I grew up with a mother who always cooked from scratch. That is all I knew. Our home was consistently blessed with homemade whole wheat bread, granola, yummy casseroles, and what have you. My mom was 'famous' in our small town for her bread and rolls. Even things like maple syrup and other delicious syrups were homemade. Our family did a lot of canning and preserving too. I was jealous of some friends and kids that I babysat because they got to have store-bought macaroni and cheese, store-bought white bread, and other convenience foods. They were so lucky, I thought at the time.
I know differently now. I am so thankful my mother instilled in me the desire to cook from scratch. Not that I do it all the time. mind you. I have to fight that desire to do the quick and easy thing. Cooking from scratch takes more time usually, but it is healthier for you and cheaper too. I like making from scratch bread, macaroni and cheese (thanks mom!), brownies, chili, cinnamon rolls, salad, and many other things.
I am even starting to make my own homemade mixes. For example, mixes like Bisquick, muffin mixes, pancake mixes, brownie mixes, etc. that you purchase in the store seem cheap, and maybe they are sometimes on a really good sale with a coupon. But making your own homemade mixes and storing those instead actually costs less. Plus it is healthier. Those packaged mixes from the store are full of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. So by making my own homemade mix, I still get the healthy and cheap way of cooking from scratch, along with the convenience and ease of a mix!
Most of the recipes for homemade mixes I have are from Quick Cooking magazine that I have saved through the years. But there are also some great resources for this online. Here are two websites with HUNDREDS of recipes for homemade mixes
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Oh, and THIS is a great article about how cooking from scratch can cut your grocery bill in half.
THIS is a great thread discussion on PYP about cooking from scratch. Lots of recipes too.
Do you cook from scratch? What are some of your favorite things to make? DO you think it saves you money?
6 comments:
I love the homemade mixes. I started to make my own too - but only bisquick and pancake mix so far. I need to check out those sites and get more ideas!
First, let me say that I love your site...thanks for all the great deals!
I was thrilled to find that you had posted about this topic today! I want so bad to cook from sratch but have no idea of where to start! So, I was so excited to find a couple of reccommended sites!
Thanks again!
You are welcome! :)
Thanks Marne! I quit buying Bisquick awhile ago because of the hydrogenated stuff and make pancakes, waffles, etc from scratch, but I would love to have some homemade mixes! So thank you a million! Those are some great sites with lots of ideas for mixes I had never thought of.
It is hard to find mixes from the store that aren't all funky...with crazy ingredients...
the other day I ate homemade mac and cheese from the crock pot- and it was pretty amazing...probably a little hard on the arteries but still it was better tasting than Kraft
I love Quick Cooking and Taste of Home. I've found so many mixes and recipes in them. I make my own taco seasoning and I love it. I'm going to check out the other mix links, as I could use a Bisquick-type one.
I do most everything from scratch. Bread and bread rolls, waffles, cakes, brownies and cookies, even pizza and spaghetti sauce.
I think it definitely saves me money, and more than that, I get peace of mind knowing what my family is eating.
Awesome post!!
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