Help! Question from the worst cook on the planet

OK...here is my grandmother's rather old fashion advice on food....

She used to laugh at me because I threw out SO much food she thought was fine.  she was raised without refrigeration in her house, only occasionally had ice in the ice box.  They had a little cupboard made with wire in the wall of the kitchen that set outside the  house...they put food in there when it was cooler outside than in the house.  They also kept milk in the pumphouse where the creek kept it cool. 

She said there were two things that happen to food when you leave it out; either it grows bacteria faster than it would in the fridge, or it would flat-out rot if left out too long.  Her theory was that if something was left it out just overnight it probably had more bacteria than was healthy, but if you REHEAT it, you kill all that bacteria.  Overnight was not long enough to rot something, so in her mind if you heat it again, and the bacteria was killed, it was fine too eat.

She ate that way her whole life...left food out ALL the time, and never got sick from it. 

Since you can reheat the soup, I think you could eat it.  If it were something you couldn't reheat, I would probably toss it. 

Personally, I don't think I would risk eating chicken that sat out overnight. (Of course, that may be more of a problem here in Arizona then in most places.) 

I still think I'm the worst cook on the planet. Fortunately my partner likes to cook, so I haven't starved or poisoned anyone yet.

Amy,

OK, we're talking about some very Serious Culinary Challenges here.  What can you put together?  Can you make a sandwich?  A salad?   Do you eat a lot of pizza and frozen dinners?

I am worried that you are not getting your proper allotment of  nutrients from fresh vegetables, fruits, and proteins. You need vitamins and antioxidants to fight cancer. Cooking does not have to be hard.  You don't even need a recipe.

Any vegetable can be boiled in water or steamed...in just about five minutes.  You can cut things up (or not); a good rule of thumb is to cook to the peak of color.  In fact, the more color a vegetable or fruit has, the more nutritious it tends to be.

Most fruits are best raw, without any processing at all.

Almost any meat that can be divided into serving portions between 1/2 and 1 inch thick can be pan fried ..in about 15-20 minutes (i.e., ground beef patties, chicken fillets, pork chops, steaks). Fish fillets too, they cook even quicker.  Just spray in a little oil first. The only spices you actually "need" for any cooked meat or vegetables are salt & pepper.  You can test for doneness by making a test cut in the middle of the meat.

Any meat that is bigger than portion size can--like a chicken, or turkey, beef roast, pork--can be roasted in the oven.  A good basic rule is 350-375 and 20 minutes per pound.  

But chicken soup that has sat out overnight is a science project!!!  Meat broth at room temperature is used in laboratories to culture bacteria!!!

Good luck!!! 

Mizzy

OK Amy here is Paul Lynde's famous Beef Stew (can use lamb or chichen)

2 to 3 lbs of  stew meat

1 can sliced carrots (drained)

1 can green beans (drained)

1 can sweet peas (drained)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can new pototoes (drained)

1 can french onion soup

1/2 cup of red wine

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 to 3 bay leaves (spice section)

Amy put into slow cooker on low or in a roaster pan into an 250 degree oven for 7 hours (no peeking).  Amy I have been buying the organic canned vegetables which most grocery stores have been carrying now.....................this really is good and very easy to do...no chopping..........won't be on your feet too long........good luck......................cooking is not that easy............shokk

Paul Lynde from Bewitched and Hollywood Squares..........

shokk, that recipe SO sounds like the bachelor stew my DH used to make every week before we were married.  Only, he used a pound or two of hamburger, no red wine...........

PRAmy, I would only eat that soup if I were seriously hard up financially that I could not afford to waste a single cent.   OOOwweee!  Ptomaine city, here I come. LOL

Tina

I did run across a cookbook that even I can deal with when absolutely necessary. Something like 5 ingredient slow cooker cookbook. Basically dump a maximum of 5 things (usually frozen or canned) in a slow cooker, ignore for many hours and it's actually edible when it's done.

Bakeoff? Does frozen pizza thrown in the oven count? (Cold pizza ... the perfect breakfast food!)

Amy, I wouldn't eat it - $5 worth of groceries is not worth getting sick over.

Margaret

I don't Amy is worried about the cost....I think she's thinking, DARN, I FIXED A DECENT MEAL AND NOW I HAVE TO THROW IT AWAY!?

Shirley

Oh, that stew recipe.  I forgot to mention that my boyfriend (now DH) used to make that in the days pretty much before crock-pots, so he used a pressure cooker.  I have to say, I rarely use the pressure cooker because I keep forgetting about it, but is sure makes almost anything tender and tasty in about 20 minutes or less.  You just have to get over your fear of the whole shebang EXPLODING on you.  LOL

Tina

Amy, the crockpot recipe will work with any vegetable, but your body needs something GREEN (or red or orange) now and then.

However, if you take out the some of the other veggies and put in corn, could you at least put in cauliflower? Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving. And no - don't put the minute rice in with it - it already has the potatoes (and corn) so there's plenty of starches. But we need to think of another veggie to put in there with all of that meat. . . the peas are okay, right (even though they are starchy, too)? Do you like sweet potatoes? How about zucchini? Maybe butternut squash? Help me out here, girl!

Lisa

Most pressure cookers are different today than when I was young.  I can remember the top exploding also.

Amy, do you like red bell peppers.  They are sweeter than green bell peppers.  Now, Amy, if you were my little girl I'd say at least try it.  When you cook beef stew in the crockpot you'll be surprised at how good the other veggies taste.  Just put a few things in..like carrots, green beans, ptotatoes, onions.  My husband does not like onions RAW, but he'll eat them in cooked foods.  And, if you don't like them you can push them aside, but you'll still get the flavor of a good stew.  Hmmmm....I'm trying to think of veggies that my grandchildren like...LOL

Shirley

So, I guess okra is out too?