Morning all. It is so easy to make many of our groceries ourselves. It costs less and most times it is just better for you as well!
I think back and my mom made about everything at home. She made treats and snacks, and she made bread and biscuits. You name it was homemade groceries!
I know many here do this as well. Sure it may be a little more work - but if you are looking to save a little money or looking to eat a healthier diet - making groceries is for you!
We all know there are all kinds of basic mixes that can be made ahead of time and they are good for many things. You can make up mixes for baking, spices, soups, etc.
SEASONED COATING MIX
2 C flour (or whole wheat if you want healthier)
2 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. celery salt
1 Tbsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. dry mustard
4 Tbsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano or marjoram
Mix thoroughly in a large bowl - start with mixing seasonings into 1 C flour - and mix thoroughly. Add last cup of flour and blend.
Great for fish, chicken, pork chops, dredging for meats for stews - tasty and yummy!
CORNMEAL MIX
4 C flour
4 C cornmeal
1 1/2 C nonfat dry milk
1/4 C baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 1/2 C shortening
Stir dry ingredients together - cut in shortening until blended. Place in a glass jar or tightly covered container. Keep in a cool place and use within a month or so.
CORNBREAD - 4 1/2 C mix, 2 eggs and 1 1/3 C water. Pour into 8" greased pan. Bake 425* for about 25 minutes.
CORNMEAL DROP BISCUITS - 2 C mix to about 1/2 C water. Makes a soft dough. Drop by tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 425 for about 12 minutes.
CORNMEAL MUFFINS - Grease muffin tin. Combine 2 1/4 C mix, 1 egg, and 2/3 C water. Stir to moisten dry ingredients. Fill tins 2/3 full. Bake 435 for about 20 minutes.
PEACHY SUNDAES
1 pint vanilla ice cream (or make your own) or slightly freeze some yogurt
3/4 C peach preserves, warmed - you can use any flavor
1/4 C chopped almonds (toasted) or whatever you have
1/4 C flaked coconut (optional)
Divide ice cream into 4 sherbet dishes. Top with preserves. Sprinkle with goodies.
**This goes along with our jelly/jam uses this week. There is no limit to the flavor that can be used - or what toppings you can use!!!!! Have fun with your ingredients and make FUN!
YUM CAKE
A loaf pound cake or butter cake
1 - 12 oz. jar of marmalade or jam (whatever flavor you like)
Frosting (if desired)
Chill your cake to help firm it. Turn on its side and slice into 3 pieces (horizontally).
Add jam/jelly/marmalade into 2 cut pieces and restack. You can add a regular frosting or a drizzle of powder sugar icing or use plain powdered sugar sprinkled if desired. I like it plain with a scoop of ice cream!!!!!!
(Reminds me of a jelly roll)
Think about snacks. Popcorn is an easy and cheap snack - there is no limit to the toppings for it.
Homemade potato chips. Use a mandolin and very thinly cut potatoes and then fry and season. I have even baked! I spritz with a little oil & salt - then bake until crispy. So fresh and yummy.
Tortilla chips - use flour or corn tortillas - cut into wedges and bake or fry (as above) until crispy. Super easy to make chips.
I have made chips from zucchini as well. I thinly slice - sprinkle with a bit of seasoning and dehydrate until crisp. They get eaten in a matter of minutes!!!!!!! I LOVE THEM!
There is no limit to what we can make at home. No need to buy expensive junk at the stores. Use your INGREDIENTS and make your own!!!!!!!!! It is much healthier and cheaper.
HAVE FUN!
I just made us some popcorn last night. It’s an inexpensive easy snack to make.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is - I had some last week.
DeleteAll GREAT ideas, Cheryl. Thank you. --Elise
ReplyDeleteMore than welcome!
DeleteThank you! I bet I could sub coconut (full fat) for the cream in the ice cream and use stevia for sweetener... Sounds good. And fun too!
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom would keep those Sarah Lee pound cakes on hand in the freezer for company, it was always good with chocolate ice cream on top if company came. Or by itself too...My great aunt would serve it with canned peaches.
I remember one of the Italian ladies after a funeral bringing a yellow 9 x 13 cake that she had put strawberry jam on top of.
We love popcorn over here!
Love all of your ideas and the seasoning mixes are wonderful!
Thanks again!
You are welcome. I am a butter cake lover - and I make mom's recipe now and then. Not often - cause I will eat it all quickly! Mmmm chocolate ice cream on the cakes!
DeleteIt is just amazing what we can come up with - just using a little imagination.
I had popcorn last week. May make it again tonight!
I try to do as much from scratch as possible. One thing that I love is homemade pan release to replace baking spray. I never wanted to use the aerosol cans of spray and when I found this it was a wonderful addition to the kitchen. 1 Cup AP flour, 1 Cup shortening, 1 Cup oil. Whisk well by hand. The mixture will be creamy. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to us dip a pasty brush into the mixture and spread over bottom and sides of pan. Works very well.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have seen different versions - but this one is simple. Love that. Thanks!!!!!!
DeleteI'm going to make it! Great idea Thanks for sharing
DeleteEllie
Central Az
It's fun to play with your food! ha! We have found that homemade baked goods are ever so much better. Making it yourself you know exactly what is in it. We have some oranges that will soon be too soft so I'm going to make orange glazed muffins for breakfast or for snacks. Popcorn seems to be a universally loved snack. I know our chickens love it.
ReplyDeleteYes mam, I think homemade always tastes best. Your orange muffins sound yummy.
DeleteFunny, I can throw popcorn out for the birds (very stale for me) and they won't touch it. Maybe they like fresher too!
My family was always the homemade type, primarily because we were poor lol. I immediately noticed that my husband's was not. On the first Thanksgiving with them, I made 2 peach pies with peaches from my mom's tree. Delicious! His family didn't touch them. They ate the Sara Lee and store pies, commenting that homemade stuff was too bland and not sweet enough. I am the opposite. I find boughten treats to be gagging sweet and despise the filmy feeling they leave on my tongue. Is that some weird type of oil?! So, I took one to another dinner and my family devoured it. We ate the other one ourselves. They feel the same about sauces and gravy, too. I almost shrieked when I saw my SIL pour the turkey drippings in a can to toss!!
ReplyDeleteAll that boughten stuff is also expensive!! My pies were probably less than $1 for the 2. The freezer pies were probably at least $5 ea. And I won't even share the word I use for boughten pecan pie lol. Hubs said I spoiled him with homemade.
Those people are cray-cray!!!!!!!! Homemade pie over that crap from the store any day for me! I agree with you -- there is so much sugar in store bought.
DeleteI always make my pecan pie!!! It is the best!!!!!
Well good for you for spoiling him!
Because of the food additives and preservatives, junk food is addictive.Once the taste buds get used to a certain level of sugar/salt/ grease they will crave it and everything else will seem bland to them.It takes time and dedication to retrain the taste.That's why teaching children to eat fruits, veggies and homemade food is very important.It is sad but a lot of people that seem to "snub" homemade food do it because they truly can't taste much.
DeleteInteresting to see this post today. Yesterday, I made my first attempt at making yogurt from scratch. It tastes great, but did not thicken as much as I'd expected. I used 4 cups of 2% milk to begin with and got 4 1/2 half-pint jars. Need to figure out where I went wrong. Wondering if it was the milk (2% instead of whole), the temp (it went really fast from 175 to 185 and even shot higher as I removed it from the heat), or the plain greek-style yogurt I used as starter. I let it sit covered with a towel in the oven with light on for 6 hours. Maybe it needed to sit longer???? Anyone have any thoughts, chime in.
ReplyDeleteLori, dissolve 1/3 cup dry milk into the 4 cups of of milk and it should come out thicker. I make yogurt by putting a heating pad set on low with a tea towel on top of it. I place this into a pyrex pan . I put the bowl of milk on top of the pad and cover it with a glass pie plate and let it sit until I see that it has set. I mix the whey back in and refrigerate. As it cools in the fridge it will thicken. Hope this helps. Cookie
DeleteI have never made yogurt myself. Cookie gave some good advice.
DeleteHi Lori: Did you let the scalded milk cool down to 100F before stirring in the yogurt? I use a glass lined thermos to hold my yogurt while it cultures. Absolutely, do not move or disturb it. I leave the thermos for 12 hours before transferring to sterilized glass jars. Cookie's tip is good and you can also strain it and use the whey for baking or whatever. Practice makes perfect! I preheat the thermos with boiling water while the milk is scalding!
DeleteI've read that whole milk makes a thicker yogurt.
DeleteIt's an all from scratch kitchen here. My pantry is stocked with ingredients. Yesterday I made a batch of "no roll" crackers, brownies and carrot top soup for the freezer. Today it will be homemade tortilla's, mayonnaise, and air fryer chicken. We love homemade chips and have even been known to thinly slice beets, carrots and turnips and turned them into chips instead of buying veggie chips. Cookie
ReplyDeleteYou go girl. That all sounds so yummy and much healthier. I love veggie chips - and they cost a fortune!!!!!! Smart to make them from other veggies. I will have to try that as well.
DeleteI also do semi-homemade as well. I used to watch that Food Channel show! You are right the cake mix cookies are less sugar and don't cost much to make. You can add all kinds of things.
ReplyDeleteYep, prices keep inching up and the powers that be say NO and they have held prices down!!!! I want to move to the planet they are living on!!!!!!! LOL! SMH
It is sunny here today, and warm (doors open) but has turned very windy as a cold front is blowing in and tonight the temps get in the 20's! Crazy stuff. Couple days of colder then warm again. Can't make this stuff up!
Stay cozy!!
I started making my own mixes years ago to save money and keep me from going to the store.
ReplyDeleteSo wise. They do save money and they are just better tasting.
DeleteHmmm, I need to try your cornmeal mix. I seem to be cooking more from scratch than ever before. Saves money and I know what I am putting in things. Those two items mean I will be cooking from scratch for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It is fun too! It just all tastes so much better. I agree 100% about knowing what is in our food.
DeleteI love yogurt. On a free group I received a very good yogurt maker. It was long and skinny with five or six little jars. I used it until I was in school and then quit. It is stored. I do intend to use it again.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite homemade snack is chocolate, of course. In a cup I put cocoa and sugar at rate of 2:1 and a bit of butter, maybe tsp, maybe not. Put cup in microwave. Stand with it. Stir it up when the butter melts. It is thick, delicious and only give a bit of a treat, just what I need. I have not made this in many years. Maybe I need to start. Maybe this is not groceries, but it saves groceries.
I also love brownies made from a chocolate cake mix. Of course, it can be made from any flavor cake.
I meant to say it uses groceries as opposed to buying candy bars.
DeleteI have never made yogurt - I wouldn't mind trying. Just not something I eat that often - maybe I would eat more.
DeleteNever done that with cocoa and sugar and butter - man I bet that is a rich bite. I like brownies a lot - but I am not a huge chocolate candy fan. I like it - but not something I crave. Weird I guess!!!!! LOL
Rich so it is very satisfying.
DeleteCoating mixes can be made so cheaply; ditto pudding mixes. A cup of parmesan cheese added to the coating mix is great for fish too as well as a good shot of garlic powder.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!!!!! Both are easy and so much better for us. We know exactly what is in them too! None of the ingredients we can't pronounce!!!
DeleteThe ice was melting here yesterday but it froze back up this morning with the cold temps. I think we could go ice skating in the backyard! I kind of skipped out on the made from scratch one day this week and used some cans to make chili. After leaving for a week I know now I need to get back into making some freezer meals for my hubby. I'll be working on that soon. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI have heard your weather has been icky. Heck, we all slip now and then and use convenience foods. No big deal. Stay safe and warm.
Delete(Little Penpen) https://youtu.be/BFVr_qTJE1g Noreen’s Kitchen has this video on YouTube for mug cakes from a jar mix. I love your post and want to try some of these.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Penny!
DeleteI forgot. I made a mug cake using some of a cake mix one time. It was easier than making a cake. I could make a mug cake anytime. I think I used milk only in it. It was not really like cake, but it was chocolate, cooked and good. Never mind the texture. It was a little like a brownie some days. As you can see, I am willing to experiment.
ReplyDelete(Little Penpen) in the video, this lady mixes a box of Angel food cake mix with a regular cake mix. She said the dried eggs in the Angel food mix makes the cake rise and have the cake texture.
DeleteThe eggs in angel food makes sense. I have heard others use cake mix as well. I have received a couple 'cup' mixes as gifts!
Delete@cookie
ReplyDeleteWhen you make chips out of other vegetables do you do anything to them besides slice them? I have several root vegetables I need to do something with and chips sound perfect.
And do you have a recipe you can share for the no- roll crackers?
~margaret
Oops, I didn't put in the recipe for the no roll crackers. I follow a gluten free low histamine diet so my crackers are made accordingly with the flours I can use. I feel pretty certain that they can be made with wheat flour if that is what you can use. They're quite simple. Preheat your oven to 350. I use 128 grams of cassava flour, 3 to 4 TBSP of EVOO or avocado oil, sea salt to taste, and 1 cup of water. pour batter on to a parchment lined large cookie sheet with sides(I use a sheet cake pan). Spread the batter evenly around. Sprinkle some salt and whatever herbs you might like on the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and score into crackers with a knife or pizza cutter. Return to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan and then break apart at the score line.
Delete128 grams translates into a cup of all purpose flour. I got the original recipe from powerhungry.com. Cookie
Thank you Cookie. I'm adding those to my list for this week!
Delete~margaret