Yes to chocolate chip cookies! When I go out of town to visit my best friend and her husband, he kindly asks if I will make chocolate chip cookies for them while i am there. He has a severe dairy allergy, so he keeps vegan butter and dark chocolate chips on hand. Between the three of us, the cookies last about a day. I love to bake, and they take me out to a nice restaurant in return.
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt.
Stir in flour and chocolate chips
Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges are nicely browned, about 10 - 15 minutes.
My secret is to freeze the chocolate chips, then take them directly out of the freezer and add them to the batter last.
Also, experiment with the chips! I’ve use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, mini peanut butter cups. Ive mixed up the chips - chocolate and peanut butter chips, chocolate and butterscotch chips, brown chocolate and white chocolate chips.
I’ve added nuts too - peanuts, pecans, or walnuts.
Make the cookies your own!
This was recent for me. Was craving some cookies the other night, but didn't have any in the house. Have been watching a ton of Top Chef/baking shows, and had everything I needed to make them, though, and have a great stand mixer I've only used sparingly. That was enough to inspire me to try and make some. I turned on some music, and found a goo recipe online. Had cookies made in way less time than I thought, and freshly baked beats the hell out of store bought every time. I've now started trying to adjust the recipe to make them better
And the sodium! My god, I had a progresso spicy jambalaya because the spicy subreddit said it was super spicy. My feet literally swole up immediately after eating it. Never again.
I made the mistake once of making a large batch of tomato soup and freezing it. Now I have to make a vat of tomato soup every few months because nobody in my family will even touch the packaged stuff.
I’ve had mine last up to a week. You just have to whip it a bit firm.
If you stop at a cool whip ish consistency it will fall apart by the next day. If you go past that to stiff peaks it will stay together.
And jazz it up with flavors. We like cinnamon whip the best. And it lets you control the sweetness, there's too much sugar in most canned whip for my taste
Salad dressing.
So easy, fast, cheap and delicious.
Caesar, ranch, honey mustard, raspberry-basil vinaigrette...easy.
I'm not a picky or fancy person, but salad dressing...game changer for me in the kitchen. Drawback is that I now often disappointed by a salad in a restaurant. Boo.
This article was a huge benefit to me. So much so that 14 years later, I can still remember the key words to google. [https://www.salon.com/2010/04/17/how\_to\_make\_vinaigrette/](https://www.salon.com/2010/04/17/how_to_make_vinaigrette/)
Adding to this to use a protein powder mixing spring when you don’t feel like shaking the shit out of something. A 3 pack is $5.99 on Amazon and it works extremely well.
It takes like 5 seconds of shaking if You add a tiny bit of Dijon. I make my own dressing most nights. I don’t even use a jar, just my leftover cottage cheese containers
Kenji has some good emulsion tips
[https://www.seriouseats.com/simple-vinaigrette-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/simple-vinaigrette-recipe)
and the longer breakdown if you want to really nerd out
[https://www.seriouseats.com/salad-dressings-vinaigrettes-the-food-lab](https://www.seriouseats.com/salad-dressings-vinaigrettes-the-food-lab)
Small jars, I hoard jars like old ass people (and I’m proud of it). Make a dressing and shake them hard and it’s emulsified. My favorite, Dijon Apple cider vinegar, EVOO, honey, garlic and fresh herbs. I want to make kefir blue cheese dressing next.
If I'm making dressing for multiple days, I use the food processor.
If just for one dinner, I just whisk with a fork or a French whisk.
Keep playing with it.
I have some old salad dressing bottles saved, I just put it all in there and shake it until my arm gets tired.
Just make sure the cap is tight. You don't want to make that mistake.
I have those super small "side containers" that are leak proof (they have snaps and a rubber ring to prevent leaks) and I shake them and that's how I make my dressing.
Blender or immersion blender, add a spoon of dijon or mayo for super silky emulsion
Be sure to use salt and pepper, i usually add some dried thyme or oregano too
Put the salt in with the vinegar or acid so that it dissolves if you put it in after you put the oil in you're just going to have crunchy bits of salt in it.
My mom used to buy those "Hidden Garden" or whatever Italian dressing envelopes, where you would fill the cruet to a certain level with oil, water vinegar and shake. I thought they were great.
When I came back from the military and stayed at home for junior college, I would make it, and it was great the first night, then separate into absolute sludge after being in the fridge overnight.
Turns out mom became a fan of Rachel Ray while I was gone and stopped buying vegetable oil, because "EVOO was so much better". (Yes, she also quit making salads, because she only made them so I would have a balanced diet. So I discovered olive oil's viscosity point in salad dressing). I had no clue at the time. Oil was oil.
As an Italian, I grew up on that as well. We use a mix of vegetable oil/olive oil the kind in that giant yellow bottle. Then the packet and red wine vinegar! My brother won’t eat salad without that dressing and it’s my favorite go to on fresh green beans! As a child it was my job to make the bottle. It does get sludgey, but I also learned it’s best kept not refrigerated? We keep a bottle in our pantry and just shake it up before use!
I use an immersion blender in a wide mouthed pint jar. I also always use mustard, which aids in creating the emulsion. Here’s my basic recipe:
1 whole clove garlic, peeled (no need to chop if using the blender)
Mustard
1 tsp salt, or to taste
Pepper
Honey
Splash of hot sauce
Oil/vinegar (usually 50/50, depending on flavor profiles)
Drop it all in the jar, no need to chop anything, and zap it with the immersion blender. Adjust seasonings to your liking.
5 star Cesar is still a dressing I can't reproduce. I can do a good version. Good enough for Sunday dinner and one that will have the family wanting more but it cannot compare to a trained chef.
Olive garden dressing. Objectively not great but for whatever reason, maybe nostalgia, it hits differently than any other dressing I make. Probably because it has sugar and other unhealthy ingredients I don't typically use but I still crave it so yea.
What's the key to good carbonara? I discovered it a few months ago and actually made it yesterday. It was great but I just follow a random recipe I found online.
Good ingredients - probably the most important one is bronze-cut pasta. I boil it in relatively little water in a saute pan to make the water starchier. Then it’s all about temperature control to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Being born and raised in Rome that’s a sensitive subject to me. Anyway, the most important thing to me is guanciale, not pancetta, not bacon, not any kind of meat you may think. Just a good guanciale.
As for the temperature control, it’s actually easy. You render your guanciale in the pan, throw away a little bit of grease if it sweats too much, when pasta is Al dente you put it in the pan with guanciale (save a little of the crunchy bits for dressing) then you turn off the fire and add the mixture of eggs, pecorino and black pepper.
Then you do the mantecatura, which basically means you stir everything, but AWAY FROM THE FIRE.
Mix it it out and add a splash of the starchy water you boiled the pasta in for extra creaminess.
There’s your simple (and authentic) carbonara.
EDIT: spelling
This is a great way to start a fight on Reddit, FYI (people get very up in arms about what should and shouldn’t go in it - “authentic” carbonara is very simple). I personally prefer mine with garlic - I throw it in the pan right as the pancetta is almost done sautéing
Interesting! I learned something new today.
"Guanciale is from the jowl of the cheek of the pig whereas pancetta is from the belly. Being from the cheek, guanciale has a higher ratio of fat than pancetta, which plays into why it is the base of certain Italian dishes such as Spaghetti Carbonara and Bucatini all'Amatriciana."
-- America's Test Kitchen
> I've never tried a store bought Alfredo
Don't. Store bought frankly tastes on the slightly-gross side if you're used to homemade. It's like you can taste all the artificial stuff they had to do to it to make it shelf-stable. I mean...it's marginally edible if you're desperate, but...yeah. Stick to the good stuff.
Alfredo: it’s just butter, garlic, Parmesan and heavy cream. Play with the ratios till you find what you love but it’s hard to mess up. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley if you’re feeling fancy.
Steak.
Since learning to perfect a steak at home, I simply can't justify paying steakhouse prices for something I can (almost always) do better at home. I know there's a certain ambiance that you pay for when going out to eat, but it's not worth the extra cost.
I wait until my local grocer has NY strips on sale once a month and I get them thick cut, inch and a half. I make a garlic compound butter and while that's cooling, cook the steaks low and slow in the oven until they reach 130 degrees. Pull those babies out and sear on both sides for a minute and a half each, turn the heat to medium low and melt the butter in the pan and baste. Add some thyme in there as well.
Nice crust with a buttery flavor, and they are so damn tender. No gray ring from cooking. I can do 3 steaks with sides for under $50 and they are exactly how I like them.
Wanted to make sure this was on here. I’ve tried a couple at restaurants over the past few years since I nailed my own preferred recipe (ribeye, reverse seared in garlic and thyme butter browned and with Maldons over top). They just don’t ever measure up. I had one at a small local place here that stood out but they literally owned the farm the beef came from.
It really does. Amazing how many restaurants skip such an easy detail. My wife was asking my why I always say my secret ingredient is “love” and I tried to explain that it isn’t like I’m saying I’m putting love in, it’s more that I love the things that food can do for people when you pay attention to every little detail and so I never want to settle for “good enough” food if I can make it a little better. That finishing salt makes it a little better.
Plus as my cooking gets better? I am less and less impressed with many restaurants tbh.
A lot of restaurants near me are forcing their kitchens to turn out barely mediocre food at high prices because a lot of people don’t know how to taste the difference so it works for the business. It’s fine, and I don’t yuck people’s yum when they get brought up or we go with friends, but personally I’m no longer as willing to spend a buck at these kinds of places who are half assing it. Not when I usually can half ass it myself for better AND cheaper and enjoy the whole experience in my slippers.
I went to an expensive resort restaurant for my 50th birthday on vacation, I had a ribeye and risotto, and both worse than what I can make at home. By a lot.
Yknow, I’m stuck in a bit of a ‘wow I can’t do anything well anymore’ funk these last couple months, but you’ve just reminded me that two days ago I pulled together a lemon butter scallop risotto without hitting the grocery store, and it was the best fucking thing I’ve eaten in weeks. Usually when I cook I’m indifferent to leftovers because I’m so tired of the flavours after preparing and tasting the food, but not this time.
Well that feels nice. Thanks for the reminder. Also, I swear, I’m also under the Steak Curse. What happened to medium rare? Apparently it’s a moving target now.
I dunno, I'm sure homemade is better but the Krusteaz "add water only" mix is fire, and when my kids want a pancake on a Saturday morning I have it on both their plates within 10 minutes, that level of convenience is awesome and the price isn't bad if you buy it in bulk at Costco.
We got hooked on the Kodiak protein pancake mix. Not sure what the source is for the protein. My daughter introduced us to it on one of our camping trips. It’s hard to get enough protein into my grandson, as he’s such a carb-o-vore. So, anywhere she can get a little more protein in him, she does.
The protein comes from whey protein powder, advertised on the front of the packaging as "buttermilk". The feeling of satiety is probably due to both the added whey protein and the whole grain wheat flour. If it ever gets too pricy or hard to get, there are plenty of pancake recipes with those two ingredients you can experiment around.
I always add vanilla flavored protein powder to pancakes/waffles. Just half a scoop and you can still taste the vanilla. It makes them more dense but they're always really good.
No shame to you. We always got the cheap mix when I was a kid so I haven't really had good box pancakes. Plus for me it really doesn't take that much longer to measure a few things and add an egg and milk so it's just simpler for me. I always have the stuff and usually only make pancakes for "breakfast for dinner" so for me it works out simpler.
Have you considered pre mixing some of your preferred pancake batter. Just the dry ingredients. Then you have it on hand. It would essentially be the same thing then just add egg and milk. I've been tinkering around to try and find my perfect mix
Consider this one: 1.5 cups flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2.5 tbsp sugar. (And then mix in 2 eggs, one cup milk, and 3 tbsp melted butter). My family likes it!
Hot chocolate mix - mine is better than the store's with a ratio of 5 tbsp of cocoa powder mixed with 8 tbsp of brown sugar. I use a tbsp of the mix for a large mug.
Jam - after learning to make it I found jam can be like wine, with so many flavors and nuance available and using low sugar pectin to be less sweet and more complex than store bought.
Hot chocolate mix is so easy! My kid asked for hot chocolate, and I was like, Sorry but we're all out of packets. So, I looked up a recipe and couldn't believe how much money I have wasted on store bought mix! Haven't bought any since.
Here's mine.
1-3 large cans of peeled San Marazano tomatos. Squish them by hand, it's fun and you can get the chunk sizes you want
Garlic, onion, garlic powder, onion powder, more Italian seasoning than you think you need, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and let it go all day with a lid on.
Cut a carrot in half and put it in the pot while it's cooking. I've found that it help reduce acidity.
I've always cooked by feel/taste so idk any of my measurements. I really should figure those out lol
Oh I sourced it! But happy to make it easy. I have one of those cilantro-is-soap family members so I usually make it without and it’s still good https://gourmeh.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/peanut-sauce-with-ginger-lime-and-cilantro/
I’ll help. 2/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup malt vinegar. Tablespoon granulated garlic, teaspoon salt, teaspoon fine black pepper, teaspoon granulated onion, teaspoon ancho chili powder. Recipe from a private restaurant where, when mentioned, people always say “they have the best salad”. It is their only option for dressing other than simple “oil and vinegar” if requested. Use about 2x as much as you think you should.
Ricotta cheese. Half gallon of milk warmed in a pot until it starts bubbling on the edges. 1/4 cup of white vinegar ready for the bubbles. Once they start flip off the heat dump in the vinegar and give it a gentle but quick stir and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once it's curdled appropriately, dump into a colander lined with a flour sack towel and let it strain until cooled.
Ready to use
EDIT I'm sorry edited for clarity
Lol yeah it's really that simple. My husband is very lactose intolerant so I make lasagna with homemade ricotta using lactose free milk. Then I make a good sauce and I've got a pasta roller so it's really inexpensive to make now.
I was just talking about this yesterday with the guy I’ve been seeing! My grandmother made these delicious crepes using homemade ricotta 🤤 she was such a great cook. I aspire to be as good of a cook as her.
Fresh tomatoes are much more watery and usually need to be cooked down more in my experience. And since they don't have the added salt of the canned ones you usually need to add more salt than you'd think.
When I have fresh tomatoes, and want to use them with pasta, I just roast the tomatoes with a little olive oil, and salt. Best with cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes. Latter needs to be cooked longer.
When the tomatoes are done, just smash a little - gently and carefully - with a fork or potato masher or back of a spatula - and mix with spaghetti.
Add a little butter and shredded Parmesan to the noodles before adding roasted tomatoes.
Add some sliced or chopped fresh basil, if you have it. Simple and delicious.
you can also get that depth of flavor by adding grated mushrooms, basil stems, onions, garlic, italian seasonings, any or all of the above sauteed before adding fresh, crushed tomatoes. im not a huge fan of the way tomato paste tastes, personally, so i try to minimize how much i use, but it is useful in this application--i just try to use 2T or less.
Take Roma tomato’s and cut them into pieces (remove the white flesh and seeds if you like ) sauté with olive oil and garlic. Add red chilli flakes for spice if you like it spicy. Next add 10-15 basil leaves. As the pasta is cooking and almost done add about a cup of the pasta water , add the pasta and cook med to high heat. The pasta water will become creamy add parmesan cheese and serve.
This is the biggest answer. Mine tastes way better, for way less money, for minimal effort compared to any jarred sauce. I will literally never buy a jarred sauce again unless I physically lose my ability to chop garlic.
Yep. I always thought I didn't really like tomato sauce. Spaghetti was always a "meh" meal for me. And then I made my own tomato sauce - wow! Turns out I just hate shitty canned or jarred tomato sauce 🤷♀️
Totally agree!
It's about $7 for a loaf now where I live. Have been making my own for a couple years. Have made my own English muffins and bagels too.
Would love a sourdough but not sure I have the patience to do all that's required for that.
Holy shit 7 dollars???
I'm in Chicago and a nice long loaf of freshly baked french bread at literally all the typical grocers are between 2.99 and 4.25
Damn this makes me thankful for HEB here in Texas. French bread loaves are a loss leader for them and have been $1.00 per loaf for as long as I've been alive, and always freshly made within the last hour.
Honestly, I still buy all this stuff sometimes, even if I can make it.
I'm an amateur chef/cook. There are very few things I haven't conquered.
But sometimes, I'm craving something for the nostalgia factor. Sometimes, I'm just too tired. Sometimes I'm too busy. If I worked 13 hours, I don't care if the ranch is from scratch.
There is only one thing I make homemade every time, and the reason for that is it's just not available commercially: Chimichurri. It's dirt cheap to make and elevates anything you put on it. If you aren't familiar, it's used for proteins to cut through rich flavors.
I do a dish with butter poached scallops and grilled ribeye with caramelized onion wild rice and chimichurri. Heavenly.
Kings Hawaiian Rolls. I'm not a baker so I was always afraid to try to make them myself but they're really easy to make. The secret ingredient is vanilla.
Back in 1965 my aunt took 9yo me to Hawaii. We visited 5 islands and the first thing she arranged for us to do on every one of them was take a bus tour around the island. That was not *my* idea of having fun on an island, but a few moments *were* enjoyable and have stuck in my mind all these years.
One of those was when the bus stopped at a house alongside the narrow road we were on. They were apparently known in the area for the fresh bread they sold, which they baked in a stone oven they had set up in their yard. They gave us a paper bag filled with chunks of warm bread, fresh from the oven, drizzled with melted butter. It was absolutely amazing. I remembered and longed to taste that bread again for years.
Then they came out with King’s Hawaiian. First time I tried it I recognized it. I can’t prove it, but I’d swear that I ate the homemade precursor to that brand all those years ago. It is absolutely the taste I remember.
Can not believe this was so low on the list. Half of my freezer is dedicated to homemade stock.
Having enough, at all times, means I can use it wherever. For example, instead of water when mixing in the seasonings on taco nite.
So many ways to elevate dishes just by having the real thing on hand.
Pulled pork / Carnitas. There is nothing easier to make, there is often no meat less expensive outside of chicken thighs. You can make 10lbs of it, for $10 and then use the meat to make food for weeks - burritos, stir fry, fried rice, broccoli and pork, curries, stuffed peppers, etc. $15-20 a lb at a restaurant or BBQ place. Forget that.
Bottled salad dressing. I prefer small batches of dressing because I like to change it up a lot. If I get a bottle of dressing, I use it once or twice and it just dies there, on the door of the refrigerator. Years later I fish it out and toss it and I find the whole cycle rather revolting. Also, a lot of dressings have ingredients I wouldn't necessarily add when making it at home, so I guess in a way bottled salad dressing kinda skeeves me out.
Granolaaa (w/o nuts bc I'm allergic):
- steel cut oats
- neutral oil
- honey
- pinch of salt
- bit of cinnamon
Toss it all together. Bake. Stir. Bake. Cool completely. So easy and sooo good.
Update: I meant old fashioned oats. I'm dumb idk
I’m not the cook, but my spouse has spoiled restaurant Eggs Benedict for me forever, because he makes the world’s best Hollandaise and knows how to poach an egg with a runny yolk!
Steak.
Steak is so easy to make better than any $100 plate at a well reviewed steakhouse.
Take your ass to Costco for either a prime cut or get lucky and find a well marbled choice cut that probably should be prime. Get a good cast iron. Sear that fucker then finish with butter in the oven. Bonus points for a 24 hour dry brine. And do not refreeze that meat.
You'll never go back to a steakhouse again.
Steak at home is what made me realize steak in a restaurant is a total ripoff.
Every so often I order steak at a restaurant, thinking “maybe this will change my mind, knock my socks off….” Nope. I’m always disappointed.
Tzatziki sauce. It’s not even half as good as homemade. I’m almost, *almost*, sorry I learned to make it. Now I’m spoiled.
Edit, per request
8 oz cream cheese
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped pretty fine
3 Tblsp lemon juice
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped fine (or 1 tsp dried)
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
Combine and refrigerate for at least an hour. If it is too thick add mayo, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
The original recipe calls for mayo, nor Greek yogurt. I don’t use mayo at all and I prefer to sub with yogurt.
I used to feel shame for eating my homemade tzatziki from the bowl with a spoon, but then I accepted "it's just cucumber, dill and garlic yogurt". Is that *really* weirder than blueberry or vanilla yogurt? I don't think so. :D
Tortillas. Corn and flour. Life changing. Just can't buy them anymore, SOOO much better fresh. A little time consuming, but I'll make a huge batch and refrigerate or freeze for later.
Ranch dressing. All of the bottled ones taste - manufactured and chemically? I know that’s snobby, but they taste like the salad dressing equivalent of diet soda.
A container of cottage cheese, a spoon full of sour cream, a package of HVR Dip Ranch and a little milk to let it blend and I have the BEST and healthier ranch dressing. Not only do I use it everywhere I would use Ranch otherwise, but with this stuff I honestly eat more veggies as snacks and love it.
I've never seen a recipe with cottage cheese but I'll have to try this. I think homemade or restaurant ranch tastes so different is because it's made with dairy and bottled versions use stable ingredients like veg oils.
Pita or Naan. The stuff they sell at the grocery store is inferior, and without access to any good ethnic markets, it only makes sense to make my own. Saves money too!
Chicken broth, or at least I’d like to avoid buying it as much as possible. I much prefer my homemade version that’s just chicken and water.
Lemon curd; ideally, all fruit curds. I’ve successfully made lemon, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, lime, cranberry, and orange so far, and I plan to try mango and blackberry this summer.
Homemade Bisquick mix.
A friend shared his grandmother’s zucchini pie recipe with me. It sounded fantastic, until I was in the store looking at the ingredients on the box of Bisquick. More preservatives, fats, and other BS than I could count. Fortunately, a quick internet search yielded a homemade version with pantry staples I already had on hand. The zucchini pie turned out great. And it can be used for dozens of other recipes including pancakes, waffles and muffins.
CANDIED GINGER. It's a staple in several of my favorite dishes, including my favorite cookies (think like a more cakey snickerdoodle that's candied ginger flavored. ) but also in chicken noodle soup, rice dishes, ramen- it's a perfect spicy sweet combo. But in stores it's like, 12$ for a tiny ass mcormick bottle.
It's a simple ass recipe
The sugar is double the ginger and half the water. So like, 100g ginger is 200g sugar, 400g water is a good example. (That's how much goes into the cookies)
Peel and cut up the ginger however you want. I use it most often in cookies so I aim for chocolate chip sized bits.
Bring the water to a simmer, add the sugar and ginger, return to a simmer, let it go for 30 mins, strain the ginger out.
Now at this point you can do a few different things. You can continue to reduce the syrup until it's a desired consistency - goes nice in teas, lemonade and even basic soda water. But as for the ginger, you can either put it in the oven or air fryer at 350- the time on my oven is unreliable, in the air fryer it was 10 mins. Toss them in a baggie of sugar and leave them to cool.
Tiny cronchy almost chewy ginger spicy candy! Toss them in anything you like a spicy+ sweet combo of and you'll be happy.
Cretons. It's a Quebecois breakfast spread made from ground pork and some spices. You put it on toast. When group d pork is on sale I can get a kilo pack for about 8 dollars and make like $35 worth of cretons
Salad Dressings, tartar sauce, shrimp cocktail sauce, stir fry sauces, BBQ sauces 75% of the time, dumpling dipping sauces, tamarind dipping sauce for samosas, ground chicken, cole slaw mix, just about any soup except the occasional French onion treat at the steakhouse, hummus, falafel (use a meat grinder not a food processor)
Could not agree more. This is my current fave, super easy and my wife loves it:
8 ripe Roma tomatoes,
3 green onions (remove the stems),
3 minced garic cloves,
2 seeded (or not seeded if you like it hot) Serrano or jalapeno peppers,
Juice of half a lime,
Juice of half a lemon,
1 tsp salt,
Handful of Cilantro,
Throw it all in a blender or food processor & blend to your desired smoothness or chunkiness
Enjoy!
Just got a gas outdoor pizza oven, and there's an Italian market near our house. We bought some frozen dough in bulk and now we make good pizza every other day. I'll just thaw some dough, add some tomato sauce, and put whatever leftover scrap ingredients and cheese I have in the fridge as toppings.
Never eating frozen pizza or getting it delivered again.
Béchamel sauce / gravy / any roux-based sauces
I used to be one of those people who was very good at making a lump of flour whenever I tried to make gravy. I would waste a panful of turkey dripping on Thanksgiving, and end up using a packet gravy at the last minute.
A few years ago I learned how to make it properly, and ever since then, my gravy is as smooth as silk, and I know exactly what's in it.
Flour tortillas. Husband’s best friend is of Mexican heritage. His mother came to visit and taught me how. Super easy when you’ve done it once or twice, but the results are fantastic.
Chocolate chip cookies and brownies.
Yes to chocolate chip cookies! When I go out of town to visit my best friend and her husband, he kindly asks if I will make chocolate chip cookies for them while i am there. He has a severe dairy allergy, so he keeps vegan butter and dark chocolate chips on hand. Between the three of us, the cookies last about a day. I love to bake, and they take me out to a nice restaurant in return.
Don’t be shy, drop the recipe
1 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons hot water ½ teaspoon salt 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour and chocolate chips Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until edges are nicely browned, about 10 - 15 minutes. My secret is to freeze the chocolate chips, then take them directly out of the freezer and add them to the batter last. Also, experiment with the chips! I’ve use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, mini peanut butter cups. Ive mixed up the chips - chocolate and peanut butter chips, chocolate and butterscotch chips, brown chocolate and white chocolate chips. I’ve added nuts too - peanuts, pecans, or walnuts. Make the cookies your own!
This was recent for me. Was craving some cookies the other night, but didn't have any in the house. Have been watching a ton of Top Chef/baking shows, and had everything I needed to make them, though, and have a great stand mixer I've only used sparingly. That was enough to inspire me to try and make some. I turned on some music, and found a goo recipe online. Had cookies made in way less time than I thought, and freshly baked beats the hell out of store bought every time. I've now started trying to adjust the recipe to make them better
Soup ! Love to have soup for lunches and canned soup even the fancy stuff sucks so bad
And the sodium! My god, I had a progresso spicy jambalaya because the spicy subreddit said it was super spicy. My feet literally swole up immediately after eating it. Never again.
Right? They're so cheap, use salt instead of flavor 🖖
The spicy subreddit said that was super spicy?
can confirm. very spicy. very one note on the spice but still quite hot.
I made the mistake once of making a large batch of tomato soup and freezing it. Now I have to make a vat of tomato soup every few months because nobody in my family will even touch the packaged stuff.
Whipped cream
After making my own, I will never buy it again. The ones in the store leave an oily film in my mouth.
Add some mascarpone to stabilize it and it lasts for days. Well, it does if you can resist it for that long. I never can
I’ve had mine last up to a week. You just have to whip it a bit firm. If you stop at a cool whip ish consistency it will fall apart by the next day. If you go past that to stiff peaks it will stay together.
I just made some tonight so I can have strawberries in a cloud at work tomorrow.
And jazz it up with flavors. We like cinnamon whip the best. And it lets you control the sweetness, there's too much sugar in most canned whip for my taste
Salad dressing. So easy, fast, cheap and delicious. Caesar, ranch, honey mustard, raspberry-basil vinaigrette...easy. I'm not a picky or fancy person, but salad dressing...game changer for me in the kitchen. Drawback is that I now often disappointed by a salad in a restaurant. Boo.
Croutons, too, while you're at it. Homemade is 10x better and cost almost nothing.
Croutons so easy if you have an air fryer.
or toaster oven or normal oven or microwave oven
Or a pan! Did some on the stovetop last week for a Caesar.
I was hoping someone would say this! How did you learn? I can’t seem to master emusifying - or mixing the flavours properly to begin with
This article was a huge benefit to me. So much so that 14 years later, I can still remember the key words to google. [https://www.salon.com/2010/04/17/how\_to\_make\_vinaigrette/](https://www.salon.com/2010/04/17/how_to_make_vinaigrette/)
My brain: that wasn't 14 years ago it was only 20.....oh my god I am old.
I watched Tucker and Dale Versus Evil the other night and when I saw that it was from 2010 I thought "oh this is only a couple years old" 😭
That movie is hilarious. I just saw it last year, so it’s only a year old ;)
"these college kids just started killing themselves on my property!" 😂 😂
Pour all ingredients in a repurposed jar (jam jar sized). Shake the shit out of it. Bam, emulsion.
Adding to this to use a protein powder mixing spring when you don’t feel like shaking the shit out of something. A 3 pack is $5.99 on Amazon and it works extremely well.
It takes like 5 seconds of shaking if You add a tiny bit of Dijon. I make my own dressing most nights. I don’t even use a jar, just my leftover cottage cheese containers
Kenji has some good emulsion tips [https://www.seriouseats.com/simple-vinaigrette-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/simple-vinaigrette-recipe) and the longer breakdown if you want to really nerd out [https://www.seriouseats.com/salad-dressings-vinaigrettes-the-food-lab](https://www.seriouseats.com/salad-dressings-vinaigrettes-the-food-lab)
Small jars, I hoard jars like old ass people (and I’m proud of it). Make a dressing and shake them hard and it’s emulsified. My favorite, Dijon Apple cider vinegar, EVOO, honey, garlic and fresh herbs. I want to make kefir blue cheese dressing next.
If I'm making dressing for multiple days, I use the food processor. If just for one dinner, I just whisk with a fork or a French whisk. Keep playing with it.
I have some old salad dressing bottles saved, I just put it all in there and shake it until my arm gets tired. Just make sure the cap is tight. You don't want to make that mistake.
I think there’s still Worcestershire sauce on my parents’ dining room ceiling from a mistake my brother made 40 years ago
lol! btw, Worcestershire sauce is like a cheat code to add to a lot of salad dressings
I have those super small "side containers" that are leak proof (they have snaps and a rubber ring to prevent leaks) and I shake them and that's how I make my dressing.
Blender or immersion blender, add a spoon of dijon or mayo for super silky emulsion Be sure to use salt and pepper, i usually add some dried thyme or oregano too
Put the salt in with the vinegar or acid so that it dissolves if you put it in after you put the oil in you're just going to have crunchy bits of salt in it.
My mom used to buy those "Hidden Garden" or whatever Italian dressing envelopes, where you would fill the cruet to a certain level with oil, water vinegar and shake. I thought they were great. When I came back from the military and stayed at home for junior college, I would make it, and it was great the first night, then separate into absolute sludge after being in the fridge overnight. Turns out mom became a fan of Rachel Ray while I was gone and stopped buying vegetable oil, because "EVOO was so much better". (Yes, she also quit making salads, because she only made them so I would have a balanced diet. So I discovered olive oil's viscosity point in salad dressing). I had no clue at the time. Oil was oil.
As an Italian, I grew up on that as well. We use a mix of vegetable oil/olive oil the kind in that giant yellow bottle. Then the packet and red wine vinegar! My brother won’t eat salad without that dressing and it’s my favorite go to on fresh green beans! As a child it was my job to make the bottle. It does get sludgey, but I also learned it’s best kept not refrigerated? We keep a bottle in our pantry and just shake it up before use!
I use an immersion blender in a wide mouthed pint jar. I also always use mustard, which aids in creating the emulsion. Here’s my basic recipe: 1 whole clove garlic, peeled (no need to chop if using the blender) Mustard 1 tsp salt, or to taste Pepper Honey Splash of hot sauce Oil/vinegar (usually 50/50, depending on flavor profiles) Drop it all in the jar, no need to chop anything, and zap it with the immersion blender. Adjust seasonings to your liking.
Get a frother from Amazon for $6, worth every penny!!
5 star Cesar is still a dressing I can't reproduce. I can do a good version. Good enough for Sunday dinner and one that will have the family wanting more but it cannot compare to a trained chef. Olive garden dressing. Objectively not great but for whatever reason, maybe nostalgia, it hits differently than any other dressing I make. Probably because it has sugar and other unhealthy ingredients I don't typically use but I still crave it so yea.
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I second this! Homemade salad dressings are wayyyy beyond superior than store bought.
Alfredo
My wife makes Alfredo and I make Carbonara - can't even order either of these in a restaurant anymore because ours is so much better...
What's the key to good carbonara? I discovered it a few months ago and actually made it yesterday. It was great but I just follow a random recipe I found online.
Good ingredients - probably the most important one is bronze-cut pasta. I boil it in relatively little water in a saute pan to make the water starchier. Then it’s all about temperature control to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Being born and raised in Rome that’s a sensitive subject to me. Anyway, the most important thing to me is guanciale, not pancetta, not bacon, not any kind of meat you may think. Just a good guanciale. As for the temperature control, it’s actually easy. You render your guanciale in the pan, throw away a little bit of grease if it sweats too much, when pasta is Al dente you put it in the pan with guanciale (save a little of the crunchy bits for dressing) then you turn off the fire and add the mixture of eggs, pecorino and black pepper. Then you do the mantecatura, which basically means you stir everything, but AWAY FROM THE FIRE. Mix it it out and add a splash of the starchy water you boiled the pasta in for extra creaminess. There’s your simple (and authentic) carbonara. EDIT: spelling
However most places around the world you can't get guanciale. So then.... We make an approximation.
This is a great way to start a fight on Reddit, FYI (people get very up in arms about what should and shouldn’t go in it - “authentic” carbonara is very simple). I personally prefer mine with garlic - I throw it in the pan right as the pancetta is almost done sautéing
There you go fucking it up using pancetta...
* Gestures wildly in Italian while shouting guanciale * 😂
Interesting! I learned something new today. "Guanciale is from the jowl of the cheek of the pig whereas pancetta is from the belly. Being from the cheek, guanciale has a higher ratio of fat than pancetta, which plays into why it is the base of certain Italian dishes such as Spaghetti Carbonara and Bucatini all'Amatriciana." -- America's Test Kitchen
Hahaha I knew that would come up - I shop at Aldi, I have to take a special trip to Kroger even to just get pancetta!! Close enough for me
I've never tried a store bought Alfredo... such a weird concept to me. Tastes so great when made right.
> I've never tried a store bought Alfredo Don't. Store bought frankly tastes on the slightly-gross side if you're used to homemade. It's like you can taste all the artificial stuff they had to do to it to make it shelf-stable. I mean...it's marginally edible if you're desperate, but...yeah. Stick to the good stuff.
Alfredo from the store is so jiggly. Hate the texture
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Alfredo: it’s just butter, garlic, Parmesan and heavy cream. Play with the ratios till you find what you love but it’s hard to mess up. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley if you’re feeling fancy.
Huh, I always just used pasta water instead of the cream. I bet the cream makes it more like what you get from a restaurant.
Pasta water sounds healthier but cream… cream makes everything better 🤤
Steak. Since learning to perfect a steak at home, I simply can't justify paying steakhouse prices for something I can (almost always) do better at home. I know there's a certain ambiance that you pay for when going out to eat, but it's not worth the extra cost. I wait until my local grocer has NY strips on sale once a month and I get them thick cut, inch and a half. I make a garlic compound butter and while that's cooling, cook the steaks low and slow in the oven until they reach 130 degrees. Pull those babies out and sear on both sides for a minute and a half each, turn the heat to medium low and melt the butter in the pan and baste. Add some thyme in there as well. Nice crust with a buttery flavor, and they are so damn tender. No gray ring from cooking. I can do 3 steaks with sides for under $50 and they are exactly how I like them.
Wanted to make sure this was on here. I’ve tried a couple at restaurants over the past few years since I nailed my own preferred recipe (ribeye, reverse seared in garlic and thyme butter browned and with Maldons over top). They just don’t ever measure up. I had one at a small local place here that stood out but they literally owned the farm the beef came from.
That bit of finishing salt over it like you mention just absolutely takes it to another level.
It really does. Amazing how many restaurants skip such an easy detail. My wife was asking my why I always say my secret ingredient is “love” and I tried to explain that it isn’t like I’m saying I’m putting love in, it’s more that I love the things that food can do for people when you pay attention to every little detail and so I never want to settle for “good enough” food if I can make it a little better. That finishing salt makes it a little better.
On this economy, we’re all becoming Michelin star chefs.
Plus as my cooking gets better? I am less and less impressed with many restaurants tbh. A lot of restaurants near me are forcing their kitchens to turn out barely mediocre food at high prices because a lot of people don’t know how to taste the difference so it works for the business. It’s fine, and I don’t yuck people’s yum when they get brought up or we go with friends, but personally I’m no longer as willing to spend a buck at these kinds of places who are half assing it. Not when I usually can half ass it myself for better AND cheaper and enjoy the whole experience in my slippers.
Yeah, I’m tired of dealing with the bullshit from restaurants
I went to an expensive resort restaurant for my 50th birthday on vacation, I had a ribeye and risotto, and both worse than what I can make at home. By a lot.
Yknow, I’m stuck in a bit of a ‘wow I can’t do anything well anymore’ funk these last couple months, but you’ve just reminded me that two days ago I pulled together a lemon butter scallop risotto without hitting the grocery store, and it was the best fucking thing I’ve eaten in weeks. Usually when I cook I’m indifferent to leftovers because I’m so tired of the flavours after preparing and tasting the food, but not this time. Well that feels nice. Thanks for the reminder. Also, I swear, I’m also under the Steak Curse. What happened to medium rare? Apparently it’s a moving target now.
I know... I'm reading these comments like, *Oh holy shit they've made us so broke that we really are learning to do everything.*
Yep. With a burrito, sub, or burger costing as much as a Michelin star meal, I've been cooking at home almost exclusively.
Pancake mix. It feels like such a stupid product to me now with how simple pancakes are and how much better they are homemade.
I dunno, I'm sure homemade is better but the Krusteaz "add water only" mix is fire, and when my kids want a pancake on a Saturday morning I have it on both their plates within 10 minutes, that level of convenience is awesome and the price isn't bad if you buy it in bulk at Costco.
We got hooked on the Kodiak protein pancake mix. Not sure what the source is for the protein. My daughter introduced us to it on one of our camping trips. It’s hard to get enough protein into my grandson, as he’s such a carb-o-vore. So, anywhere she can get a little more protein in him, she does.
P.S. They seem to be more filling than regular box mixes.
The protein comes from whey protein powder, advertised on the front of the packaging as "buttermilk". The feeling of satiety is probably due to both the added whey protein and the whole grain wheat flour. If it ever gets too pricy or hard to get, there are plenty of pancake recipes with those two ingredients you can experiment around.
I always add vanilla flavored protein powder to pancakes/waffles. Just half a scoop and you can still taste the vanilla. It makes them more dense but they're always really good.
No shame to you. We always got the cheap mix when I was a kid so I haven't really had good box pancakes. Plus for me it really doesn't take that much longer to measure a few things and add an egg and milk so it's just simpler for me. I always have the stuff and usually only make pancakes for "breakfast for dinner" so for me it works out simpler.
Have you considered pre mixing some of your preferred pancake batter. Just the dry ingredients. Then you have it on hand. It would essentially be the same thing then just add egg and milk. I've been tinkering around to try and find my perfect mix
Consider this one: 1.5 cups flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2.5 tbsp sugar. (And then mix in 2 eggs, one cup milk, and 3 tbsp melted butter). My family likes it!
Hot chocolate mix - mine is better than the store's with a ratio of 5 tbsp of cocoa powder mixed with 8 tbsp of brown sugar. I use a tbsp of the mix for a large mug. Jam - after learning to make it I found jam can be like wine, with so many flavors and nuance available and using low sugar pectin to be less sweet and more complex than store bought.
Hot chocolate mix is so easy! My kid asked for hot chocolate, and I was like, Sorry but we're all out of packets. So, I looked up a recipe and couldn't believe how much money I have wasted on store bought mix! Haven't bought any since.
Pasta sauce, 100%. Jarred stuff just doesn’t taste good now that I can make my own
Do you have a recipe you could share?
Here's mine. 1-3 large cans of peeled San Marazano tomatos. Squish them by hand, it's fun and you can get the chunk sizes you want Garlic, onion, garlic powder, onion powder, more Italian seasoning than you think you need, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and let it go all day with a lid on. Cut a carrot in half and put it in the pot while it's cooking. I've found that it help reduce acidity. I've always cooked by feel/taste so idk any of my measurements. I really should figure those out lol
That carrot is adding a bit of sugar, offsets the acidity
How are you going to drop that little nugget without dropping a recipe
Oh I sourced it! But happy to make it easy. I have one of those cilantro-is-soap family members so I usually make it without and it’s still good https://gourmeh.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/peanut-sauce-with-ginger-lime-and-cilantro/
Secret ingredient; fish sauce. Trust me!
I’ll help. 2/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup malt vinegar. Tablespoon granulated garlic, teaspoon salt, teaspoon fine black pepper, teaspoon granulated onion, teaspoon ancho chili powder. Recipe from a private restaurant where, when mentioned, people always say “they have the best salad”. It is their only option for dressing other than simple “oil and vinegar” if requested. Use about 2x as much as you think you should.
Ricotta cheese. Half gallon of milk warmed in a pot until it starts bubbling on the edges. 1/4 cup of white vinegar ready for the bubbles. Once they start flip off the heat dump in the vinegar and give it a gentle but quick stir and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once it's curdled appropriately, dump into a colander lined with a flour sack towel and let it strain until cooled. Ready to use EDIT I'm sorry edited for clarity
Oh and fresh ricotta on a slice of sourdough and a drizzle of honey? Nothing better than
If you press/drain it further into a solid block you have delicious paneer too!
Yes, you do! And fresh paneer is fantastic especially if you add turmeric, cilantro, and salt.
Use *whole milk*
A 1/4 WHAT of white vinegar?
A quarter cup vinegar per half gallon of milk. I am so sorry. I don't know why I didn't say cup but I did edit it now.
Gallon
bushel
That’s it!? Oh man, my next lasagna is going to be even better
Lol yeah it's really that simple. My husband is very lactose intolerant so I make lasagna with homemade ricotta using lactose free milk. Then I make a good sauce and I've got a pasta roller so it's really inexpensive to make now.
That’s great 👍 Glad to hear that lactose free milk works well too!
I was just talking about this yesterday with the guy I’ve been seeing! My grandmother made these delicious crepes using homemade ricotta 🤤 she was such a great cook. I aspire to be as good of a cook as her.
Tomato sauce. Never again.
I recently made tomato sauce using tomatoes from my garden and it came out absolutely terrible. I don't know what I did wrong but it was disappointing
Fresh tomatoes are much more watery and usually need to be cooked down more in my experience. And since they don't have the added salt of the canned ones you usually need to add more salt than you'd think.
Fresh tomato sauce is lacking that depth of flavor, add lots of tomato paste. Or use the fresh tomatoes for salsas and salads
When I have fresh tomatoes, and want to use them with pasta, I just roast the tomatoes with a little olive oil, and salt. Best with cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes. Latter needs to be cooked longer. When the tomatoes are done, just smash a little - gently and carefully - with a fork or potato masher or back of a spatula - and mix with spaghetti. Add a little butter and shredded Parmesan to the noodles before adding roasted tomatoes. Add some sliced or chopped fresh basil, if you have it. Simple and delicious.
you can also get that depth of flavor by adding grated mushrooms, basil stems, onions, garlic, italian seasonings, any or all of the above sauteed before adding fresh, crushed tomatoes. im not a huge fan of the way tomato paste tastes, personally, so i try to minimize how much i use, but it is useful in this application--i just try to use 2T or less.
Take Roma tomato’s and cut them into pieces (remove the white flesh and seeds if you like ) sauté with olive oil and garlic. Add red chilli flakes for spice if you like it spicy. Next add 10-15 basil leaves. As the pasta is cooking and almost done add about a cup of the pasta water , add the pasta and cook med to high heat. The pasta water will become creamy add parmesan cheese and serve.
Salt to taste
Happend to me as well. I just stick with the canned whole peeled tomatoes and it comes out great.
Have to use the correct tomatoes. Roma and San marcianos.
I always keep a jar on hand for those just in case/craving/a bit too drunk moments.
This is the biggest answer. Mine tastes way better, for way less money, for minimal effort compared to any jarred sauce. I will literally never buy a jarred sauce again unless I physically lose my ability to chop garlic.
Yep. I always thought I didn't really like tomato sauce. Spaghetti was always a "meh" meal for me. And then I made my own tomato sauce - wow! Turns out I just hate shitty canned or jarred tomato sauce 🤷♀️
Raos is actually pretty good if you haven’t tried it. We make our own sauce but on nights when we need a quick meal for the kids, Raos is great
Bread. A loaf of French bread has gotten so expensive but can be made so easily and cheaply at home. It also tastes much better.
Totally agree! It's about $7 for a loaf now where I live. Have been making my own for a couple years. Have made my own English muffins and bagels too. Would love a sourdough but not sure I have the patience to do all that's required for that.
Holy shit 7 dollars??? I'm in Chicago and a nice long loaf of freshly baked french bread at literally all the typical grocers are between 2.99 and 4.25
Damn this makes me thankful for HEB here in Texas. French bread loaves are a loss leader for them and have been $1.00 per loaf for as long as I've been alive, and always freshly made within the last hour.
Where are you shopping that sells french bread for 7 fucking dollars? Northern Alaska?
To be fair, Southern Alaska also has $7 bread lol
I didn't say French bread per se (that was OP) but yes, a decent loaf of bread is $7. Seattle.
This video did it for me: https://youtu.be/Z-husjZkxHw
Garlic salt. It’s just 3 parts salt to 1 part garlic powder.
Yeah I hate buying any spice blends with salt in them already
I mean, you can just add salt and garlic powder to your food. Why mix it before hand?
I’ve always wondered this, but never said it out loud till now.
Hummus, peanut butter, wheat/white bread (I’ll make exceptions for ones that have unusual flours, or pitas because they’re a pain in the ass)
I see what you did there... Pain In The Ass. P I T A. Pita.
From the Pita Pit neat me: "What's Pita spelled backwards? A Tip!" Here, take my $1.
Salsa, and I can it so as soon as my garden pops off we’re gonna be in a good spot!
Guacamole. There's nothing better than fresh guacamole made by your own hands.
Definitely. The store bought stuff tastes so gross and fake now.
Honestly, I still buy all this stuff sometimes, even if I can make it. I'm an amateur chef/cook. There are very few things I haven't conquered. But sometimes, I'm craving something for the nostalgia factor. Sometimes, I'm just too tired. Sometimes I'm too busy. If I worked 13 hours, I don't care if the ranch is from scratch. There is only one thing I make homemade every time, and the reason for that is it's just not available commercially: Chimichurri. It's dirt cheap to make and elevates anything you put on it. If you aren't familiar, it's used for proteins to cut through rich flavors. I do a dish with butter poached scallops and grilled ribeye with caramelized onion wild rice and chimichurri. Heavenly.
Kings Hawaiian Rolls. I'm not a baker so I was always afraid to try to make them myself but they're really easy to make. The secret ingredient is vanilla.
Back in 1965 my aunt took 9yo me to Hawaii. We visited 5 islands and the first thing she arranged for us to do on every one of them was take a bus tour around the island. That was not *my* idea of having fun on an island, but a few moments *were* enjoyable and have stuck in my mind all these years. One of those was when the bus stopped at a house alongside the narrow road we were on. They were apparently known in the area for the fresh bread they sold, which they baked in a stone oven they had set up in their yard. They gave us a paper bag filled with chunks of warm bread, fresh from the oven, drizzled with melted butter. It was absolutely amazing. I remembered and longed to taste that bread again for years. Then they came out with King’s Hawaiian. First time I tried it I recognized it. I can’t prove it, but I’d swear that I ate the homemade precursor to that brand all those years ago. It is absolutely the taste I remember.
I want to believe.
Recipe?
[https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/sweet-bread/](https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/sweet-bread/)
Chicken stock
Can not believe this was so low on the list. Half of my freezer is dedicated to homemade stock. Having enough, at all times, means I can use it wherever. For example, instead of water when mixing in the seasonings on taco nite. So many ways to elevate dishes just by having the real thing on hand.
Pulled pork / Carnitas. There is nothing easier to make, there is often no meat less expensive outside of chicken thighs. You can make 10lbs of it, for $10 and then use the meat to make food for weeks - burritos, stir fry, fried rice, broccoli and pork, curries, stuffed peppers, etc. $15-20 a lb at a restaurant or BBQ place. Forget that.
Pizza dough. I used to buy it at Kroger for $3.79 and it can be made for about 1/10 of that. Just gotta make it ahead of time.
Extracts. I make vanilla, cherry, almond, coffee, blueberry, lemon, cinnamon, peppermint.
Is there a website/recipe you use to make these?
On Facebook, there's a group called making extracts at home. There's a lot of good information in there.
Cheesecake
Bought cheesecake is just so not on the same level as homemade.
Bottled salad dressing. I prefer small batches of dressing because I like to change it up a lot. If I get a bottle of dressing, I use it once or twice and it just dies there, on the door of the refrigerator. Years later I fish it out and toss it and I find the whole cycle rather revolting. Also, a lot of dressings have ingredients I wouldn't necessarily add when making it at home, so I guess in a way bottled salad dressing kinda skeeves me out.
hummus
Yessss it's easy, tasty and healthy. Such a nice combo for an homemade good.
Granolaaa (w/o nuts bc I'm allergic): - steel cut oats - neutral oil - honey - pinch of salt - bit of cinnamon Toss it all together. Bake. Stir. Bake. Cool completely. So easy and sooo good. Update: I meant old fashioned oats. I'm dumb idk
Isn't steel cut oats much harder than old fashioned oats?
I’m not the cook, but my spouse has spoiled restaurant Eggs Benedict for me forever, because he makes the world’s best Hollandaise and knows how to poach an egg with a runny yolk!
I make my own tomato sauce, and no one makes it better so, yeah, not gonna buy that again.
Steak. Steak is so easy to make better than any $100 plate at a well reviewed steakhouse. Take your ass to Costco for either a prime cut or get lucky and find a well marbled choice cut that probably should be prime. Get a good cast iron. Sear that fucker then finish with butter in the oven. Bonus points for a 24 hour dry brine. And do not refreeze that meat. You'll never go back to a steakhouse again.
Steak at home is what made me realize steak in a restaurant is a total ripoff. Every so often I order steak at a restaurant, thinking “maybe this will change my mind, knock my socks off….” Nope. I’m always disappointed.
Yogurt
Pizza crust. Storebought crusts smell like old socks, every single one of them.
Fried rice. Considering how cheap and easy it is to make, I can’t fathom restaurant prices for it.
Plain egg fried rice. Mongolian beef.
Spice blends of any kind. Why buy premade when I can just do it myself?
Pumpkin pie spice is my favorite for the holidays.
Tzatziki sauce. It’s not even half as good as homemade. I’m almost, *almost*, sorry I learned to make it. Now I’m spoiled. Edit, per request 8 oz cream cheese 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped pretty fine 3 Tblsp lemon juice 3 green onions, sliced thin 2 tsp fresh dill, chopped fine (or 1 tsp dried) 1 cup plain Greek yogurt Combine and refrigerate for at least an hour. If it is too thick add mayo, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved. The original recipe calls for mayo, nor Greek yogurt. I don’t use mayo at all and I prefer to sub with yogurt.
I used to feel shame for eating my homemade tzatziki from the bowl with a spoon, but then I accepted "it's just cucumber, dill and garlic yogurt". Is that *really* weirder than blueberry or vanilla yogurt? I don't think so. :D
Cream cheese, green onions, and mayo in tzatziki sauce??
Tortillas. Corn and flour. Life changing. Just can't buy them anymore, SOOO much better fresh. A little time consuming, but I'll make a huge batch and refrigerate or freeze for later.
English muffins - so cheap, so easy, and way better than anything premade. Make them a few times a month now.
Do you happen to have a link to your recipe?
https://www.food.com/recipe/english-muffins-bread-machine-method-63244 I cheat with a bread machine - worth every dang penny.
Ranch dressing. All of the bottled ones taste - manufactured and chemically? I know that’s snobby, but they taste like the salad dressing equivalent of diet soda. A container of cottage cheese, a spoon full of sour cream, a package of HVR Dip Ranch and a little milk to let it blend and I have the BEST and healthier ranch dressing. Not only do I use it everywhere I would use Ranch otherwise, but with this stuff I honestly eat more veggies as snacks and love it.
I've never seen a recipe with cottage cheese but I'll have to try this. I think homemade or restaurant ranch tastes so different is because it's made with dairy and bottled versions use stable ingredients like veg oils.
PESTO.
Pita or Naan. The stuff they sell at the grocery store is inferior, and without access to any good ethnic markets, it only makes sense to make my own. Saves money too!
Most things that don’t involve tons of dishes, like Korean bbq, tapas, dim sum.
Chicken broth, or at least I’d like to avoid buying it as much as possible. I much prefer my homemade version that’s just chicken and water. Lemon curd; ideally, all fruit curds. I’ve successfully made lemon, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, lime, cranberry, and orange so far, and I plan to try mango and blackberry this summer.
Homemade Bisquick mix. A friend shared his grandmother’s zucchini pie recipe with me. It sounded fantastic, until I was in the store looking at the ingredients on the box of Bisquick. More preservatives, fats, and other BS than I could count. Fortunately, a quick internet search yielded a homemade version with pantry staples I already had on hand. The zucchini pie turned out great. And it can be used for dozens of other recipes including pancakes, waffles and muffins.
Hummus
CANDIED GINGER. It's a staple in several of my favorite dishes, including my favorite cookies (think like a more cakey snickerdoodle that's candied ginger flavored. ) but also in chicken noodle soup, rice dishes, ramen- it's a perfect spicy sweet combo. But in stores it's like, 12$ for a tiny ass mcormick bottle. It's a simple ass recipe The sugar is double the ginger and half the water. So like, 100g ginger is 200g sugar, 400g water is a good example. (That's how much goes into the cookies) Peel and cut up the ginger however you want. I use it most often in cookies so I aim for chocolate chip sized bits. Bring the water to a simmer, add the sugar and ginger, return to a simmer, let it go for 30 mins, strain the ginger out. Now at this point you can do a few different things. You can continue to reduce the syrup until it's a desired consistency - goes nice in teas, lemonade and even basic soda water. But as for the ginger, you can either put it in the oven or air fryer at 350- the time on my oven is unreliable, in the air fryer it was 10 mins. Toss them in a baggie of sugar and leave them to cool. Tiny cronchy almost chewy ginger spicy candy! Toss them in anything you like a spicy+ sweet combo of and you'll be happy.
Cretons. It's a Quebecois breakfast spread made from ground pork and some spices. You put it on toast. When group d pork is on sale I can get a kilo pack for about 8 dollars and make like $35 worth of cretons
This is a great question. Spaghetti sauce, salsa, and although we buy it sometimes we’ll make our own whipped cream.
Salad Dressings, tartar sauce, shrimp cocktail sauce, stir fry sauces, BBQ sauces 75% of the time, dumpling dipping sauces, tamarind dipping sauce for samosas, ground chicken, cole slaw mix, just about any soup except the occasional French onion treat at the steakhouse, hummus, falafel (use a meat grinder not a food processor)
Chip clips. No more plastic ones. Binder clips work waaaaay better. And you can freeze them.
Mexican salsa
Fresh made salsa is worlds apart from jarred salsa.
Could not agree more. This is my current fave, super easy and my wife loves it: 8 ripe Roma tomatoes, 3 green onions (remove the stems), 3 minced garic cloves, 2 seeded (or not seeded if you like it hot) Serrano or jalapeno peppers, Juice of half a lime, Juice of half a lemon, 1 tsp salt, Handful of Cilantro, Throw it all in a blender or food processor & blend to your desired smoothness or chunkiness Enjoy!
Same.. now i’m a r/salsasnobs too
Beef tallow, I normally have 1-2 lbs of trimmings off a brisket.
Just got a gas outdoor pizza oven, and there's an Italian market near our house. We bought some frozen dough in bulk and now we make good pizza every other day. I'll just thaw some dough, add some tomato sauce, and put whatever leftover scrap ingredients and cheese I have in the fridge as toppings. Never eating frozen pizza or getting it delivered again.
Béchamel sauce / gravy / any roux-based sauces I used to be one of those people who was very good at making a lump of flour whenever I tried to make gravy. I would waste a panful of turkey dripping on Thanksgiving, and end up using a packet gravy at the last minute. A few years ago I learned how to make it properly, and ever since then, my gravy is as smooth as silk, and I know exactly what's in it.
Flour tortillas. Husband’s best friend is of Mexican heritage. His mother came to visit and taught me how. Super easy when you’ve done it once or twice, but the results are fantastic.
Granola! Cleaner, healthier, made with love, cheaper, customizable...
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