Things which are easy to make and cheaper than shop-made versions

[Urbanbeetler]

I have just made hummus from a tin of chickpeas, tahini (1 tablespoon), some olive oil, juice of a lemon and 2 cloves of garlic.

It’s lush! I added a drop of water as it was slightly too stiff in texture. Nicer than the shop stuff in texture and taste.

I think I have saved a couple of pounds as it is a good amount. Using a high quality olive oil may have negated that a bit (oil was a present so I don’t know the cost but I know it’s a good one).

I thought perhaps it would be a good emergency from-storage food if made with bottled lemon juice and garlic paste from a jar.

Anyone have any other ideas of how to avoid shop made food staples when it’s simple to make your own? Especially if they are things that can be made with long-life substitutes to fresh ingredients.

Not sure if it's much cheaper but pesto is really easy to make and you can make it healthier/less salty and put things like spinach in for children.

I’ll have a look - thanks.

Flatbreads are another thing which is much nicer home made and dead simple.

I agree. And I like chucking in things like smoked paprika or chilli or sun dried tomatoes to get different flavoured hummus.

I always make my own cake because I know it's proper butter and organic eggs.

I also make my own soured cream dip - just normal soured cream with garlic salt and dried chives then I leave it to sit so the chives rehydrate a bit. If there's any leftover I'll usually make a tomato soup and stir it in.

pancakes - so easy I have never understood why anyone buys mixes!

How do you make your flatbread? I’d love to try that

I always make my own chicken kievs. Parsley, garlic and butter chopped and blended then spread into butterflied chicken breasts. Flour with paprika, dip them in egg and then into wholemeal breadcrumbs and chuck them in the oven for 30 minutes. The DC shout "yissss" whenever we have them.

I also make tomato and basil soup, and minestrone. Home made is so much better than anything shop bought.

Ah homemade pesto is the best! Pinenuts are ££££ but you can easily use cashews (really creamy) or hazelnuts (nutty and textured) instead, and you can play with the herbs as well. A friend did nettle and pumpkin seed pesto which was great.

My favourite more-than-the-sum-of-it’s-parts recipe discovery at the moment is salmorejo - like gazpacho but has bread in so fills you up and given the amount of tomatoes we’ve grown this year, extremely cheap to make!

There's a good flatbread recipe where you just mix self raising flour, Greek yogurt and a bit of salt. I think it's 350g each of flour and yoghurt then slap them on a griddle pan. So easy - I'm channelling Ina, I'll be cooking chicken every Friday!

Probably goes without saying but guacamole (grate some garlic and chilli, squeeze of lime juice and salt and mash with avocado) and salsa - much prefer fresh salsa, chop tomatoes, shallot, loads of chopped coriander leaves and lime / salt
Haven't made homous in ages, sounds lovely.

Ohhh the flatbreads are Jamie Oliver easy flatbread recipe. Delish!! And I imagine they would be fun for kids to help make

Just google for recipe

Soups. DD would live on the soups which XDH and I make. She's tucking into a bowl of my tomato and lentil as I type.

Not exactly make but growing a pot of baby lettuce leaves - fresh, quick, grow back in no time. And keeping pots of herbs particularly chives are super easy.

All soups. Mine win every time.

We also make our own garlic bread using part baked baguettes.

I make garlic butter using lazy garlic. Dried parsley and proper butter. Mash it all up. Form it into a thick sausage shape. Roll in bit of cling film. Put in back or fridge for 15-20 mins.

Start baking baguette in oven inside tinfoil for a few minutes. Remove, slice bread (not the whole way through), slice garlic butter and pop a slice inside each slice of garlic bread. Wrap back up in foil and back in to the oven. Open foil for last few minute of cooking to crisp bread up a bit.

I promise it's worth the teeny bit of extra effort.

I always buy the part baked baguettes and freeze them so always have some in.

Any sort of stew in a slow cooker instead of ready meals. Just bung everything in and it does itself. No additives, no artificial flavours, no huge amounts of salt, no dodgy packaging that shouldn’t go in the microwave...

Agree Guacamole,

White/cheese sauces, pasta sauces in general (tinned tomatoes, herbs, seasoning, then whatever you fancy - last was chorizo, bacon and artichoke- have also done chicken, olives, or a more arrabiata type saucy from the same base.

Pancakes, Yorkshires.

Cakes in general - I don't get how the mixes gel!

I can’t make cakes - they never work! The flatbread recipes I use are either the Jamie Oliver one which is thicker and more like pitta or one with 300gms plain flour, 50gms butter and 185mils milk- melt butter into milk, mix with flour (and half teaspoon salt) and knead for a few minutes. Cool for 20 mins then roll v flat and cook for a minute or so on each sundae in a frying pan.

That one is more like a wrap. Yummy.

Sundae?? Side!

Makes four flatbreads by the way

Similar to previous posters sour cream dip. Garlic mayo using mayo, garlic salt and dried parsley. Yum!!

Chicken dippers - a bit like the kievs really. I have chicken strips, coat them in mayo and then coat them in breadcrumbs, or crushed cornflakes/rice pops or coconut and a slice of lime.

Granola. You can make it exactly to your tastes, and it's fresher, and a lot cheaper than shop-bought. Yesterday I made Jack Monroe's peanut butter granola and had it this morning with Greek yogurt, banana and raspberry. It was delicious, and really easy to make and cheap as chips.

Tiramisu!

And Pina Colada (no bake) desert.

Oh I do fancy making granola. Love it on yoghurt or porridge. I’ll look for that.

I make my own chicken nuggets when I have a few slices of staling bread - whizz them in the nutribullet to make crumbs, adding paprika and seasoning. I dip chicken in flour, then egg and finally the crumbs. And oven bake. They turn out well .