Making foods you would normally buy

[FireLane]

Not a food per se, but the next thing I want to try making is sugar scrub. I started using it for shaving, and it gives me a much better shave with no nicks or scratches.

A jar of the fancy stuff can be $25-$30, but all you need is plain sugar and olive oil, plus whatever scents you want to add. I should be able to make the same quantity at home for pennies.

[middo]

I made croissants this weekend. Oh my goodness, they are SO good. Not as beautiful as I'd like them to be, so I need to work on my technique, but they are tasty. Instead of buying for for $2.50 at a coffee shop, it probably cost about $4 in ingredients and maybe an hour or so of my time to make 30 of them. 26 of them are frozen, I pull out just the ones I need to defrost, prove a second time, egg wash, and then bake.

My goal is to make delicious snacks, but also make a different style to make a breakfast sandwich with.

It's also one more item for my freezer sweets. I'll make cookie dough rounds, biscuits, scones, etc. to save for when I need them instead of baking a ton at once (and eating them all at once). I think of back when my dad used to make 4 dozen oatmeal cookies at a time and bake them all. I only recently let him know that he could bake just a few and save the cookie dough for another time instead of letting the baked cookies go stale.

Biscuits that go soft can be re-hardened by baking them at 100 C (210 F) for about half an hour, or longer if needed. My gingernut biscuits come out of the oven soft for some reason, so they get a second baking the next day.  Such good crunch then!

[Mr. RME]

We will cook a good steak at home once every few months.  A good cut of meat at a steakhouse for two typically would cost up around $80 for the meal.

We will pick up just less than a pound of tenderloin filets, plenty for two people.  Heavily season with fresh cracked salt and pepper.  Sear it on a cast iron skillet with grape seed oil, which has a really high smoke point.  After a minute or two on each side, we put it in the oven at 350 degrees until temp reaches 135-140.  Comes out nearly perfect each time!  We also make a red wine reduction to go with it.  Pour half a bottle of red wine in a pan and reduce volume by 75%.  Turn the heat off and melt in a few tablespoons of butter.  Typically around $15 for a gourmet meal!

Hungry now!

[OtherJen]

I really love this thread, and I’m getting inspired to try making yogurt.

Things we make/prepare
Corn tortillas (this is the best recipe I’ve found: https://www.isabeleats.com/3-ingredient-authentic-mexican-corn-tortillas/
Barbecue sauces and marinades
Cucumber pickles
Beans (I almost never buy canned beans now)
Baba ganoush
All quick breads/cakes/cookies (I have celiac disease so this is a big savings over store-bought)
Cake frosting/icing
Beer/wine
Cocktail bitters
Pasta sauces
Spice blends
Guacamole
Soda water

Things we’re hoping to do (besides yogurt):
Salsas
Cheeses
Sauerkraut
Mineral water

[middo]

Made cannelloni from scratch a couple of days ago.  It was mostly successful, but the recipe needs some tweaking for more flavour.  It was from an Italian cookbook too, which I thought would be full of flavour.

[noplaceliketheroad]

I save all my veggies scraps in a zip bag in the freezer and once a week I make veggie broth in a large stock pot. I use the broth for making beans, rice, a base for salad dressing, in place of oil when sautéing, etc. It's also delicious on its own.

I make my own alternative milks in my soyabella. I do some mix of almonds, cashews, pistachios, chia seeds, flax seeds, oats, maca... whatever is in the pantry. Will add a little vanilla and maple syrup on occasion.

I just started making my own BBQ sauce after going to the store last week and reading the ingredients on a bottle of annie's brand sauce. I realized I had all the ingredients in my house, so I tried it out, and it turned out better than store bought.

 I make my own hummus, but it's never as good as store bought since I don't use tahini. I'm a little sensitive to sesame seeds, so I try to avoid it. If anyone has any suggestions for making a creamier, thicker hummus, but without the tahini, let me know!

[Hirondelle]

I make my own hummus, but it's never as good as store bought since I don't use tahini. I'm a little sensitive to sesame seeds, so I try to avoid it. If anyone has any suggestions for making a creamier, thicker hummus, but without the tahini, let me know!

I've heard people about using peanut butter as a substitute. Maybe other nut butters would work as well. I've never tried any of those adaptations though, so no first hand experiences to share.

[diapasoun]

I make my own hummus, but it's never as good as store bought since I don't use tahini. I'm a little sensitive to sesame seeds, so I try to avoid it. If anyone has any suggestions for making a creamier, thicker hummus, but without the tahini, let me know!

I've heard people about using peanut butter as a substitute. Maybe other nut butters would work as well. I've never tried any of those adaptations though, so no first hand experiences to share.

Adding anything fatty should help -- that's why the tahini helps make it so creamy, and nuts are definitely a good way to go here! Pine nuts especially make delicious hummus. ;) Olive oil can help, too, though obviously it's liquid and so has a different effect than nuts.

[noplaceliketheroad]

I make my own hummus, but it's never as good as store bought since I don't use tahini. I'm a little sensitive to sesame seeds, so I try to avoid it. If anyone has any suggestions for making a creamier, thicker hummus, but without the tahini, let me know!

I've heard people about using peanut butter as a substitute. Maybe other nut butters would work as well. I've never tried any of those adaptations though, so no first hand experiences to share.

Adding anything fatty should help -- that's why the tahini helps make it so creamy, and nuts are definitely a good way to go here! Pine nuts especially make delicious hummus. ;) Olive oil can help, too, though obviously it's liquid and so has a different effect than nuts.

Great suggestions, and thanks!

[PiobStache]

We make so many things ourselves.  Pizza is a big one as we'll have it three times a month or so.  Sausage is a good one.  Buy pork loins on deep discount and freeze until you feel like making a batch of sausage.  I made gumbo last night using my own smoked Andouille sausages.  I'll lay out a whole charcuterie tray for guests with things on it like duck breast prosciutto, smoked garlic salami, pork belly burnt ends, etc. that I made myself.  We make our own breadcrumbs from left over baguette and I use them for things like homemade schnitzel (again, buy pork cutlets on sale and freeze until needed) and I make homemade spatzel to go with.

Probably 80% of our diet is true homemade items.

[Raenia]

New things I've tried recently:
 - Teriyaki sauce - so much better than bottled, and really easy to make!  Will make a little less sweet next time, though.
 - Crackers - I'm not entirely happy with the result, so I think I'll try a different recipe next time, but it wasn't too difficult.

[Digital Dogma]

As mentioned in here already, tortilla wraps are a great way for me to save money, and taste way better when made fresh. We even got an authentic hancho en mexico aluminum press to help flatten them out in big batches.

I like to use then for salad wraps, dump all my veggys in it and top with some chicken and dressing till i can barely close it in a giant cone. We also love to make big batchrs of burritos to freeze for lazy weekday lunch or dinner

[ElizaStache]

I keep adding to the list of things I won't buy, because I enjoy making them myself.
This week I'm trying out making preserved lemons and pickled beets. I'm making sourdough bread to bake tonight and I want to try sourdough chocolate chip cookies.
Last week I made 12 qts of chicken/vegetable stock from scraps I save in the freezer.
I know this sounds dumb because I previously posted a salad dressing recipe, but we never really eat salad, so we went to the store and bought $7.50 worth of produce for the salad and some veg for the next few dinners.

[middo]

New things I've tried recently:
 - Teriyaki sauce - so much better than bottled, and really easy to make!  Will make a little less sweet next time, though.
 - Crackers - I'm not entirely happy with the result, so I think I'll try a different recipe next time, but it wasn't too difficult.

I also make my own sauces, primarily as I can control the flavour.  So much sugar in the store bought sauces!  I also save a fair bit when making them from scratch.

[Goldielocks]

I make my own hummus, but it's never as good as store bought since I don't use tahini. I'm a little sensitive to sesame seeds, so I try to avoid it. If anyone has any suggestions for making a creamier, thicker hummus, but without the tahini, let me know!

I've heard people about using peanut butter as a substitute. Maybe other nut butters would work as well. I've never tried any of those adaptations though, so no first hand experiences to share.

sunflower seeds (processed to a paste)