You Tell Me: What do you make from scratch?
Posted by Lynnae on April 25, 2008
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I’ve been making my own bread lately.
Since the price of groceries is going up (and up and up), I’ve been looking for even more ways to cut back. I’m also on something of a health kick lately, and I’m trying to stay away from processed foods.
With that in mind, I’ve been trying to bake from scratch. In the last two weeks, I’ve baked all of our bread. I found a recipe for homemade bread at Money Saving Mom. It looked good, but I don’t have a bread machine, so I followed the link to the original recipe. That one doesn’t require a bread machine.
I have to tell you, making bread isn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and it tastes great! I think I’m ready to branch out to other recipes, though. I like variety.
I also think I’m ready to branch out from bread. Maybe I’ll make some homemade granola or granola bars next. Healthy cookies? (Is there such a thing as a healthy cookie?) Maybe I’ll try some different muffin recipes, so we can move away from the dreaded breakfast cereal. I’m pretty good about making pancakes, waffles, and french toast on most days, but I need something quick and easy for rushed mornings. Muffins in the freezer seem to fit the bill.
So tell me, what do you make from scratch? Do you have any healthy recipes that you’re proud of? If you have a blog, post the recipe on your blog. I’d be happy to add a link to your recipe!
One additional note: Last night I made a loaf of this banana bread, and it was delicious! I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the oat flour, because that’s what I had on hand.
Photo by double.reed.
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Mmmm, I love homemade bread. I’m a teacher, so in the summer I really ramp up my made-from-scratch rotation. I make bread, crackers, hamburger buns, salsa, salad dressings, jam, and can and freeze as much as I can. We just ate the last of last summer’s corn. I can’t believe the difference in taste. Once you get into the habit and are comfortable with a few good recipes, it’s not hard at all!
Here’s the link to my recent post on homemade crackers:
http://mydailydollars.wordpres.....mp;post=62
We make whipped cream “from scratch”, and my wife makes a killer pie crust.
It’s a toss up as to what is best… her pie crust, or her homemade tortillas. I grew up eating tortillas out of the grocery store bag. Bland. No flavor.
Then I married my wife. Who knew tortillas could have flavor!
Oops! It’s too early in the morning. That was the admin. link. Here’s the real one:
http://mydailydollars.wordpres.....-crackers/
Funny–I just wrote a post about this today for Owlhaven’s Frugal Cookin’ Carnival. http://untraditionalhome.com/?p=369
I also make crackers, cheese crackers, pizzas, soymilk (occasionally), plus pretty much anything else non-meat that is possible to make from scratch. With my oldest daughter’s food issues (no preservatives, no dyes, no hormones, etc) it saves us at least double our grocery spending, plus it saves trips out since I just need the basic ingredients.
Scrambled eggs!
I just don’t have a lot of room for a lot of big machines on the counter. i live in a condo that is too tiny.
The website link (because I’m so bad at html) is a link for “More with Less” a great cookbook for making things from scratch. You might have already heard of it because it’s been around for 25 years now, sorry if I’m being redundant. There are great homemade bread recipes and tips and I’ve tried the granola and it was wonderful. I’m really hoping to try to make yogurt from scratch. The recipe allows you to use dry milk.
I also love the pancake and baking mixes it includes and the recipe I’ve gotten the most use out of is for homemade “can” of cream of mushroom/celery/chicken soup. I never realized how easy, cheap, and flavorful it was to just make it yourself.
Pancakes (well, just about any breakfast food), Meatloaf, muffins, a couple of other things that I can’t think of at the moment (hehe).
Does rice count, I make a mean shrimp fried rice?
Unfortunately, not much! I’m not a great cook, and even worse preparing things from scratch. I do plan to make some homemade salsa (recipe from J.D. @Get Rich Slowly) when my veggies start coming in. Maybe some homemade strawberry jam, too. Other than that - I’m not much help in this department!
Well - bread, rolls, pastry, pie, cake, cookies, salad dressings, lasagna & egg noodles, yoghurt sometimes, mac & cheese, cream sauce mix & cream of soups from that, pancakes & waffles, tortillas, granola,pizza dough, soup and stock, chili. We also grow our own tomatoes, onions, swiss chard, romaine, chives, basil, sage, mint, Bahama tea (a citrusy flavored shrub), parsley, carrots & use tops in salad, thyme. I grind my own flour. Actually, we make everything from scratch except spaghetti & spaghetti sauce, even after 40 years of marriage can’t make something my husband will eat,and we use some frozen veggies. Our meat/fish/poultry and a bag of produce we buy monthly from SHARE.
I cook lunch and dinner, breakfast is granola or toast with peanut butter. I probably spend 1-2 hours daily cooking, but that includes time for bread, etc. We are in our early 60s, in good health with low blood pressure, no medications, walk or swim daily, have all our own teeth, we do our own repairs on both home & vehicle, garden in containers (can’t have an in-ground garden), volunteer within our community and maybe eat out once a month (many within our 55 community eat out 3 times a day - I watch them coming and going from my kitchen). Do I think cooking from scratch makes a difference? You bet I do - and we’ve been doing it for the 40 years of our marriage, with 3 boys, working full-time and everything else a family has to do(in my case no dryer or dishwasher by choice and circumstance).
So, from a an old sage - make it from scratch. Try one thing a week if you’re a newby. Work it into your schedule - bet you really can miss an hour of TV.
Check out the Banana Breakfast Cookies at
heartheathlyonline.com. Really good, fast and easy.
My 16 month old granddaughter loves them. I do
everything from scratch also. It’s fun to hear young
families going back to this way.
Hillbilly Housewife has a great granola recipe that you should try.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife......ranola.htm
I make most baked goods from scratch….bread, muffins, cinnamon rolls, pizza crust. When I first started baking I thought that it would be really time consuming, but it’s not. And it is a cheaper, healthier alternative then buying.
I started making my own tortilla chips. You can buy a 4 pound bag of corn tortillas for less than the cost of one bag of pre-made chips. I use a pizza cutter to make them into triangles, and bake them at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes, just until they’re crisp. Usually I spray the baking sheet with a little Pam, and sometimes I sprinkle a little salt on the chips. The homemade version is a lot lower in fat and calories than most of what you buy in the store, and I think they taste better, too! They can be used as a snack with salsa, or we crumble them on taco salads to add some crunch and flavor.
I started making my own tortilla chips. You can buy a 4 pound bag of corn tortillas close to the cost of one bag of pre-made chips. I use a pizza cutter to make them into triangles, and bake them at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes, just until they’re crisp. Usually I spray the baking sheet with a little Pam, and sometimes I sprinkle a little salt on the chips. The homemade version is a lot lower in fat and calories than most of what you buy in the store, and I think they taste better, too! They can be used as a snack with salsa, or we crumble them on taco salads to add some crunch and flavor.
Sorry about the double post! My computer went a little wonky for a minute!
I try to make just about everything from scratch. I’ve posted recipes for home-made yogurt (originally from the Tightwad Gazette) and biscuits on my blog so far; but I make bread, buns, tortillas, taco shells (w/whole wheat flour and fresh-ground corn — we have a wheat grinder). My mom makes bagels and pita bread occasionally and I helped her when I still lived at home, but I’ve never actually made them myself. Also pizza, enchiladas, lasagna….
I get mac n cheese from a box (my kids actually don’t like the home-made stuff; and this is my “crutch” quick meal other than PBJs), and have some canned soups and such for quick fixes, but I try to cook everything from scratch. Not only is it cheaper and healthier, but both I and my husband prefer it that way.
I just recently started a Frugal Eats series on my blog. I post them on Tuesdays. Most recently I posted a recipe for Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins
I just recently started a Frugal Eats series on my blog. I post them on Tuesdays. Most recently I posted a recipe for Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins.
http://wideopenwallet.blogspot.....ffins.html
I make my own cakes, and soups. I will never buy store soup again, it is such a rip off and full of stuff you don’t need! I buy the deli chickens, and egg noodles out of the bulk section. the soup is delicious and i can put whatever i want in there.
Hi,
I make my own bread as well…it is very therapeutic, and I’m going to teach my grandchildren how to do it also. I also make my own meatloaves, which can be frozen and cooked when things get crazy. I just discovered how to make picante sauce (salsa), and I can’t believe how much better it tastes than the jars you buy in the stores. I tend to stay away from processed foods, lately. I make my own mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, soups, stews, and gravy. I make my own brownie mix also…very easy and much cheaper.
I make granola bars from scratch - I recommend it! I got several good recipes off the Food Network site. Once you have practiced a few times it is easy to make up your own. My faves right now are mostly nuts with dried cranberries, but I started with oats and mini choc. chips.
I make enchilada sauce from scratch (much better than canned) and a great homemade pico de gallo.
I support ‘nothing processed’ whole heartedly - BUT I often find that is much more expensive than buying things processed boohoo. (ex. my ench sauce and mac&cheese cost 3-4 times what the processed stuff costs). I do believed it is healthier though and definitely keeps the weight down so I keep on doing it.
A friend gave me her bread machine last Christmas, and since then I’ve been a bread-making maniac. I’ve given it as gifts, brought it to potlucks and to the office, and use it for toast and sandwiches at home. It’s been great (although it does need to be eaten quickly—no preservatives mean that it gets stale in a few days).
I make my own bread also. I have a wonderful potato bread recipe that my family loves.
We made the decision to go with homemade bread after deciding to try and avoid high fructose corn syrup. And after reading all of the ingredients in bread…well it was an easy decision.
I grind our wheat and add it to the bread within minutes. I sweeten with honey. I love to be able to control exactly what is in what we eat. I buy our honey from a local beekeeper. Not only is it local, it is a great deal at $24/gallon.
We love fresh from the oven bread with homemade black berry freezer jam made last summer.
That is another easy thing to make. Homemade freezer jam.
We are fortunate to have many fruit trees and berries around our yard. Once you’ve overcome the initial cost of containers, you can reuse them every year.
The only cost you will have every year is the cost of pectin and sugar. And you can actually make your own pectin. I just haven’t tried it yet.
Pancakes are the easiest on rushed mornings! Make a 3X or 4X batch on a weekend morning (Sundays were always pancake days in my house) and freeze them in layers of waxed paper in a ziploc bag. Then put a couple in the toaster, or under a broiler, next time someone wants some.
I make my own yogurt, spaghetti sauce (italian family recipe), pesto, chicken broth, muffins, almond butter, and dinners in general. Putting a freezer in the garage was our best move, because now I can make big batches and freeze it for later, or distribute them to neighbors in need.
Just an fyi…I make double batches of pancakes and freeze them on cookies sheets and then transfer them to bags. You can just pop them in the toaster frozen (I have a toaster oven, but I’m sure it works with a regular toaster as long as they’re not thawed at all). It’s an easy, cheap and fast breakfast!
As for foods from scratch, I recently aquired a bread maker at our second hand store (for $7.50!) and I make various breads and pizza dough all the time. I also make baked goods (I love to bake) and breadsticks. I want to do more, I just need to watch that 1 hour less of t.v. a night when the kids are asleep!
Hey! My whole blog is about healthy food that you can make easily, from scratch. One of my favorite recipes is an apple muffin recipe - they are moist and delicious and very healthy. Here’s a link: http://magpie707.blogspot.com/.....ffins.html
I also have a bread recipe that doesn’t need a bread machine, I do menu plans every Monday, and I try to post several new recipes each week. Enjoy!
we make a lot of things from scratch. bread, yoghurt, cakes, muffins, spag sauce / marinara, baby food, sometimes dog food, stock (both chicken veg), salsa etc.
I think most of the hard/fear of making bread at home is getting good or at least half decent yeast. making bread is pitifully easy as long as you get conditions in the kitchen right (not too cold, good yeast, moisture in the air).
I have been trying to make homemade bread for months and still can’t get the hang of it. The recipes i’ve been using ask for AP flour but I think the trick is to use bread flour, so I’ll try that next time. I have quite a few recipes on my blog, but the 2 that I love because they are healthier than the alternative are my recipes for homemade hamburger helper and mexican corn soup. The mexican corn soup I make quite a bit and I love to share that recipe a lot. Its a low fat recipe, so everyone loves that aspect and after they make it, they can’t believe that its low fat. Pair either of those recipes with a side salad and you’ve got a cheap and healthy meal.
I like to make bread and pizza dough with my bread maker, but when I first learned to make bread it was from the Good Housekeeping cookbook that has lots of basic from-scratch recipes, including muffins. Another good source that I use is Livingonadime.com Their website has lots of good, basic frugal recipes. I bought their Dining On a Dime cookbook, and I use it all the time…right now they are having the cookbook on sale for 15.00 for Mother’s Day. I just bought my Mother one. It’s excellent for saving money on food and so many easy recipes that you will actually use. (Though I’m sure some of the recipes are right on the site.)
If you want an easy cinnamon or blueberry muffin recipe, let me know. I’ll send it to you.
I bake a lot of quick breads from scratch - lemon bread, strawberry bread, banana bread, blueberry bread, even chocolate chip bread for a treat.
It’s easy to bake several different loaves, slice them and wrap the slices either individually or in pairs and then put in the freezer. That way I can rotate them and the kids and I do not get bored of, say, banana bread by the end of the loaf. It also goes nicely into lunches. We used to have a mini-loaf pan, and especially when my kids were younger, they loved the idea of having their “very own loaf!” We also make pancakes from scratch, like many others. I’ve wanted to try bagels from scratch, but from the recipes I’ve read, it sounds like more trouble without being cost-effective, especially when I’m the only one who eats them!
With the baby, I don’t have too much time - but I bake homemade banana bread, muffins and cookies. I am a big baker - its the one form of cooking I really enjoy!
I really should try homemade bread sometime.
I used to make all my own bread using a bread maschine but was put off in the end as the loaves were so small and it took so long i used to worry about the amount of electricity the machine was using. Also a friend of mine told me that by following the bread machine recipes would mean eating bread that had more sugar and salt than normal bought loaves. So i stopped. I would love to make my own but i have a useless electric oven that just doesn’t cook anything right, so i never use it. So unfortunately at the moment i will have to stick with bought bread.
I do cook all my own meals every day from chilli, lentle bake, broccoli and cheese etc, does that count
Salsa
Kefir
Pudding: http://naturalmomstalkradio.co.....ng-recipe/
Cookies, brownies etc
Oat crackers
Bread
Candy: http://naturalmomstalkradio.co.....ate-candy/
Salad dressings
Bone broths
SABROSO!!
Looking at those pictures Im really thinking about giving it a try!
This reminds me of my pet peeve - I’ve heard people talking about making pancakes “from scratch” when they actually mean from a box. It doesn’t bug me that they’re using boxed mix but as a person who loves English, it bugs me that they’re using the phrase incorrectly!!
Anyway, I recommend the king arthur flour website - they have recipes for bread, pizza dough, rolls, etc., and even a section on bread machine bread. If you use King Arthur white or whole wheat flour, you don’t need to buy bread flour!
Also, there a lot of bad bread machine recipes out there - the best ones I’ve found are in the book “Bread Machine Magic”. You can buy it on amazon, etc. I used mine so much that it fell to pieces finally!
HI, I have recently been making my own granola bars. I am allergic to peanuts and most of the store bought ones have peanut in them or have been processed that way. I use whole grain flour and add powdered vegetable protein to them. Very low in calories, high in protein, they are great for my vegetarian daughter and for my terminally ill husband who seems to only want ice cream. (He thinks they are cookies they taste so good!) I got the “base recipe” from allrecipes.com-chewy granola bars and modified it to my needs. YuMMMM!!
Thank you for the link, Lynnae! I’m glad you liked the bread.
I make my own toasted muslie cereal. I make them once every fortnight. It’s easy to make and tastes good too. The recipe I use is from 101 cookbooks website, and it’s called ‘honey toasted muslie’. I usually have them with plain yoghurt, that way there is no sugar content for the breakfast which is so much healthier than pre packaged cereals that have a lot of sugar in them.
I think that this granola recipe could be made into Muesli if you didn’t pack it into a pan but just left it loose. My veggie daughter ate muesli in Germany last summer and loved it. Vanilla yoghurt is best she says.
I have in the past made my own bread, always make pancakes from scratch because I alter the recipe, jam, jellies, canned veggies and all manner of things. It is simply healthier. I always add powdered vegetable protein to anything that has flour in it, pancakes, biscuits, cake, muffins, you get the idea. 2 TBS of Veggie protein is 17g of protein added along with using whole wheat flour which has more protein than white. Important for a vegetarian!
Dried beans, bought in bulk. They soak while I sleep and work, simmer on the stove while I accomplish other things, and store perfectly. Countless varieties. Made my own hummus this week.
Last weekend I was given a bag of lemons. I wanted to use them up but make them last. Made lemonade, lemon sorbet, lemon curd, and morrocon preserved lemons. Later some avgolemono. Next a greek lemon meatball soup.
Make all my own soups and sauces, and many garnishes like kimchee.
Good for you to move away from processed foods!!!
*DING* another life saved…
Homemade pancakes, I can’t believe I used to buy it in a box. If you can make “regular” pancake mix you can make homemade pancakes.
Besides that I don’t really bake at all. But I do make stews and soups from scatch as well as cassoroles. Learning to cook is mostly habit.
Also our church has some serrious foodies. It’s a real treat going out for lunch at someones house.
I’m trying to ramp it up a bit more, but now I make almost all of my own meals from scratch - lots of soups and stews and casseroles. When I want bread, I make my own as well, although I don’t tend to eat it all that often (so delicious, though…) When the mood strikes, I make my own juice and smoothies, as well as salad dressing, tomato sauce, and veggie stock. I don’t do all of these all the time, but it’s always nice to know that I have the option. It also gives me the chance to keep a closer eye on what I’m eating, since I know what goes into everything that I make myself.
Just found you through a link from “I’ve Paid for This Twice Already”…and I have to share, too.
I’ve been baking all our bread since 2000, and refuse to return to store-bought! I started with a breadmaker (which you can get cheap at a second-hand store), and now make it all by hand or in the mixer.
A recipe for healthy cookies/breakfast bars, based on the Quaker variety: http://historicstitcher.blogsp.....-bars.html
Let me know if you try them! I’d love to hear your opinion!!
Erika
I made Indian Butter Chicken from scratch - and I rarely cook. It was wonderful.
I’m on a big granola kick. I made this recipe a couple weeks ago - it was fabulous. I’ll be making another batch this week, but I’m going to alter it a bit to include some semi-sweet chocolate shavings in hopes of getting the kids hooked. I highly recommend the recipe.
I made the bread, but only used white flour since it was what I had. I also added some ground flax seed and whole flax seed for texture and fiber in place of some of the flour. It seemed a little heavy but perhaps I need to change the amount of flour when I use only white?
Other than that, which I don’t mind a havy bread, it was awesome. Mildly sweet and tasty. I really liked the nutty texture the flax gave it too! Perhaps necxt time I will try some oatmeal in it.
As well as making my own whole wheat bread and buns, I make my own laundry soap & cleaning products.