I grew up cooking and helping my mom in the kitchen. It comes as second nature to me. I’ve cooked with friends before and am sometimes surprised at how techniques that I use every day are unfamiliar to them.
What are some of the most important cooking skills for any adult to know? I came up with 10 things that are essential to being able to cook at least an occasional meal for yourself. Take a look at this list and see how many you know!
1. How to chop an onion.
2. How to use a grill to make hamburgers and steak.
3. How to hard boil an egg.
4. How to cook pasta.
5. How to plan a meal and how to prepare the main dish and side dishes at the same time.
6. How to steam vegetables.
7. How to roast vegetables.
8. How to roast a whole chicken.
9. How to make a simple dessert (i.e. chocolate chip cookies!).
10. How to shred chicken.
One of the hardest things to master can be #5: How to plan a meal and how to prepare the main dish and side dishes at the same time. The key to multitasking and making sure everything is ready to eat at the same time is to plan ahead!
Whether I’m planning a meal for a party, dinner with friends or just making a typical dinner for Andrew and I, I will usually start with deciding on the main dish. I have an arsenal of our favorite dishes that I rotate. I also like to browse Pinterest to find a new recipe to try!
Once I pick the main dish, I pick a veggie to go with it, and decide whether I want to steam or roast it. We usually eat rice or quinoa with just about every meal, but you could also use potatoes or pasta.
Now that you have your entire meal planned out, take a look at your recipes see how long each part of the meal needs to cook. Start with your prep work — preheat the oven, start boiling water to make pasta or rice, clean and chop veggies, prep your meat.
As I said before, planning ahead is key. Know how long each part of your meal will take, and make sure you start with whatever will take the longest. It’s also helpful to know what needs to be finished right when it’s time to eat, or what could sit for a few minutes while you finish up the rest of the meal. For example, once rice is finished cooking, you could leave it covered for 5 or 10 minutes, but you would want to serve a steak as soon you take it off the grill.
If you are new to cooking, start simple and have grace for yourself! Even though I cook almost every day, I still mess this up sometimes. I’ll underestimate how long it takes to cook something and end up having everything else ready and getting cold way too early. It takes practice, but you start to learn little tricks and what works best for your favorite meals.
How many of these 10 skills do you know? Which one do you think is the most important?
Rebecca VanDeMark says
This was great Jenna!! 🙂 I just pinned it also!! 🙂
Jenna Brussee says
Thank you! How many of these skills did you know?
Tori Morrison says
I know most of these, but definitely not the one about a hardboiled egg for the simple fact that I don’t eat eggs at all! I do know how to make some mean chocolate chip cookies though 🙂 That’s the most important skill, right? 😉
Jenna Brussee says
Chocolate cookies are definitely the most important skill! Mmm, now I’m craving some…
LB Present says
These are definitely good things any adult should know! I mean, with a combination of these tips, you can master anything! 🙂
Jenna Brussee says
That’s right! Once you have these down, it’s easy to learn even more cooking skills.
Daisy @ Simplicity Relished says
This is awesome! I would add “how to reheat leftovers”…. I know someone who tried to reheat pasta in the toaster oven.
Jenna Brussee says
Hahah, that’s a good one! It’s good to learn how to reheat leftovers without using a microwave, too.
Madison says
This is so good! I love all of these essentials. The only one I don’t know is how to boil an egg, but I don’t eat eggs so I think I get a pass for this one 😉
Jenna Brussee says
Thanks, Madison! I’ll let that one slide for you… But I still can’t believe you don’t like eggs!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
This is a wonderful list! I can do just about all of these (except the meat since I don’t roll that way). But yay for chocolate chip cookies and making all your food so it’s ready at the same time. That’s a feat!!
Jenna Brussee says
Thanks, Sam! Some of these would change based on preference, like the meat.
Chelsie Carr says
This is a great list. My husband and I were trying to remember how long to hard boil an egg just yesterday!
Jenna Brussee says
It took me a long time to figure out how to do it without googling the correct times to use!
Steph @Sustaining the Powers says
This is an awesome list of skills! (And so many great tutorials!) I think I take a lot of these for granted too. I totally cheat on the egg boiling though- hubby got me an egg timer you put in the boiling water with the eggs, so I can tell exactly how cooked they are.
Jenna Brussee says
That egg timer sounds awesome! That could really come in handy if you want your eggs to be done a certain way.
Steph @Sustaining the Powers says
It’s definitely handy for that! I’m a huge fan of runny yolks, so I love that I can make soft boiled or medium boiled eggs. I haven’t been able to do that successfully without the timer.
Martha Kate Stratton says
Great tips! I definitely agree that everybody should know how to do these! Learning to meal plan has made the biggest difference for me!
Jenna Brussee says
I’m just about to sit down and write out my meal plan for the week. Doing that saves me so much money!
ashortblonde says
I still don’t think I chop onions properly! haha I’m always meaning to watch a YouTube video on it.
Jenna Brussee says
I’ve found that there are a few different methods, too. The tutorial I linked in this post was a little different from how I usually do it, but it makes more sense!
Shannon Hall says
My husband is a chef and these are all spot on and the same thing he says! Whenever he teaches me how to make something he always says to plan ahead and get everything out that you are going to need before you start. It makes such a huge difference!
Jenna Brussee says
That is so encouraging that he agrees with these points. Planning ahead really does make a big difference.
Anna @ The Beauty Section says
I will be honest and admit I don’t know how to do ALL of these, but most so that’s a start right?! I will definitely try to brush up on my cooking skills! 🙂
Jenna Brussee says
That’s definitely a start! Which ones do you still need to learn?
Shane says
Great article! I have learned something new here today. Thanks for sharing!