I am working on a section in my book on how to put on a “Pantry Challenge”, and I would love your experiences and tips on how to effectively put on a Pantry Challenge in your home!
Have you made anything from scratch that you normally bought premade? Was it worth the effort and cost savings? What tips do you have for eating from the pantry for a week?
Note: I am busy writing today and tomorrow to hit my rough draft deadline so the book will be out soon. So, I apologize for the lack of posts, but more will be coming on Thursday!
It’s not to eat, but I make my own laundry detergent. It’s easy and I ‘ve spent about 25 dollars since March of 2008 on laundry materials. I love it.
I made homemade pumpkin puree this year. I bought 1 medium pumpkin from Aldi for $2.50, and it made 6 cups of pumpkin puree. I also bought a can of pumpkin puree (1.75 cups or 15 oz.) from Aldi for $0.79. So the homemade puree was only $0.03 cheaper than the store bought. I am hoping it will taste alot fresher in my breads and muffins, but only time will tell. I’m not certain it was worth the effort, yet.
Well, the biggest thing for me was to make my own taco/chili seasonings. That way if I just needed a little, then I didn’t waste a while pack. I also make my own Onion soup mix, and cream or…… soup mix. The cream of soup mix takes up much less room than several cans and it doesn’t have HFCS in it..(and other things)
I did try a few other things like my own corn bread mix, but nothing beats Jiffy!
Pizza dough, pancakes, & waffles are all relatively new things I have began making from scratch. Saves $$ and also is trans fat free. The TASTE is 100 times better in my opinion on all of these items too. My kids now DEMAND the homemade stuff.
I have started making my sloppy joes and spaghetti sauce from pantry items/ freezer…it’s cheaper. Sloppy joes I normally stock up on frozen green peppers/ onions/ mushrooms when they are on sale…then I will add them into hamburger when I am cooking sloppy joe or spaghetti sauce. – Sloppy joe- add the frozen veggies, then s/p and then ketchup and mustard to make the sauce. Cheaper tastier. Spaghetti sauce..I will buy whatever is on sale then doctor up with spices and frozen veggies. Ends up being cheaper in the long run.
Instead of buying the pre-made refridgerated Buttermilk Biscuits which come 6 to a can I now make them from scratch and freeze them individually. This way I can bake only 2 if I feel like it and not have 4 leftover drying out in the fridge.
This summer I made jam and canned peaches. The jam is leaps and bounds better than store bought, and has zero preservatives or color added. To me that is a win. The cost is slightly less than what you’d pay in store, however I could get jam VERY cheap with coupons. The difference in nutrition is worth it to make home made to me.
The peaches are the big cost saver though. I got a case of peaches for $20, and canned 24 quarts. If I was going to buy good canned peaches they would be $3 a can. That’s a huge savings.
I make my own baby food and it is very cost effective! Before having my baby my husband and I could not believe the cost of baby food. We read a few good books on how to create your own and took the plunge. I puree everything from fruits and veggies to meat. It saves time, is healthier for my baby and saves money. To store the baby food I put the pureed food in ice cube trays, cover with tin foil and freeze overnight. I then place them in freezer safe bags and label. Whenever I need a pureed cube I take it out of the bag and heat it up. I now feel good about what goes into my child’s body!
For work, I have been vacuum packing and freezing single serving homemade lasagna and other vegetable laden casseroles, instead of relying on store bought meals and dining out. I find that this is a lot easier than taking the time to pack my lunch each night, as well as being a huge money saver. The bags can be a little pricey, but the savings are well worth it. They are reuseable, so you are saving money AND the environment!
Last week I was making chili in my crock pot when I realized I didn’t have the chili seasoning in the little packet….so I googled it and found a great recipe for the seasoning!
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (we had some bc I like it on my pizza)
It was SO good! I normally don’t tell my hubby if I switch something up and he noticed and commented. He said it had a ton more flavor and was really good! Definitely will do this again
I got from the a year of slow cooking blog about making dried beans instead of canned in the slow cooker. It’s super easy and about 1/3 of the cost.
With most things that you bake (biscuits, pie crust, cookies, etc.), homemade will be cheaper, better for you, and taste better. I love making my own salad dressings, which saves a lot and is not time-consuming at all. Our current favorite homemade item is hot cocoa. I make a big batch of the dry ingredients and keep it in a container, so all we have to do is heat up milk or water.
I just started making my own homemade Banana Bread. I used to just throw out the browned bananas that noone would eat, but instead I whip up a batch of homemade banana bread. Its great for breakfast and for an evening dessert!
I want to make my own granola. Anyone had success with this? Oats are so inexpensive. The recipe I saw calls for Pure Maple syrup. That, on the other hand, is expensive!
I made chai tea mix for gifts and it was a big hit. I was told it was better than store bought.
I’d love to know how Rachel makes her mixes.
As for salad dressing, it’s hard to pass up FREE. But, I’m sure homemade is more healthful.
i make my own homemade Frapachinos…..I take really strong leftover brewed coffee and pour into ice cube trays……once frozen i keep them in a large ziploc in the freezer….when I want a Frappacino I put skim milk a little sugar and the coffee cubes in the blender….sometimes i’ll add cool whip to make it a little creamier……at times I’ll add chocolate syrup for a Mocha Frappachino….way cheaper than starbucks…..and less fattening….
I make my own chocolate syrup using the Tightwad Gazette recipe. I keep it in a squeeze bottle in the fridge for chocolate milk, ice cream topping, or drizzling on a quick-bread or muffin. I also make and freeze my own chicken stock after I make a chicken in the crockpot.
A few years ago, I had the luxury of going to a health spa for three days. Real treat! The cook there made the most fabulous tasting healthy meals. One day she gave a talk on making home made stocks and I’ve done this ever since. I keep a large freezer bag with vegetable peelings and scraps in the freezer. When it is full, I add one gallon of purified water and simmer in my crockpot all day. Any time I stew a chicken (crockpot also), I make stock the 2nd day, adding celery, onion, carrots, and garlic. And I love to buy bone-in steaks and save the bones until I have enough to make stock the same way as the chicken. I freeze these in one cup plastic containers that stack well. I usually add a small amount of sea salt and some cider vinegar as these simmer in order to get all the minerals from the bones. When I cook just about anything that calls for added liquid, I use these stocks. They are almost “free” as they are made from scraps and things that would have been thrown out anyway. All the nutrition is captured and all the dishes have more flavor. I add other herb, spices, and more salt later, depending on the type of dish I’m making.
I make my own Bannana bread almost every week with leftover bannanas. The weeks I don’t have time, I stick the whole bannana in the freezer. When I feel like spending a while in the kitchen, I make several loafs to share.
Also, my MIL is single and doesn’t really like to cook much for herself. So I cook enough for our family and make a serving for her. Vaccum seal it and stick it in the freezer. Once a month we take a stash of meals to her that she can reheat and eat within minutes with little effort. It helps her with her budget and she is eating healther foods. We are not out any extra on cost since I am already making the meals for our family. Luckily she likes my cooking!
I have tried to start making many things homemade instead of store bought. Not only is it cheaper but it gives me peace of mind knowing I am feeding my family healthy food. This year I have made a lot of baby food. Store bought baby food gets very expensive and although I still have to buy it every once in a while, homemade baby food has been easier to make than I expected. I usually only boil the vegetable/fruit I want to make and then I put it in the blender. To store it, I freeze them in icecube trays. When it is frozen I transfer them to freezer baggies. It is very easy and much healthier for your baby because they have no preservatives or additives. Using your website as well, I have started making my own pizza dough and sauce which is very yummy and pretty simple! I also enjoy making homemade cookies, although it is time consuming, they are so much better tasting than store bought!
I remember growing up how much I hated for my mother to always cook, we rarely went out to eat. But now as a mother I am able to see the benefits for my family and it is an option I try to choose all the time!
I do homemade almost all the time now. Everything from brownie and cookie mixes to bread to vanilla coffee syrup and extract, etc. etc. Once you start doing homemade, you can almost taste the additives in store bought, plus I’m sure it is better for the family knowing that a bunch of extra stuff hasn’t been added in. I have also discovered it doesn’t take that much extra time to do it as most people think!
I love homemade food and not having to purchase things pre-made. When I first got married, I took a food item a month and researched different ways to easily make it myself. Finding non-time consuming ways to make things was my goal. In my crock-pot I can make spaghetti sauce, applesauce and yogurt. I also make home-made croutons and pizza dough. Croutons are SO easy and they can be made out of any stale bread you have on hand as well. We make a ton of salads and smoothies so making my own croutons and yogurt has saved us lots of money. I love making double the recipe and freezing half of it for quick meals so I don’t have to buy pre-made ones. Pizza dough also freezes well so when I make one, I triple the recipe and freeze the other two for quick pizza.
yogurt has been my favorite and it is so easy! This is the recipe I use (except I add in more culture to make it thicker) http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html
Oh yeah, I only go shopping every other week since it forces me to use what is in the house and thus save lots of money. If I have a few random ingredients that I don’t know what to make with it I would put it in my search box like this:
“ground beef, carrots, sweet potatoes”
and see what comes up. Usually I can find a recipe to match. I always try to keep broth, rice and pasta on hand since usually these mixed-matched meals call for at least one of the three.
I have been making my own spaghetti and pizza sauces for years. I now make my own pizza crust as well. I have found that price-wise, the sauce is a little bit cheaper than store bought when I use canned crushed tomatoes, but when I use home grown tomatoes from my garden, the savings are that much greater. It is a bit time consuming at the end of the summer, but I crush my tomatoes and freeze them in bags. When it comes time to make the sauce, all i have to do is take out a bag. The rest of the ingredients are pantry staples, so it costs next to nothing to make a big pot of sauce! (And that means a lot to me since I’m feeding a family of five!) I make my own bread when I can. This is not always less expensive, and is definitely time consuming, but it is something that my family loves. If I am making rolls for dinner, I will usually split the dough in half and make cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next day, or make a large batch of rolls and freeze what I don’t use. Then I know I have rolls handy on those nights I am looking for a quick meal.
I have also started making my own salad dressings. They are easy to make, and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. It’s healthier that way, too, as there are no preservatives. I am always looking for ways to save, which is why I love your website! I have always seen the value in homemade vs. store bought. My family has a big garden every year, and we freeze or jar what we can. We also love visiting our local apple orchard and strawberry patch each year. We always pick enough to make jellies, sauces, etc. It’s usually cheaper, and it’s always so much healthier!
I make most everything from scratch as I was brought up that way & love the taste. I find not only is it cost effective but much better for you b/c there aren’t all those additives & preservatives. Some things that I’ve learned to make since I’ve been married are baby wipes, laundry detergent, baby food, “Bisquick” mix & taco seasoning.
One of the homemade foods that I like to make once a week would be meatballs.I use ground turkey. Which you can find at Walmart in frozen tubes for about 1.37. All you’ll need that’s easily homemade too is italian bread crumbs(dried bread, italian seasonings and a food processor to crumb bread). The dried garlic, salt and pepper are also basic pantry staples always on hand that will be used. You add 1 Tbsp garlic, 1/2 tsp.salt and pepper to ground turkey, make 1inch balls and then coat with italian bread crumbs.Cook in canola oil in fry pan.Meanwhile placing an inexpensive jar of marinara sauce or possibly made your self by one of these great sauce recipes above, making sure to add plenty of parmesan .This recipe tastes mighty close to restaurant quality, and was made with plenty of basic stapes from your pantry.I also might add that it”s much cheaper than a five dollar bag of pre-made frozen meatballs minus the addatives!
This morning I’m making homemade beef pies. Normally, I would look for Marie Callender’s on sale 4/$5. I found a large tray of stew meat @ Kroger on sale for $8.44 (w/ my $2 coupon) add canned mixed veggies, soups for gravy, etc. I will have enough to make two large pies, for two meals (2nd to freeze, or share). My savings per pie is about $1.50, but I will have enough from each meal to send leftovers for my husband’s lunch (savings for leftover lunch is $5 daily).
This is the second year we have planted a garden and I have not bought a tomatoe in three months. I also was able to freeze some of the veggies for us to use this winter.
Next year we are expanding our garden and my hubby wants to learn how to can, so we can save even more.
For me, it is just the opposite. I normally make things from scratch, but since I started couponing, I have bought more mixes. If I have the time, I would rather make things from scratch, to me they taste better and are healthier (I often use some or all whole wheat flour, less sugar and little or no salt). By using mixes, I find I take sweets to more things because it is quicker, and I tend to decorate what I take, rather than just taking them plain.
Is it worth the time and extra effort to bake from scratch? Yes!!
I love all of your ideas, I’ve always been a little timid of homemade. If anyone can provide any sites or recipes I would be grateful. Can’t wait to better benefit my family with this cooking method!
My favorite resources for the best homemade foods are either “old fundraiser cookbooks” — the kind with recipes passed down for forever (e.g. Junior League of Louisville had a great one a few decades ago that a fried recently gave me) or, barring that, Alton Brown’s recipes on foodnetwork.com. Both are treasure-troves of information!
I have been doing a lot of “use it up” and homemade cooking lately so that food does not get wasted. Food is so expensive lately, so to me, it is worth it and while my hubby thinks I am weird, he appreciates the tasty meals I come up with. For example, last week, I cooked a beef stew with ingredients that I bought. However, I had nearly a quart of broth leftover in the pot when we were done eating it. I put it in a container and stuck it in the freezer to use later. Today, I am going to make another beef stew using leftover carrots and 1 potato, as well as another potato and onion I bought yesterday. In a fit of inspiration of a way to use up a can of blackeyed peas I mistakenly bought, I am came up with a clever way to thicken the broth of a stew without using corn starch or flour. I use a can of beans and puree them in my blender and then stir them in. Depending on the size of your pot of stew, more than one can might be necessary. Beans thicken the stew and add add protein and iron to the dish. I have also been creating a handwritten menu at the beginning of each week after shopping so that my hubby knows what I had in mind for eating and I know that I have all ingredients on hand. It has saved me running out of ingredients.
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