Cooking from scratch?  

I cook from scratch. Apart from having to avoid certain ingredients I find a lot of mixes and convenience foods to be over flavoured and too salty. If you go back to real food you soon notice the difference.

I think people have been conned that cooking from scratch is complicated or time consuming. Sure, some meals need a fair amount of hands on time but how often do you eat those?

Does it make you boggle when you see things like "easy roast potatoes" and pancake mix? Which marketing genius convinced the world pancake batter was difficult to do?

Cooking from scratch, wow! Just that line alone makes one feel overwhelmed. In a sense if the first attempt at cooking from scratch doesn't turn out well, most people would definitely give up and cook easier meals like hamburgers instead. I would say keep on trying as practice makes perfect. Just as nobody is born to cook, no one is born a genius either. True there are times when cooking from scratch might not yield possible results, but don't stop trying either. Even up till now, I still "cooking from scratch" whenever I chance upon new recipes. I may not cook the best meal, but I know that not only did I tried, I also put my heart and soul into the dish I made. Even if it doesn't look all that appetising, the taste might actually be yummylicious for all you know. So, don't give up cooking from scratch!!

I cook from scratch also and have found that it doesn't take that much extra time. Right at first, it did take more time, but once I got used to what to buy and had my recipes figured out, it became easy. Cooking from scratch has been great for us because it lets us control what we're putting into our bodies. There were a lot of things we didn't eat before because the sodium content was higher than what we like. Now I can make those same things, but keep the numbers in a range our doctors are happy with.

If you want to try making some taco seasoning, here's the recipe I use. Once you know if you like it or have it adjusted to suit your tastes, you can make big batches and it will cost a lot less than buying the packages. No MSG either. :)


Taco Seasoning

1 T flour
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground oregano

Blend ingredients. Store in airtight container.

Hi Mike, I am an ALMOST home style cook. I do a lot of things from scratch, but many of my sides begin with a box. Let's just say that I cook Mac and Cheese from a box.. well then I add some good white extra sharp cheese to that. Then if I want a main course out of Mac and Cheese I will also add little chunks of ham to it. I use canned veggies, and I use taco kits, but sometimes I do just buy a big bag of tortillas and taco sauce and build my own burritos out of whatever I have in the fridge. For me it is convenient, and much less expensive to cook this way.

I have changed to home made biscuits, rather than Bisquick biscuits. I love Bisquick, but it does get rather expensive to buy it when you make biscuits and pancakes as much as I do.

I take lots of boxed things and put my own special spin on them and they taste original.

I rarely cook with boxed foods anymore. I used to all the time, but I started cooking from scratch about a year and a half ago. I even make my own taco seasoning and chili seasoning.

HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING MIX

1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. each ground cumin, garlic powder, paprika, powdered oregano and sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Makes 3 tablespoons of seasoning mix, which is equal in strength to a 1/4 ounce package of commercial seasoning mix.

I almost always cook from scratch. In the past few years, I've gotten into the habit of reading all food labels and the amount of artificial junk in so many foods, especially convenience foods, is scary. I avoid hydrogenated fats, corn syrup, white sugar/flour, and artificial flavors/colors/preservatives... I shudder to think how much of that unnatural $#!% I used to put in my body.

I prefer to cook from scratch. All those boxed foods are not good for anyone between the sodium, hydrogenated oils and refined sugar, they are death in a box.

I read those hamburger helper packages as well, and then I decide, that I can make it myself. I prefer to cook by scratch, and the only time we buy macaroni and cheese dinners is when they are on sale. We do get those cans of pork and beans, but now we shop at Superstore and we cannot get our favorite canned chili there, so I will have to learn how to make it. I think the reason people do not want to cook from scratch is the time. I had a hard time when my husband was working afternoon shift, because I had to start soon after breakfast, and did not have almost all day to defrost the meat. When I had to make something in the crockpot, I had to put it in the night before because if I started at nine, it would not be ready by noon.
Now my husband has taken early retirement and there is no more worry.

Cooking from scratch is the best way to cook. that way you know hat your eating and you won't have all those additives. You can find a number of home made mixes so that your meal is a lot like those store bought mixes.Here is a taco seasoning mix from CDKitchen
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Brown about 1 pound of ground beef and add small amount of water. Stir in dry mixture and cook a few minutes.
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground oregano
You can get more taco mix recipes at http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/1263/0.shtml

I cook most everything from scratch because it is cheaper. I have 3 kids and I am a stay at home mom. I do use hamburger helper and boxed maceroni though when I want to make something quick.