whats open stock? I think we are going to go with Tramontina. How does it do on an electric stove?

I would like to keep these meals as healthy as possible

I need to get a crock pot then, crock pot or Dutch oven?

Oh wow I like that alot where can I get some jars like that

So as far as reheating what I've made do you guys say microwave or oven or? I know sometimes reheating something in the microwave makes the food taste not so good.

do you guys think making two dishes is enough to cover the 5 days of the week, this includes sides as well.

Thanks for the great replies everyone, I think a set might be best for me. I like to cook and like to experiment. I tend to use the saute pan or a 12" frying pan a lot, sauce pans get the second most use and then the big pot for pasta.

What are some must have kitchen essentials? My gf and I live in an apartment and would like some cookware that we can take with us for the long haul. Lets pretend we just moved into the apartment and have NOTHING at all for the ktichen. What would you guys suggest to us as a wishlist?

I was looking at getting new pots and pans, what are the best not so expensive? I saw some stainless steel ones on amazon with great reviews, but I wanted to see what you guys would say. The stainless steel pots and pans set in amazon are form Cuisin Art and T-Fal.

Also we live in an area where the water has a lot calcium, will that mess up the pots I get?

My gf and I have a busy lifestyle, well not me but soon to be as I start my new job at the end of the month. I do most of the cooking in the house, I just love cooking however once I start my new job I don't think I'll be able to cook dinner for us every night on top of that we have to make lunch for ourselves too. I've read about taking a day to cook food for the whole week. However I don't know where to start, like how do I know they will be good for a week? What kind of recipes should I follow, would like recipes that are healthy?

Are there any websites that might help me on my mission?

so I just re-washed the pan and scrubbed it down and re-seasoned with vegetable oil and put it back in the oven for an hour under 400 degrees. How many times should I do this?

I don't have an stainless steel pad can i just use a regular dish scrub the one that has the sponge side and the other side is a scotch side?

So I'm trying to re-season my lodge cast iron skillet. I followed the instruction on the lodge website which is:

- Use vegetable oil and spread around inside and outside of the pan
- Put inside a 350 degree oven for one hour

so that's what I did, but when I took it out and let it sit I tried ti wipe it down with a paper towel and it was sticky and left a white residue on the pan.

Should I put it in longer? why is it sticky?

Okay so I finally got a cast iron skillet, it's a Lodge Pre-seasoned 12" skillet. Now my gf is used to grilled steaks but I want to make her something she'll love. Before having a CI I've been using a regular non-stick pan and then putting the steaks in the oven for 10 minutes and it's usually a hit or miss. I usually just use kosher salt and pepper or montreal seasoning and now that i have a CI I want to do it right. The method I will be using to cook the steak is this:

- Preheat oven to 500 degrees with the pan inside for 20 minutes
- Take pan out and put it on the stove using medium high heat
- Sear both sides for 30 seconds each
- Pop it in the oven for two minutes
- Flip and cook for another 2 minutes.

Now for the seasoning, what do you guys use? If I use a marinade will it be a mess in the CI?