What will you never buy since you learned to cook? What can you cook but still buy from the store?

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  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    pebble4321 wrote: »
    I don't often buy soup, stock, sauces, herb/spice mixes (curry powder, taco mix etc), salad dressing, those are all very easy to make myself.

    I can make pasta, cakes, biscuits, desserts, bread, risotto, lasagne, roast chicken, paneer, jam, rice, mayo etc but sometimes I'm in a hurry or it's more convenient/cost effective to buy them ready made if I only want a certain quantity or don't want to buy ingredients I won't use often.

    I usually buy beans canned rather than dry (but not lentils), stock powder to use as seasoning, tinned tomatoes as a convenient base for soup or casserole ..... probably more the stuff I use as ingredients rather than finished meals.

    I'm intrigued by the person who said they cut their own fruit... it rarely occurs to me to buy fruit any other way. I mean, I might buy quarter of watermelon or half a pineapple because a whole one is too big, but i can't imagine buying something like apple already sliced. In fact, I don't think that's an option here except I think it comes as an option at McDonalds.

    A lot of grocery stores off pre-prepped fruits and vegetables. Harris teeter is now offering spiralized vegetables! I imagine they are catering to busy people who want to cook at home but don't have the time to do all the prep. Even the military commissary sells precut melon, pineapple, diced onion, bell peppers, peeled garlic. I've even seen microwave ready potatoes - it seriously was a single potato shrink wrapped. That one boggled my mind.

    Costco sells individual packages of apple slices. I'm assuming so you can throw them in your kid's lunches.
  • th1nr
    th1nr Posts: 42 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Hm, this is so interesting!
    I forgot that I make my own salad dressings, mostly because it's simple enough and allows for variation so you don't eat the same boring salad every day.
    I always buy canned beans because I can't be bothered to soak them.

    @brewerfan13 easy mac is awesome! plus there are endless variations, like adding chive and sour cream, black pepper, hot sauce and shredded cheddar, cream cheese and spinach, butternut squash, swiss cheese, crack a fried egg on top...

    edited to add more mac and cheese options I'm so hungry right now lol
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I never buy canned soups, salad dressings or marinated meat anymore - much tastier to make my own!
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    I rarely buy bread, I usually make it.

    There is a lot I can make, but sometimes still buy. As a teacher it really depends on the time of year and how busy work is.
  • jelly_potato
    jelly_potato Posts: 77 Member
    edited January 2017
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    I stay clear of precooked beans, lentils and chickpeas, since I doubt they waste time in the factories to soak them in water a day before cooking. If it aint pre-soaked then a world war is sure to unfold in my intestines - so not worth the convenience.

    I still buy pre-cooked corn though, raw cobs are ridiculously expensive where I live since they are tagged as "bio" products.
  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
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    I gave up trying to cook black beans in a crockpot. They never turn out soft and plump like the canned ones do. I've tried cooking them on low for 8 hours and high for 4 hours... after soaking overnight. Sucks because I could probably save $5 a week. Is a pressure cooker more ideal?



  • giovanna8830
    giovanna8830 Posts: 80 Member
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    CLUBSilencio: just put The beans in cold water one day before cooking. You make them so? :)
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,665 Member
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    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    Definitely soups. Also bread, almond milk, guacamole, salsa, and beef jerky (although I still buy it from a jerky-specific store from time to time).

    A jerky store just opened here too. I thought it surely was the only one.

    I don't buy salad dressing and spaghetti sauce. Much prefer the homemade versions and they're very easy.

    I do buy canned beans, chicken stock, and guac (single packets that won't go brown on me). If I'm making a special meal, I still do make them myself.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    I've been cooking for decades and make most of my own food. I also garden and can and freeze a lot of food so I don't buy much soups, stock or pasta sauces or canned/frozen fruit or vegetables.

    I do always have a good variety of store bought canned beans on hand though. I also have store bought dried beans on hand but I used canned a lot more often.

    I have made hot sauce but usually buy it. I never buy salad dressings, but I also don't eat many salads. Likewise I rarely make bread (only for special occasions) but I also don't eat a lot of bread.
  • bkbirge
    bkbirge Posts: 107 Member
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    williams969 wrote: »
    I can't roast a chicken. At all. It always turns out terrible. I buy hot rotisserie chickens from the deli. Worth the extra expense.

    I bought a cheap rotisserie oven on amazon, works great, the chicken turns out perfect every time and I control the spices/salt level. That said, I still occasionally buy the rotisserie chicken at the store because it can actually be cheaper than buying a raw whole chicken!

    Also.. hash browns, usually make my own but sometimes I'll get the store bought because of the hassle of cleaning up and food prep of the homemade version.

    Egg whites... will never buy at the store. Too easy to separate at home.
    Cajun roux... just say no to any store bought roux.

    Cut snack size celery... always end up buying from the store, don't know why but if I buy the stalks they just sit in the fridge and I never get around to them.

    Salads... same as celery, I get the pre-washed pre-mixed greens, terribly expensive but if I just get a head of lettuce and other ingredients I'll never make it.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I'm going through one cookbook recipe by recipe in order. I have made my own stock (still do!), made my own pizza and pasta (generally buy those now) and sauces (about 50% make, 50% buy. And if we're talking about sauces made from preserved/canned products like canned crushed tomatoes, I will definitely use them in my homemade sauces).

    I think what it really comes down to is, I'm strictly kosher. If a product requires kosher certification (most flours and sugars do not!) and I can't find it near me, I will find a recipe and source the ingredients. So, kosher-certified seitan is hard to find in my neck of the woods. Nutritional yeast and vital wheat gluten? I can list three health/bulk stores that carry it and I buy those and make my own.

    There was a time when it was hard to find vegetarian broth under certification. I got used to making my own. Now, although some of the kosher specialty stores carry it (apparently, Imagine is certified in the US, but no longer in Canada), I'm still making it because it's a good recipe and not too labor intensive.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I can't do canned soup anymore. Just tastes way too off for me... but I'm ok with soup from the prepared food section when I'm too lazy to make my own.

    I try to make my own bread but will buy some if I don't have the time to do it (I'm a SAHM but planning my days around proofing dough is a nightmare). I buy cookies because I have no self control with homemade ones, and it's for my kids' lunchbox anyway, and it's easier to moderate when they don't go bad within a week.

    I make pizza dough as well.

    I buy pasta, crackers (I make good ones though!), tomato sauce, pasta sauce (at $1 a jar, cheaper than it would cost me to make), cheese, yogurt, veggies, meat etc. Sausage too - can never make it to taste like sausage and not just like a burger.

    I do buy prepackaged lettuce too because it lasts longer and it's just more convenient.

    We have a garden in the Summer as well, although last year wasn't a good one. And we made a big batch of strawberry jam a couple years ago, but again, we paid for the strawberries, so... not sure it was really worth it cost wise.
  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
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    No longer buy:
    Pizza - Ever since I started making my own from scratch (dough and sauce) it has ruined pizza for us. Now nothing ever tastes as good as homemade.
    Soups - They are just too easy to make and I like to control the ingredients.
    Bread - I am starting to make my own. I am finding that I can usually make my own for less calories (and additives!) and it tastes about 100x better.

    Things I still buy:
    Rotisserie Chicken - Like a PP said, I still can't roast a chicken to save my life, but I am still trying occasionally! That is my cooking Everest.
    Pasta - I have made my own in the past, but the store bought is so much easier and less mess.
    Flavored Water - I have a soda stream and can easily make my own sparkling waters. But, I can never get it to taste like my beloved La Croix water.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Emily3907 wrote: »
    No longer buy:
    Pizza - Ever since I started making my own from scratch (dough and sauce) it has ruined pizza for us. Now nothing ever tastes as good as homemade.

    It's interesting how people are different. I enjoy making pizza and do it sometimes, but the pizzas I like in various Italian or simply pizza places (like this one I went to the other day: http://www.robertspizzacompany.com/) are better than mine in some ways, mainly the crusts, which I think has to do with the oven.

    On the other hand, I enjoy roasting chicken (and other birds) and like what I make as well as any restaurant (I still sometimes order roasted chicken, though, since I think it is up there among the perfect meals, when done right).
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    One other thing that I never buy is pies and cookies. Not even from bakeries. Mine are so much better it's not worth the calories to eat store bought.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I never buy pies or cookies either. However, my assistant has a bakery side business and brings in cupcakes she's trying out, and those are better than mine -- I basically don't enjoy baking other than pies and cookies (and pie-adjacent things like cobbler).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    (Heh, that makes it sound like I bake pies and cookies a lot, and I actually mainly just do for holidays. Luckily for me the cupcakes are concentrated around special occasions too, or when she's trying something new.)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I never buy pies or cookies either. However, my assistant has a bakery side business and brings in cupcakes she's trying out, and those are better than mine -- I basically don't enjoy baking other than pies and cookies (and pie-adjacent things like cobbler).

    If we have cake it's store bought more often than not because the only time we usually have cake is for some type of occasion where people expect a decorated cake, and I suck at decorating cakes.
  • sdoylew
    sdoylew Posts: 1 Member
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    We make our own yogurt...super easy. Sometimes make cottage cheese, when we have extra milk. Also easy.

    We have chickens and live in town so seldom buy eggs.

    We make quick breads like biscuits, also pancakes and waffles all at home but mostly for the kids. We very seldom buy cereal.

    We never buy beef at the grocery store, though we do buy chicken.

    We buy giant bags of kale and frozen berries for smoothies. We also buy nut butters, but really could make that too I bet.

    We also buy cheese, fruit, and fresh veggies at the store.

    Fun to think about this!

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