What is worth making instead of buying?

maypole

Pies are worth making, you just don't know what goes into bought ones. Soup is always worth making. Moneysaving or not, I prefer to make as much from scratch as I can, then you know what you are eating.

ness_w

Ah yes, I do make pesto - or did until my whizzy thing broke. I make pizza too, and will definitely give the hoummous a try. What do people make it in? I also make cakes and biscuits, they're definitely cheaper like for like. I was thinking about making a big batch of pastry too, to freeze, that must be better value. Do you think smoothies and juices are? OH is very into them and they don't work out cheap, even though I get the less than perfect fruit from the greengrocers.

Atalanta can I ask you more about the yoghurt, we have that yoghurt maker, but I could never get the yoghurt smooth enough for my lot after I had stirred the sugar in, so they were always complaining about the lumps. Don't you have tis problem?

Thanks, Ness.

jcr16

for me i think pizzas and garlic breads are the one thing i think it is def making instead of buying.

they are totally scrummy. plus the kids can help which is great fun. the topping can be as expensive or as cheap as u want.

and as for the garlic bread it can make a great accompyment to most meals to help bulk out if needed. i sometime's just do a herb and cheese bread instead of garlic. or tomato and herb. these also are great when cold for lunch boxes.

i also like home made jams. i have only had a couple attemps at it. but the results were outstanding. the taste better than i've ever had. i plan to make alot more and using fruit which is in season to make more cost effective.

Hth.

purpleivy

Ness, check out my pastry economics thread if you doubt whether it is worth it. Last week i made three lots one after another, used 2 will freeze one for later. One lot of washing up of food processor!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=675197&highlight=pastry+economics

ness_w wrote: »

Ah yes, I do make pesto - or did until my whizzy thing broke. I make pizza too, and will definitely give the hoummous a try. What do people make it in? I also make cakes and biscuits, they're definitely cheaper like for like. I was thinking about making a big batch of pastry too, to freeze, that must be better value. Do you think smoothies and juices are? OH is very into them and they don't work out cheap, even though I get the less than perfect fruit from the greengrocers.

Atalanta can I ask you more about the yoghurt, we have that yoghurt maker, but I could never get the yoghurt smooth enough for my lot after I had stirred the sugar in, so they were always complaining about the lumps. Don't you have tis problem?

Thanks, Ness.

lil_me

Pie 'tops' I use when doing pastry batch cooks. I make just a top of pastry, cutting each one out, bake them on a tray then when I make a 'pie' it's a spoon of whatever with a pastry top. If I am doing them when we have guests I got some ramakins, I use them to cut the pastry before its cooked then put the 'filling' in there and pop a pastry lid on.

With the cash and carry etc, if you have a car or someone who can take you it might be worth the travelling as some are very cheap. You could search on www.yell.co.uk and see if there are any 'wholesalers' etc in the area (I travel up to 30 miles to one usually) and then call before going to make sure they accept 'walk in non trade' customers as some are trade only. Veg wholesalers as suggested could be great if there is one near you, as an example last year I was paying £2 for a box of apples, would cost 5 times that in the shops.

moanymoany

I make bread using a Kenwood Chef bought on ebay. It is great stuff and is very little effort. I make 6 loaves at a time and freeze. I make pizza bases and roll them with greaseproof or baking paper, like a swiss roll. they take less room in the freezer and when thawed can simply be unrolled and used.

I didn't get on with a breadmaker.

ravylesley

There are so many things that are worth making yourself.Any cakes/biscuits always taste nicer and unless you buy really cheap and nasty cakes they are bound to work out cheaper.Homemade pickles are a treat and cost next to nothing to produce.Yoghurt homemade costs the price of the milk used to make it and whatever fruit you want to flavour it with.Homemade Butter is gorgeous but only really cost effective if you were to get the cream from the reduced cabinet.Basically anything homemade always taste nicer than the shop bought stuff

Lesleyxx

Aurora_2

Pasta sauce - we have made ours with our own tomatoes when we are lucky enough to get some to ripen - bad weather in summer put paid to our efforts last year though. I have had good results with tins of chopped tomatoes with things added, or even tins of whole tomatoes which I mash up - whole ones tend to be cheaper than chopped ones. I add, for example, peppers, onions, leeks, mushrooms, some herbs, a splosh of wine if I've got any open, anything you have left over or can find reduced in Tesco. It's low in fat too so good if you're on a diet. You can make a batch and freeze it in portions in Tupperware containers.

Atalanta

Atalanta can I ask you more about the yoghurt, we have that yoghurt maker, but I could never get the yoghurt smooth enough for my lot after I had stirred the sugar in, so they were always complaining about the lumps. Don't you have tis problem?

Thanks, Ness.[/quote]

I haven't tried adding sugar to it, so I don't know if that would cause it to go lumpy or not - sorry. I have just used it like natural yoghurt, and I have found that it is so mild and creamy that both my boys will eat it in a bowl on its own, or with some chopped fruit. They never liked shop-bought natural yoghurt, and one wasn't keen even on flavoured yoghurt, but so far they are liking the HM one. Does anyone else add things to their HM yoghurt, and if so, do you have this problem? I was thinking of making some of it flavoured maybe with fruit, so I guess the same thing might happen.

dawn2dusk

I make Shepherds Pie from scratch and add lentils to make it go further, it makes 3 meals ,i freeze other two. I do the same with Chilli and Spagetti Bolognase, i know whats in it and it is far tasier.
Have started to make my own yoghurt, quick, easy and far cheaper. I could'nt have done it without OS board, thanks posters.
I went into Iceland today and it seems to stocked with ready meals.
No way could i eat or waste money on a ready meal, much rather have beans on toast.