What will you never buy since you learned to cook? What can you cook but still buy from the store?
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When I first got divorced, I took all the bills and paid child support on top of it. So, I ate Top Ramen for the first six months until I got my Harley paid off, then I "graduated" to Swanson's $1.00 TV dinners for the next six months until my son graduated high school (End of child support - 2004) and could actually afford a crock-pot and some groceries. From there, I learned to cook and haven't touched Top Ramen or TV dinners since. My meals are all made from scratch except for cereal, bread, butter and stuff like that.0
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Alatariel75 wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »CooCooPuff wrote: »
I bought powdered buttermilk and want to make biscuits but the recipes I've seen kinda make me nervousThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Canned biscuits are not allowed in my kitchen.
I have never used powdered butter milk. But I have considered it.
You know, biscuits are easy. You just need to get your oven hot enough. Make sure you don't work the dough too much. I use 2 cups of flour (use self rising if it's easier for you) 1/2 cup each butter and crisco, about a teaspoon salt. make sure you rub the fat in pretty good, no big chunks should be left. Then make a well in the mixture and add about a cup of buttermilk, stir until all the flour is wet, add a little more buttermilk as needed. Not too much though, you don't want it to be runny. Turn it out on to a floured surface, add enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands and cut out the biscuits and place into your greased pan. Or you can drop the biscuits by the spoonful onto the pan. Bake at about 450° about 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Easy peasy! Start with a half batch if you want to get your technique down pat before doing a larger batch.
@CooCooPuff @Alatariel75
Thank you! Copied and emailed to myself, ready for trying out on the weekend.
Great! Let me know how it goes!0 -
I eagerly await the time when I can use the oven again. I'll definitely do half batch the first time around. I'm paranoid I'll work the dough too much.Alatariel75 wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »CooCooPuff wrote: »
I bought powdered buttermilk and want to make biscuits but the recipes I've seen kinda make me nervousThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Canned biscuits are not allowed in my kitchen.
I have never used powdered butter milk. But I have considered it.
You know, biscuits are easy. You just need to get your oven hot enough. Make sure you don't work the dough too much. I use 2 cups of flour (use self rising if it's easier for you) 1/2 cup each butter and crisco, about a teaspoon salt. make sure you rub the fat in pretty good, no big chunks should be left. Then make a well in the mixture and add about a cup of buttermilk, stir until all the flour is wet, add a little more buttermilk as needed. Not too much though, you don't want it to be runny. Turn it out on to a floured surface, add enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands and cut out the biscuits and place into your greased pan. Or you can drop the biscuits by the spoonful onto the pan. Bake at about 450° about 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Easy peasy! Start with a half batch if you want to get your technique down pat before doing a larger batch.
@CooCooPuff @Alatariel75
Thank you! Copied and emailed to myself, ready for trying out on the weekend.
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I will buy most things in a pinch, for convenience, but not
Egg beaters (WTF?! Just scramble an egg!)
Pre-cooked rice
Canned soup, except for clam chowder
No canned pasta, full stop. Yuck.
Always buy, even though easy enough to make:
Bagged mixed salads
Rotisserie chicken
Lemonade (publix lemonade is good.)
Almost always buy bread instead of making it. Not always, but almost.
Mostly I avoid individually packaged items, to the despair of my children. I hate paying more and making more waste just to keep from having to, what, divide something into 4 servings? That is just silly.0 -
I cook most things from scratch...I'm a food snob so I find most prepared foods to be sub par.
That said, sometimes you just do what you gotta do...1 -
I cook beans of all kinds, chili, stews, hummus, pancakes, and roasts. All easy and all much cheaper from scratch. Oh, I also cut my own apple, pineapple, and watermelon for the same reason. Is a knife and a ziplock that hard?
Very hard from scratch so I let the industrio-transportation complex do all the work are butters, yogurt, breads, pasta and cheese.
But I'm working on my breads.
I have cooked dried beans many times and they never seem to turn out right. How do you cook your beans?0 -
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Off of the top of my head I don't buy seasoning mixes, stock, soup, sauces, instant anything or pre-cut produce. A sharp knife and google was an eye opening experience - cooking most things from scratch really is quick and easy with a little practice. I'd love to see home ec make a come back to combat some of the convenience food marketing that reinforces the belief cooking has to be time consuming and expensive. Convenience food is great as an option but it's lousy that there's a whole generation of people who can't put together a healthy meal that tastes at least as good as a fast food dinner (or so it seems).
Canned beans, canned tomatoes, ground spices, mustards and processed meats are some things I still buy. I also buy the dressings/condiments my husband likes on hand but if I need a condiment or dressing for a meal I prefer to make my own.2 -
Just remembered the one thing that make that I have not bought in years and probably will never buy again:
Pasta sauce -- tomato based (red) or cream (white).
Bottled pasta sauces are way too expensive for what you get ($3-4 or more per jar). For red sauce, all it takes is a large can of whole tomatoes (that I can buy for just $1), crush them by hand, smash, slice or mince some garlic, throw the garlic in a heated saute pan for a few secs, add the tomatoes, season as you prefer w/basil, oregano, "Italian seasoning" or whatever and cook it til the tomatoes are tender. Then add the pasta and you're done.
For white sauce, all you need is butter, cream and parmesan cheese (garlic and other seasonings optional) which tastes much better than anything in a jar. Just Google "alfredo" for a recipe.
Takes only a few mins to make either one.
The only pasta "sauce" I'd still buy (rather than make) is pesto sauce because the basil often is not available and the cost of making it can be a "push" (given the cost of basil, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino or parmesean cheese) but making it always tastes better than pre-made.
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I make and freeze my own veggie burgers now. I became addicted to these really great black bean ones from Costco... they were HUGE and one was enough for a meal, but they replaced them with an off-brand version I hate and I can't find any other store-bought kind that I like (they're all tiny and expensive). So I found/figured out a recipe that comes close, and now every six weeks or so I make and stockpile a dozen burgers for my husband and me. It is just about worth the time and effort, but just barely—like if Costco ever brought back the good burgers I'd go back to them.0
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vlnielsen519 wrote: »I cook beans of all kinds, chili, stews, hummus, pancakes, and roasts. All easy and all much cheaper from scratch. Oh, I also cut my own apple, pineapple, and watermelon for the same reason. Is a knife and a ziplock that hard?
Very hard from scratch so I let the industrio-transportation complex do all the work are butters, yogurt, breads, pasta and cheese.
But I'm working on my breads.
I have cooked dried beans many times and they never seem to turn out right. How do you cook your beans?
My daughter complains about the same thing. I soak overnight. Change the water to reduce flatulence. Cook, like, in my slow cooker until tender, not letting it get dry. It could take a couple hours. Then I use them like beans from the can and cook according to the recipe.
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Since being a "fully grown!!" I've always cooked from scratch my own pasta, curry or meat sauces rather than jar sauces. I also make my own spice mixes where possible.
Recently I've had to go gluten and dairy free which has encouraged me to also bake a lot more from scratch. So I make all my own soups, cook all my sauces from scratch now and bake any cake/puddings myself.
Conversely I do buy pre chopped veggies for some items, I buy things like hummus and nut butters that I know I could make myself but would never get round to it and I buy stock rather than taking the time to make my own! In an ideal world I'd love to do it all myself but my employer keeps insisting they don't pay me to do that!0 -
I make all my own pasta sauces, because jarred stuff is awful and high-calorie.
I always buy stock cubes instead of making my own, because I don't have freezer space for stock.0 -
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).
How do you make almond milk? (....wait googled - that's actually really easy and I have to start doing it). Do you make it straight or put vanilla or other stuff in?0 -
Pancake mix ! I just make my own with quick oats, Greek yogurt, flavor drops, egg whites, protein powder and sometimes add peanut butter0
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For white sauce, all you need is butter, cream and parmesan cheese (garlic and other seasonings optional) which tastes much better than anything in a jar. Just Google "alfredo" for a recipe.
I do something similar, it is so yummy! I don't even like store bought white sauces, never have. This recipe has saved me a lot of calories over the years by not going to a restaurant to have chicken alfredo.
http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/24/skinny-fettuccine-alfredo/
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Pasta sauce, canned chili, most frozen foods, TV dinners0
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I never buy canned soup, broth, pre-cooked meat (not including smoked meats), boxed meals, dinner kits, pre-chopped veggies, pre-cooked fruit
I do a lot of cooking and there is an endless list of things that I can make, but sometimes I chose to buy spaghetti sauce, Apple sauce, coconut milk, jam, corn tortillas, potato chips, potato salad, Mac salad, pickles, bread, cookies. I'm sure there's more......0 -
count me in for making: hummus, chicken stock, roast/boiled chicken & salad dressing (hot sauce + vinegar does the trick for me!)
I still cave & buy stock if a recipe calls for just a small amount... & I'm 50/50 for making vs buying tomato sauce.1 -
Flatbread and Corn Tortillas are things I used to buy but now that I know how easy they are to make, I make them so I can have them fresh.
I know how to make ice cream and sorbet but I buy it because it's a pain in the butt to make.0 -
vlnielsen519 wrote: »I cook beans of all kinds, chili, stews, hummus, pancakes, and roasts. All easy and all much cheaper from scratch. Oh, I also cut my own apple, pineapple, and watermelon for the same reason. Is a knife and a ziplock that hard?
Very hard from scratch so I let the industrio-transportation complex do all the work are butters, yogurt, breads, pasta and cheese.
But I'm working on my breads.
I have cooked dried beans many times and they never seem to turn out right. How do you cook your beans?
I soak mine for at least 8 hours...when cooking, make sure there is enough liquid to avoid drying out. I usually add some salt, garlic powder, and onion powder and I cook in a slow cooker on low for about 8 hours.0 -
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 make my own dressings (mayo, vinaigrettes, and ranch). Worth the time and effort. Actually, it's pretty simple with a stick/immersion blender.
I can roast a chicken but it seems like to much work to me. Plus I dont like touching raw meat if I dont have to. I love rotisserie chicken and I can eat half and freeze half.0 -
Yogurt... there is so much crap in most of the commercial yogurt, most of it isn't even yogurt technically.0
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Oh? What "crap" is in this?
For help, here's the label:
Now, I like the idea of making my own yogurt, and might one of these days, and I also buy a lot of yogurt from a semi-local goat farm that sells at my green market (I like goat's milk and foods made with it), but for greek yogurt I'm extremely fond of Fage, which seems to be an incredibly popular brand where I live too, based on what I see at the various grocery stores.
Don't like Fage? Here are the ingredients in Trader Joe's house brand (0% fat for this one, since it came up on Fooducate first): Grade A pasteurized nonfat milk, live and active cultures S thermophilus, L bulgaricus, L acidophilus, bifidus, L casei.2 -
Mashed potatoes.1
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Mashed potatoes.
I actually had no idea that people bought mashed potatoes instead of making them until a pretty old age. I was just talking to a friend about that the other day and he said he used to buy the boxed ones and enjoys them because he considers them a separate product entirely from actual mashed potatoes. If you don't expect them to taste the same, they can be good, he claims.
No, he has not convinced me that this is a product I need to try. ;-)
My mom doesn't really like cooking and would use canned veg (winter, especially) and other time-savers, but I guess potatoes were sacrosanct in our house or just something she was confident about.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Mashed potatoes.
I actually had no idea that people bought mashed potatoes instead of making them until a pretty old age. I was just talking to a friend about that the other day and he said he used to buy the boxed ones and enjoys them because he considers them a separate product entirely from actual mashed potatoes. If you don't expect them to taste the same, they can be good, he claims.
No, he has not convinced me that this is a product I need to try. ;-)
And I had no idea how they were really made.
In graduate school at the age of 23, at my roommate's parents house for thanksgiving I stupidly offered to help cook. (I didn't know how). Her lovely mom said I could make the mashed potatoes. I replied "sure, where's the box?". And an awkward silence fell on the room.
That day I learned to make mashed potatoes from an honest to God Home Economics teacher.
Best day. Though I didn't actually learn to cook until about ten years later.
Boxed mashed potatoes are Godawful now.2 -
I will never buy Minute Rice. In 15 minutes I can have fluffy Jasmine rice that doesn't takes like cardboard.
I still buy frozen Swedish meatballs from Ikea, even though I can make them at home and they are yummy!0 -
I will never buy Minute Rice. In 15 minutes I can have fluffy Jasmine rice that doesn't takes like cardboard.
I still buy frozen Swedish meatballs from Ikea, even though I can make them at home and they are yummy!
YES Minute rice. gahhhh.
I would totally buy Ikea meatballs if we had an Ikea here.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Mashed potatoes.
I actually had no idea that people bought mashed potatoes instead of making them until a pretty old age. I was just talking to a friend about that the other day and he said he used to buy the boxed ones and enjoys them because he considers them a separate product entirely from actual mashed potatoes. If you don't expect them to taste the same, they can be good, he claims.
No, he has not convinced me that this is a product I need to try. ;-)
And I had no idea how they were really made. In graduate school at the age of 23, at my roommate's parents house for thanksgiving I stupidly offered to help cook. (I didn't know how). Her lovely mom said I could make the mashed potatoes. I replied "sure, where's the box?". And an awkward silence fell on the room.
That day I learned to make mashed potatoes from an honest to God Home Economics teacher.
Best day. Though I didn't actually learn to cook until about ten years later.
Boxed mashed potatoes are Godawful now.
When I was dating the Fiance, right toward the beginning, I remember his youngest son (16-ish) asking for "mashed potatoes made from potatoes" for his birthday but he wasn't sure how to make them, and I was so confused by that, you mash some potatoes, how else would you make them? It's right in the name. But he'd always gotten them from a box, and didn't know if you had to cook them before or after mashing, how to season, etc. What seemed so obvious to me was not to him.
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