To wonder who these wonder women are who 'cook from scratch' every day

[MGFM]

Following on from all the threads about supermarket shopping and how to make it cheaper etc, I just can't get me head around all of the families 'cooking from scratch' everyday.

Is it just me that thinks that cooking from scratch everyday is an absolute nightmare? Are people confused about what cooking from scratch actually means? Are all these people who do this SAHM/SAHDs? Are they getting up at 5 am to put the meal together to heat up in the evening. I just dont get it.

I am currently on Mat Leave but when I was working full time and getting home around 1645/1700 every night, the last thing I wanted to start doing was cooking from scratch.

And what does cooking from scratch even mean? I enjoy sausage, mash, peas and gravy. The mash is from scratch...does that count?

I tend to cook from scratch at the weekend....a big pan of chilli which can cook for a few hours, or spag bol and then will freeze the left overs but I dont start cooking this on a thursday night for example.

Anyway, If I am being unreasonable and it is actually pretty easy to be super mum/dad and cook from scratch, can I please have your recipes?

Thanks! -

This is my plan. Hope it's legible. I know it is unique to my family and won't suit most others. Just thought I'd share as it's always interesting to see how other people do things. Biggest benefit to me is that I don't have to think every day what will I make for dinner!

What do the different colour codes mean marhav?

I cook from scratch six days a week.
SAHM, menu plan every week using BBC Easy Cook magazine (no I don't work for them!), usually takes about 30-60 minutes during which time I'm watching telly and chatting to any kids that come in.
I like it.

The colours are to highlight meals with something in common e.g. Spicey meals, meals with pink fish etc to allow me to distribute evenly. All a bit CDO.

Sorry, not very legible. Unable to load actual spreadsheet. These are a few elements .

I do, I don't have a freezer! Curries can be done in the slow cooker as can simple roasts so all you need to make at the end is rice and gravy. However something like salmon, baby potatoes and broccoli is also made from scratch and takes 15 minutes.

And the rest...

A freezer is helpful, but make sure you get proper containers to freeze the food.

I make chilli and pasta dishes during the week because they are cheap and can be kept and used for lunch with a baked potato or reheated in the microwave. At the weekend Roast chicken with all the trimmings (the roasted veg and yorkshire puds my veggie daughter eats) and/or luxury Vegetarian Lasagna or proper macaroni cheese.

And yes I do use the chicken, if roasted throughout the week for a chicken pie (with shop bought puff pastry) or chicken curry. We all love spicy parsnip soup with homemade onion bhaji (so easy to do).

Pasta carbonara is also quick and easy and you can use smoked paprika and sweet peppers instead of bacon or just sprinkle bacon (and mushrooms) on the top.

Supermarkets have chopped onions, garlic and parsley frozen (always a pain). Or do these yourself at the weekend and freeze for use during the week.

Sausage, mash and onion gravy is a big like too, with veggie sausages an option for DD1.

I often cook double amounts and put one lot in the freezer so I can use that on a night when I'm in a hurry, usually curry, pasta sauce or chilli. Then you know exactly what's in your food. If I do a stir fry I use the little Blue Dragon sauces though. I sometimes use frozen peas or sweetcorn for veg, but otherwise I prepare fresh veg.

I cool from scratch around 5 nights a week. The other 2 will usually be going out/ takeaway/ eating at a friend's house or something like a frozen pizza or something else from freezer section e.g. Chicken pieces or sausages etc w oven chips and peas or similar.

Scratch cooking in our house is v basic stuff. simple stew in slow cooker (just dump it all in in the morning- never do anything that involves browning) fish cooked in oven w new potatoes and salad or veg, lamb chops with same etc. omelette/ tacos/ chicken thighs cooked in oven in some v basic marinade/ sausage and mash etc once a week I usually make a bigger dish e.g. Shepherd's pie/ lasagne/ chili / bolognese sauce etc and that lasts a couple of nights.

I used to enjoy cooking before I had kids and try out lots of new recipes etc. now my 3 year old is so 'active' and can usually be found trashing the house or endangering himself while I cook so I keep it as simple as possible. But I think worth it as much healthier than ready made and doesn't take much longer.

Oh yes and every Friday night I make a roast- usually chicken tho sometimes beef or lamb

A freezer is helpful, but make sure you get proper containers to freeze the food.

ZouBisou - basil is really easy to grow, and will quite happily live on a sunny windowsill. The more you pick the leaves, the more it grows (just don't pick the stems too, pinch the leaves off at their base).

I often have a basil pot on my windowsill in the summer, but always thought that picking more or less the whole plant (even with the pinch method, which I use anyway) would probably do it in...

For lunch today we had homemade pizza made with leftovers and left over baguettes , instead of wasting them. They were delicious and dd2 really enjoyed making and eating them.

For those people who are time short and cant be bothered spending ages cooking but have to i would really recommended a book i bought last week- The one pound meals weve already made quite a few of them. The meals are for one person but you just multiply the ingredients Failing that,you can follow the instagram page 'onepoundmeal'

New favourite book!!

Last night was m&s curries from the freezer. And basmati that I boiled myself.

The night before though was boiled potatoes, grilled pork chops (that butcher had marinaded) and frozen peas.

Monday night was baby potatoes, bacon lardons, sliced chorizo and a jar of tomato and chilli sauce all mixed together and baked for an hour.

I consider 2 of those meals "from scratch " .

This week is rather manic though and my freezer stocks of meals are running low.

I will pull something together tonight, possibly involving fresh pasta and a tin of tomatoes.

And I know I'm doing bacon and cabbage for Saturday, with leftovers for macaroni cheese on Monday night.

It's a balance here.

Which two of those meals do you think as being made 'from scratch' Biddy?
Seriously genuine question as i know everyone has different ideas as what constitutes as scratch.

A freezer is helpful, but make sure you get proper containers to freeze the food
I smiled when i first read this but it makes more sense than it appears.

If you use freezer to oven containers (eg foil cartons) or casserole dishes t is going to save time and washing up so actually it is a handy tip!

I always cook from scratch and am certainly no wonder woman. I work 3 days a week. I don't make anything fancy, usually things that can be cooked in less than 30 minutes. 2 days a week we eat when DD is in bed so one of us will cook while the other does bath/bed time, usually we'll have something a bit fancier then and on the weekend. Otherwise it's pasta and rice dishes, chicken or fish (quick to pan fry) with veg or salad etc, stir fries.

The pork chops and the chorizo potatoes dinners Whathave - one required proper cooking and the other assembly using a bunch of ingredients.

Admittedly, I would make regular tomato sauce a lot of the time for pasta dinners or curries, from an onion, garlic and tin of tomatoes starting point. But I do keep a few jars of good sauces for a few particular dishes and emergency nights.

I agree about freezer containers. I got a great pyrex glass rectangular dish a few years ago with a plastic lid - so can go from freezer to oven (not while frozen and after removing the lid). But if you line it with greaseproof/tin foil, or just remove the dish once the food is frozen and store in a freezer bag, but put it back in the dish to defrost, you can make other use of the dish while food stays frozen longer than a few days. Really handy for assembling things like lasagna, shepherds' pie or fish pie in advance, and then just throw in the oven on more rushed evenings.

my son needs the help of mums who either like to cook from scratch or would like to start cooking from scratch more! If you have a spare few minutes please could you fill in this questionnare as he wants to know your opinion on his idea :
goo.gl/forms/P4PJCUnfqKDy8ac53

Thank you

Can't be arsed half the time if I'm being honest.

In addition, I have always found, that the women who claim they 'cook from scratch,' are usually the same ones who claim they have a nanny, a degree, a cleaner, their own business, a six figure income, other 'staff,' etc etc, but seem to spend every waking hour on message forums.

Doesn't bother me if people cook from scratch all the time (if they actually do,) but I do get irked with the snooty attitude towards people who don't.

As for plotting out our meals on a chart. No thanks. We have full and busy lives and may decide to go to the cinema at a moment's notice tomorrow. Or maybe for a drive to the coast. Can't be doing with any rigid rotas or plans.

I cook from scratch every single evening BUT it has been made a hell of a lot easier with my slowcooker and my pressure cooker... i also do cheat and use ready bought puff pastry because I've never managed to get it right but the only thing i'll buy in jars is passata nout else.

I work from home twice a week so those days I will use the slow cooker and then on the days im working i'll use the pressure cooker.

On a sunday I use both, ill use the slowcooker for the chicken then use the pressure cooker for the potatoes and the veg - 4 minutes for veg + potatoes so full cooked sunday dinner in less than 10 minutes - job done! plus the veg stays nice and warm in the pressure cooker whilst I'm doing the gravy!

i like to make a bit extra of things I've been cooking in the week like curries and chilli etc and freeze them for when i don't get home til gone 9 in the evening and just cant be arsed!

i do, i love it, it's my relaxing time after my DS has gone to bed. He's 1 so i make all his meals in bulk and freeze them in portions for when we need them, but i make meals for us from scratch every day. It's actually a lot easier than you'd think, you learn what you can make with whatever's in the fridge / freezer / cupboard. Last night was oyakoburi which is basically broth with veg and meat over rice. Yum :)