My Learning to Cook Starter Recipe

Happy almost friday everyone!  Since I am trying to teach myself to cook more, I thought I could do a little recipe of sorts every thursday here on my little bloggie, as long as the recipe isn't totally awful.  Then again, maybe sharing my disaster recipes might be of some help, if you're totally cooking impaired like myself.  You learn from your mistakes right?  I am really trying, like reeeeeally trying to learn to cook, and I figured something out last week.  Be prepared to have your mind blown...You can cook vegetables....wait for it....in the oven.  Mind = Blown.  Being that I am completely cooking impaired, I found great value in this little nugget of knowledge.  I want to be completely honest, I'm a little scared of the stove, so cooking things somewhere you don't really have to worry about is a major plus for me.  You gotta start somewhere right?  I hope you get some use out of this, as I totally have.

As I'm not totally confident in cooking a complete meal with all the food groups yet, I am starting small and making a side dish.  I am also trying to eat more vegetables so this was kind of like my killing two birds with one stone recipe.

Side Dish - Broccoli & Potatoes

(Feeds 4 - 5)

Ingredients:

3 Broccoli florets

4 red potatoes

1 Tbs Olive oil

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

To prep you just line a large pan with foil, (this is for easy clean up) and you cut the broccoli and potatoes to 1 inch sizes.  (I cut the potatoes in quarters, then cut the quarters in 6 pieces all the same size.)

 Once they are in the pan, you can lightly cover them with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  I didn't measure, I just went over them quickly.  I used my hands to gently mix them in the pan and try to make sure they were all covered.  Then they go into the oven, at 375˚ for 20-25 minutes or until slightly golden or fork tender.

I think it's a really great starter recipe for beginner cooks.  My family loved it!  Actually, my mom ate it like a meal.  That's either because my family rarely eats vegetables, or they were in fact, that good.  Next week, maybe I'll try some other vegetables.

I hope you're having a great thursday!