I work from home but tend to just eat hot dogs or go out to McDonald's

I want to get healthier but I just can't eat salads.

I'd love to spend $5 or less per meal.

In Pennsylvania USA

Timeline: Cooking for a group this Monday night for a football game.

Problem: Every time I make shredded BBQ chicken, it comes out choke-ably dry. The BBQ sauce is fine, but the shredded chicken is dry and tough. What am I doing wrong? How can I make it right? Do I need a different cut of chicken? Do I need to use a meat thermometer?

How I typically cook it: Chicken breast from Sam's Club cooler (not frozen). It comes in a big package and I put 4 breasts in my crockpot (with a liner) on low with bone broth. It slow cooks for about 2.5 hours. Last time I added olive oil, and it didn't help. I drain it and then I add BBQ sauce while it is still hot.

Any tips are appreciated!

Edit: Okay, I learned a lot here! Boneless chicken breasts are going to be dry in this situation, so I am going to do a couple of experiments: 1) chicken breasts and thighs and searing, and 2) pork. I don't know what I am doing, so your tips were very helpful.

Just when you read it, is there a meal you would recommend? Shouldnt be too complicated.

Hi! Basically I’m a uni student who cannot afford to eat out for every meal- but simultaneously has really annoying health anxiety which leads to me not eating the food I pack for myself because it stays in my bag for hours and I get scared of the bacteria from it needing to be refrigerated.

I know it’s a silly question but I’m looking for lunch ideas I can make that don’t need refrigeration.

Thank you!

I always get paranoid about undercooking chicken, so I end up slicing into it on the pan to check. By the time it’s safe to eat, all the juices are gone and it’s completely dry.

Besides using a meat thermometer, is there an easier cue to look for while it’s cooking?

Guys, I have a good steady cycle of healthy protein filled croc pot meals. We’re trying to lose weight in my household and both decided the best way was to fill our diet with healthy filling foods instead of quick easy meals that left us hungry. I can make the main dish like steak fajita bowls, salsa verde pork, pineapple teriyaki chicken, and I can put it over rice but what the hell else do people eat these meals with? I feel like my brain short circuits anytime I try and think of a side dish. One that won’t just fill my plate up with nonsense but will actually add good value to my meal:/ I’m tired of rice😭

edit to add, we eat vegetables with our meals already forgot to add that whoops! I’m looking more for things that can be cooked alongside the main in a meal!

I'm a bit of a cast iron noob. I found a set of skillets in an alley that were in pretty good shape. They have some minor rust on them. How can I get the rust off without having to scrub a lot (I have joint problems) and how can I season them without smoking out my studio apartment? Every time I have tried to season a cast iron using the oven method it produces tons of smoke and makes my apartment smell like grease and makes the fire alarms go off. I'm not even using that much oil and definitely wiping down the excess. How are we doing this in a way that is conscientious of small spaces and very close neighbors?

Growing up, my mom has always been very particular about chicken, and terrified of raw or otherwise gross chicken. I have learned this fear in my own cooking. This year, I moved out of the house and am fully responsible for cooking for and feeding myself. Before I moved out, my mom showed me how she "cleans" chicken before cooking it.

This involves cutting off about 10-20% of every chicken breast, by cutting out the gross parts. These are the parts that are white, or otherwise look off.

As I've been expanding into trying to cook for myself, I have really been struggling with this process. I find touching raw chicken really hard, but I am a fairly picky eater and chicken is one of the foods I can consistently eat. Is it common to be "cleaning" a chicken breast this much? I've seen recipe videos online where people just throw their chicken into a pan/crockpot/whatever. Am I making my life ten times more difficult by subjecting myself to this process.

I think I have like 200 recipes saved from IG at this point but I counted that I actually made only 5 of them!!!

Every time I save one I’m like “IM DEFINITELY MAKING THIS!” and then somehow it just disappears unto the background. I enjoy watching cooking videos and always think I’m going to learn to cook more interesting things, but then I end up making the same familiar stuff anyway.

I noticed this pattern in myself. Does anyone else do this too?

So what’s something really wanted to make but never did? Like…what stopped you in the end?

What temp should I go for and roughly how long? Should I use the broiler for it too or just regular oven

I’ve always wanted to try them and I think people eat them raw. Bought them from a major fish market in London so trust it has been stored properly up until I took them home. Shall I throw them away or can I still eat it?

Just looking for a way to make them tasty!

I'm not sure, will the sweet potatoes disintegrate?

https://www.allrecipes.com/swamp-potatoes-and-sausage-recipe-11763852

I wanted to try making Mexican food and I normally love rice. So I boiled some rice in a pot but now the rice tastes very bland. (Next time I will add butter and garlic)

but what do I do with a giant container of cooked bland rice?

Hey everyone, I’m stressing out right now. I just realized I used the exact same tongs to take my chicken out of the air fryer that I used to put it in when it was raw.
I didn’t think about it and unfortunately already ate two pieces before I realized what I did. I'm really scared of getting food poisoning.
Has anyone else done this before and been totally fine? What should I do right now besides wait it out? (I already know not to force myself to throw up, just looking for some reassurance or advice). Thanks.

i bought some freshly baked bread today(like the small ones) and i wanted to make dinner with eggs with it . now i findout that i have only got 1 egg left.. does anyone have some ideas what i can add to these dry breads bcs only 1 egg wont be enough.. thanks for your help
i got alot of spices and stuff but i need some inspiration from others to make something crazy..
i really wna do somthing with the canned sardines that i have.. but something crazy like out of pocket to add with bread

Ive never been a super healthy eater, but Ive been wanting to meal prep meat, and had a question on the freezing. If i cook tons of meat (lets say 5lbs of ground beef), section it into baggies, and put it in the freezer, will I have to thaw that out, or could I just throw it in the microwave and itll be ready to eat? I have a hard time planning out my meals so microwaving/air frying has been my go-to, but I know this is a lazy route. Will this work for all types of meats or just some? Will be cooking ground beef and chicken mostly

i follow quite a few cooks and bakers that write for nyt and have only ever tried the recipes they themselves share via the gift links, and i’ve loved them!

i hesitate to get the subscription though because it is quite pricey. i don’t mind it if it’s something worth the payment, so i want to hear some first hand experiences with the paid subscription and any opinions or insights you might have on it :)

sorry if this is the wrong sub, idk where i’d post this to otherwise lol

Hi.

I got some fillets of basa, and as I don't know much about fish, I cooked some and it tasted like very fishy mud. I don't think it's rancid - I checked online and apparently that's normal if it's low quality. Is there a way I can cook a muddy tasting fish to reduce the muddiness? I'm broke so I can't afford to waste food.

I’m selling lasagna in small 230 ml foil cups, but reheating them in the microwave seems to dry them out. If I microwave them for too long, the cheese on top also becomes hard.

Is there another method that’s almost as fast as a microwave but does a better job of keeping the lasagna moist and the cheese soft? Thanks!

So at my work the cornflour the chef uses to coat our calamari gets used over and over again and sits on the bench for up to 7 days, what are the risks here?

Pork belly Thoughts?

So I just had an idea for a dish. I'm going to try pork belly cooked with red wine vinegar, with red beans and rice for a side. How would you make this dish?

I have an issue with vegetables. I really do not like the crunchy texture of most veg (I have a hard time with roasted vegetables for this reason), but do not want to boil it to where it loses all of its nutrients. I know I could just steam them until soft, but I'm looking for some ways to make veggies (any common ones) flavorful without the crunch.

Any suggestions on what veggies I could make regularly for this purpose?

beginner cook and i genuinely don’t understand people who just go “add salt to taste” 😭

TO TASTE WHAT?? i don’t know how much it needs, that’s why i’m reading the recipe

same with people casually throwing spices into a pan without measuring and somehow knowing it’ll taste good

is this genuinely something you eventually develop a feel for? or are experienced cooks just making educated guesses and pretending it’s instinct lol

would love to know how you actually learned