Making it instead of buying it - is generally much cheaper. It is often healthier too. You know exactly what is in your food, your cleaning solutions, whatever you are making.
I tend to make a lot of things that most people just buy. I much prefer homemade chili and soups. They taste so much better than the stuff in cans! I can make a little or a lot - if a lot, I can freeze helpings for another time.
I make almost all of my cleaning supplies. I use basic ingredients and mix them for various uses and I also have my Dawn dish soap - which is good for so much.
Love mixing up my own spice blends.
I just love, love homemade biscuits (scones) - instead of canned. I can make a batch and freeze and have for another time.
I love my homemade tortillas - they are just so light and yummy and super easy.
Whatever I don't see in responses, I may make a post of recipes of things we can all try.
Hope you all play along. Love that we can all teach each other and have fun and learn new things together.
Have a great Wednesday!
Dawn is a good basic ingredient in cleaning supplies. I make my own fruit and veggie wash, eyeglass cleaner, daily wash up (personal) soap, glass cleaner, stainless cleaner, sanitizing spray and room freshener. 99% of our meals are made at home. We will have to try your tortilla recipe. The next thing we will make will be English muffins. We canned diced tomatoes yesterday and will do potatoes today.
ReplyDeleteGood for you!! Oh, can you share the English muffin recipe? That is something I would love to try.
DeleteGood job on tomatoes and potatoes!!
I make my own waffle/pancake master mix. Also, my own taco seasoning and a spicier mix...they make great gifts for others by the way. I make up my own tartar and cocktail sauces. We can our own spaghetti/pizza sauce.
ReplyDeleteLove it! There are so many things we make and use that DO make fantastic gifts. I love those kinds of gifts, as do my family. Doing great.
DeleteGreat post. I make all of my own spice mixes, dressings and sauces. All of our bread products from crusts to buns to naan. I cook from scratch 99 percent of the time. Everything tastes so much better from scratch and like you said it's so nice to know exactly what was used in the recipe. Not only that but it is so much cheaper to make it yourself.
ReplyDeleteLove it - yep, I agree on taste and costs.
DeleteI really need to get back to bread making. I do biscuits, tortillas and such.
Good job.
Good morning! Homemade "broth" is my secret ingredient for all sorts of things. In addition to making traditional broth from bones and veggie scraps, I save (and fat skim) all pan drippings. Last night's pork chops made 2/3 cup pork "broth" that will be stored in the freezer. I do the same with beef, boneless chicken, etc. and haven't bought broth for years.
ReplyDeleteHomemade tortillas are yummy, but I can no longer spend so much time (standing in one place) on my arthritic feet. I do make a lot of bread, muffins, etc. and would love a recipe for English muffins! Stale bread in my house becomes homemade Panko crumbs, croutons and stuffing base. I use store brand oatmeal to pulse into my own (cheaper) oat flour. A jar of wheat germ, kept in the freezer, adds a little extra nutrition and flavor to recipes a tablespoon at a time. Leftover mashed potatoes become potato bread, pancakes or dumplings. The broth comes in handy for delicious dumplings, btw.
I never buy marinades or seasoning mixes, either, and am always happy to get new ideas from others for those. Hint, hint.
--Elise
YES - stock and broth. A staple here - just so yummy homemade. Everything tastes better when it is added.
DeleteI keep pan drippings from many things for frying, especially BACON!!!
I use the stale bread as well. Crumbs and stuffing are my biggies. Yum, my mouth is watering!
I was hoping for recipes too!
A great topic that is close to my heart!
ReplyDeleteI found a recipe in the Rebel Canners Facebook group for tomato soup concentrate that is very close to Campbell's. I made a half-batch and it made something like 18 pints. You reconstitute it just like the can 1:1 water or milk. If you are part of that group, search for Norma's Tomato Soup. If you're not part of that site, message me and I'll share it privately.
I also can up grape juice like my Gram taught me. This is the old-school way, and would not be approved today. But it works for me every time. So, use at your own risk. For me, the worst that can happen is I wind up with wine or vinegar instead of juice! Gram's Directions: Wash and de-stem your juice grapes (like Concords, not your regular table / eating grapes. Some grocery stores do carry juice grapes, so just make sure you get that kind. I get mine from a roadside farm stand recommended by a high school friend.). Place your clean jars on a towel or cutting board. Put 1 c. grapes into each quart jar, and then add 1/3 c. sugar to each. Fill the jar to 1/2" with boiling water. Top with a lid, tighten the ring, and invert, standing them on the ring. The heat of the water will help seal the jars. Once they've cooled some, turn the jars upright and they should start pinging. Let them sit overnight and then check to make sure all sealed. They will be ready to use in about 1 month. Strain out the grapes before serving. I find that the longer they sit, the richer the flavor. From Gram's notes, 1/2 bushel of grapes will make 48-50 quarts. I generally make a half-dozen or so pints each year, starting with a quart of grapes, and do another quart if I decide I want more (I'm a 1-person household, so I only make what I will use + a few for my daughter). I've also used this same method for making cranberry juice and it turned out wonderful, as well. Note, cranberries will lose their color, so don't be alarmed.
I also have not bought a loaf of bread in months. I'm using a bread maker I was gifted and find that it is so much cheaper and has no chemical preservatives. My favorite recipe so far is an Easy Beer Bread for Bread Machines recipe from https://danavento.com. Great for making grilled cheese! There's also a great Bread Machine White Bread Recipe on the Tasty Oven site. I've tried it with 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 bread flour, and also made it with All Purpose flour, and it turned out great every time. The Tasty Oven recipe includes includes instructions for a 2#, 1 1/2#, and 1# loaf. For my bread maker, I have to use the 1# loaf. The 2# loaf overflowed and stuck to the walls and lid of my machine, and given the size of the 1# loaf, the 1 1/2# loaf probably would have done the same. There's a Hawaiian Bread recipe I found on the Bread Machine Diva's site that I really want to try, just haven't gotten around to making it yet (it makes a 2# loaf, so I'll have to adapt it).
I also can my own fruit jams -- strawberry, raspberry, peach, and make my own applesauce, as well as tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, and I added pizza sauce this year. All of this is water bathed, so not difficult at all. For me, in addition to being more cost effective, I can control the sodium and eliminate the commercial chemicals and artificial flavorings. Jars and rings can be reused from year to year, so you're only replacing the flats (lids). I do reuse my old lids for dry storage and for storing leftovers in jars in the refrigerator. A lot less waste going into the landfill.
My brother makes a wonderful tomato soup he cans - not sure what all he adds - but it is so tasty.
DeleteI do make beer bread once in a while. I like it with soups and stews.
You do your juice very similar to mine - although I do water bath for a few minutes. But I just add the grapes to the jar - then scalding water and MAYBE sugar (sometimes I wait till I open). Super easy and very tasty.
Can't remember the last time I bought jelly or spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce or salsa. Great minds!!!!!!
I love hearing this from you all!
I'm not nearly as talented as many of the previous commentors, but I do make most of our meals from scratch. Mac and cheese (no boxed stuff for us), homemade soups, stir-fry and fried rice, chili and stews are fall and winter meals. In summer I make my own potato and pasta salads and hamburger patties. I also make my own biscuits and buns.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely be interested in your recipe for Rice-a-roni - I recall eating it a couple of times when I was a kid. I do make Spanish Rice which I assume is something similar.
Also your spice blends would be of interest too.
You got it going on. I love homemade mac n cheese as well - no boxed stuff for me either.
DeleteNothing like cooking from scratch - just plain delish!
Mmm it all sounds so good - reminds me I need to make some fried rice soon - that sounds good.
I think I have linked it before - but will again. You can make it beef or chicken flavored or add your goodies for Spanish.
Stay tuned for recipes!!!
Cheryl, I'd like to have your mac and cheese recipe. Also anything else you want to share! The only thing I can think of that I make from scratch is cocktail sauce. My Mom always did this...horseradish and ketchup. I just mix it up to taste.
ReplyDeleteHomemade cocktail sauce is so yummy and easy. I do the same with tartar sauce - mayo, relish and a dab of lemon juice.
DeleteDon't really have a recipe per se'. I will try to write something down to get it posted. I usually just wing it!
Morre to come!
Since I have trouble standing for long, I make fewer and fewer things from scratch. I always made spaghetti sauce from Mama's recipe, but no longer. However, I do not use a lot of mixes. I still make gravy, pimiento and cheese, and hummus from scratch. Even though I don't really like jar gravy, I sometimes use it. But, my pimiento and cheese and hummus are better than bought. Mostly, we eat simple food made fancy and tasty with things like garlic and onions.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand. Sometimes, under different circumstances, store bought makes sense.
DeleteI agree simple meals can be all jazzed up - and they are fantastic in my opinion.
Oh my the list could be shorter if it were what I do buy: salad dressings, Italian Seasoning mix.
ReplyDeleteChili and pasta dishes. For these I use my garden ratatouille stocked in my freezer each harvest season. Beef and chicken stock/broth. I freeze those in 1 and 2c portions for future use. Mac n' Cheese, no nasty box stuff for me. Rice Pilaf mix rather than the box (I do buy Spanish Rice mix as it's just $0.78 at my local store house brand. Blackberry Jam (low sugar) from our patch. Pancake/waffle mix. Granola. Bread-I bake all except Sourdough. Why? We can't afford the girth of using a sourdough started twice weekly. ;-) Stewed tomatoes, TS, TP from the garden (in years that have good garden harvest).
I've always been basic meals person. I probably don't know about a lot of prepared stuff that others buy quite honestly.
Household cleaners I've made for 15? years. I can't imagine the $ this alone has saved us.
I am a basic kind of eating gal myself. I love homemade. Nothing fancy - just tasty and I know what is in it!!!!
DeleteCleaners from home makes so much sense - no chemicals to speak of. Just natural ingredients used for another purpose. That is about as good as it gets.
I don't even know what rice a Roni is! It never ceases to amaze me just what you seem to be able to buy in the US.
ReplyDeleteI don't make a lot of cleaning products, but I do make cider vinegar for cleaning and I pretty much cook from scratch all the time. I just can't justify paying the extra for an inferior product. I also find it immensely satisfying.
Rice a Roni is a quick boxed thing we can buy, that is a seasoned rice dish. It may be chicken, or beef, or cheesy, etc. But like most grocery items, full of unwanted things as well - like preservatives.
DeleteCooking from scratch is by far the best. It just tastes so good.
We do not like jarred pasta sauce so I make it from scratch and get compliments from even my full blooded Sicilian SIL. It is so easy to make and really only takes a few minutes longer than dumping in a jar of sauce. My purchases of convenience items is often dictated by deals I get at the salvage stores. I make good pizza crust but this morning we got packs of three flat bread pizza crusts 3/$!. I cannot make it for that.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is cheap! I would have jumped on that as well. I think so many get used to premade store bought items - they don't have a clue how easy and wonderful homemade actually is.
DeleteI love homemade biscuits and scones and they are so easy to make.
ReplyDeleteThey are the best and, it is about the easiest thing you can make. So yummy!
DeleteCan one of you share a biscuit recipe? I've tried the Bisquick ones but they never turn out exactly right
DeleteI will add that to my list - stay tuned - that post will be next week!
DeleteI pretty much make everything we eat. We do not throw food away.
ReplyDeleteI make our bread, cereal (granola), kombucha.
We have very happy chickens for eggs and bees for honey.
I make our soap and cleaners (Sal’s Suds mixed 50/50 with vinegar is an amazing cleaner), body lotion, deodorant, dry shampoo, (baking soda then vinegar for washing hair), cloths and a bidet bottle instead of TP. I forage many plants for home remedies and tinctures. We take homemade and foraged allergy tincture, brain tonic tincture, hawthorn, immunity blends, etc. I made essential oil blends for arthritis, bee stings - am a beekeeper - sleep, and others which I have learned and researched over years.
Not only are these things healthier, but they are like “science projects” that I really enjoy and are frugal as well. - Carol
WOW is all I can say Carol! You really are a homemade gal! You are doing more than most of us, that is for sure. I pretty much still buy all my beauty products and yes I buy TP. I could have a plan easily, if I couldn't, but I do like the convenience.
DeleteI guess you must live rural - to have bees and chickens. That is really neat. You keep doing what your doing - it's great!
I definitely prefer my chili over canned chili. And these days I make my own chili beans rather than buy canned chili beans. I make my own brewed tea instead of instant tea, which I think tastes so unliked brewed tea. I boil my own eggs, make my own egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, Tina pate, and pimento cheese. There are so many things we can make on our own.
ReplyDeleteOh I agree on home brewed tea - that stuff you buy at the store isn't tea in my opinion. Let us know how you make your beans - curious!
DeleteI really don't think there is much of anything that can't be homemade. Grandma made everything!!!!!
Hi Cheryl, love your blog, I just don’t comment very often! For homemade, I use a bread machine and make our bread. I started with a used machine from goodwill for $6, and once I figured it out, kept doing it and wearing out used bread machines…finally bought a new zojirushi five years ago! Make a loaf, slice it and freeze two slices per freezer ziplock bag so we can thaw out what we need…since we can’t eat a whole loaf before it goes bad. I also make most of our meals from scratch to avoid high salt and high costs! About to learn how to ferment sauerkraut next week, wish me luck ;). Hilogene in Az.
ReplyDeleteI have never made tortillas but it's in my blood! I come from a long line of tortilla makers. In fact, bread wasn't even eaten at my grandparents'house. Just tortillas! My grandma made them fresh every morning. With lard. That's the key ingredient that takes a good tortilla to GREAT. I always have to add a story, as you know! A short one, but amazing. My grandma rolled so many tortillas in her life that she wore down her 14k wedding band until it broke three times! Her and my Tia (aunt) would compare the wear of their rings! They were soooo good with whipped honey on them. Does anyone know if they still make whipped honey?
ReplyDeleteI saw someone mentioned Master Mix. That was one of the first recipes we learned in 7th grade cooking class. I still use all the recipes from that class. Bless Mrs. H!!
Wow that is a lot of tortilla rolling!! LOL
DeleteI think I have seen a combo of whipped honey/butter in the dairy section of the grocery. Years ago I used to buy it. Haven't looked for a while.
I wish I baked enough to make up a batch of Master Mix. With just me, it doesn't happen that often.
Land 'o Lakes makes one, in the dairy section with the butter. I've not seen one of the butter-type containers in the jams/jellies/honey section in a long time. Though, because I make my own jams, the only time I'm in that section is when I'm getting peanut butter. Will have to check next time I'm in the grocery store.
DeleteYahoo!! I remembered the name of the whipped honey my grandma used to buy. It's called Sue Bee. I just looked them up and they still make it!!! It's now called "spun". It's so good. It's got a clouded look to it and you spread it. I am hunting it down!!! Thank you, Cheryl, for this post. It led me to a childhood favorite!!
ReplyDeleteYAY - Sue Bee is a great brand. Yes, that is the name I remember! Glad you found it - I hope you get some and enjoy every memory you get while eating it.
DeleteI make whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat crackers, seed crackers and salad dressing as well as chili, soup etc. You're right! It tastes better and I can control what's in it. Lynn Ewing
ReplyDeleteIt tastes so much better! That control of ingredients is very important today - you just have no idea what is really in your food. Good job!
DeleteI make our household soap, both personal bath soap and cleaning/laundry soap. I make our own laundry liquid. My all purpose cleaning spray is half water, half vinegar and a good squeeze of dishwashing liquid plus several drops of eucalyptus oil. I use this for all cleaning. I crochet my own face washers and dish cleaning cloths.
ReplyDeleteI admire those that make soap. I have always thought about trying it - but never have. Sounds like a good cleaner. I have a couple face cloths that a friend made me and they are so nice. I really need to get back into crochet - it has been decades since I made anything.
DeleteI would love to make a liquid laundry soap, but the recipes I've seen were all in metric and I'm ignorant there!!! I almost exploded my brain trying to do a conversion to cups and ounces. Math was my worst subject! I make a powdered soap.
ReplyDeleteHehe - I don't do well with conversions either - I find conversion charts on the Internet!!! Yep, nothing like a cheat sheet.
DeleteI make my own dry ranch dressing. So easy
ReplyDeleteOoohhh - please share!!!!! I have a recipe - but would love to see what others use! Thanks
DeleteI have a good urine-out spray I use for my elderly little doggy's accidents. I put a very large amount of straight peroxide in a spray bottle with quite a few drops of orange oil and a few drops of clove oil and voila! You could use peroxide with lavender oil or lemon I would think too...Whatever. I would also think straight peroxide would do the trick too. I was copying the urine-out Oxy-orange kind I was buying. When my little elderly dog makes a puddle on my laminate....I give it a spray and wipe with a floor towel. Gone-gone. Buying peroxide is a lot more economical than the other alternatives. : )
ReplyDeleteHope my addition isn't too late.
This is a great idea, Cheryl! I love to read others ideas and share my finds too. Bless you friend!
Never too late! Great idea - no chemicals and clean and sanitized. I use peroxide as a bleach in laundry because it is not a chemical.
DeleteThanks for a great idea!
I love seeing all the ideas too!
Cheryl, how do you use peroxide in the laundry? As a spray or do you put it in the washer's bleach receptacle?
Delete~margaret
Margaret I use the peroxide just like bleach. I just pour it in the bleach spout and launder whites as usual.
DeleteSnacks are so pricey, and my husband likes to have some on hand. I make maple popcorn. I air pop a 1/2 cup of dry kernels then I drizzle a 1/4 c of maple syrup over the popcorn and stir to coat. Then I pour onto a baking sheet and salt lightly. I bake at 300 degrees F for 25 minutes. It's just enough to give it some flavor but doesn't have the calories of caramel corn and it's quick to make. We love it. I imagine pancake syrup would work or corn syrup or honey. Though the corn syrup or honey might work better if it's warmed before drizzling. I also make my own tortilla chips. I buy packages of 12 six-inch corn tortillas. I brush lime juice on each side then sprinkle salt and garlic on each side then cut into eighths. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 10- 15 minutes until crisp. I think other spices would be good too. If I'm in a hurry, I'll just cut then up and bake them plain. They'll bake faster without the lime juice on them. I buy these packages for 66 cents so I basically get a whole bag of chips for a lot less than store bought. Until a few months ago I got these same tortillas for 33 cents. Imagine a whole bag of chip for that! Still 66 cents is pretty good.
ReplyDelete~margaret
I wanted to add keep an eye on the chips if you use spices as they can burn easily though they will brown some as the chip cooks..
Delete~margaret
My the popcorn sounds so good!!! What a neat idea.
DeleteI have made tortilla chips before - they are tasty. Yes, you can use any kind of seasoning desired. I agree, you need to keep an eye on them. Thanks!