It's no secret that cooking from scratch is less expensive than buying prepared foods or eating out. But even the most frugal person may find themselves unwilling or unable to spend the time required to make everything themselves.
I sometimes wish that I was one of those moms who send their children to school with peanut butter and homemade jam on homemade bread. But frankly, I can usually get a loaf of bread on sale and the spreadable fruit for just $1. I know that homemade soup is generally healthier than canned, but I always reach for the can rather than pulling out the veggies and broth and making it myself!
On the other hand, I can also get jarred pasta sauces for under $1 as well, but I make pasta sauce from scratch 99% of the time. I can also get pretty good deals on cookies, yet I find myself baking fresh ones every few days. I can't remember the last time I bought muffins, biscuits or even a cake (except a few Carvels here and there).
What are your "always from scratch" items? What would you never even consider making?
I always make marinara/pasta sauce and freeze extra. I prefer the taste to jarred sauce. Also, I always make soup, though we don't eat a ton of it, because I also prefer the taste of homemade. If we have bread on the side (vs for a sandwich,) that is also homemade but we don't have it a ton because I love homemade bread fresh out of the oven and we could devour an entire loaf before it cools! We never buy muffins/quick breads either.
I'm the same way - I will make homemade bread "for the side", but can't be bothered with sandwich bread...and my family will eat the whole loaf that night if I let them!
are you willing to share a recipe. I am looking for an easy marinara recipe. I have yet to make my own, yet I make most other thing from scratch. thank you! -a
Hi,
I make tomato sauce, fruit pie filling, salad dressing, chicken pot pie, soup and chicken stock. In the past when time allowed I made almost everything from scratch. Although I am not in the field any longer my degree is in Culinary Arts. Right now I am constrained by space- so once I have a deep freezer I will make lo-fat muffins and other treats. I also NEVER use cream of anything soup. I make my own.
I have hypoglycemia and PCOS so I have to be very careful of what I eat.
I would never ever ever make my own piecrust. I hate making it and Pillsbury has an excellent product. I also would never make my own laundry detergent or beef jerky. But I have made bread, jam, syrups,ice cream- lots of stuff. Once I have more freezer space I look forward to making 5 pot pies at a time and giant vats of stew to freeze.
I used to hate making pie crusts too until my mother gave me the easiest recipe for making it in the food processor. Growing up we always had to stand there for what seemed like forever with 2 knives cutting the butter/shortening in to the flour!
Oh - and the whole "making your own laundry detergent"? Never going to me me! 😉
are you willing to post your easy pie crust recipe. I usually buy giant freezer ones. so easy, and since I dont like pie crust, it does not matter to me. I love the filling!Q!!!!!!
I love to make pizza dough from scratch. It taste great and is easy and cheap.
Me too! I just use the dough setting on my breadmaker (which is about the only time that machine ever gets used)
Oh - pizza dough from scratch here too. Even though Trader Joe's has good (& cheap), I find it easier just to make it in the KitchenAid mixer. Not sure if it's cheaper homemade but probably!
It's absolutely cheaper! Yeast is about $.30/packet...the tablespoon on olive oil costs nothing and the flour is only about $.75!
I work full time so I struggle with a lot of fully homemade things. I make soups from scratch because i prefer it. I've made bread before but I'm not very good at it, so I normally stick to store bought bread and biscuits. I also make terrible cookies, so I use the break and bake ones.
I love to make pies from scratch. My mom has a great recipe that she's perfected over the years and I learned how to make it alongside her. It is time-consuming but definitely worth it. I never buy pies anywhere, just not as good. And the pre-made crusts seem tasteless and flat after having the real deal.
I wouldn't say there's anything I'd never try. I'm pretty adventurous and up for a challenge. 🙂
I always make my own pasta sauce and soups, but they're great because you can make extra and freeze it. Then, your homemade dinner is instantly a convenience food. I also make most of my desserts from scratch, mostly because I enjoy baking and the taste is better than purchased desserts.
I always bake from scratch (I even made fondant for my SO's birthday cake, boy was that an... experience.) I've recently started making my own pasta sauce (it's a LOT yummier!) and I make bread sometimes (but not sandwich bread-- I just can't get my own bread to slice thin enough.) I also use my breadmaker to make my own pizza dough, though really, sometimes I think it tastes better to order from Little Caesar's. I tried making my own hamburger buns, and my SO really liked them, but they went moldy really quickly, even in the refrigerator. Maybe if I had frozen them...
Really, I love to cook and bake things from scratch. I wish I had a little more time to do it, but I'm always so busy with classes and work that I find myself having to take time out of my studies to cook. But, I've planted a lot of things for this summer (cucumbers, basil, dill, parsley, chives, hot peppers) and I'm hoping that I'll have a little more time when I'm out of classes to make a lot of yummy fun stuff... of course, SO will be in California for two months for his summer job, so I guess I'll be freezing a lot of it! (Unless someone in State College wants to come help me eat it!)
I love to bake almost anything from scratch! Although, now I'm back to work full-time and just can't find the time anymore. Plus, it's just DH, me and our toddler--we can't have a bunch of sweets around or we'll just eat it all and gain 300 pounds.
One thing I don't think I'll ever go back on is brownies. Seriously, making brownies from the Baker's chocolate recipe on the box is to die for.
I also agree with PP on the pies. I absolutely hate store-bought pies and will always make my own. It's actually one of the most simple things to bake if you use store-bought crust (which I prefer).
There is another blog that I follow and she makes a TON of things herself that I wouldn't really consider, but I saw this recipe for homemade bagels and thought it actually looked pretty easy: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/honey-whole-wheat-bagels. I think I may try it sometime.
Thanks for the good tips. I checked out that website and plan to try the bagel recipe---and the bakers choc brownies. Yes, I just cant get excited about store bought boxes of treats. I love homemade pumpkin pies and make 4 every Thanksgiving. I dont waste the calories on store bought ones. yuck!
I make almost all of our bread from scratch (I just bought hamburger buns last week so I say "almost"!). After eating homemade bread, I can't stand the store stuff sold in the plastic bags. I have an easy, no knead recipe that can sit in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When I need a loaf, I pull a chunk out, plop it in the loaf pan, let it rise, and bake for 40 minutes. Done. 🙂
I am using up the last of my cake/brownie mixes and then going for scratch after that. I'm with Jennifer Y. -- homemade brownies super simple and super yummy!
Fettucini alfredo. I HATE jarred alfredo sauce. ICK.
I agree, I never buy bread anymore. After a year and a half of always using my bread maker, I can't bring myself to buy store bought, even if I could get it for free! Well... I take that back. If I did get it for free, I would feed it to my kids and then make it in the breadmaker for myself! HAHA. Am I a terrible mom or what!
Cookies, pizza dough (most of the time), cheesecakes, pies, cakes, ALWAYS frosting (I hate store bought frosting) quickbreads and dinner rolls. Sometimes candies and chocolates too.
Some grocery bakeries have decent products, but they often have absolutely AWFUL things.
I consider myself a very good baker and homecook, but I also use convenience foods.
I make pesto from scratch. It is very easy and yummy. I try to make my own salad dressings, but then sometimes I get bored with them. I agree on the Alfredo sauce, too. And most desserts, I rarely liked boxed stuff. I try to make what I can, so I can control the ingredients that go into it. I think on Easter Sunday, as I made homemade french toast, I said the same thing. I commented on our breakfast after church, was much better than a restaurant b/c I could control the ingredients. I am a big control freak when it comes to food. But, as a busy mom, I do cut some corners when needed. I try not to have too much guilt. Last week I did buy some bruschetta. It was ok, I think I could have made better.
I make my own meat sauce, I usually make a "VAT" and freeze about 8 containers. Meatballs, meatloaf again in large quanitites so I only have to do it once a month. OOO I just made scalloped potatoes from scratch for Easter this weekend. YUMMY!
Pretty much all of our breakfast items (muffins, pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritoes) and snacks (pretzels, cookies, brownies) are made from scratch. I'll never make bread from scratch either since I can get great deals at the bread thrift store!
Hey now! 😉 We actually make our own powdered laundry detergent! I thought it would be a hassle, but with the food processor, it takes 15 minutes tops. We use the Duggar Recipe, but there are a number of others on Tipnut.com too. http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
We'll mix up our own taco seasoning from scratch and make soups. I've also make a bean salsa and would love to try traditional salsa and pasta sauce in the future.
Mindi - From the other comments, I think it would be awesome to have a "submit your recipes" type post one day... I know I'd love to try some of the ones people have posted about. Just a thought. 🙂
Granola. Here's the recipe, it's delish!
2 c. toasted oats*
¾ c. puffed rice cereal
¾ c. sunflower seeds (look for low MSG)
1 c. crushed peanuts or nuts of your preference
½ c. raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried/crystallized fruit OR chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or peanut butter chip OR candy-coated chocolates**
2/3 c. brown sugar
¼ c. honey
4 T. butter
2 t. vanilla
Line a 9x13” pan with wax paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add brown sugar, honey, butter, and vanilla. Sit continuously until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add melted mixture and mix well. Spread granola in pan, use another sheet of wax paper to help push into pan. Let cool thoroughly. Granola is soft so it won’t cut into bars, break into pieces and store in airtight container. I usually put it in the fridge to keep firm.
*You can buy toasted oats or you can do it yourself in the oven. Place oats onto baking sheet, put in a 400º preheated oven for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to avoid burning.
**If you are using chips or candy, wait to add these as they will melt with the addition of the hot mixture. Make as directed above, but let granola cool for a couple of minutes in the bowl, then add chocolate to mixture, then place in pan.