Cooking - how?

Ok so heres the deal... I cant cook.

Well not really I cant cook, more like I never really tried.
How do you cook? Seriously! All I can do is noodles, stick a pizza in the oven, and use the microwave to heat up canned food! Most of the time when I...

make food I usually just make a breakfast or lunch, consisting of non-cooked food. You know, slices of this, pieces of that, add some sauce and voila!
But how would I go about going into better actual cooking?
And to cook what?

Start small and work your way up - you can buy cooking books for easy meals.
First is learning to follow instructions, so simply start at like KD and work your way up.

yes - read the instructions and follow them to the letter.
I am a great cook and I guess it seems second nature to me, but pay attention to if your recipe's are calling for teaspoons or tablespoons- if you misread this the results will be less than desirable.

I would start with maybe an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe- pretty straight forward- mix everything up- put rolled up balls on cookie sheet- cook 12 minutes or so- and (as you said) voila! you have just mixed and baked something.

if you want something more substantial (meal-like) try placing a roast in an oven potroast seasoning cooking bag ( found in or near the spices and cooking supplies)
this is a simple process, follow the directions for the seasoning ( mixed with water)
place your roast inside your cooking bag ( which should be in a rectangular cake pan) chop up some veggies- throw them in with your roast,SEAL THE BAG- with a SMALL slit cut in it, set the oven temperature and timer, and let it cook.
paying attention to cooking times is most of what cooking is about- besides getting things mixed in the right proportions.

try the cookies, try the roast, and see how that works.
any questions- shoot me a funmail.

(a slow cooker is a godsend to the inexperienced cook, or to someone who doesn't have a lot of time, same method as the cooking bag- just on your counter top- and you can let it cook for 8 to 12 hours- whatever your case may be- and come up with some very good food)

start simple. Rice is easy.

Formula:
2 cups of water per cup of rice.

Boil two cups of water, uncovered, in a medium sized sause pot on high heat

Once water is boiling add one cup of rice and reduce the heat to simmer (between the 3 and 4 on the dial) Stir and cover for 20 minuets keeping a close watch

Rice tends to boil over so be careful. If you see white bubble starting to rise above the rim of the lid just lift is ever so slighty to let air in.

After 20 minuets turn off heat and fluff (gently stir, try using a fork) rice. their should be no water left in the pot.

Test a small amout of rice making sure its not over cooked (mushy) or to hard.

CONGRATS. YOU JUST MADE RICE!!!

Also try a boxxed meal like Zatarans or Pastaronie

Here is a very easy recipe for apple crisp:

Ingredients:
4 cups apple slices
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (4 ounces) butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preparation:
Place sliced apples in a buttered 10-inch deep-dish pie dish, alternating with sprinklings of the cinnamon and salt. Pour water over apple slices.
In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, and flour together with fingertips or pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle over the apples. Bake at 350° until apples are tender and top is browned, about 35 to 45 minutes. Serve with cream or ice cream.
Apple crisp serves 6.

I cooked apple crisp last Sunday and I can't even boil eggs, but it turned out fantastic. It's just a matter of following step by step, and don't be afraid to ask friends or family for a few tips. You'll not learn until you try. Give it a go and you might find out that you're brilliant at cooking. =o)