It's a cooking one! (Help me, I'm useless)

[HungryHippo9]

Hello! I appreciate this isn’t AIBU but thought I would get more responses and tips in this section. It’s a cooking thread...

I’ve recently started a new job working long hours and I won’t be home during the week until after 7:30pm. Over the years I have wasted so much money on takeaways, meal deals and microwave meals and I really want to change that. I’m trying to be a bit more responsible with money and save up for a mortgage.

For context, I am 26, live by myself and I have no kids so will only be cooking for myself. I am a terrible cook (mum did all the cooking when I lived at home so silly me never took an interest and tried to learn) and have no patience what so ever. I honestly can’t think of anything worse than having to stand and cook a meal after a long day in work either. I am ideally hoping to batch cook easy/healthy/cheap meals on a Sunday for the week where I can then just pop them in the microwave or oven whilst I go in the shower and get into my pjs!

I prefer to shop in Aldi or Lidl as I find Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury’s quite expensive and for some reason when I shop in Aldi/ Lidl I will actually buy proper food to make a meal rather than just junk food like I do in all the other shops (not sure if it’s because the other shops tend to have the junk food scattered around everywhere and it’s more in your face if that make sense).

I love most foods including, pasta, red meat, fish (except salmon). I am hoping to learn to cook some easy and convenient meals which don’t include lots of ingredients and cost me a fortune to make, so mumsnetters if you’ve got this far please could you suggest some meals for me! Thanks

I have a tiny freezer, too - and it's fine to keep things in fridge if you're using them within a few days. Common sense and the smell test!
Once you've had a few successes, you might find that you enjoy cooking.

I second the roasting tin book, delicious recipes and easy. I’d also say get a few recipe books- so many geared up for batch cooking, meal planning etc. So many easy to follow too. It’s easy to become bored with batch cooking all the time- helps to mix up with books/websites that suggest solutions for leftovers. Pinterest is also good for recipes and organising your week.

Soda bread to go with your soup. Five minutes to make - no yeast, completely foolproof - and an hour in the oven while you're doing other things. Good toasted next day if you restrain yourself from eating the whole loaf. Smells amazing - you'll feel like a real baker for zero effort!

You need a slow cooker, then to go to the supermarket either evening/Sunday just before closing and buy lots of cheap veg (and meat, if it's reduced and you eat it) chop and portion it up into homemade stew packs in ziplock bags to freeze, you can put stock cubes and herbs into the bags too. Either the night before or in the morning before work put the stew pack into the slow cooker with a tin of tomatoes and turn it on just before you leave for work. Plus, you'll have leftovers to take for lunch the next day. :)

OP I could have written your post 15 years ago . If it makes you feel any better, I’m actually a really good cook now and I love cooking.
I would say start at the weekends. Look up some easy recipes, I’m a fan of BBC good food, start from the easy ones. At the weekend, with no time pressure, you’ll be able to practice them step by step and just build up your confidence.
For quick mid week meals, I like a stir fry, a simple fish/any other protein with steamed or grilled veg combo, wraps with whatever protein and veg you have. Making pasta sauces and freezing them in advance is also a fab idea.

I have plenty of "ready meals" in a freezer.
Chilli from a slowcooker portioned with rice in microwave safe boxes. Same with chicken madras, katsu curry, roasted chicken thighs in arabic spices. All with rice already there.

Then I have predone and frozen chicken drumsticks in various marinades. I marinade them overnight in a fridge and then roast, cool and freeze. Perfect with salad.

Cottage pie from slowcooker is amazing. Just portion in boxes and top up with mustardy mash.

Chinese duck with pancakes and hoison. Duck done in a slowcooker with 5 spice, halfed, wrapped and put in a big bag with sachet of it's juices and sachet of hoison and pancakes. Defrost duck and sauces, pop duck under grill to crisp up, pull, add the juices and serve. Treat pancakes as per their instructions.

Stir-fry veg.
Chicken breasts packed separately, beef portioned separately too. You can just grab noodles and stir-fry sauce from a cupboard, add chosen meat you defrosted, plenty of the veg and voilà a healthy stir-fry.
Sweet and sour chicken (Uncle Ben's) with rice is there too. Somewhere...

Homemade kebabs. Very easy to make. Mix, cook in the oven, cool down, freeze separately and defrost instead of takeaway.

Homemade broth from a slowcooker (20+ hours) and reduced to save space. Perfect for soups or flavouring sauces.

Options are limitless OP. Start with simple things and work your way up. I stock up for busy periods and it saved me fortune on take aways!

Get yourself to the charity shop - there will be tonnes of recipe books at this time of year.

My recommendation for you would be the Save with Jamie book. It was supposed to be a 'budget' book - and isn't, so it got slated a bit on here. However the style of cooking is exactly what you're looking for, in that you buy a big hunk of something - fish, beef, whatever - and cook it (on Sunday) then he has follow-up recipes for the leftovers for the rest of the week to use it all up. I think that would be ideal for your circumstances.

Roast a chicken. Day one with roast potatoes and a vegetable. Day two cold with salad. Day three/four make a very basic curry and rice. You'll be sick of the sight of it by then, but it's cheaper to buy a whole chicken than portions.

Day 5 soup. Never throw away a carcass unless you boil the crap out of it first😁

I'd also recommend a slow cooker. You could do a bolognaise in there one day, then you could make the remainder into a chilli that just needs warming up a couple of days later. A chicken can be put straight into it, as someone upthread wrote, you can eat that for a few days.

Fish is easily cooked, either fried or baked, it only takes around twenty minutes in the oven. I quite often bake it with red chillies, lime and a wee drop of soy sauce, then finish it off in a stir-fry with noodles.

I bought my DS a student cook book. There's loads of different ones and they've all got good basic cheap recipes in them.

Buy Delia Smith how to cook books 1,2 and 3. You can pick them up really cheaply second hand and she sets out how to do things very clearly and what everything means. There are also some lovely recipes in there that freeze well.

I was going to suggest the exact same as Lougle! Bolognese sauce can be frozen into single pouches, then all you need to do is cook the pasta after work and re-heat the sauce. Using the same sauce, you can also make a lasagne. Once the lasagne has cooled, on been in fridge overnight, its FAR easier to cut portions into squares and freeze those, rather than freezing the entire thing.

Another option using mince are individual fish or cottage pies.

I buy fish from the fish markets and freeze into single person sizes. Defrosted during the day in the fridge. I then fry them in maggi lemon & dill sheets which are impregnated with spices. Another option is just to have the spices on hand, but I find these sheets SO handy and quick, and really add flavour. www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/291893286?selectedUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcontent.api.tesco.com%2Fv2%2Fmedia%2Fghs%2Fdee7872e-fb61-4646-b520-3520d48f739f%2Fefb8b1af-5533-4183-8a49-ac7e57c34ab6.jpeg%3Fh%3D540%26w%3D540

I steam almost all veg and have a stackable system on the stove top. Anything needing boiling goes in the bottom part with water and the rest all goes above. You only use one cooker ring, and cooks everything, so cheaper to use than multiple pots and retains more nutrients than boiling everything. I previously used those bamboo steamers they use in dim sum restaurants, but they eventually fell apart or rotted, so I bought a metal one like this: www.argos.co.uk/product/8364573?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=ixilqmrqa&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7cacid:480-316-7430%7ccid:596267949%7cagid:30099631473%7ctid:pla-487374952020%7ccrid:94123189953%7cnw:g%7crnd:1207064047481465895%7cdvc:c%7cadp:1o2%7cmt:%7cloc:1006886&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=596267949&utm_term=&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=30099631473&utm_custom2=480-316-7430&gclid=CjwKCAiApOvwBRBUEiwAcZGdGKHamNRAJi1esAyOhWiivOu4w3epoy5UiXvatBtxJSa0uxAB25Qs7RoCzbUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I also have a pressure cooker (instant pot in USA) which is great for cooking cheaper cuts of meat. In particular pork ribs come out fantastic. I pour in hoisin sauce and a little water and thats it. Fall off the bone and lovely.

Fish. Quick and easy. Originally the recipe is with tuna steak but I tried it with trout too and it's delicious.

Make potato mash and add wasabi to taste. Pepper the fish fillet and pan fry (skin first untill nice and crispy then flip), at the end add teriyaki sauce to the pan and heat through. I like to reduce it for couple of minute. Sprinkle spring onion. Serve.
It's so tasty and simple!

I love this thread there’s some amazing ideas on here!

I live alone. One of my favourite meals is two large flat mushrooms in a baking tray, add a chopped red onion, a chopped pepper, three chopped tomatoes and sliced halloumi. Bake in oven for 30 mins. So out in when you get home and ready when you are sorted. Absolutely delicious. I sometimes cannot eat it all so chop up the leftovers and take to work for lunch.

Easy soup recipe - if you haven't got a stick blender they are cheap and really useful.
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped roughly.
1 small onion, chopped
clove of garlic, ditto
Tin of tomatoes
1 chicken or vegetable 'Stockpot', ' or stock cube.
Seasonings to taste*
Fry onion, garlic till soft in a little olive or vegetable oil in a saucepan, add sweet potato, tin of tomatoes then fill the empty tin with water , swirl it round and add it all to the pan with the Stockpot/cube. Add your chosen herbs and spices. Simmer 20 minutes until sweet potato is soft. Season to taste - see below. Blend until smooth, add more liquid if it's too thick for you.
*seasonings - Any or all!
Herbs such as thyme or marjoram, pinch.
Fennel and cumin, 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder or flakes. to taste.
Squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
Salt, pepper.

Fish or meat with salad or frozen veg is quick and easy. A steak can be cooked in a few minutes, add a pile of leaves, bagged salads are fine, or boil some frozen vegetables, you can get mixed bags if space is limited and you have a quick, nutritious meal.

I'd also learn to make a basic white sauce, it only takes a few minutes and once you know how you can add cheese, or parsley, or mustard depending on your fancy and serve with fish, or pasta or vegetables.

Omlettes/fritatas are another go to for me if I want something quick.

As others have suggested you can also stock the freezer with stews, curries and so forth if you have the space. Cooking doesn't have to take up much of your evening.

I was in your shoes a few years back and still batch cook now. Buy stewing steak (or rump) and slow cook in the oven and you can chuck in carrots and baby potatoes (pre cook these for 15 mins) and it's beautiful. Slow cooker is better.

Roast a chicken and take meat off for sandwiches or salad for lunches. With the rest make curry or sweet chilli chicken and freeze. If your freezer is small and you cook on a Sunday it's fine Monday and Tuesday night.

Pasta pesto is a great quick dinner. Throw in brocolli and whatever.

Bolognese

Fajitas (aldi sell the veg bag in the fresh section and you could have this two nights in a row)

you might be wise to look at the Instant Pot.....it is an electric pressure cooker and comes in three sizes...I'd say for you the 3l one would be ideal

Instant Pots also slow cook. If you get the right pots for the freezer you can also defrost and reheat meals in them. They steam too and can be used as a rice cooker

You can get lots of things ready in bags, as a pp suggested, hurl them into the IP and have a really nice meal ready in pretty short order, with leftovers for the freezer.

Instead of throwing yourself in at the deep end, what about starting with some half cooked/half packaged things.. e.g:

A bag of lentils or quinoa mix that you just microwave, and put with steamed veg you can buy for microwaves and some salmon or chicken that you've bunged in the oven with a dollop of pesto slathered on or a marinade from a packet? You can always do a couple of portions and reheat during the week or take for lunch.

Pasta is the easiest meal, learn 2 good, simple sauces and alternate when you fancy it

Roast a load of veg at the start of the week and do salads with it, add bacon, precooked chicken, fresh stuff like cherry tomatoes, and something crunchy like nuts or crispy onions, bit of oil or a dressing you like from a bottl

I'm in the same position but I luckily have a local woman who makes meals and I pay £20 for 5 evening meals
Some of the stuff she makes which might help
This weeks menu

Veg soup
Chicken and veg lasagne
Steak pieces and mash with peppercorn sauce
Chicken and leek casserole with new spuds
Kebab curry with rice

I often just eat "assembled" meals with no real cooking.. e.g. pitta pocket, handful of salad, feta, olives, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, cooked chicken (buy precooked if you really can't be bothered)

I’d recommend a steamer as well. I’ve heard rice and soup makers are good too!

My steamer has 3 levels and you can cook everything in there at once - fish and vegetables. It’s really healthy and so easy. Just put water in the bottom and set the timer. Would’ve be for freezing really as it’s so quick and easy.

similar to you, I only have a tiny freezer - mine is on top of the fridge.
I finally cleared some stuff out at the end of the year (no idea how long it had been in there!) and am using it more productively for frozen veg - saves a lot of waste. Really lazy - frozen mashed potato, Iceland's is about the same as fresh potatoes
Agree with PP about basic mince with onions - if you do about four portions will keep fresh in the fridge. Add the frozen mashed potato for cottage pie.
If you don't have time to make lunches midweek (and have access to fridge and microwave at work) Covent Garden fresh soup is great - usually on offer half price at one of the supermarkets, so 2 lunches for around £1.
Joloff Rice is a really easy recipe - you cook the rice with chicken and tomato, I made a batch this morning, two chicken thighs, 2-3 meals (and easy to reheat at work in a microwave.
Master Risotto making! (google "easy risotto, think I worked with a BBC recipe) once're confident with the basic recipe, it's easy to use up whatever is in the fridge.

Look for any charities local to you that run cookery classes! Good fun, ones close to me are by donation or £2.50-£5, which includes the meal you cook and often leftovers to take home.
Excellent for learning basic skills and building confidence.

Yes, I agree with others than a whole chicken is cheap and can be made into multiple meals.

Day 2- cold chicken, I make into a chicken caesar salad
Day 3- 2 different soups- I remove any meat in the carcass and keep seperate. Then boil the carcass. Take it out to cook and pick of any further meat. This base can be cooked with celery, carrots, onions and the chicken meat to make chicken soup (plus or minus some noodles).

I also use this chicken stock to make chicken sweet corn soup. I add frozen sweet corn and/or a tin of creamed corn. Soy sauce, sesame oil, cornflour, garlic, ginger and sprinkle sliced shallots over the top (many recipes online).

Lots of good suggestions for meals I was coming on to say omlette with salad, pasta dishes and stir-fries are quick, cheap and easy. Try and stick to chicken thighs because they only take 20-30mins to cook, and don't dry out as easily as chicken breast portions. Serve with rice & steamed vegetables yummy.

Somebody upthread suggested getting your cooking practice in at weekends - I agree with this. Jamie Oliver is ok but I think the best cooking book is this one by Delia Smith:

Delia's Complete How to Cook: both a Guide for Beginners and a Tried and Tested Recipe Collection for Life

Happy cooking.