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! -

Yes a curry is as simple as coconut milk OR tomato in can and some curry paste.
Add some meat (chicken, turkey or shrimps) some onions, vegetables (e.g. Green beans). That's it.

I don't add cornflour and have no issue with the coconut milk. It goes in the freezer for the left overs.

I do almost every meal from scratch. Occasionally I'll grab my son a samosa or spinach pie from the deli, but mostly he goes with sandwiches, quesadillas, Spanish omelette, Japanese fried rice etc. Always a home-baked something & piece of fruit.

I get home about 6:00 & im knackered, but we never have not from scratch. Sometimes it's partially from the freezer. So I made veggie burgers from scratch last month and tonight we'll thaw them & fry them & I'll get fresh buns & salad. We usually have curries, stir fries or pasta dishes.

Yes jan exactely that and not an issue because it's electric (no gas) and will never get too hot.

Are there many people who work full time hours (45 hours per week or above) who manage this? Are there people who are out of the house for 12 hours plus per day, and still manage?

Yes, us. As others have said, it's perfectly possible to cook quickly (and to allow longer-cooked things to, say, roast during an evening to eat the following night -- and we're vegetarians, so no long-cooked meat dishes. We get a vegetable box, so don't meal plan, and neither of us is particularly recipe-minded. Last night we had baba ghanoush, flatbreads (home made but frozen) and salad, the night before halloumi with spiced chickpeas and tomato. Both are very quick.

Home made veggie burger sounds good also. Do you have a recipe?

Oh, and no 'wonder women' in our house - DH does the majority of the cooking, though we do take it in turns.

I don't cook from scratch every day, but I've found doing it has helped immensely with losing weight because I know exactly what's going in my food and can subsitute ingredients for lower calorie ones.

There are some nights if I'm late home from work that I just need to cook something quick so I'll use jars rather than make up a sauce myself.

A full time job is 35, not 45 hours. 45 hours is close to the legal maximum (48)

5pm is not late. Once I've got home from work and buggered about with my horses it is between 7-8pm. I cook "from scratch" and it never takes me longer than 40mins. Sometimes I chuck everything in the slow cooker before work at 6am - even better!

Thanks Smurfs

The key to cooking from scratch is having gadgets...

Pressure cooker
Rice cooker
Oven
Slow cooker

The possibilities are endless.

It becomes easier the more you do it. We do lots of homemade sauces and freeze. Tomato being the most popular.

I always do at least 3 types of soups and freeze.

We always do homemade pizza.. we buy ready made base everything else is from the fridge.

What helped a lot was looking in my fridge and putting what I have into google and see what it throws out at me. The rule in our house is to empty the fridge... so we sometimes end up with very interesting recipes.. some we keep.

Also doing prep the day before can come in very handy. Marinades.. chopping veg etc. For the next meal comes in very handy for us.

All of my weekday meals take between 20-40 mins.

I love cooking from scratch... I think there is also something satisfying knowing exactly what I'm feeding my family.

slow cookers are terrible. Pressure cooker much better.

I actually never said that 1700 was late. I leave the house at 7am and when I get it, I usually play with the kids for a while and then think about cooking. I can either cook something my toddler will eat and we all try to eat together (he is very fussy) or i cook for him and we eat after he goes to bed. Either way, I dont seem to have lots of time to cook and probably suffer from a lack of imagination. I inherited this from my mother. I didnt even know what a pepper was until i got to University.

We do. But we follow a fairly simple rhythm food wise.

Sunday: Roast.if chicken, make stock from carcass for soup.
Monday: Stir fry from roast.
Tuesday: Soup. Normally chicken noodle with stock made already.
Wednesday: Fajitas, casserole or something
Thursday: Something mince based...Chilli, spag bol, lasagne etc.
Friday: Curry night
Saturday: Pizza (home made)

All from scratch, though I do tend to have a bag of chips in the freezer as an easy accompaniment if we need it.

We are well stocked in terms of pantry items...Herbs, spices etc so it isn't expensive or hard.

There a legal maximum of 48 hours, seriously? What about A and E doctors? Nannies work 12 hours a day easily . Dh works way more.

In the summer we do a lot of BBQ meat and salad, salads, home made burgers etc. We make our own bread and cereal, cakes etc. I do buy wraps and that sort of thing, jacket potatoes are easy and I have a pressure cooker if we are short of time so can whack in something for soup.

Cooking doesn't have to be complicated or take ages, it depends what you make and what tools you use. I use a pressure cooker for quick soups, stews, bolognaise and also for cooking veg to mash - it's a huge time saver!!! I also find the timer on my oven is a handy function - put the chicken in the oven and set it to come on so that it is cooked when we get in, stick some spuds in at the same time and you can have roast chicken, baked potato and salad / veg very quickly!

This thread shows that some people's definition of 'from scratch' is different to others.
For some it's ok to use certain jars: Pesto for e.g., and for others that's a no-no.

I do a bit of everything. I can marinate in soy,ginger, 5 spice etc. Other times I open a Pataks paste and add coconut milk, that's not really from scratch, to me.

So the answer to OP is, as is shown, people have varying views.

MGFM
Why not get receipes from the Internet? You can put in filters for times. Eg under 20 mins r main ingredient. Make sure you book mark the ones you like or maybe do what my mum has and print and make a file of favourite receipes.
We never have ready made meals, hardly ever have take always ( look up fake always for some great receipes)
Cook books such as 'Leon's fast food'are great for quick but tasty meals.

We often have veggie meals in the week and maybe on days off have meals that take longer to cook eg roasts.
Meal planning is important and having food cupboard stocked with basics makes life so much easier.

i don't make my own hummus or falafel but do make my own lamb koftas/meatballs. I make all sauces, don't use any from a tub or jar, don't make packet sauces. I make my own curries with spices, i don't make chapati or paratha or naan, in fact, I don't make my own pizzas or my own bread.

For some it's ok to use certain jars: Pesto for e.g., and for others that's a no-no. Yup! Cos there are no rules other than the ones you make for yourself.

Sometimes you have the time, ingredients and urge to make every little bit of a meal. I have been known to mince beef or pork and make burgers and sausages, but wouldn't say that using shop bought ones break a 'cooking from scratch' rule.

I think that might be what puts some people off even starting. The idea that FROM SCRATCH means never BACKSLIDING and using a jar

The reality for many is that you come to the best compromise oyour lifestyle and cooking skills allow. Most of all you ENJOY IT!!

Sod having rules about it

The key to cooking from scratch is gadgets

Pressure cooker
Rice cooker
Oven
Slow cooker

I disagree, gadgets can be helpful but not the key. I don't have a rice cooker, slow cooker or pressure cooker and still manage to make meals quickly without resorting to ready meals, jars and pre made ingredients.

I make homemade tomato sauce in batches as well. But that takes over an hour to cook on the hob

It must be a special recipe then. I throw tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper into a blender, then boil the mixture for a couple of minutes.

"There a legal maximum of 48 hours, seriously? What about A and E doctors? Nannies work 12 hours a day easily . Dh works way more."

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The key to cooking from scratch is gadgets

Nah, as long as you have a hob and an oven you're fine. I don't have a pressure cooker, and I've always hated the food that comes out of a slow cooker (I find it makes meat mushy and leaves your sauce watery).