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From Scratch | Pad Patter 10.15.16

bellbird

bellbird

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Pollywog
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Oct 10, 2010
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So after the Grandma's/Ma's cooking question my head (& stomach) went to food & cooking. I know 'back in the day' cooking 'from scratch' was basically the only option but is there anything u are particular about cooking from scratch these days? Nothing? Everything?

I'm a bit of both really. When we have time, we make pizza dough and breads from scratch but after much experimentation we've given up pasta from scratch for store bought. I kind of have to make 'chicken nuggets' instead of buying them for the kids and snitzels for us cos i kind of question the meat content in some of the frozen products...
 
I have a lot of things I like to make from scratch, but time gets the best of me and I just can't do it. Bread and cakes come to mind! My spaghetti sauce is "semi-scratch" - not from a jar, but I used canned tomatoes and McCormick's sauce mix from an envelope. I love fresh pasta, but yes, the time! My main reason for wishing I didn't work is to be able to cook like I really want to
 
We are primarily a vegetarian/vegan household these days (everyone is on a different level of what they will eat so it is quite the challenge - my son still eats everything including meat) ... so there are a lot of things we have to make from scratch - anything involving baking because my daughter will not eat any eggs ever. So we try to find recipes using flax or something else as an egg substitute but it prevents us from just buying bakery goods or things off the shelf a lot of the time.

But one thing that stands out is pot pies (even though I only do vegetarian pot pies these days) I can not eat ready made potpies. I find them disgusting. My family is OK with the frozen Amy's brand ones, but I think the crust literally tastes like cardboard. It makes my tummy hurt to even smell them baking in the oven. My daughter even put in a request for my homemade version for one of this week's meals, since the weather had finally turned a little chilly here. I alter Guy Fieri from The Food Network's Bird in a Pie recipe ... and will often buy a rotisserie chicken to slice up for my son-the meat eater's pie. (That takes the home-made out of his version, but I don't cook chicken anymore, so it's the best I can do!) It's so good!
 
jenn mccabe said:
But one thing that stands out is pot pies (even though I only do vegetarian pot pies these days) I can not eat ready made potpies. I find them disgusting. My family is OK with the frozen Amy's brand ones, but I think the crust literally tastes like cardboard. It makes my tummy hurt to even smell them baking in the oven.
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Oh my gosh. When hubby was laid off last year, this was my lunch every day. I literally survived off of 88 cent assorted pot pies from Walmart. There are still a couple in the freezer cuz we haven't eaten them since he's been employed.

I'm not picky about anything from scratch really. I do prefer to make my own buttercream frosting. I can't eat pre-made tuna salad at all.
 
My daughter's cupcakes are the egg/dairy free kind (due to allergies) so we make those from scratch every time she has a party/celebration to attend.
That's the only thing I can think of off hand that is completely "from scratch".
 
klee73010 said:
My daughter's cupcakes are the egg/dairy free kind (due to allergies) so we make those from scratch every time she has a party/celebration to attend.
That's the only thing I can think of off hand that is completely "from scratch".
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Do you have any good egg/dairy free cupcake recipes. We seem to keep making dry ones that tend to fall apart. I think they are more messy to eat then to make! I even have two vegan baking books and haven't come across the perfect recipe yet.
 
I make a lot of things from scratch. I use some pantry staples like pasta (although we don't eat it a ton) and bread for sandwiches.

But I make all pies from scratch, including pie crust. Birthday cakes usually get a boxed mix for the cake, but I make all my own icing, so the result tastes like its fully from scratch. I make pizzas and calzones from scratch too, and my husband prefers my pizza to what we can get locally (IMO I can never get it crispy enough, but I keep tweaking my baking and I'm getting closer).

I got a yogurt maker earlier this year and even make yogurt from scratch sometimes, although I've gotten out of the habit - but my family keeps asking me to start making it again.
 
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Hmmm... I cook a lot but I'm not sure what is really from scratch. My one consistency is pizza dough, that's from scratch. On my monthly meal plan for October, my Wednesday category is Pizza, so I've been making it a lot lately. I do use the bread maker though... so does it still count? :-)
 
We eat out a lot but when we eat at home it is mostly from scratch. When we have time, we love to cook dry beans (limas, butter beans, etc.), soups like vegetable or split pea, pot roasts, and stews, chili, spaghetti sauce, anything that cooks for a while on the stove or in the oven. We also cook fresh vegetables. We can't eat sweets so I rarely bake anymore.
 
jenn mccabe said:
@klee73010 I am literally jumping up and down to try this! Thank you! (and for the sugar cookie recipe too ... my daughter's all time fave cookie ever!) Appreciate the blog recommendation too!
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It's really yummy. I haven't ever looked for a replacement for this recipe. I bake it in regular cupcake form, or in "cake cone" form (in ice cream cones) multiple times a year. Let me know how you like it, when you try it!
 
When does something count as cooking from scratch? If you make it yourself? Or if you make EVERYTHING yourself? Like I I get that a frozen pizza isn't cooking from scratch, but does it count if I buy the different items for my veggie burger, cut it, bake it and assemble it? Or do I have to make the actual vegetarian burger from different ingredients in order for it to count? Sorry if I'm making this difficult. But I really don't know.

I only eat frozen pizza as a not-having-to-do-anything kinda meal. I usually make dinner using a powder sauce, or frozen veggies, or whatever. I am not the kind that makes a lot of food by just combining fresh ingredients. But then I sometimes do.

I like to combine goat cheese with sweet red peppers and some other stuff I have at hand. Ground beef, vegetarian something, quinoa, rice, whatever. It is always good. Oh and I make my own spinach burgers. Like the actual patties. Yum.
 
mollyc said:
Birthday cakes usually get a boxed mix for the cake
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If you substitute melted butter for the oil, and add an extra egg yolk it makes the texture more 'from scratch' if that makes sense? This is my sister in laws go to 'secret'.

tkradtke said:
I do use the bread maker though... so does it still count?
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In my opinion : absolutely!

We make most things from scratch. I have the time, and I enjoy it, plus DH isn't supposed to eat a ton of salt. Bread, cakes, and cookies are from scratch. Except oreos. I buy the oreos.
Tortillas used to be, and probably will be again since Costco here doesn't have the raw ones :thumbsdowns Red sauces are canned tomatoes, and then add in spices and herbs. We do homemade Alfredo too. Homemade pot pie.... Mmmm.... I need to add that to dinner rotation!
I do buy pasta noodles, although homemade noodles sounds like a fun experiment for today!

I read cookbooks and food books like I read fiction books. And I find it fun to see if I can beat the store price on things like rice a roni. And yes, you can all think I'm crazy. But it started out as rebellion against how my mom didn't cook from scratch, and morphed into love. :wub
 
My alfredo sauce isn't from a jar . . . I make it myself and it's DELISH.

Most everything else I make, though, is semi-homemade. Meaning it starts with a box or a jar or a can and then I jack it up. LOL
 
gonewiththewind said:
My alfredo sauce isn't from a jar . . . I make it myself and it's DELISH.

Most everything else I make, though, is semi-homemade. Meaning it starts with a box or a jar or a can and then I jack it up. LOL
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I'm like Cheryl. Most everything I make is semi-homemade. I like to use rotisserie chicken a lot.

I used to make homemade bread, but don't anymore... I'm too busy scrappin now. lol

I did bake bread every week for about three years after I went to a Pantry Secrets demo. Their bread recipe is so easy and you can have homemade bread in less than 1 hour. The dough is good for lots of things, bread, rolls, pizza, desserts, etc. The recipe is copyrighted so I can't share it, but you can take a look at their website and purchase a DVD to get it. They show you how to make it and it really is easy peasy. It doesn't use eggs @jenn mccabe. It's really just a good basic dough that uses items that are easily stored in your food storage and can be used for lots of different things.

I quit making bread when my hubby was diagnosed with colon cancer 6 years ago. Now I make up a batch of dough when we want homemade pizza, or cinnamon rolls, etc. I even used to make the fancy braided desserts back in the day. That sounds yummy, I may have to go dig out the Pantry secrets DVD and make a dessert this weekend. Thanks for the enabling thread @bellbird.
 
The item that pops into my mind is mashed potatoes. I ALWAYS peel, chop, boil, and mash whole potatoes. I will not buy that instant potato stuff from a box.

In general I make most dinners from scratch because I cook a lot of the meat-veggie-starch style meals, i.e.. chicken & potatoes or beans and rice. I have a daughter with wheat and dairy allergies so casseroles and boxed products wouldn't work for us. And I don't like to use a lot of boxed products anyway because of the added stuff that wouldn't be needed if made fresh. My guideline is that the closer the food is to its original state, the more nutritious it is.

On the other hand, I like convenience. I buy already-shredded cheese, I rarely bake my own bread or pizza crust (in fact, I buy frozen pizza frequently), and rarely cook my own beans, using canned instead, etc etc etc. One of my most favorite food items is the $5 rotisserie chicken from Wegman's. I buy one every week!
 
I cook just about everything from scratch. I've been trying to eat clean. Nothing processed or as little processing as possible. Organic, grass fed, uncured meats. Fresh. It's hard. Some days are easier than others.

I make my own spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, BBQ sauce.

Heck, last week I even found a recipe for lemonade. And wow, is it good!
 
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