Either this is hard, I'm stupid ... or both.

I've written three files (in two weeks) and I think I've gone down the wrong path already.

Ingredient.h

Ingredient.cpp

IngredietnDriver.cpp

• I have a class Ingredient and I can instantiate different ingredients like eggs, milk, butter etc.  So by my understanding I have an object for each ingredient that I need.
• I've included the linked list project that we built with Wibit.net and in the driver I create a linked list called "Pantry" this then holds all my ingredients that I currently have
• So, the next step (I think) would be to make another linkedlist object called FrenchToast, Omlette, RockyFuel and ToadInTheHole and then add ingredients to those but my first question would be, is this where I create a new class and have the linked list in that class called "recipe" then every "recipe" I instantiate would have a list in it for ingredients?
• Once I have a "pantry" and a "recipe" I will need to compare them somehow but that is well off at this stage.

Code so that you know I have "something" ...

//Ingredient.h

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;

class ingredient
{
  private:
    string _ingredientName;
	string _ingredientDescription;
    
  public:
    ingredient();
	ingredient(string);
	ingredient(string,string);
    ~ingredient();
    
void setIngredientName(string);
void setIngredientDescription(string);
string getIngredientName();
string getIngredientDescription();
    
    friend std::ostream &operator <<(std::ostream&, ingredient&);
	friend std::istream &operator >>(std::istream&, ingredient&);
};

//Ingredient.cpp
#ifndef INGREDIENT_CLASS
#define INGREDIENT_CLASS
#include "Ingredient.h"

ingredient :: ingredient()
{
	this->_ingredientName = "";
	this->_ingredientDescription = "";
}

ingredient :: ingredient(string ingredientName, string ingredientDescription)
{
  this->setIngredientName(ingredientName);
  this->setIngredientDescription(ingredientDescription);
}

ingredient :: ingredient(string ingredientName)
{
  this->setIngredientName(ingredientName);
  this->setIngredientDescription(" ");
}

ingredient :: ~ingredient()
{
}

void ingredient :: setIngredientName(string name)
{
  this->_ingredientName = name;
}

void ingredient :: setIngredientDescription(string desc)
{
  this->_ingredientDescription = desc;
}

string ingredient::getIngredientName()
{
	return this->_ingredientName;
}

string ingredient::getIngredientDescription()
{
	return this->_ingredientDescription;
}


std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream& stream, ingredient& str)
{
	stream << str.getIngredientName();
	return stream;
}
std::istream &operator>>(std::istream& stream, ingredient& str)
{
	std::string tempString = "";
	stream >> tempString;
	str.setIngredientName(tempString.c_str());
	return stream;
}

#endif

#include <iostream>
#include <time.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string>
#include "linkedList.cpp"
#include "ingredient.cpp"

using namespace std;
	
int main()
{
  srand(time(NULL));
  
  linkedlist<ingredient> pantry;
//todo: add a quantity somewhere in the class
  pantry.add(ingredient("eggs", "chicken things"));
  pantry.add(ingredient("milk", "from cows"));
  pantry.add(ingredient("cheese",""));
  pantry.add(ingredient("butter"));
  int i;
  for(i = 0; i < pantry.count(); i++)  
  {
  cout << pantry[i].getIngredientName() << endl;
     }
	
	 
  return 0;
}