<p>Cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, desserts in general, pasta sauce, salsa, mashed potatoes, gravy, whipped cream, icing, macaroni and cheese.
My husband bakes bread every few weeks, but we go through too much bread to make it all the time.
The majority of our meals are from scratch.</p>
<p>I’m not adverse to buying prepared items, but most of the time it’s just as easy to make from scratch. My daughters have gotten pretty good at cooking and baking and do a lot on their own. </p>
<p>I dont eat sugar/wheat often, and since I expect my oldest to have both at her reception, I am cutting back even more so that I can hopefully partake enough so it doesnt look obvious.
Bread used to be my favorite thing too, but unfortunately we often crave what we are addicted/sensitive to.</p>
<p>Super hi triglycerides for H, so we cut out most bread, potatoes, rice, sugar. You know, all the good stuff. :-< </p>
<p>For those who want a chicken pot pie recipe without cream, the NYTimes recently published a version adapted for a lighter, springtime approach. It does use buttermilk.
"Light stews with springtime ingredients and satisfying crusts are the perfect dish for this time of year. These are neither the gut-busting braises that we’ve been eating all winter nor the cold soups that we’ll eat in a couple of months, but something in between. The most famous example of this kind of dish, of course, is chicken potpie. The version I offer here is a modern take that celebrates spring with the addition of peas (traditional) and asparagus (less so) and the exclusion of cream…With a biscuit crust that doesn’t require rolling and never gets soggy on the bottom, this vegetable-laden spring stew is not only easier than classic chicken potpie, but better. "
They refer to this version as a stew, rather than a pot pie. Recipe is at
<a href=“Vegetable-and-Chicken Stew With Olive-Oil-Rosemary Biscuits Recipe - NYT Cooking”>Vegetable-and-Chicken Stew With Olive-Oil-Rosemary Biscuits Recipe - NYT Cooking;
<p>I’m having trouble thinking of many things that I buy ready made. Granola (which I sprinkle on yogurt about once a week), hummus sometimes (but my recipe is a million times better). I don’t make my own English muffins or bagels, I have half of one for breakfast everyday. We only have pizza when the boys are home and we get take out. Once upon a time I used to even make pasta by hand - now we just don’t eat it.</p>
<p>Otherwise everything is from scratch: gravy, biscuits (rarely), chocolate cake, apple pie, cookies, mashed potatoes, salad dressing, waffles, pancakes, chicken pot pie (so good !), tomato sauce, salsa, guacamole…</p>
<p>Most desserts (I’m a stress baker, so I usually have plenty of baking supplies on hand) but brownies are my specialty; mashed potatoes (mom’s recipe, and all my friends are shocked at how good they are); whipped cream; my mom makes amazing enchilada sauce which I have the recipe for but have never tried; macaroni and cheese (oven baked); beef stew (also oven baked); beef stroganoff (in the slow cooker.)</p>
<p>I would LOVE to get into making my own breads and pastas but don’t have the time or money at present. Hopefully that will change once I get a “real” job.</p>
<p>This thread is making me crave my moms homemade German potato salad and apfelkuchen. Hungrrrrrry…</p>
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<p>LOL….me too. I even laid the eggs!</p>
<p>How does one make mashed potatoes “not from scratch”? Does one have to grow own potatoes for it to qualify as “from scratch”?</p>
<p>Instant mashed potatoes are not from scratch. </p>
<p>^from a box. They are usually called instant mashed potatoes. Trader Joes also has frozen mashed potatoes. They look like little pucks and you add a bit of milk and butter and just heat them up. I bought some just to have in freezer when my H is home alone. He is a good cook, but won’t bother if it’s only him at home. </p>
<p>I make my own dog treats. (I puree chicken livers and thicken the puree with oatmeal and flax seed meal, then spread 1/2" thick on a Silpat to bake, then cut into small cubes about 1/2" on a side, then bake some more to dry the cubes out.) I make soup for my dogs mostly from scratch–meat, vegetable mix, oatmeal, flax seed oil–every day.</p>
<p>As far as humans go, any baked goods–cakes, cookies, pies, breads, biscuits–I generally make myself and soups are sort-of-from-scratch–I sometimes use premade stock (if I don’t have any of my own) and frozen vegetables.</p>
<p>I like to bake so I generally bake everything from scratch (cookies, cakes, pies, biscuits, scones) - except sandwich bread. H likes “store” bread better for sandwiches. Otherwise, I’m not crazy about cooking. I’m not averse to some short cuts such as jarred sauce, spice mixes, dried pasta. However, as a Texan transplanted to London, I have to make all of my own Tex-Mex. I’m famous in our neighbourhood for my salsa. </p>
<p>@abasket Cheese sauce: butter, flour, milk, grated sharp cheddar. If you have fresh parmesan in the house, add a maybe a tablespoon per person. Basically a white sauce with cheese. I don’t even bake it, though if I feel ambitious I might undercook the pasta 1-2 minutes and finish it off in the sauce. This is an entree at our house.</p>
<p>@megpmom … are you able to find your tortillas in London or do you have to make those as well? D is in Germany and has found masa flour and makes her own, but i do end up sending her dried chilis and a few other ground spices so that she can satisfy her Tex-Mex cravings. It is a great way to make new friends in the EU.
I am like many others, as my “short list” involves what I do not make from scratch rather than what I do. I used to make bread, but we have some fantastic bakeries nearby so it does not make sense. Also, I have given up on making Indian ever since a few little old ladies in saris opened up an Indian deli down the street. Too good and so cheap, I just cannot compete. The rest of it is second nature and I rarely consult a recipe unless it’s for baking cookies, candy or cakes. One thing that I always make from scratch and (very few other people do ) are marshmallows. I will make a few dozen tomorrow for the Easter holiday in pastel colours. They are like sweet little clouds.</p>
<p>@musica - We can get flour tortillas at most grocery stores here. Homemade are better, so when I have time, I’ll make them. Corn tortillas are a little harder to find, but I found a restaurant that will sell them to me. The hardest ingredients to find here are dried chiles - but luckily Whole Foods carries most varieties. And I even have found Ro-tel tomatoes (if you are a Southerner, you’ll know what they are). </p>
<p>ALWAYS: pizza, chicken pot pie, macaroni 'n cheese, pea soup, gravies, fish cakes, ….
SOMETIMES: toll house cookie dough, brownies/cakes, breads, applesauce, ….
NEVER: dumplings, ice cream, sausage, beer/wine, ….
MY DH MAKES: polenta, breakfast burritoes, ……</p>
<p><a href=“Barefoot Contessa | Recipes Main Page”>Barefoot Contessa | Recipes Main Page;
<p>I use this one for my base recipe</p>
<p>Yeah, I was a little taken aback by the mashed potatoes mentions. I know instant exists, but I thought of that as sort of a 70s aberration (which we never countenanced in my family.) I don’t think of it as scratch, but I guess it is.</p>
<p>Also, for us–vegetable stock, gravy, fresh tomato sauce, pesto (we freeze gallons of it), bean soup, whipped cream, cookies (hate storebought), stuffed clams, clam chowder, (all clams harvested by H), beer, mead, slow-roasted tomatoes, potato salad, mac salad…most things.</p>
<p>Until last year my younger D would only eat instant mashed potatoes. She would beg me to bring instant to Thanksgiving since she didn’t like homemade. In her younger years I would make her a separate bowl of instant. She also doesn’t like homemade gravy but prefers it from the packet. (Both tastes she picked up on visits to my mother) My other D prefers Stovetop stuffing over homemade.</p>