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Post by anxiousmom on Sept 28, 2014 16:05:16 GMT
I noticed a lot of us suggested on the saving money thread that we cook a lot from scratch. Seems like sometimes when I say I cook from scratch the reaction ranges from isn't that time consuming to doesn't that cost a lot? It isn't, on either account, but the perceptions are there.
I thought for those of us who do cook this way, we could maybe share so that it changes the perception of how easy it really is to cook like this.
For example, the other night I made Fettuccine Alfredo. I am a bit lazy, so I didn't make the pasta, and frankly I have never really got the hang of it, so I used pasta from the box. (See, even from scratch cookers use short cuts LOL) The sauce itself is easy...melt butter, saute garlic, add milk. Simmer for a few minutes, take off heat, add Parisian cheese and done. The who thing takes about as long as it does to boil the pasta.
So what you guys share to take the mystery from cooking from scratch?
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 28, 2014 16:07:39 GMT
I make chicken fettucine alfredo myself all the time. With boxed noodles of course because why make things that much more difficult. It is one of the easiest things to make and tends to be a people pleaser. I always LOL when people say "You MAKE alfredo sauce?  ?" Yes, yes I do. It takes 10 minutes max.  |
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Post by freecharlie on Sept 28, 2014 16:09:32 GMT
Lol, I just made almost the exact same thread
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,524
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Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Sept 28, 2014 16:15:10 GMT
I don't consider using boxed noodles as not cooking from scratch. I think very few people actually make their own pasta. What the OP described is what I consider cooking from scratch.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 19:49:03 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 16:41:27 GMT
I think I cook from scratch but I use boxed pasta, canned beans, store-bought pizza sauce and canned pasta sauce (that I add my own stuff to).
I guess I think of cooking my own food to be just that... if I have to make and assemble and cook the components at home, it's cooking from scratch. Opening a box or bag and heating isn't cooking from scratch.
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Post by jinxmom2003 on Sept 28, 2014 16:45:36 GMT
Then then there is the hybrid method, taking canned or frozen things and adding your own touches to make it more like "scratch".
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Post by 3dcrafter on Sept 28, 2014 16:47:43 GMT
When I make cookies I double(sometimes triple) the recipe. I bake 2 dozen right away and use a cookie scoop to make individual servings. I place them in a large rubbermaid type container, and use parchment paper between the layers( I gently press the cookies flat after I place paper on top of them). I then freeze them and ta-da...cookies are ready to be baked anytime.
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Post by SabrinaM on Sept 28, 2014 16:50:17 GMT
When I make cookies I double(sometimes triple) the recipe. I bake 2 dozen right away and use a cookie scoop to make individual servings. I place them in a large rubbermaid type container, and use parchment paper between the layers( I gently press the cookies flat after I place paper on top of them). I then freeze them and ta-da...cookies are ready to be baked anytime. This is exactly how I do it every week. |
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Post by anxiousmom on Sept 28, 2014 16:50:26 GMT
I make chicken fettucine alfredo myself all the time. With boxed noodles of course because why make things that much more difficult. It is one of the easiest things to make and tends to be a people pleaser. I always LOL when people say "You MAKE alfredo sauce? ?" Yes, yes I do. It takes 10 minutes max. I am always amazed at how surprised people are when I make my own alfredo sauce. It really is VERY easy, and people ask for it all the time. The other thing that people are always impressed with whip cream. I never use the canned or tubs, but whip it myself. It couldn't be easier...dump the cream in the mixer, add sweetener and mix. And I agree with ashley , it isn't that you don't always use shortcuts, but that the whole thing doesn't come from a box or a bag. |
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Post by Jockscrap on Sept 28, 2014 16:56:03 GMT
I've not heard of Parisian cheese. What's it similar to?
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Post by anxiousmom on Sept 28, 2014 16:59:01 GMT
I've not heard of Parisian cheese. What's it similar to?
It is identical to Parmesan cheese, except the person using it is a better speller.  |
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Post by Jockscrap on Sept 28, 2014 17:02:42 GMT
A roast chicken is one of the easiest and cheapest meals to make a family. Just slam it in the oven with a few herbs on top. I have a combination oven, so a large chicken only takes 40-45 mins to do from fridge to cooked, which makes it a viable mid week meal.
I always fry up the carcass to brown it, add water, bay leaves, a carrot and an onion, dump the lot in a slow cooker and make stock which is then used within the next couple of days to make a chicken soup, with so much pasta added to it you can eat it with a fork. I also add more chopped carrot, green beans, the left over chicken and stock cubes to the stock and pasta. Such an inexpensive way to make lots of meals.
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Post by Jockscrap on Sept 28, 2014 17:04:44 GMT
I've not heard of Parisian cheese. What's it similar to?
It is identical to Parmesan cheese, except the person using it is a better speller.
Lol! That made me laugh. I did wonder but there are so many differences in US/UK cooking terms!
I've not made this, but it sounds good. So you don't need to thicken the milk with flour...does the cheese do that?
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valincal
Drama Llama
Southern Alberta
Posts: 6,225 
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Post by valincal on Sept 28, 2014 17:08:52 GMT
I like to cook from scratch not because I have to but because it tastes better than the majority of pre-packaged food IMO.
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Post by anxiousmom on Sept 28, 2014 17:08:55 GMT
It is identical to Parmesan cheese, except the person using it is a better speller.
Lol! That made me laugh. I did wonder but there are so many differences in US/UK cooking terms!
I've not made this, but it sounds good. So you don't need to thicken the milk with flour...does the cheese do that?
Nope, it does it's own thing. Here is the recipe just like what I do but I add a step of either sauteing garlic or adding garlic powder to taste. For an entire box of pasta I double the recipe. alfredo sauce recipeETA: I forgot to mention that I do not use heavy cream, I use a mix of half and half and 2% milk. You have to have SOME fat in the dairy in my opinion, but to use full on heavy cream gives me a stomach ache. LOL |
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 28, 2014 17:12:48 GMT
I've not made this, but it sounds good. So you don't need to thicken the milk with flour...does the cheese do that?
My alfredo sauce recipe: 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup parmesan cheese Melt the butter and whipping cream together on medium heat. Do not let it come to a boil. Once the butter has melted add in the cheese. Stir until melted. I add in pepper and parsley but they aren't necessary if you don't want them. The use of heavy whipping cream instead of milk starts the sauce off thicker and when the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce that makes it as thick as necessary. I would be interested in knowing the recipe with milk too, I would expect you'd need to thicken it somehow. |
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Post by jamielynn on Sept 28, 2014 17:20:58 GMT
I've not made this, but it sounds good. So you don't need to thicken the milk with flour...does the cheese do that?
My alfredo sauce recipe: 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup parmesan cheese Melt the butter and whipping cream together on medium heat. Do not let it come to a boil. Once the butter has melted add in the cheese. Stir until melted. I add in pepper and parsley but they aren't necessary if you don't want them. The use of heavy whipping cream instead of milk starts the sauce off thicker and when the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce that makes it as thick as necessary. I would be interested in knowing the recipe with milk too, I would expect you'd need to thicken it somehow. This sounds delicious, but I feel like still more than double the cost of buying. The jars we like are $2 on special. The 16 oz parmesan I can rarely get for that? I find that a lot with cooking sadly. |
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,610
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Post by katybee on Sept 28, 2014 17:33:21 GMT
My alfredo sauce recipe: 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup parmesan cheese Melt the butter and whipping cream together on medium heat. Do not let it come to a boil. Once the butter has melted add in the cheese. Stir until melted. I add in pepper and parsley but they aren't necessary if you don't want them. The use of heavy whipping cream instead of milk starts the sauce off thicker and when the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce that makes it as thick as necessary. I would be interested in knowing the recipe with milk too, I would expect you'd need to thicken it somehow. This sounds delicious, but I feel like still more than double the cost of buying. The jars we like are $2 on special. The 16 oz parmesan I can rarely get for that? I find that a lot with cooking sadly. Very true. Processed food is very often WAY cheaper than food from scratch. It's not nearly as good or good for you--- but it can be very cheap and it's what a lot of poor and middle class families in this country survive on. Kraft Mac and cheese, jarred spaghetti sauces, cheapie frozen pizzas, stuff with condensed soup as a base  --- it's what most of the kids I teach live on. |
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Post by freecharlie on Sept 28, 2014 17:51:47 GMT
Katy, your post seems very judgemental.
Some people also don't have the time or space to cook everything from scratch. Plus, I happen to like some of the processed crap and honestly, while I do sometimes make my sauces from acratch,bit is not only time consuming buy way more expensive than buying the can.
The point is, if someone is trying to cut the food bill, cooking frim scratch is not always cheaper.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,710
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Post by Dani-Mani on Sept 28, 2014 17:57:12 GMT
Katy, your post seems very judgemental. Some people also don't have the time or space to cook everything from scratch. Plus, I happen to like some of the processed crap and honestly, while I do sometimes make my sauces from acratch,bit is not only time consuming buy way more expensive than buying the can. The point is, if someone is trying to cut the food bill, cooking frim scratch is not always cheaper. I didn't see any judgement from her post at all? |
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Post by Zee on Sept 28, 2014 17:58:20 GMT
Here we go with the creamed soup haters...Lolol. Right on cue.
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Post by anxiousmom on Sept 28, 2014 18:03:47 GMT
This sounds delicious, but I feel like still more than double the cost of buying. The jars we like are $2 on special. The 16 oz parmesan I can rarely get for that? I find that a lot with cooking sadly. Very true. Processed food is very often WAY cheaper than food from scratch. It's not nearly as good or good for you--- but it can be very cheap and it's what a lot of poor and middle class families in this country survive on. Kraft Mac and cheese, jarred spaghetti sauces, cheapie frozen pizzas, stuff with condensed soup as a base --- it's what most of the kids I teach live on. It's true that sometimes cooking from scratch is, at first blush, more expensive. But, for example, the alfredo sauce. I don't use the whipping cream, but rather a combination of half and half and 2% milk. I buy both already for my coffee and cereal and other milk/dairy needs. I have, in a pinch, used parm cheese in the can, and the finished product is just fine. It just needs to be stirred more to keep it from getting grainy. Those go on sale all the time and you don't use the whole can, so there is enough left over for other meals. It doesn't have to be more expensive if you shop the sales-and that is doubling the recipe, probably the equivalent to two jars of pre-made sauce. I think that part of the reason people don't always think that it can be less expensive. Some things you already have. I always keep a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup on hand. Sometimes I am in a hurry and frankly, it works well and the consistency/taste of a casserole is good. But if I am out, flour, butter and and milk makes a fine and inexpensive roux/beshemel sauce that can be substituted. Honestly, I was kind of thinking that there are a lot of people who don't cook very much from scratch because there are preconceived ideas about time, costs and judgement about what we use in order to cook "from scratch." There are different levels (as a previous poster said- more of a "hybrid" thing) of scratch cooking. I thought maybe that those of us who do cook like this could share and make someone who is leery of trying, not so worried about giving it a shot. |
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Post by darkangel090260 on Sept 28, 2014 18:05:33 GMT
Tonight sometime I will make 3-4 loafs of bread. One batch of flour tortillas, 3-5 dozen cookies and some dinner rolls. Will take a few hour but I will 4-6 only spend about $15.00 on everything. That will last a week to a week and a half.
I will put 4-6 chicken breast in the crock pot with chicken stock and BBQ sauce cook over night. Then use some to make wraps, or over rice and that is launch for one week. Takes all of 5 minutes to set up and not extra time.
Tomorrow I will make up a bunch of baby pancakes and stick in freezer and the will cover everyone beside DH and M for breakfast.
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Post by eebud on Sept 28, 2014 18:20:41 GMT
I mostly "cook from scratch" but I still use canned tomatoes, packaged pasta and some other conveniences. We almost never make spaghetti but there is a soup/stew that DH likes to make that he will use part of a jar of spaghetti sauce in it. We like Classico for this. It also has a lot of other goodies though that don't come from a jar or box. I also buy a cooked chicken from Costco/Sams many weeks. A chicken is super easy to cook but many times, the raw chicken costs just as much as the huge chicken from Costco/Sams so why bother cooking it ourselves. I do buy whole chickens when they are on sale though and I can save money on them. We get about 3-4 meals out of one chicken for the 2 of us. I don't use things like Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, etc. If I want something like that, I cook my own noodles and add my own spices, canned tomatoes, etc. Alfredo Sauce was discussed above. I love alfredo sauce but we rarely make it. It is so high in calories and fat so I limit how often I cook it. But, when I do, I cook it from scratch because it is easier and I have never tasted any from a jar that I liked. Oh yes...............and, I will on rare occasion use a cream of mushroom soup. I don't use it often but there are a few things that I make occasionally that I like it.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,316
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 28, 2014 18:24:59 GMT
I make a lot of stuff from scratch. Cookies, whipped cream, chicken pot pie, all soups. I also make pumpkin pie from scratch. That should bring out the Libby's can pumpkin fan club...  |
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back to *pea*ality
Pearl Clutcher
Not my circus, not my monkeys ~refugee pea #59
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Jun 25, 2014 19:51:11 GMT
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Post by back to *pea*ality on Sept 28, 2014 18:26:28 GMT
Katy, your post seems very judgemental. Some people also don't have the time or space to cook everything from scratch. Plus, I happen to like some of the processed crap and honestly, while I do sometimes make my sauces from acratch,bit is not only time consuming buy way more expensive than buying the can. The point is, if someone is trying to cut the food bill, cooking frim scratch is not always cheaper. I think @katy is spot on about the SAD - standard american diet and it is a judgment call about how we eat. There is no doubt it takes more money, time and effort to cook healthy food instead of eating highly processed packaged foods. But it is an investment in your long term health. Until America is willing to make this more of a priority and demand better sources of food we are going to continue to be a nation of people who will continue to get sicker and sicker. |
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
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Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Sept 28, 2014 18:31:06 GMT
I like to cook from scratch not because I have to but because it tastes better than the majority of pre-packaged food IMO.  |
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Post by myshelly on Sept 28, 2014 18:33:08 GMT
I'll just come out and admit that I never make anything from scratch.
I hate cooking. I hate baking. I resent spending money on food. I hate any time spent in the kitchen.
Cooking from scratch requires a lot of things I just don't keep on hand, so for me, yes, it would be a lot more expensive.
Honestly, my oven hasn't worked for 6 months and I haven't felt the need to pay to repair it. I just never use it.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 19:49:03 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 18:33:19 GMT
Then then there is the hybrid method, taking canned or frozen things and adding your own touches to make it more like "scratch". That's how I cook as well. The other day, I did a homemade BBQ sauce from scratch. There had to be at least 10 different ingredients. I can buy store bought BBQ sauce for under $1.00. Will mine taste better? Not sure. I'll find out tonight. I don't think there's much of a mystery to cooking from scratch. I've personally found it's more time consuming and expensive. I think it usually tastes better, but taking the extra time to do this with every meal usually isn't worth it to me. |
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Jili
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Post by Jili on Sept 28, 2014 18:39:56 GMT
I think I cook from scratch but I use boxed pasta, canned beans, store-bought pizza sauce and canned pasta sauce (that I add my own stuff to). I guess I think of cooking my own food to be just that... if I have to make and assemble and cook the components at home, it's cooking from scratch. Opening a box or bag and heating isn't cooking from scratch. This is how I cook, for the most part. I love to cook from scratch, and do it often. I'm pretty proud of that, considering that I work long days and put in a ton of time on work each night. I don't shy away from using pre-prepared ingredients where I need to--especially on the weeknights. I am not averse to taking shortcuts when I get home from work late and just don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Though I make a good spaghetti sauce, I will at times use sauce from a jar. My current favorite is Bertolli because I like the ingredient list. I also use Boboli pizza crust, frozen Trader Joes' rice, rotisserie chickens from the deli, and some other shortcuts. My famous macaroni and cheese recipe is largely from scratch, but I do throw in a tub of refrigerated reduced-fat alfredo sauce as my secret ingredient. I get rave reviews when I make it. In my family, the truth is that they really like certain processed foods. Sometimes that's difficult for me to accept. My dh enjoys my homemade pasta sauce, but the honest truth is that he and the kids like the less-homemade taste of sauce from jar. I enjoy trying new recipes/variations on certain dishes. One example is sloppy Joe's. I've made these a million different ways, adding in my own vegetables, etc. But my dh has told me a million times that he really prefers when I don't bother with that and just use Manwich. I could go on and on with similar examples. I think that the bottom line is that most of us do our best given our budgets, time constraints, and preferences. |
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?" Yes, yes I do. It takes 10 minutes max. 
--- it's what most of the kids I teach live on. 
