(Part 2) Best professional high quality cooking books according to redditors

I said 'based around' one or two major ingredients. I.e., one time you might use a bulk package of chicken breasts to base half of your dishes on, and a bulk package of ground beef to base others on. That hardly means those are the only two ingredients in the meals, does it? Or do your chicken dishes typically only contain chicken and nothing else? A casserole that has chicken in it, for example, might primarily consist of vegetables and eggs. And unlike the post's chicken-shake, at least the various meals would be different, and you wouldn't have to eat a given one constantly.

Edited to add: Here. I haven't used this particular cookbook and thus couldn't comment on its quality, but the table of contents is browsable on Amazon, and it gives you a good idea of the very wide variety of ingredients and dishes you can work with in this format:

http://www.amazon.com/Once---Month-Cooking-Family-Favorites/dp/0312534043/

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd is a good book for recipes that feed lots of people. This + a costco or sam's club will take you a long way. You may be able to borrow a copy from your local library.

http://www.amazon.com/Moosewood-Restaurant-Cooks-Crowd-Vegetarian/dp/0517228025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348032286&sr=8-1&keywords=moosewood+restaurant+cooks+for+a+crowd


A general suggestion would be a stew + starch + salad. The cheapest starches at this point are probably rice and potatoes. Vegetarian stews will be generally cheaper to make.

Not sure about top 5 but two of my favourites are Professional Cooking and Professional Baking

Food scale

Electric pressure cooker ($$, though I got mine used on FB marketplace) but as a second much more affordable choice is a slow cooker.

Cookbooks

The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook: Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook, Prep, Grab, and Go https://www.amazon.com/dp/162315944X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dGUeAbB8DZPFZ

Sheet Pan: Delicious Recipes for Hands-Off Meals https://www.amazon.com/dp/1681881373/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_sHUeAb5XA7288

Fix-It and Forget-It Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook: 150 Whole Food Recipes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680992104/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_PIUeAb59505DQ

A little spendy, but I really like this one: Essentials of Professional Cooking

Not sure how it compares to others mentioned in this thread, though. It's more of a text book of techniques & standard practices.

I'd also grab a copy of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

I think it's great that you are ready to start learning to cook for yourself so you eat healthier.

Do you have a Crock pot? they are about 25 dollars this one is a great size for 1 or 2 people.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crock-Pot-Hinged-Lid-Programmable-Slow-Cooker-4-5-Quart-SCCPVP450H-B/124926979

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Here are a few crock pot recipes you can either throw something in the crock pot while you are at work, or... on the weekends, toss something in the crock pot in the morning. cook yourself something for dinner and put the crock pot meals in the fridge for later in the week. make sure that what you are cooking for weeknights/worknights are freezable so they will be safe to eat 4,5 and 6 days later.

Freezable

https://www.copymethat.com/r/4hlLTG0/campbells-creamy-chicken-and-wild-rice-r/

https://www.copymethat.com/r/JtEJCb9/chicken-taco-crock-pot-recipe/

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Not freezable

https://www.copymethat.com/r/wxM21qf/creamy-beef-potato-stew-better-homes-gar/

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I just bought this book from Sam's Club for my step daughter. she is Not a cook! and she was very excited about that book. it has a picture for every recipe and only 5 ingredients for each. It is a crock pot book so all crock pot meals. etc. breakfasts, dinners and desserts too.

https://www.amazon.com/Fix-Forget-Healthy-5-Ingredient-Cookbook/dp/1680994123/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=5+ingredient+fix+it+and+forget+it+slow+cooker+cookbook&qid=1554822234&s=gateway&sr=8-2

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this could be a really good resource for you. If you want to save these recipes to one location that you can reach on your pc, phone and tablet and also has a grocery list capability and menu planning capability for free... Use Copymethat

https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/healthy-and-only-five-ingredients

and here is another one from Taste of home that has 100 5 ingredient or less recipes

https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/healthy-recipes-5-ingredients/

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Rotisserie chicken is a great source of precooked and seasoned protein. they are around 5 dollars here. you can get up to 5 to 8 meals from one chicken. you can make dinner 3 to 4 times, also make soup, a casserole or burritos chicken salad. the list goes on

for instance get it bring it home and make 2 side dishes such as steamed green beans, or microwave frozen, (or canned for now) and either mashed potatoes or mac and cheese. if you use instant mashed flavored potatoes. the package says use only water. YUCK! use half water and half milk. and add about 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or margarine to the mix. and follow the cooking instructions. then you have dinner. cut at least 2 more meals from the chicken, and using the remaining side dishes you create 2 more meals for your self. either dinner or lunch etc. then pick the remaining chicken from the bones. toss the bones. put the meat into a resealable plastic bag and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage. you can use the meat for casseroles, soups, chicken salad, etc. here are a couple of recipes for that meat.

https://www.copymethat.com/r/KjYpFms/foil-pack-chicken-enchiladas-kraft/

you could mix this stuff and leave it in the fridge and assemble the wrap when you are ready to eat. it will keep for up to 3 days. you could take a container with you to work, and dump it in the wrap and eat at work too.

https://www.copymethat.com/r/qOBhAzW/adobe-chicken-wraps-betty-crocker/

https://www.copymethat.com/r/oMxBZtR/caesar-chicken-pasta-casserole-land-o-la/

https://www.copymethat.com/r/US6M7TC/chicken-alfredo-casserole-i-dont-remembe/

for chicken salad you can look up recipes online. its basically chopped onion, celery, salt, pepper, mayo, maybe a little mustard (personal thing) and even sometimes you can add dried fruit such as currants, or craisins.

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Cooking in foil is quick and very little clean up.

this could be one of the meals you make while crock pot cooking

https://www.copymethat.com/r/nUiElJG/foil-pack-chicken-and-broccoli-dinner-bi/

this makes salmon very easy to cook. it doesn't over cook or burn.

https://www.copymethat.com/r/wlxV8aK/lemon-and-herb-salmon-packets/

https://www.copymethat.com/r/8AUp6f5/smoked-sausage-and-potato-foil-packs/

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Keep in mind it is only cooking it is not rocket science. We all had to start where you are right now. So hang in there and keep trying! you'll get it!

Tom Harrison map, Tenacious tape, wool hiking socks, leather man multi-tool.

You could go a diffent route that's a bit more personal you could make a personal backing meal or go with some sort of premade backpacking meal like mountain house (a bit on the heavier side) or astronaut ice cream (a bit better), perhaps a dehydrator like an Excalibur model if you want a big luxury gift.

Books; some picks for foraging, all that the rains promises and more , Stalking the wild asparagus, the foragers harvest ,

Done in about 15 minutes – the simplest simple supper.

Notes:
Crushed up peanuts add the perfect crunch.

---

Cooking Time (includes preparation time): 5 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 500g Chicken Breast - £3.00
  
• Bunch of Spring Onions - £0.55
  
• 400ml Coconut Milk - £0.95
  
• Fish Sauce - £1.50
  
• 400g Egg Noodles - £1.13
  
• Smooth Peanut Butter - £0.70
  
• Soy Sauce - £0.65
  
• Salted Peanuts - £0.60
  Total Cost – £9.08- This covers absolutely everything. All we assume you have in your kitchen beforehand is SALT, PEPPER AND OLIVE OIL.
  
  ---
  
  Method:
  
  

1. Add chicken breasts to a pan of boiling water. Boil for 8 minutes until cooked through.
   
2. Remove chicken from water and shred it up.
   
3. Add noodles to chicken water and cook for 3 minutes. Then drain.
   
4. Get a wok on. Add your coconut milk, a heaped tablespoon of peanut butter, a tablespoon of fish sauce and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix everything together and bubble on a high heat for 30 seconds.
   
5. Add your chicken. Mix it in, and then add your noodles. Stir everything together.
   
6. Add a handful of chopped spring onions. Stir them in.
   
7. Serve up the noodles into 4 bowls. Add some crushed up peanuts. Tuck in.
   
   ---
   
   Pre-order our book!
   
   
   Website: http://www.mobkitchen.co.uk/bs-test/2018/5/10/chicken-satay-noodles
   
   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mobkitchen/
   
   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mobkitchenuk/

I saw Pizza Dough in B&N and it looks interesting. Shows how to make different pizzas from a few different dough recipes. Lots of pictures of pizza. Plays directly toward his desire for pizza. Also, even mediocre homemade pizza with Prego branded sauce is better than Pizza Hut, let alone Papa John's.

I find Rachel Ray terribly boring, but her Week in a Day book has a enormous quantity of recipes that can be pushed and modified in different directions and it's filled with a ton of pictures. I think her books are best for getting ideas on other recipes. I wouldn't make too many of her recipes straight, because she tends to add a ton of calories to her meals and I just couldn't eat that much.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a bunch of Vegan books. She has an irreverent style I like that doesn't resort to the multitudes of F-bombs that Thug Kitchen has to throw out there. It's vegan, so you'll have to be OK with that, but otherwise, she has plenty of good looking recipes. Her latest, Isa Does It looks like a good place to start.

http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Peace-Help-Poverty-Bombs-ebook/dp/B00BRZZNX6/ref=sr_1_3/183-7718862-0736635?ie=UTF8&qid=1413600168&sr=8-3&keywords=keith+mchenry

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Not-Bombs-C-Butler/dp/1884365213/ref=sr_1_2/183-7718862-0736635?ie=UTF8&qid=1413600168&sr=8-2&keywords=keith+mchenry

I've tried a lot of the other ones recommended here, but the Great American Slow Cooker Book is my favorite. It uses almost entirely fresh ingredients, not canned ones, and has an extremely wide variety of recipes. Some of my favorites include Chinese-style braised pork belly, Korean-style short ribs, Italian sunday gravy, apricot chicken, sesame chicken wings, pomegranate chicken wings, and many others.

Buy this book. A friend of mine recommended it to me, and between the two of us, we haven't found a recipe we didn't like. It also has good tips on how to store different foods in the freezer so they last the longest and taste the best, as well as how to make the most out of your money at the grocery store.

This is my favorite turkey chili (or any chili for that matter) recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/california-turkey-chili-recipe.html

I also like her turkey kale and brown rice soup:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/turkey-kale-and-brown-rice-soup-recipe.html

With both recipes you can add more turkey or double the entire recipe to have more leftovers (my mom uses like 3 packages of ground turkey for the chili).

Some tweaks I add to the chili are less chicken broth so it's thicker and I add red pepper flakes for a little more spice. I also usually use an extra can if beans.

Finally Rachel Ray has a book called "Week In A Day" in which (I believe) she gives you recipes that will male food for the week ahead.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/145165975X?pc_redir=1409922787&robot_redir=1

This isn't a contest entry, I just wanted to share this book that might be of interest to you! 5 Ingredient or Less Slow Cooker Recipes! I got this one for myself and it's been a huge help for me!