Cooking Basics - Home-Ec 101

Simple Philly Skillet

Need a weeknight winner? This one pan ground beef recipe for Simple Philly Skillet fits the bill. Beginner friendly and perfect for teaching yourself or kids to cook

Heather says: Fried pork chops are a quintessential Sunday Dinner and depending on the number of minions you are cooking for, they are fairly low effort. They are less touchy than fried chicken and completely company worthy, especially if it’s the kind of company that will hang out in the kitchen and talk while you …

Taco Skillet? Yep. We’re Home-Ec 101 here, and one of my goals for this year is to go back and share those simple recipes that we assume everyone already knows how to make. This is as close to Hamburger Helper™ as you can get without opening a HH box. Sometimes dinner is just thrown together …

No-Salt Taco Seasoning

This no-salt taco seasoning recipe is a great way to keep your salt intake under control without sacrificing flavor. It takes all of three minutes to put together – five if you’re the picture taking type- and it makes enough for about four recipes calling for a taco mix. Use 2.5 tablespoons of the taco …

Ribs: Beef, Pork, Country-Style, Baby back, Spare, or Short

Dear Home Ec 101, You mentioned ribs and I want to try to make some, but I get overwhelmed at the butcher shop. What ribs are best for what cooking style? Can you explain different types of ribs? Signed, New Age Girl Heather says: Absolutely, beef or pork depends solely on your preference, just keep …

bay leaves in white bowl on blue background

Bay leaves are the very thing that made the aroma of mom’s soup comforting. Here’s how to use them in a variety of recipes.

Ten Fridge Essentials for Every Man

Brian says: Whether you’re single or a happily married man with children, there are certain things that we need in our lives to keep us, well, grounded. For some, it’s the legendary and mythical “man cave”, for others it’s a fantasy sports team. For me, though, it’s the unchangeable list of ingredients and sundries that …

How to Poach an Egg

Heather says: We’re huge fans of eggs in our house, with growing kids and a busy schedule, they are one of the fastest and most economical forms of protein we keep on hand. Throw in the fact that there are hundreds of ways to cook eggs and we’re sold. Learning how to poach an egg …

How to Butterfly or Spatchcock a Chicken

Heather says:

Did you know there’s a way to increase the amount of crisp skin on your chicken while decreasing the cook time? I tell the truth, you just use a five minute technique called Spatchcocking -that sounds dirty, doesn’t it?- or butterflying and you’ll greatly increase the surface area of your roast chicken. Not only is the surface area increased, but the amount of meat in direct contact with the cooking surface -in our case a baking sheet- is also increased. Both of these conditions work together to reduce the overall cook time of your bird and keep any skin out of the pan juices.

This technique cuts the cook time for a 3 .5 – 5lb bird down to around 50 minutes. Now you don’t have to save your chicken for Sunday afternoon. Who knew?

As a courtesy to vegetarian Home Ec 101 readers, I’ll go ahead and hide the rest of this post behind a jump. Just click more, if you want to see the tutorial.

The Gentle Boil Method for Cooking White Rice

Heather says: [pullthis id=”confession” display=”outside”]I’ll never make it as a hippie. . . I don’t like brown rice. I’ve tried to like it, but I just don’t. [/pullthis] For whatever reason cooking white rice seems to frustrate some people. [pullshow id=”confession”]My favorite way to cook rice is to use a 2:1 ratio, water to long …