One of the things I enjoy doing is making things "from scratch", food or otherwise. It gives me a thrill to make something that most people buy. And (in most cases) it saves money. Also, it is typically healthier. But I know there are seasons in life that "from scratch" just takes way too long. I've been there too, and those bags/boxes/cans sure are handy!
Here are some recipes I've recently used to make things from scratch:
:::Peanut Butter Granola, recipe at Making a House a Home.
Yum! Fast and easy! I substituted coconut oil for the butter.
:::Coconut Granola
I followed the granola recipe I posted here, substituting coconut oil for the butter. When there was just 15 minutes left to bake it, I added in coconut flakes.
:::Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (recipe found in this post at Simple Bites)
There are two other salad dressing recipes in this post that I'd like to try out as well. I made the ranch dressing and tasted it and then wanted to sit down and eat the dressing. Later that same evening, after dinner and the dishes were done, I had thoughts about sneaking back into the kitchen and eating the ranch dressing. It's that good!
:::Green Enchilada Sauce
I made this last night. I was going to do a cost comparison on buying the ingredients versus buying a can of green enchilada sauce, but I forgot and threw my receipt away. It wasn't terribly expensive, and it made double the amount in a can. So I would say it was fairly inexpensive to make.
Kevin loved this sauce (I made green chicken enchiladas with it). He said it is so much better than store-bought. And I agree. If you have time, it is worth the effort it takes to make it! With the batch I made last night, I made dinner and had enough to stick in the freezer for another meal.
There is one thing I want to change about it though. There are two green bell peppers in it. As I was making it I was smelling it and thinking it smelled so wonderful, yet I kept wondering why I was thinking about my pregnancy with my daughter and feeling a little sick to my stomach. Then it dawned on me. It has bell peppers in it. I couldn't eat bell peppers for my entire pregnancy, much less smell them. Since this is a food post I won't gross you out with details, but I was very sick for 9 months. With as much as I couldn't eat/smell/see I'm lucky bell peppers are the only food I still have an aversion to! So...all that to say, next time I make this (and there will be a next time!) I'm looking for a recipe without bell peppers!
With as much as I like making things from scratch I still don't make bread or yogurt. I guess I should put those on my "to do" list!
6 comments:
I love making things from scratch if I can and have the time. I started making our sandwich bread and was going to move up to all bread that we eat but I had a set back this last week so we are back to storebought until we run out again. lol
Tammy I don't think I'll ever buy another can of enchilada sauce again. I got some help making pozole. (A mexican soup) You make this red chili sauce to put in it, and I realized it tasted just like enchilada sauce-only 100 x better! So I make my own red sauce for enchiladas, and it's good in so many things. I try to keep a jar of it on the door of the fridge. I love it! I don't make my own buttermilk ranch, because I can't find buttermilk that's affordable, so I just use sour cream and milk, garlic, green onions, salt and pepper. To me-I'll never go back to bottled ranch. Yuck.
Good luck on the bread and yogurt! I tried yogurt a couple times, and I thought it tasted funny.
I LOVE homemade buttermilk dressing! I know exactly what you mean about wanting to eat the dressing by itself.
Making bread is not that hard. I used to think it was, but I had a friend who told me not to be afraid of the dough, to make friends with it and get into it - and so I did. And my husband is eternally grateful! LOL You can do it!
Buy a 2nd hand bread machine and you will wonder why you didn't long ago. Get one with a preset and wake up to freshly baked bread - nothing like it :)
Jennifer, hope your week settles down for you a little so you can make your bread. :-)
Sarah, that red sauce sounds yummy too! I'll have to search for a recipe for that as well! (or if you woudn't mind sharing your recipe...)
Susan, bread dough and I just aren't on friendly terms. LOL I guess I should keep trying though!
Kim, I have a bread maker. Perhpas I should use it more often! :-)
Have you found a recipe for chili seasoning mix, that is, the mixture of spices to add to taco meat, etc.? I had one that I liked but lost it, had only mixed it up once. It had cinnamon and cloves in it.
Someone above mentioned not buying buttermilk as it's too expensive. Try adding 1 Tbsp of vinager to 1 cup of milk. I did that in Niger all the time as we didn't have access to buttermilk.
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