As a young bride, my Betty Crocker Cookbook was my best friend as I pretty much didn’t know how to cook anything. I wish I could remember who gave me that cookbook…I’d like to hug their neck!
I remember very well the days of hovering near my now-ex sister-in-law watching her make mashed potatoes and hoping she didn’t notice. I didn’t have a clue and I didn’t want to admit it.
I was embarrassed. And when you are embarrassed, you often don’t ask for help.
But help is exactly what the clueless homemaker needs. She needs a mentor to come alongside her and show her the how-to behind even the most menial of tasks. She needs to build her confidence by doing the very things she is afraid she can’t do well.
For me, it was cooking.
I couldn’t imagine a time when I would be able to cook without a recipe. Our weekly menu plans were full of gourmet recipes because that’s what you cook when all you can do is cook from a recipe. I didn’t know how to use what was in my pantry to make a meal because my pantry leftovers didn’t come with recipes. I didn’t understand food.
15 years later, I’m better, but still learning. I can cook from my pantry. I know what spices go with what kinds of foods and I experiment daily and most of the time it comes out quite tasty!
I realize now that understanding the intricacies of food and the simple techniques that make you a better, more efficient cook can be the key to enjoying being in your kitchen and cooking for your family. That’s why this week’s Welcome Home is all about those little things that make cooking more efficient and interesting! Because frankly, if you know what you are doing, you will naturally spend less time and brain power in the kitchen!
Many of the following links are YouTube links, so please be aware of that with the children around (although cooking is a fairly harmless topic). And don’t forget to link up any homemaking encouragement you might have below!
Basic Knife Skills
How to chop herbs
How to chop an onion
Perfect Scrambled Eggs
How to make Mashed Potatoes
How to make Cream Gravy
How to use Spices
How to make Chicken Stock
How to Hard Boil an Egg
How to Quickly Peel a Hard Boiled Egg
How to make Egg Noodles
How to Steam Vegetables
Any other how-to’s you’d like to see here or have one of your own? Leave it in the comments section!

Grab the code in the sidebar!
This post is brought to you by Victorian Rose Soap – we love these soaps and we know you will too! And all this month, you can take 15% off your order using the coupon code: Raisingarrows – Enjoy!