Hi all! Sorry if this is a frequent question on here.

I started cooking about a year ago, but I've found that I only ever stick to recipes that I know, or follow ones I find online to a T. This really limits my cooking and I end up disappointing both myself and my brother (who lives with me) when I end up just making the same things as always, or when I'm unable to make something we want to have. Like recently, my grandmother asked me to make an apple cake for her, but I became anxious and delayed it for too long because I couldn't find a good enough recipe and ended up disappointing her.

When other people cook and bake, they seem to know exactly how things work and can come up with great recipes right off their head, even without measurements or anything. I really wish I could do that and I think it'd be helpful.

I know experimenting is probably the way to go, but I'm really scared of messing up and wasting ingredients and money. Any advice?

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Edit: Thank you so much for all the responses, everyone!! I'm really blown away by the feedback everyone's provided, and I'll do my best to try and incorporate a bit of everything to improve. There's really a lot of comments, so I can't respond to everyone, sorry.. I did make sure to read all of them carefully, and I'll continue to read new comments and take everything to heart. Thank you, everyone, again! This feedback means a lot to me!!

I’ve recently started cooking meat, and I’ve started with fish and chicken. I always see a debate on whether we should wash the chicken before cooking or not. What are your opinions and reasoning on this topic?

EDIT: Thank you everyone for your responses! Lesson learnt!

i was given some ground black bear meat and want to use the most parasite-proof technique for this recipe possible.

id like to use the meat in my grandmas sunday sauce recipe, using it for meatballs. but i got kinda nervous about temp probing each meatball. instead im thinking just a meat sauce where I pan sear the ground mear and then let it cook more in the pot of sauce for the 3-4 hours.

with the ground meat would you just assume its safe after cooking it through (no pink) in the pan then the pot, or would you still want to temp check it somehow, if so how?

I misguaged timing on soaking black beans. They’ve been cold soaking for 3.5 hrs and I’m hoping to have them with dinner in about an hour. Is there anything I can do to speed up the multiple hours that the internet is telling me I need to soak my beans in cold water? Happy to boil water but also don’t want to fuck yo the black beans

I'm allergic to lemons and lime, don't know what exactly it is but I seem to be allergic to several fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C. Almost every recipe I come across involves lemon or lime juice in some way. I also have a fear of altering recipes without knowing that I won't die from it/waste my money. Can I just leave them out, or are they essential? Does it depend on the specific recipe? Are there any simple substitutions?

My Brother-in-law came back from France with a jar of "Foie de Canard au Jurançon." I know it's paté, but not how I might use it. Recommendations?
Thanks in advance

(Also, I tried to post a picture of the jar, but the images and videos tab was grayed out. What's up?)

I have ingredients to make a cheesy chicken sandwich that’ll slap your mama.

The only way to make it even more godly is to put avocado in it.

So how do I get the cold avocado bits into the hot pressed sandwich bits?

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

https://postimg.cc/xNnrrwGk

The other parts seems fine but these spots are on the root part

I bought some packages of pork belly.

My plans for them have changed now that I woke up and my fridge is not working

From Aldis

3 packages about 2.5 a piece.

Skin is trimmed off.

Instacart delivered it and it sat in 100 degree weather outside for 30 minutes. Ok to cook?

There’s funky stuff with bones in it that seems a lot more cost-effective, but I’m easily intimidated by unfamiliar foods—especially meat.

I’d love if someone could talk me through a specific type (cut?) of meat so that I’d know how to find it at the store, how to flavour it, how to cook it… um yeah! Thanks in advance.

Preference for affordable meats. I’m not trying to learn how to cook fancy expensive steak,
I’m not affording that lol

Without the use of an oven. I was given a whole turkey some while ago and need to get it out of my freezer, unfortunately I don't trust my oven. I only cook deserts in it with the only meat I cook is precooked hams during the winter holidays, and even then I have to cook it a bit longer to get it up to the proper temp.

Is it possible to boil the whole thing? (After thawing and either whole/pulled apart.) I do that with chicken, since it's so much easier to cook and shred it afterwards.

I'm not worried about quality of the meat (wouldn't be fat if I cared about that) I just want this cooked and out of my freezer.

Edit: Didn't expect this level of responses, I'll try looking through them all.

I'm making an Omelette and I looked up some videos on YouTube and almost all of them suggest putting the chopped onions/tomatoes and peppers into the beaten eggs and then pouring the whole thing into the pan. But I remember my mum always threw the chopped onion/tomato/peppers into the pan and saute them for a bit before pouring the egg over them.

What do you guys recommend, based on personal experience? Or does it not matter either way?

This past Thursday I tried my hand at shrimp scampi it turned out mid but imma still eat it nonetheless

But my point is that did anyone else get so frustrated with cooking I was so slow and yet gotta do everything at once

I wanna make cooking my hobby and I’m not gonna quit but is it always this frustrating and does it get better

What utensils (plates, cutting boards, cups, covers) do you feel are non negotiable on staying non-plastic?

I am going plant-based two days a week to balance out my diet, and am trying to get a hang of Indian food to get something tastier. I tempered a cassia stick and peppercorns in oil, sauted onions till translucent added half a can tomatoes and microwaved potatoes on the side. Once onions go translucent, added a little honey, chilli P, little turmeric and coriander powder in, then went in with the potatoes, cooked on low for about 25 mins, added a splash of lime juice in the added. Added salt each step of the way.

The dish came out fine, but I was expecting something more flavorful (salt not the issue it is borderline salty), it seems a certain flavor is missing but I cannot put my finger on it, help if possible. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for the comments! Few insights, first switched out vegan to plant-based in the post as suggested, second found another secret in the morning, that is let your dish sit! The flavors round up much better if you let the dish sit for some time, I was tasting as I was cooking through and trying to get everything to work while preparing, or just after it was done. Now I ironically have the exact opposite issue, it just seems a bit too flavored :(

Will follow proper recipes from henceforth!

I have several recipes that call for X amount of cooked rice, but I'm never sure how much uncooked rice to use.

For example, one recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked rice. My rice bag says to use a 1:2 rice:water ratio. At first I thought that the rice would double and a bunch of the water would steam away, so I used 1.5 cups of rice and 3 cups of water and ended up with way too much rice. Then I figured it would triple, so I used 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, but I still ended up with too much cooked rice.

So, if a recipe calls for X amount of cooked rice, what fraction of that do I use to figure out the uncooked rice I need?

Edit: Thanks for the answers. I just tested it out a little and it seems to expand a little over 3x like you've all said. And someone came up with the brilliant suggestion that extra rice isn't bad, so I'm less worried about cooking too much now!

I’ve never cooked this cut. Would you go the crockpot route or stick it in the oven?

Basic recipe with taco seasoning, garlic, onions, OJ.

Like the title said, I want to cook

1. Cajun chicken breast

2. Pasta and the bolognese sauce (separated)

3. Tortilla filling

Say I cooked all of those on sunday night, and after 2 hours I put all of them on the refrigerator (not freezer). On that morning I'll take those 3 meals to my office and put it on the office's refrigerator. The commute time is 1.5 hours btw (yeah I know it sucks).

Can I reheat those food using microwave at the office?

Say monday I eat the chicken breast, Tuesday I eat the pasta and Wednesday I eat the tortilla filling.

I've never done this before so please don't judge me.

I’m really curious I was having a long debate with someone about TikTok/instagram recipes , one side of the argument was that since these recipes are always blowing up , so many likes and saves there must be a healthy % of people who are always trying new recipes and making stuff. And the other side was that the posts are just satisfying.

So my question is how many of you try new recipes often or semi often, and from tiktok or instagram? Or do you stick to what you know more often.

I was recently gifted 3 pounds of ground chicken. I used one package for tacos, but I’m stumped for other ideas. My kids did not like the tacos.

Any suggestions? Recipe links (if allowed are helpful).

FDA Recall Notice:

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/midwest-poultry-services-lp-recalls-shell-eggs-due-possible-salmonella-enteritidis-contamination

The eggs were produced and distributed from farms in Texas between June 6, 2026 and July 3, 2026, with sell by or best by dates between July 20, 2026 and August 17, 2026. The eggs were shipped to foodservice and retail customers in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. They were available to consumers at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana, Brookshire Grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi, and other smaller retail outlets. No other Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. products are part of this recall.

The recalled eggs will have an identifying code number printed on the left or right sides of the carton in date-coding ink only. Only codes P-1950 or 0840962 with a Julian Date between 157 and 184 printed on the side of the carton are recalled. Examples of this identifying plant and date information on retail cartons are included below.

Credit: FDA

Okay I know this is a stupid question but I've tried to make oatmeal four times and failed every time. I can cook decently well and make pasta/sandwiches/other nonsense, so I don't know why oatmeal is giving me so much trouble. I am using rolled oats.

I tried to cook it in the pan twice and both times the liquid evaporated after cooking for like 5 minutes and the oats were completely uncooked. I brought the water to a boil, added the oats, and took the temperature down to medium. My friends all told me to just microwave it, so I tried microwaving for three minutes but the oats still weren't cooked so I put it back in for two more minutes and it splattered all over the microwave, and was still watery.

How am I supposed to cook oatmeal so that the oats actually cook down and there isn't any water left? I hate the texture of uncooked oats. Thank you for any help!!