes. We'll take a look at these things each in their turn.

Cooking Utensils
A well stocked kitchen doesn't always have to look like the Martha Stuart kitchens in those MTV shows to be serviceable. In my experience, most meals can be cooked with the following:
1-2 pots:
Instead of buying a whole pot set, find just a couple nice pots, a medium sized one, and  larger sized one. Mostly just one pot will suffice, but when trying to cook noodles and sauce for example, a second one is helpful.
1-2 frying pans:
The same rule applies hear, more is not always better. Buy yourself a good cast-iron skillet (lodge brand at freddies is only about 15-20$). The second skillet can be anything really, I prefer a non-stick surface for pancakes and the like for my second one.
1 baking pan (can be square, rectangle or circle):
ceramic is nice, but tempered glass works great as well. Metal works too, but won't always cook food as evenly. A circle is nice because it doubles as a pie pan. :)
1 Small Mixer:
We actually seldom use our mixer, but you can get one for 12$ or so at walmart, and it's easier than using a wooden spoon to stir with.
1 Metal Mixing Bowl:
This can be literally anything to mix ingredients together with. I use metal because it's cheap, lightweight, and I don't have to worry about scratching or breaking it.
1-2 lids for your pots and frying pans:
You don't have to have one for every pot or pan, but a few can help when boiling water, steaming veggies in a frypan, or keeping grease off of your new outfit. :)
Knives:
Instead of a whole knife block that costs 150$, just buy 3 nice knives, a large, a medium, and a small (chef knife, boning knife, and paring knife). I like Chicago cutlery knives, and KitchenAid knives. These are full tang (the blade goes through the handle so it won't break as easy) and nice and sharp. Sharp knives in the kitchen are safer, and can make you feel more like a chef! If you're knives get dull, find a friend or someone to sharpen them if possible.
Misc:
A few wooden spoons, some serving/stirring spoons (plastic are fine), a can opener, a potato peeler, some spatulas (you probably want 1 metal spatula for your cast iron skillet), a cheese grater. I'm sure there are other things, but you can go pretty far with just these.

Ingredients:
Staples:
Staple items is a list of items you want readily available to you (eggs, salt, milk, butter etc). For example, my master's kitchen usually has juice, a basket of fruit, chocolate chips (and baking stuff), mexican fixings (re-fried beans, cheese, ground beef), eggs, milk, butter, spices...you get the idea. The goal of having a "staple" list is to ensure there is always something to eat or put together even toward the end of the week/month, however far apart shopping trips are. Write out a list of items that you like to have on hand, and attach it to the fridge. This will be your staple list, and you can change and edit as you go.

List of Meal Ideas:
Meal Ideas can be really tricky to write out. Some meals are designed to be made for 4-6 people, you may not want to eat the same thing for 19 days. Other meals may be small but not sound good. My first recommendation is to sit down before dinner and write out everything that sounds good. If you try this trick after dinner you will have a harder time. Keep adding to this list every time you think of or remember a meal that sounds good. If you're going to do most or all of the cooking, it's best to cook food you're excited about. While you're at it, write out a second list of ideas that are quick and easy. In this crazy world there are nights where a full blown Italian meal just sounds like too much work. Keep this quick list as healthy and simple as you can. Here's a sample of a quick meal list:
Tacos' (substitute lettuce instead of a tortilla to cut out gluten).
Plum Pork (baked pork with plum sauce poured on top).
Chicken salad (make sure the chicken is thawed ahead of time).
veggie platter and hummus (some nights I'm just not very hungry. This is an excellent cold mean or snack plate. Add some crackers and a bit of cheese if you are feeling more hungry).
Pasta (any type of pasta and a can of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Add some fresh veggies to the sauce for some extra flavor).
Breakfast for Dinner (I am usually in too much of a hurry to have more than a bit on my way out the door. This is a good way to enjoy those full breakfasts. Fry up an egg or two, add a piece of toast and some potatoes. If your in a hurry, cube the potatoes and fry them up in butter instead of making hashbrowns.
Recipes:
Get yourself a small recipe box, and a stack of notecards. Write down any recipes you know of. next, check some websites, look through cookbooks, ask friends. :) Beg, borrow, steal, fill that box up if you can. The more you find, the more options you have to look through each week as you make your grocery list. The main thing I look for is simple, easy to make, and yummy sounding! Otter has a fantastic cookbook that is designed for 1-4 people meals. :D
Feel free to tweak a recipe once you're comfortable with it. I began by adding or subtracting things. A can of sauce from the store I might add some fresh mushrooms to. A complicated lasagna recipe I might only use 1 kind of cheese instead of 3. All out of cream of tarter? Substitute 1 tsp. of lemon juice. Want more flavor? Add 1/4 tsp of salt to meat, or add 1 tsp of vanilla to a bread recipe. Make notes on your cards.

Time: 
Remember, cooking is kind of like a hobby. Set aside enough time to really spend on meals, and pre-cook or prepare meals on days you know you won't have much time. String some lights in the kitchen, or hang up some art on the wall. Put on a show or some music. Cooking should be seen as an activity not as a chore. :) Dance around the kitchen or sit on the counter if no one is around.

Other Thoughts:
As for being more healthy, I admit I have a ways to go. One thing that helps is to begin at the top. Stock your kitchen with healthy foods. If you're cruising the kitchen (which I do about every 2 hours) if instead of sugar, there is a basket of fruit, I will pick up a piece of fruit. I find my fruit tends to go bad if there is a plate of cookies on the counter, or chocolate in the cupboard *silly me*). I also don't really like veggies, but I will eat them if there is ranch in the fridge, or hummus laying around. Fruit can be expensive, but it can also be found on sale. Bananas are filling and usually pretty inexpensive, there are 20 kinds of apples to choose from. Pick whatever is less than 1.50$ pound. I avoid red delicious though, they can be dry. Don't underestimate granola bars or protein bars. We buy a box once every other month or so from costco. There are 48 bars in a box and the box is 12$. These help fill me (and the bunnies) up between meals, and if you have a glass of water with it you're all set!
Some notes from my first time out:
1. Bacon does not constitute an entire meal. neither do cookies.
2. Be sure to have some back-up meals on hand. sometimes a meal just doesn't turn out the way it should, or something goes bad before you expect it to.
3. Cooking is hard. don't get discouraged and don't be afraid to call someone for advice. I call my Grandmother or Mother a couple times a month about a spice or cooking question.
4. A glob of peanut butter and some crackers don't count either.
5. Resist the urge to bake cookies just to eat the raw batter. Or if you can't resist, don't eat all the batter in one night!
6. The freezer is your friend. You can freeze just about anything, including leftovers, bread, tortillas, soup, etc.
7. Storage containers. Get a set of plastic or glass storage containers for leftovers.
8. Keep your kitchen clean. This way it feels welcoming and doesn't feel as much of a chore.

Hope these notes of a scatter-brained Sheepdog are of help!

Woof!