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From Scratch | Pad Patter 10.15.16

@michelepixels If we had a Wegmans closer I suspect I would buy many of their meals. I just visited the Inn where my son is being married next year, and found out that a feature my future dil requested is a manNcheese bar. At least there will be a good dollop of Boursin cheese in the mix.

I think I'll try your recipe Michele as I recently read that the evaporated milk helps keep the mix from separating if and when baked.
 
Most all dinners are from scratch because picky hubby doesn't like anything pre-made. I mean... we don't make our own pasta (I have in the past), but that is about as flexible as he gets. He won't eat anything out of a box or can generally.

I love to make bread and those sorts of things, but I frankly don't have the energy these days to do all of that. I'll do biscuits and rolls sometimes, and make our own pizza crust, but I couldn't keep up with the bread demands. lol. Other than carrot cake, if we bake cakes, they are boxed, but like Molly, all of the frosting/fillings are scratch. Cookies, pie dough, and carrot cake can only be made from scratch. :giggle
 
I'm basically quite challenged for sweet stuff, which we try to avoid anyway, so.... that's rarely done scratch, maybe pie or goat cheese, cheese cake which is my only specialty.

Most everything else I try to make from scratch. - note: I do use canned organic tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, and stuff like that, but usually I do my own stock once or twice a month, depending on whats on hand.( I freeze chicken carcasses, beef and fish bones for this) I often do bulk cooking on the weekends for whats in season and freeze in portions. (This is the only way I have found to cook for two, since by the time I add everything I want in a recipe - its already serving four or six...)

Its 50/50 making my own wheat free pasta and/or buying from Costco.
I don't do pizza crust or bread so far- but I'm working on gluten free recipes which actually might be edible.

From scratch can still be simple and fast. Fresh fish, chicken or meat, seasoned with fresh herbs and thrown on the barbecue with a veggie and a small portion of rice, non wheat grain or potato: these still make a good supper. I only get fancy on the weekends.
 
jenn mccabe said:
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.
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I keep looking for egg free/dairy free too. So far everything tastes like cardboard or just never comes together...
 
IntenseMagic said:
Yes!! Without a doubt!
And Macaroni and Cheese, even though 2 of my kids prefer Kraft...weirdos.

I love to cook from scratch, the whole lack of time thing prevents it.
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This is too funny. My kids are weird too. Even now they are grown - still prefer Kraft Macaroni and Cheese - even the instant microwave one! Go figure. I grew up never knowing Kraft dinner even existed. My kids didn't know it existed until they went to school and had friends whose mom's served it regularly. So I served their kids fried smelts which they all ate like french fries. HA!
 
bellbird said:
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
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use olive oil. Maybe not low fat but much healthier. I make olive oil mayo all the time.
 
Lindzee said:
I keep looking for egg free/dairy free too. So far everything tastes like cardboard or just never comes together...
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What do you use as your egg sub Lindzee? I usually do the ground flax/water as my egg substitute most of the time because, to me, it is sort of neutral (unlike applesauce or a mushy banana or the ultra creamy texture of an avocado). Although it has a slightly nutty flavor (we drink almond milk so I think I am really used to it now and it doesn't even phase me as being different) ... but one trick that helps me with binding and getting more of an egg feel is instead of the 1 TB of flax & 3 TB of water ... I often do 1 TB of flax and 2 TB of water, & 1 TB of oil (varies based on savory or sweet recipe ... olive oil for savory and usually coconut oil or grapeseed oil for a sweet recipe). Still some recipes without eggs and dairy are just ... ick!

I'm looking forward to trying Kristina's cake recipe soon.
 
Lindzee said:
but usually I do my own stock once or twice a month, depending on whats on hand.( I freeze chicken carcasses, beef and fish bones for this) I often do bulk cooking on the weekends for whats in season and freeze in portions. (This is the only way I have found to cook for two, since by the time I add everything I want in a recipe - its already serving four or six...)
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That's impressive!!!
 
michelepixels said:
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.
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OK, confession. I love those gluey instant mashed potatoes. I have a giant box & a bunch of the flavored mashed potatoes packets. I like gluey instant stuffing too. :giggle
 
cookingmylife said:
@michelepixels If we had a Wegmans closer I suspect I would buy many of their meals. I just visited the Inn where my son is being married next year, and found out that a feature my future dil requested is a manNcheese bar. At least there will be a good dollop of Boursin cheese in the mix.

I think I'll try your recipe Michele as I recently read that the evaporated milk helps keep the mix from separating if and when baked.
Click to expand...

Wegmans is awesome in many ways. :) That's interesting about evaporated milk. In fact, the recipe from which I derived my homemade mac n cheese procedure suggests baking it. Just for five minutes, to brown the crumb topping that's part of the original recipe. I thought they just called for evaporated milk because the original recipe was titled LOW FAT Mac N Cheese. (It also says to sauté the onions in water. Bleh. Strange that a low fat recipe suggests a breaded topping. Heh.
 
jenn mccabe said:
What do you use as your egg sub Lindzee? I usually do the ground flax/water as my egg substitute most of the time because, to me, it is sort of neutral (unlike applesauce or a mushy banana or the ultra creamy texture of an avocado). Although it has a slightly nutty flavor (we drink almond milk so I think I am really used to it now and it doesn't even phase me as being different) ... but one trick that helps me with binding and getting more of an egg feel is instead of the 1 TB of flax & 3 TB of water ... I often do 1 TB of flax and 2 TB of water, & 1 TB of oil (varies based on savory or sweet recipe ... olive oil for savory and usually coconut oil or grapeseed oil for a sweet recipe). Still some recipes without eggs and dairy are just ... ick!

I'm looking forward to trying Kristina's cake recipe soon.
Click to expand...
I use coconut milk or cream rather than almond milk, it's somehow richer and adds a lightness I don't find in almond milk. I also use xanthan gum with a table spoon of apple cider vinegar instead of egg. Let the mixture thicken like you would with flax, then use baking powder and/or soda to add as leavening. I started using flax because I had some, but finally went out to find xanthun when the flax seeds made stuff way to heavy and gluey. Not sayin my stuff is any way very good, I'm still trying to come up with a real go to, and I'm still not that happy with results.
 
@michelepixels When I used to go to Falls Church VA on a regular basis, my shopping (before and/and or after depending on the weather) I would shop at Costco, Wegmans and the big Korean store on Arlington Blvd. I must say I nearly dropped when I got home but I could cover all food bases...and see my son and family. I need a good source of basis Asian ingredients like the real Thai curry pastes in the little cans and I need it nearby. Even my Thai cook used to use them half the time.

My former VA family tell me they have even more food selections down in Cary NC AND are getting a Wegmans too! Geesh....not fair. :hummm
 
scratch cooking in winter - chicken & dumpling, potato soup, corn chowder, biscuits, cornbread dressing, gravy, cinnamon rolls and lemon torte with homemade lemon curd. I am glad it's cooling down soup making we begin soonly.
 
We make Indian food everyday - that's food for us though not 'indian' food! Lol :) and we cook from scratch everyday! It's a lot of work but very satisfying :)
 
I also never have and never will make potatoes from a box (well, might make an exception in the zombie apocalypse). We try to cook "real" food mostly but do eat store-bought bread, pasta, sauce etc. I do make Christmas cookies from scratch but am not above buying frozen cookie dough for everything else. My hubby took a professional Thai cooking class a few years ago and makes a Thai feast from scratch a couple times a year. Yum.
 
I have been on a low carb diet (as in watching my carbs as opposed to staying below a certain carb level) and will occasionally (maybe once a month) have a bread item (usually my mom's frybread - can't resist as it's literally what I grew up with!). If I am in the mood for cookies, cake or any baked goodies, I pretty much have to make them from scratch using either almond or coconut flour and ethrythitol or stevia in place of flour and sugar. I've also made my own low carb pepperoni pizza when I have pizza cravings :)
 
Lindzee said:
I'm basically quite challenged for sweet stuff, which we try to avoid anyway, so.... that's rarely done scratch, maybe pie or goat cheese, cheese cake which is my only specialty.

Most everything else I try to make from scratch. - note: I do use canned organic tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, and stuff like that, but usually I do my own stock once or twice a month, depending on whats on hand.( I freeze chicken carcasses, beef and fish bones for this) I often do bulk cooking on the weekends for whats in season and freeze in portions. (This is the only way I have found to cook for two, since by the time I add everything I want in a recipe - its already serving four or six...)

Its 50/50 making my own wheat free pasta and/or buying from Costco.
I don't do pizza crust or bread so far- but I'm working on gluten free recipes which actually might be edible.

From scratch can still be simple and fast. Fresh fish, chicken or meat, seasoned with fresh herbs and thrown on the barbecue with a veggie and a small portion of rice, non wheat grain or potato: these still make a good supper. I only get fancy on the weekends.
Click to expand...
I batch cook a lot too - or just pre-bag a bunch of chopped and ready to go fresh things in the one bag and write instructions on it before throwing it in the freezer - feels like it saves time!
 
I cook almost everything from scratch except we go out once a week to eat. I love trying new recipes and thankfully my family is not picky and they are willing to try new things, too.
 
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