After planning your meals for the week and shopping for the ingredients, it’s time to start cooking! Food Hero has recipes that follow a variety of cooking methods. Let’s explore some popular cooking methods and share a few of our favorite recipes for each one.
Choosing the Right Cooking Method
When cooking, it is important to identify the best method for cooking your meals. This can be dependent on a variety of factors such as time, what you have on hand or desired end product. Here’s a breakdown of common cooking methods to help you find the best fit for your meals.
Cooking with a Microwave
Microwaves are used to prepare quick, easy and tasty meals. For tips on which containers to use and power levels, check out our Monthly Magazine on Microwave Ovens. We also have several recipes that have been created specifically for the microwave, check them out!
Oven Cooking
Ovens are used for baking, broiling, roasting or grilling food. Some foods that can be cooked in an oven are meats, casseroles, vegetables and baked goods. Cooking with an oven may take a bit more time due to preheating and cooking times, but the wait is well worth it! Here are a few recipes to try in the oven:
Chicken and Dumpling Casserole
Cooking with a Skillet
A skillet, or frying pan, is ideal for sautéing, pan-frying, grilling or cooking one-dish meals. Here are a few tasty skillet recipes:
Stir-Fry
Stir-frying involves cooking ingredients quickly over high heat, making it ideal for veggies, proteins and aromatics (herbs and spices). Try these stir-fry dishes:
Stir-Fry Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Slow Cooker Meals
Slow cookers can help make tasty, home-cooked meals convenient any time of the year. Plan ahead when you want to use your slow cooker and prepare the ingredients while making lunch or breakfast. Put the ingredients in the slow cooker, cook for the desired amount of time, and enjoy a delicious meal that didn’t take a lot of time and energy to make. For more tips, check out our Monthly Magazine Slow Cooker. Here are a few recipes to try:
Slow Cooker Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Chili
No-Heat Recipes
No-heat recipes are a great choice for when you do not want to use energy or heat up your house. From salads to smoothies to desserts, we have a variety of recipes to choose from!
Very Berry Muesli (‘mew-slee’)
Tip: To find recipes in each of these categories, use the healthy recipes search feature.
Cooking Different Amounts
Only need a meal for one or two? Food Hero also has a category titled “Cooking for One or Two”. These recipes make a small amount, so you will not have as much leftover.
Helpful Cooking Tips and Tricks
- Practice food safety. Food safety reduces the risk of illness and ensures good quality food. For more tips, read our Monthly Magazine Keep Food Safe.
- Keep a clean and organized kitchen. Not only does this promote good food safety, but it also makes ingredients and cooking tools easier to find.
- Use a food thermometer when cooking with meat, poultry or fish. This ensures your food is cooked all the way through. Read more about food thermometers in our blog on “Food Safety Tips: Using a Food Thermometer”.
- Rinse your produce before preparing. Read more about rinsing produce in our blog titled “Guide to Rinsing Produce”.
- Measuring ingredients accurately is important when cooking. Follow our Kitchen Measuring Guide for conversions and proper measuring techniques.
- Remember to store any leftovers in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container within two hours of preparation.
- Cooking is a skill that develops over time. Make sure to give yourself enough time when preparing unfamiliar ingredients or recipes. The more you cook, the easier it will become.
We hope this blog was helpful in helping you cook easy, nutritious recipes for you or your family!
