Wich prepared foods do you prefer to make yourself?
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
United States
October 4, 2010 12:29pm CST
I know I see premade waffles and pancakes and I think it is a time saver. Otherdays I think it's a waste of money because my kids like that sort of thing one minute and not the next.
Same with eating out... I hate going to places where the items on the menu are things I CAN make at home! This is why I'm a pain to take to restaurants as I don't want to pay restaurant prices for something I have at home or could make cheaper at home. Yes I know some things are better made at a restaurant but my wallet cried the last time dh & I went out on a date night. I think the bill ended up being nearly $30 after tip and there was no salad, no desert included. We both looked @ each other and said we'll do a buffet or fast food over a sit down place again!
What are you too cheap to buy @ the grocery store or from a restaurant because you can make it at home at half the cost?!?
7 people like this
18 responses
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
4 Oct 10
Almost everything! I love Chinese food and rarely make it at home because the restaurants do it so much better. But I do make egg rolls!
I'm too cheap to pay a restaurant and server for most dishes. The consistent exception is White Castle hamburgers, which I've tried but can't make at home. I know how to do it since I worked there nearly 40 years ago but they must use some cheap, funky cut of meat or something because I can never duplicate them even using their methods! 
3 people like this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I"m actually thinking I'm making my own Chinese dishes fairly decently.... especially the fried rice the family totally gobbles that up! I have yet to try to make my own egg rolls yet. Do you fry them in a pan? deep fry? or bake?
Don't go dating yourself Dragon... I think you probably hit it on the head by the cut of meat. Personally, I've tried the frozen & I don't see what the hub-bub is over them. We were by one in IL but it seemed abandoned, no customers & no one at the window to wait on you when you walked inside it was just creepy.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I fry my egg rolls in oil, even though I know it's not good for me. I'm health conscious in everything else so I figure it won't hurt me much!
@thomad13 (210)
• United States
4 Oct 10
I was raised by my grandparents in a traditional hispanic home. The one thing I cannot stand to go out to eat is Mexican food. When you know what authentic tastes like the others just dont taste right.
I was taught to cook from my grandmother and my husband and father in law are both chefs so I really dont eat out unless its just to have a break from a chaotic house, lol.
My whole family love to cook to its not much I'd prefer from a restaurant.
3 people like this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
4 Oct 10
My son has a girlfriend in Mexico and now won't eat Americanized Mexican cooking--he says it's gross and tasteless compared to the real thing!
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
4 Oct 10
Sounds good! I wish I could make a home made sauce of any kind from scratch.
2 people like this
@gdesjardin (1918)
• United States
6 Oct 10
@ cher913. I make good Fettuccine Alfredo. I hate to go to a restaurant to eat it because I either don't like the way it tastes or if I do, I never can finish it and when you reheat it the sauce usually breaks down and tastes terrible. I don't like to buy much pasta type dishes at a restaurant because I can usually make them better at home. My great aunts came from Italy so I guess I learned from the best. Now when I am visiting back home (Chicago) I don't mind getting Italian dishes up there at a restaurant. There are no good Italian restaurants down where I live now.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
4 Oct 10
It depends. I've been pretty lazy lately, so I'll buy it regardless because I just don't feel like making it at home. Though I do go through spurts where I won't buy anything because I can make it better at home for less. One of those things is cookies. Store bought cookies aren't nearly as good as homemade.. though I'm not sure if homemade is a better price unless you already have everything on hand. Since I haven't baked in awhile I'd have to get every ingredient, so that would cost more than a package of cookies.. but I would get more for my buck.
2 people like this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
19 Oct 10
Don't forget with home made you know what's exactly in them because you made it. But you know as it gets closer to Thanksgiving baking items will get cheaper so thats when you stock up if you can. But you know they had two dozen bakery cookies for $3 wich you figure was cheaper than making them as it would cost me $1.69 just for a pkg of choco chips alone KWIM?
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
19 Oct 10
That's why hubby likes it when I bake.. he knows it's not full of preservatives and other cr@p.
One of the biggest issues I face now though is that my kitchen is way too small. I feel like I can't breathe in there it's so fricken tiny and I hate being in it. I have to push the dining table one way to open the fridge, push it another way to do dishes, push it another way to get to the stove.. then pull it out again for the kids to sit. That dining table is about my only surface for preparing foods as our counters are covered with stuff like microwave, crockpot, coffee maker.. and my chest freezer is covered with food that doesn't fit in my cupboards. That's probably why I lost my desire to bake. It's just too much hassle!
@angelsmummy (1696)
•
4 Oct 10
I am too cheap to buy everything that I can make myself lol. Ok sometimes we have a take-out because we all have those days where we have no energy but its really not very often at all.
We havent been out to eat in ages but thats not because of the cost, its because we have no restaurants where we live.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
17 Oct 10
I understand. I often only get a pizza to go if it's late, we are tired and don't want to really be bothered with cooking.
There are plenty of restaurants here I just have better things right now to spend our hard earned money on.
@NoWayRo (1061)
• Romania
4 Oct 10
I prefer to make everything at home, short of ice cream and French pastry dough. Those are just too much work and commercial brands are just as good, if not better than what I manage at home.
I do however eat rather often in restaurants, mostly because I like to compare how their dishes look and taste, and to get new ideas. I deal much better with a recipe once I've seen how the end result is supposed to look, then just by following the instructions in a book.
3 people like this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
19 Oct 10
That's true, but you can see how many things are supposed to cook up by going to various online cooking sites. I like our cooking section on here, lots of new ideas discussed around here.... only problem is we may not share the actual recipe.
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
4 Oct 10
I would make my own and freeze them. Personally, I don't like leftovers too! But when my kids were home I made my own mixes and made the waffles and pancakes and extras and then put them in the refrigerator and the kids ate them and thought it was great.
One day I was getting groceries and I had the flour, baking powder, soda, etc in the cart and picked up the box of "bisquick" and I realized I had everthing in my cart to make the bisquick and I have never bought it since. Just make my own mixes.
We don't eat out at fancy restruants. We do go to fast foods, my favorites is Arby's and his is Wendy's. Very seldom we go to the buffet's because the price have gotten so high.
Enjoy the time out, you need it. Its nice to be 'waited' on sometimes. Its for the specialty of the occasion and that is going to cost $$.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157873)
• United States
4 Oct 10
Probably a good steak is what I am too cheap to eat at a restaurant. I love a flat iron steak, and you cannot get that at most restaurants. It is not that expensive a cut, and I usually can get it for less than $5.00 per pound and I cook it perfectly on a Foreman grill. Yes, it costs around thirty dollars most of the time for us to eat out, at least. We do not often buy premade waffles and pancakes, because I make healthier ones.
2 people like this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I really need to start using my Foreman grill again. Only problem like anything is lack of space to use it. I swear I only have 5 ft of counter and once you get stuff on it there isn't much room for anything else.
My hubby will go to a restaurant for steak usually one of the buffets has steak as their main meat and hubby will eat several... wich then it's worth us all going out to eat then as it was less to have him eat out than me buy the steak to cook at home.
Right now a steak would taste awfully good, then again so would going to out to eat ALONE w/o 3 lil SnuggleBunnies!
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
5 Oct 10
hi 3SnuggleBunnies my ultra good spaghetti and meat balls, i make the best as I use Bertollis spaghetti plus with protein and omega 3 and 6 oils and I cook it al dente than use Bertolli's tomato sauce with basil and oregano and lots of garlic and simmer Italian meat balls until cooked through. this is so good and much better than most restaurants make it and shredded cheddar cheese on top. it is much cheaper at home and so good I love this that i make myself.
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
3 Jul 11
Lemonade, yeah yeah it's not much of a price difference but you see those lemonade sodas and think to yourself, you can buy lemons and use sugar that you already have anyway, especially when you dont' tend to drink much lemonade or anything like that anyway. That's just me though.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
4 Oct 10
I really don't buy many prepared foods. I cook mostly from scratch as the ol' saying goes. I eat out very little but when i do i never order anything i fix at home, i want something different. It is expensive to eat out. What kills me is what they charge u for a glass of tea. I think that's really a rip-off.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
17 Oct 10
The charge on most drinks is a rip off! I found out when I was going to college in the late 90's that a refill to the soda fountain dispensers were like say $7 and they got hundreds of sodas from each flavoring. So you figure they are making maybe 1000% profit on soda's. It's crazy. I agree get something different or that you enjoy but can't make @ home.
@indahfth (11161)
• Indonesia
5 Oct 10
I love to cook, but I am sometimes lazy to cook. In addition, if calculated, is cheaper to buy food at the restaurant. In areas where we live, many small restaurants with cheap prices. I prefer to buy in restaurants, in addition to not bother, I can also save.
1 person likes this
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
4 Oct 10
My boyfriend and I can't afford to eat out a great deal anymore, thankfully I am a great Hispanic cook so I do a lot of Puerto Rican dishes that he enjoys very much. He is American Caucasian so many of my dishes are new to him. He on the other hand is also a great pasta cook so he like to make many pasta dinners and I am one who absolutely loves pasta so we if ever get a chance or can afford to go out to eat we try to indulge in something we have never had so this way it makes the outing more appreciated.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
19 Oct 10
So you have the best of both I suppose you could say. Though the question would be which is cheaper to make? Or like anything depends on the dish.
@earthsong (589)
• United States
5 Oct 10
I'd have to say that is just about everything. I do a lot of cooking, baking and canning and I cringe every time I have to go to the store and buy prepared things. Especially novelty things like hot wings and frozen pizzas. The convenience fee tacked onto stuff like that is ridiculous. Of course, there are times I just buy it because its easy. I'm a full-time student and its easier for my dh if I have easy to prepare things available for him on the nights I have class, but even then I try to get a proper meal started before I leave so all he has to do is finish it and feed the family.
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
5 Oct 10
I like a Filipino dish called "tinola". It is a chicken dish with vegetables and stuff. I don't know how to prepare one but I have a version which I learned from my aunt. It is a similar chicken-based stew with onions, garlic, potato, tomato, cabbage and "kalamansi".
When I cook that I make it a point that I make fried chicken too. They complement each other.
@prinzcy (32322)
• Malaysia
15 Oct 10
The only prepared food that I buy are pasta sauce as they're too costly to prepare one here. The price for cheese here is so not worth the effort to make the sauce. Other than that, I prefer to prepare my own food. I am more satisfied that way. Not to mention, by preparing the food myself, I learnt more on how to prepare the dish perfectly.
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
5 Oct 10
It is more convenient to buy prepared macaroni and cheese. It is probably less expensive as well. I would rather make my own. Nothing tastes better than homemade macaroni and cheese.