Things that are cheaper to make than buy?

ciderwithrosie_2

valk_scot wrote: »

That would make 24 fairy cakes, according to my Be-Ro book.

It would, you're right. I use 150g of flour, sugar and butter and 2 eggs to make a basic mix for 12 large cupcakes.

happy35

i tend to make my own cakes as dont like the shop bought ones, although i think sometimes HM is not cheaper at first it is if you compare them comparatively to bakery items.

I tend to make my own cakes and biscuits at the weekend as I work full time, I also bake bread and will def look at the dutch oven recipe mentioned above.

I make a lot of my cakes using yoghurt as find they are very moist and also use oil as this helps them last a bit longer.

Roman1_2

flaire wrote: »

Tesco 12 Fairy Cakes...

Ingredients...

Wheat Flour,Sugar ,Vegetable Oil ,Pasteurised Whole Egg ,Humectant (Vegetable Glycerine) ,Pasteurised Egg White ,Soya Flour ,Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Potassium Carbonate) ,Wheat Starch ,Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid) ,Emulsifiers (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids) ,Preservative (Potassium Sorbate) ,Antioxidant (Calcium Lactate)

Yum, yum. Not.

The reason that they're so cheap is that they're made from lots of chemicals and industrial processes.

Personally, I'll take the homemade ones everytime.

I agree with this 100%. You may be able to buy mass produced food very cheaply but what are you eating. Do you really want to take in all of those chemicals. Far better to cook your own even if it does cost a bit more. Then you are fully in control of the ingredients.

Caterina

Felafel, a pack of 8 costs around £2 in MrS, but you can make them for pennies using dry chick peas cooked from scratch.

Yogurt, always cheaper to make your own from milk. I make it with organic milk, 99p a litre, gives me 1 Kg of yogurt, full fat. If i buy more milk (eg 2 x 4 pints for £3) and freeze some for later, even cheaper. If using non organic milk even more so, then if using yellow stickered you can make it for pennies! If you make yogurt in bulk you can then strain it o make cream cheese.

Jam, depending on fruit quantity and bulk buy, it can work out cheaper, especially if you forage, grow your own or take advantage of seasonal offers and market buys.

Baked beans, using dry beans and value tomatoes.

Lasagne and other fancy chilled foods, much cheaper and healthier made from scratch.

thriftyniftyme

Fajitas are my big one. Those branded 'meal kits' cost about £3 each!!!

Okay so not everyone grows their own tomatoes, peppers and chillis to make their own salsa. But anyone can make flatbreads and the spice mix.

WRAPS it makes me LMAO when I see flatbreads for about £1.50 for 6 as it is almost literally just flour and water: 350g plain flour, 130ml warm water, 1tsp salt, 30ml oil. Knead together for 5 mins, divide into 8, roll as flat as possible and fry in a tiny bit of oil for 1 min each side. Simple!

SPICE MIX is the following: 2tsp caster sugar, 2tsp ground cumin, 2tsp ground coriander, 1-3tsp chilli powder depending on taste, 1tsp table salt, 1tsp oregano, 1tsp ground black pepper, 1tsp paprika, 1tsp onion powder, 1tsp garlic powder. About 1/2 of this mix is the equivalent of a brand-name spice sachet; personally I make loads at a time and store it in an airtight jar.

As with the cakes, you know exactly what goes into this lot.

maman

aeb wrote: »

Please can you tell me how you cook it in a slow cooker? Thanks

I do mine to a traditional recipe as I like the stock for soup but some people cook in apple juice or even cola!

I put the joint in the SC with an onion, a couple of carrots, a few peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves and then just cook for a few hours (until it seems OK when I poke it with a fork;)).

http://busycooks.about.com/library/weekly/aa022103a.htm

This gives a conversion chart for how long is recommended compared with boiling on the hob, depends whether you use low or high heat.

lauroar

I see the point of making things at home to be that you get things that are much higher in both nutritional value and quality, for prices that are comparable to those of much lower value in the supermarkets?

Let's be honest, you're probably never going to beat a factory that can mass produce cheap cr*p 24/7 on cost, but you can make a much 'better' product for only a bit more money :cool:

gayleygoo

I don't eat supermarket fairy cakes unless they're homemade or from a decent bakery, they can taste fake and sometimes a bit "sweaty"! I always make them as they're so easy and less than £1 for 24 of them.

I recognise the potassium sorbate in those tesco buns, I use it in winemaking to kill off the yeast after fermentation, presumably it keeps the buns from going mouldy for quite some time, they probably sit around for weeks before being sold. Homemade buns go stale in a couple of days but they're so tasty they don't usually last that long!

Other things I make are pasta sauce/pizza sauce, pizza dough, soda farls and potato bread, naans, tortillas, onion bajjis, "baked" beans, cooking sauces, soups etc. I'll try my hand and most things and make an effort to rarely use packets or convenience foods. I'd like to try yoghurt making! Is special equipment needed?

quintwins

poppy-glos wrote: »

hi,
I worked out cakes a while ago as neighbour said she made 3 egg sponge for a pound. When calculating it, when I used 2 for 1 spread and lidl/ direct from the farm free range eggs, it was 99 p. I make my cupcakes on the big side so for me the ingredients about 66p, with 2 eggs.


The other thing I worked out was the chewy soft flour mse tortilla recipe, they worked out at 4 p each, but when I did a double batch my wrists suffered. In lidl today they were six for 80 p.


Bread is my latest cooking find, 3 cups of plain flour, from the dutch oven no knead bread recipe online, with salt and yeast works out about 30 p a loaf for ingredients! And is delish!

could you give me recipes/method for both of these pretty please

moneypenny2k

thriftyniftyme wrote: »

Fajitas are my big one. Those branded 'meal kits' cost about £3 each!!!

Okay so not everyone grows their own tomatoes, peppers and chillis to make their own salsa. But anyone can make flatbreads and the spice mix.

WRAPS it makes me LMAO when I see flatbreads for about £1.50 for 6 as it is almost literally just flour and water: 350g plain flour, 130ml warm water, 1tsp salt, 30ml oil. Knead together for 5 mins, divide into 8, roll as flat as possible and fry in a tiny bit of oil for 1 min each side. Simple!

SPICE MIX is the following: 2tsp caster sugar, 2tsp ground cumin, 2tsp ground coriander, 1-3tsp chilli powder depending on taste, 1tsp table salt, 1tsp oregano, 1tsp ground black pepper, 1tsp paprika, 1tsp onion powder, 1tsp garlic powder. About 1/2 of this mix is the equivalent of a brand-name spice sachet; personally I make loads at a time and store it in an airtight jar.

As with the cakes, you know exactly what goes into this lot.

Tid lost my fajita mix recipe thank you so much