Hello all. Here we are in the middle of another week. Our days sure do pass quickly. I hope you are all doing good.
It is another chilly morning here, in the upper 40's. This week will be cooler than what normal should be for this time of the year. We had rain yesterday and last night AND MORE RAIN!!!! Once it started, it just wouldn't stop. Just a small lake in the backyard this morning, I thought it would be larger.
Goodness, the choir outside is amazing this morning. It was almost loud out there, with all the different birds singing. So many could be distinguished, others just brought up the chorus. Amazing.
I prefer home cooking and as many natural ingredients as possible. I am not a fan of packaged food or restaurant food. I KNOW this is not for everyone. Convenience makes many people happy - as they just don't like cooking. Remember - you do you and I do me. No problems.
Now that is not to say that I don't buy some occasional 'junk'. I do like a chip now and then, and I love yeast donuts! I do try to limit those things, however.
I guess I am wondering - what do you prefer that is NOT homemade vs. what is? What store bought item do you just love to buy and eat? I am curious.
There isn't much that I can think of for me.
I love Mexican food. I could probably eat about every day. I do prefer my own.
Stir fry and oriental dishes are also preferred here. I can add the flavors I prefer and delete the ones I don't like. There is absolutely no limit to what I can throw together - using things on hand and throwing in leftovers and I can make a fine meal.
Pizza - goodness, I like pizza. I had some pizza when at the birthday party Saturday - and may I say - I was not impressed. It was flat and lifeless and virtually tasteless. I want a pizza with substance! I want a pizza with about everything but the kitchen sink. A slice or two with a side salad is a meal kind of pizza. Whether a flat bread, tortilla, Italian bread or a regular crust - it is all good to me.
My niece purchased 4 pizzas at the party, and it was almost $120!!!!!!!!!! That is just insane (they weren't huge either). Then you had to purchase drinks separately - don't get me started on that. They also had to buy token cards for kids to play and bring in their own cake. 2 hours cost her about $400. I will stay home and save my money and my sanity. The last pizza I ordered years ago and had delivered was over $30. Crazy! I will eat it just the way I want it, and in comfort.
But then again - I can make them just the way I want. I know what is in them - and can use natural ingredients if I choose.
I did mention I love a good donut. Now that doesn't happen often - but I do splurge now and then. I think donuts and brownies are probably my favorite goodies. Of course, at the holidays there are all the special cookies, candies and goodies that are made.
INGREDIENTS are my preference. I do love knowing that whatever I eat is really food, and not things that my grandma wouldn't have had a clue about. I love the ingredients that I can pronounce and ingredients that I actually know what they are.
There is not much that I can say I prefer store bought over homemade.
I truly do like the flavors of homemade over store bought. You can make it all taste so good.
I am genuinely interested to hear what store-bought items or restaurant items you LOVE! It often pays to have pre-made things on hand for emergencies or those special times no one wants to cook. I would like to know the best things and options, that I could keep here.
What say you??
Have a super day - smile and be kind.
My food preferences are just like yours and, of course, homemade. Once I learned I could make chips in the airfryer or microwave, it was game on. So easy. Make thin slices of a fresh potato place in ice water and refrigerate for about on hour. Drain and pat the slices dry. Toss with a little oil of choice and lay out flat on a parchment liner. Sprinkle with salt. Air fry at 350, turning the slices over about every minute and a half until nice and crispy. Chips anytime you want them without guilt. Blessings, Cookie
ReplyDeleteI can't say there's a food or meal I like so much that I have to buy it out. Because years ago I would come home from a meal and teach myself how to recreate it and thus I had no need to go buy it again!
ReplyDeleteIt took me awhile to master Chinese food. I kept at it until I got it the way I liked it.
Now of course, I've learned over the years to cook well and like you just prefer my own cooking.
I made a loaf of bread yesterday that smells and taste like it came from a bakery. I also made some quick blueberry jam. Together it was a delightful snack last night!
My family agrees my pizza is fantastic. I recently taught my brother how I do it and how I cook it and he now sends me pictures of the pizzas he makes! Lol. It's incredibly cheap to make your own pizza. My daughter now makes her own and says she doesn't like restaurant pizza any more (too greasy, salty, etc). Pizza doesn't have to be junk food!
I'll be honest if I didn't have to cook I wouldn't. It's not a hobby I'd choose to spend my time on. However, I like good food, healthy food, so I cook. It does give me pleasure when my family enjoys it. It pleases me to know I'm eating well.
Mostly I like PLAIN food. Chicken is my mainstay, baked thighs in batches and then reheated in the microwave. No sauces. Add in some frozen veggies. (I keep a few cans of canned veggies on hand, don’t really like them.) No potatoes, rice or pasta. For store-bought food for dinner I like Stouffer’s French bread pizza, usually once a week on Friday. Two in a package for $3.33 (on sale). I eat one. (Bought 2 pack of these on sale yesterday.)
ReplyDeleteFor store-bought lunch food I like Aldi chicken salad, specifically the cranberry chicken salad, $5.49 for 16 ounces. Lasts me about week or more. I eat it on its own or as a sandwich with toasted bread (store-bought at Aldi $2.50). Sometimes I’ll have cheese and crackers. Cabot cheese bought on sale B1G1 $5.24. I’m picky about crackers, Publix unsalted $3.29 (way up from $1.99 before the pandemic). Or store-bought salsa (24 is. $2,29 at Aldi but price could have gone up.) and crackers. Sometimes I melt the cheese on toast in the toaster oven. Or maybe I’ll have eggs on toast. Along with this I have FRUIT - apple or grapes or orange or mandarin or several of those items. I do splurge sometimes and get a deli Italian wrap at the Publix deli ($6.99 for two 1/2 wraps that I eat over 2 days.)
Breakfast is usually old-fashioned oatmeal ($4.09 at Aldi lasts me about week month) with soy milk ($3.49 for a half gallon). No nuts, fruit or other toppings. Plain. Last two weeks I had a craving for Cheerios so I’ve been eating those. Bought B1G1, can’t remember the price.
My only real dessert/sweet splurge is frozen yoghurt, Publix brand, $6.19 for a full half gallon. I do not really like cakes, cookies, pies, candy. I’ll eat a piece of cake at a party or have pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Those frosted cookies in the photo make me feel SICK. We never had dessert growing up.
I go out to lunch with friends once or twice a month. I’m going on Friday with a friend to my very favorite Thai place.
Everyone is different. I don’t like to cook. Single all my life and grew up with a mom who was not a great cook. Mom never learned to cook from HER mom who was too immersed in religion to do anything else. What cooking she learned was from her customers of my grandfather’s store. She delivered the orders. (Home grocery delivery was the old way of doing things.) Barbara M.
I would have to say the store bought item we prefer is tortillas because I am too lazy to make my own. LOL That counts, right?! hehehe
ReplyDeleteVery little premade food comes into the kitchen. I do buy flavor boosters, i.e., powdered chicken base, bbq sauce, hoison sauce, chicken stock. butter chicken sauce. When on sale, I will have a few frozen pizzas (Dr Oetker's spinach which is losing its appeal but good in a pinch when I don't feel like cooking) awa other entrees like ginger beef, dried boneless pork ribs which are served with veg stir fry or pasta. If I've gone to a pizza place for lunch, I will get the 2-for-1 and wrap individual slices for the freezer for a quick bite. I seldom buy processed meat other than when I'm planning a pizza which is done on naan bread or sometimes on homemade dough. Soups are always homemade tho there are usually a few cans of tomato & mushroom soup to be used in sauces. Cheese is a staple in this kitchen. The majority of the bread & bread products are purchased tho I do bake bread on occasion. I make my own sweet treats. I seldom eat out & when I do, it's usually a celebratory birthday lunch for a klatch member. One of my favorite restaurant lunches to order is a reuben sandwich. And I can't go to the coffee place without a boston cream doughnut, a special treat.
ReplyDeleteOurs tastes in food are very similar. Tex-Mex, stir fry and pizza. We like a good skillet meal that can morph into soup the next day also. There are a ton of videos on YouTube revealing what is actually in restaurant "food" and how it is prepared. Most of it comes in precooked and is just heated up. You are paying big bucks for basically a TV dinner. Avon has a ton of restaurants on Rockville Road/ US 36. They are almost full all the time. Don't know where these folks are getting their $$$.
ReplyDeleteWe have had enough rain for a while, thank you ever so much. Maybe tomorrow will be dried out enough to do some weeding.
How is your sister faring? Hope she is able to get around on her own.