SAHM who can't really cook...anyone else like me?

[cutekids]

I don't work-obviously-and sometimes get this guilt trip when i'm "cooking" kids' tea. I'm not a good cook - or should I say - confident cook at all and I have to admit most of my kids' meals are from the freezer. I know it's criminal. Please don't batter me! What I want to know is,is there a book out there which would not only tell me how to cook great meals for my kids with fresh food, but exactly what to buy for my weekly shopping that I can use in all these recipes?

wathcing with interest - DH is a chef, and so he tends to do most of the cooking, but he will be going back to work soon......

i am the same!!!!! i recently started cooking "properly" and would recommend student grub for a starting place. has leasy peasy recipes that don't includer faffing around for hours b4 hand and is very easy to follow.

MOM, I take it that's the name of a book? Does it also tell you what to buy in?

I'm a big fan of Nigel Slater. I only really started cooking when I weaned DS1, and he got me cooking real food quite quickly.

I used to find home cooking hard and ate far too much processed, frozen food. About this time last year I completely changed our diets.

A turning point for me was buying a book (recommended on here) called The Dinner Lady by Jeanette Orrey. So many delicious, easy to make child friendly recipies.

i really like this . not too many poncy ingredients and recipes are yummy. is not just a recipe book, has lots of advice on healthy eating aswell but isnt too holier-than-thou

I'm a pretty rubbish cook, but I have my small and uncomplicated repetoire which I cook from scratch (in most cases) for weekday meals. Food for 3 year old DD is from the freezer (she eats earlier than the reast of us because she is in bed at 7 and DH gets in from work too late for us to eat before then), but it's stuff that I've pre-made from scratch and frozen into portions. Outside of my 'staple' 7 or so dishes, I am stumped when it comes to cooking for real.

7 dishes is more than i can do at mo. altho i am now trying. cutekids, u buy in what u need for the recipe....i have recenlty started food planning(thanks marsy ) and thats a great way to tell me what we are having and i write down all the ingredients that i will need to buy, that way i have what i need and haven't wasted money on anything else.

like nomdeplume i freeze toddler size portions to serve on days when i can't get to the cooker.

yes student grub is the title.... no pictures but is full of things u always wanted to cook like erm...shepherds pie, proper meatballs, chilli, curries, casseroles, toad in the hole. even tells u how to boil eggs

when i left home at 16 and moved into my own flat, my Mum gave me a book called 'cooking for blokes'. It's a book full of everyday recipes, broken down into categories (starters, salads, fish, meat, chicken, etc), it lists the ingredients and the method, but also the utensils you need. At the beginning of the book it lists what basics you should have in your utensil & ingredients cupboards. Really good, varied recipes ranging from easy to difficult.

I still refer back to it now, 8 years on !

So go on ndp what are your 7 dishes?

Cutekids I think I would choose 2/3 dishes and start making these on a weekly basis and buy the ingredients you need. Then after a month or so add another. Are your kids fussy?

What about starting with, eg:
spag bol
sausage casserole

and see how you get on making these? Then gradually expand your reportoire.