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From Scratch | Pad Patter 10.15.16

My husband is GF so I make most of our food from scratch. He is currently trying to not eat too many carbs so I couldn't use GF box mixes even if I wanted to.
 
I think I'm a semi-scratch person. I cook most everything from scratch, but many times some ingredients are pre-made - like sauce for lasagna, rotissere chicken when needed, or pre-cooked (like really real, not the fake crunchy bits) bacon, etc. Brownies, cupcakes and cakes are usually boxed, and then I doctor the recipe to my liking.

I love making appetizers, so all my dips and apps are from scratch.
 
I was stump when I read this, and then...aw...I made tacos today...spanish rice, beans and the shells were corn tortillas I bought but fried softly for tacos...it is my favorite fun to make mexican food from scratch...so cheap and YUMMY
 
I didn't read all the posts , but here we try some stuff do from scratch...thing is, these days, not only the time (and I can't cook alone, need help because of health issues) but the fact that is a LOT cheaper to buy some things , like Julie said, canned tomatoes for pasta sauce..... I really dislike the ready made sauces, we always make our sauces, but use chopped tomatoes or passata, we make lots of creamy sauces for not only pasta but meat & chicken, and use something called Elmlea, vegetarian cream which is healthier, less calories too... but pasta, we either buy the dry one or sometimes fresh pasta, the kind that is in the store fridge....it not only is less work, but way cheaper too.
We make meat loaf, that can be calked from scratch... and I make a lot of meat & chicken stews for which I don't use anything processed....but when you don;t have time...or health or money... a company called Youngs here makes fish fillets with a tempura batter and lemon seasoning.... it cost £2 for a box of 2... now way I could make fish fillets that cheap...not even if I cut the fish myself....
We love making cookies and flap jacks, oh my, now I am terribly hungry.... we back in a bit, my kitchen is calling MEEEEEEE ( I blame you Justine!!!!! LOL @bellbird )
 
I used to make almost everything from scratch which came from living in a lot of places where if I didn't make it, we didn't have it. I've made bagels, bacon (yes after cutting up half a pig carcase on my kitchen counter...), bread, yoghurt , pasta...these are the ones that come to mind. I still make my own yoghurt and cure it in quart jars in a small cooler to ripen. easypeasy. Dick makes bread now and then in the bread machine...mostly english muffin bread or jalapeño cheddar.

I'll always make smashed potatoes (with skins and smashed with a smasher so there's a lot of texture) but I'll buy frozen shredded potatoes esp the SW style ones. I still make hummus myself and often make flavored cream cheeses. I want to learn to make paneer (Indian cheese) because spinach paneer is one of my absolute favorite meals. I should also learn to make pierogis too but I've been saying that for 30 years! I also make some desserts from scratch...brownies, lemon bars, shortbread, scones but not often because we eat them all up too fast.

But when I go to Costco or Wegmans I'll often get one or two pre-cooked or ready to cook items just for the time I don't want to cook or get carryout. Otherwise I try to avoid most all processed foods.
 
I try to stay away from processed foods as much as I can but time and money doesn't always allow that. I like to make homemade salad dressings, hamburger helper type mixes and croutons.
 
bcgal00 said:
I try to stay away from processed foods as much as I can but time and money doesn't always allow that. I like to make homemade salad dressings, hamburger helper type mixes and croutons.
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yep we do this too - i look at the pre-made patties and dressings and think it's not that hard to make and it's a fair bit cheaper and i think they taste nicer - except mayo, i can't manage to make a lowfat mayo
 
@bellbird I've only made home made mayo a few times because I don't eat it often. I usually mix it with a bit of Greek yogurt and a pinch of stevia
 
If I had the time, I would make almost everything from scratch! The pantry REALLY gets simplified if you just need the basic ingredients to make items.

I love to bake, so cookies, cakes, breads, etc. are almost always from scratch. I've dabbled in pasta from scratch (sooooo good!). We make our own pizza dough, too. Our ultimate goal is to live on our own farm with gardens, chickens...to pretty much be self-sustaining (though I will probably not bother learning to make things like cheese).
 
michelepixels said:
I will not buy that instant potato stuff from a box.
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I buy it to thicken baked potato soup, and sometimes corn chowder. It's tastier than corn starch for those dishes! But mashed potatoes are from scratch.

IntenseMagic said:
And Macaroni and Cheese, even though 2 of my kids prefer Kraft...weirdos.
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I made a page about this once! I took the time to make real Mac and cheese and the ungrateful little twerps I call brothers asked me to make the better kind from a box the next day!
 
I am a horrible mom and a prisoner to easy to prepare/make meals. I despise being in the kitchen.

I CAN cook. In fact, I'm quite good at it and know how to do a lot of the same stuff that fancy chefs do, however, I HATE to cook. Absolutely hate it. I would much rather be doing something else.

Unfortunately, that attitude has led me to feed my kids not the best things. But hey, they're healthy and happy so there's that.

Having said that, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners are the only times I cook a lot of our food from scratch (although I cannot for the life of me make mashed potatoes so that's hubby's job). It's also the only 2 times a year I like to cook....lol
 
@StarryEyedDesigns don't get me wrong, I don't exactly love cooking with a passion, and I guess we do the make it at home stuff more to save money but i enjoy the cooking more than the washing up! ;)
 
I don't love to cook because it takes an hour at least to make something, they my family eats and is gone in 15 minutes and then I have to clean up. What a waster of time. Lol. The one thing I do love to make from scratch is my chicken and dumpling soup. Everyone loves it and whenever we do a soup supper at church I am automatically signed up to make a huge pot. I don't even get asked... I'm told when to show up with my soup. Lol.

Also mashed potatoes. I like mine lumpy just so I know they are real. :giggle
 
IntenseMagic said:
Yes!! Without a doubt!
And Macaroni and Cheese, even though 2 of my kids prefer Kraft...weirdos.
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I hear you on the Kraft. :D

Here's the evolution of macaroni and cheese eating for my oldest daughter, who has always loved everything dairy.

When she was very young, before our microwave died and I decided not to replace it, I bought an organic brand of frozen mac and cheese she ate 1 - 3 times a week.

Then we switched to a boxed, powder mix organic brand. Near the end of this phase she wanted to try the Kraft brand, and I was buying less organic to save money. She didn't eat Kraft very long and soon declared all boxed, powdered ones yucky because she moved on to the next phase . . .

She discovered Wegman's hot bar mac and cheese. She LOVES the stuff. It's expensive though. So I insisted on trying an old recipe I'd made many years ago and she likes it, though the Wegman's mac and cheese is the best, in her opinion.

Here's our homemade mac n cheese. Not too hard. One pot. Just takes a little time.

Rhiannon's Second Favorite Mac and Cheese (After Wegman's Hot Bar)

about ¾ pound pasta
¾ t. paprika
about 1 cup chopped onion
¼ cup flour
2 12-ounce cans evaporated milk or 24 ounces regular milk
1 cup of broth (I've used beef, chicken, and veggie on different occasions)
at least 3 cups of shredded cheese (Rhiannon believes the more the better!)
other veggies to taste
butter, salt, pepper

Cook pasta, drain, and set aside.
In the same pan, melt a couple tablespoons of butter and sauté the onion (and any other veggies that need long cooking time). Stir in the flour and paprika and turn off the heat.
Blend in the milk and broth until smooth, then stir over high heat until the sauce boils, about 5 minutes. During this time, I add soft veggies (almost always finely chopped spinach). Turn off heat again, add cheese and stir until it's all melted.
Stir in cooked pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

(Note: I have also successfully made this allergy-friendly by replaced the dairy products with Earth Balance, Daiya brand, and coconut milk, and using rice pasta. Too much Daiya isn't great for the digestive system though, so I don't use it often.)
 
I make most things from scratch.
Also a meat, steamed veggies and starch family here.
Occasional I will add a jar of sauce to my minced beef.
We do tend to buy chips/french fries here though, we have Steers, and theirs just can't be beat.
 
I'm blessed to be a housewife/mother and I love to cook/bake. I have a bread machine so I make all our bread. If I was to really think about it I think I'm about... 80% from scratch. I do use jar tomato sauces and boxed noodles.... so if I was to think of those things that brings me to the 80%

Yesterday I grated 3 cups of carrots to make a carrot cake to bring to my mom's! Yum so good!
 
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