To make cooking from scratch a thing of the past?

[Mumhangingon]

So I'm sat here 1 hour in to cooking a steak pie from scratch. I've totted up how much its cost me in ingredients along with the cost of the oven running for 3 hours and I'm thinking why am I bothering? I know it will be much nicer but is it worth paying 2 or 3 times the cost of a premade pie from the supermarket? Or even a butchers? Same for lasagne, cottage pie etc? I want to do my best for my family but the cost of living is making it too costly.
Is there a secret I'm missing? Or is it just cheaper to buy premade.
I'm grateful to be able to put food on the table of course, I'm just sat here thinking about ways to cut costs where we can.

Yeah right! A lasagne for 4 costs £16.90. I need 5 full sized portions here and it will cost me 1/4 of that!
How rich must someone be to go buying that to feed their family!?

I’d buy a speak pie but I do like a home made lasagne and shepherds pie. Not a ready meal fan to be honest

I've never understood how making from scratch is cheaper. It rarely works out that way for me!

But it is ALOT healthier so I do tend to do it*

I make you right about scone but the rest is simply unacceptable !

My OH and I had this same discussion in the Lincoln pie shop on the hill, the waitress was not happy when we went into our views of what a pie was!!!

I like it that people take it seriously though, even if they are wrong...

I’m not interested in cooking- from scratch or at all if I can avoid it. We’ve had Christmas lunch from COOK and use it when friends come for dinner. Unfortunately now we’ve moved countries, we need to find a local version of COoK.

If you want slow cooked ingredients to cook from scratch... you have to pre cook and leave in fridge until needed3/4 days later and or freeze the rest.

So when you have time to cook beef filling for a pie/casserole etc cook a big batch. Then divide chill or freeze.

It's the only way to do it.

Our local bakers make pies - they make the pastry from scratch and get the meat from the butchers next door so imo as good as home made but only need heating up.

I cba with cooking totally from scratch.

40 minute lasagne 😱

No wonder there's so many people happy with shop bought.

Not for me.

If you're happy to cook it and can afford the ingredients, do it op.

There are ways to cut corners and buy ready made meals but always read the small print as 9/10 are shit.

It depends what you make & how you cook it

im presently working my way through slow cooker recipes, different three each week. All cooked from “scratch” and takes me 10 minutes to prepare, pennies to cook. Then as I double the ingredients- we can freeze & microwave. Microwave is cheap to use

I usually make lasagna, but DH bought one from Booths last week because I was out all day.

It was vile. Slimy, with an odd taste.

I'd rather make my own stuff. I wouldn’t spend 3 hours making a pie though. Hope it’s delicious!!

How on Earth can you justify buying from Cook? It’s 16.50 for a chicken something for 4. I guess it’s cheaper than a takeaway. Actually it is! Checked kebab from our chippy was £11.!

On the contrary it’s pretty much the only readymade thing I do buy. M&S do a great one

Ultra processed foods are really bad for your health, cause obesity etc.
It’s much healthier to cook from scratch, it needn’t be that expensive either.

If I am making steak pie, shepherd's pie, lasagne etc, I tend to do enough meat to make another. I put it in the slow cooker, or pressure cooker, so don't have the oven on for anything like 3 hours. The lasagne filling sometimes doesn't last to make a second as we sometimes eat it with linguini.

I would never buy any of those kind of meals ready made, they just do not taste anything like as good and tend to have too much salt for DC.

I have recently bought an instant pot. It's a game changer! Pressure cooked chicken chasseur in 10 minutes. Doing a beef casserole this week which would usually have been 3 hours in the oven.

Home cooked meals are defo better. It's just funding ways to cut the cost.

Cook everything from scratch here. Partly as I like to cook and prefer the taste but also doing gluten and lacto free so often no choice.

I do double portions of high labour/energy things like pies and lasagne etc. and cook other stuff in the oven at the same time (potatoes, baked oats for breakfast porridge, flapjacks etc.).

Can understand why some people buty ready made, just doesn’t work for me. Think it’s also cos I’m greedy and the portions are too small otherwise!

Have you seen the batch lady? She’s got some good time saving recipes (from scratch) but they freeze well too

It's possible to make pies that don't need anywhere near as much cooking time as that.

If I was going to make a pie that needed that much time I would make double quantity of the filling and put half in the freezer for another time.

Ive always cooked from scratch and don't find it a hassle at all. I do have an Aga so slow cooked stews are easy and hassle free.

Mumsnet sacralege I know, but we barely ever 'cook from scratch' nowadays due to time constraints/tiredness other than the odd Risotto, Roast dinner or Tagliatelle if DH wants/has time to (he is much better at cooking than me) Sometimes we have takeaways at weekends but the rest of the time we have plenty of veg (other than DD, although she is offered it!) and some processed but always balanced meals ie: Jacket potatoes with toppings and salad, Tortellini in sauce with veg, shop bought quiches and pies with pasta/potatoes & veg, lasagne using mince and jar sauces, sausages, mash and veg, salmon or pork loins, baby potatoes & veg or a korma (jar sauce) rice and poppadoms.
May not be the healthiest as its quite processed, but not the worst either.
DD mainly eats school dinners as she is super fussy with hot meals at home, and 11mo baby joins in with some meals but has her own food if its something not suitable.

I cook for myself and enjoy the ritual of cooking, so mostly from scratch*, though doubt I'd bother with a steak pie.

What I do find with bought meals/made-up ingredients is they lack the layers/separation of flavours you get with home made and so many have craploads of sugar that are overwhelming.

• My cooking from scratch means tinned tomatoes but not a ready-made sauce, IYSWIM, so not the full Monty.

So long as I can afford to I would rather cook from scratch and know exactly what’s in a meal. We make lots of veggie meals to save cost so we can afford to buy good quality meat. For me, what I put onto my body in the way of food is one of the most important things for my well-being and I’d rather cut back on other things. Up to you what is a higher priority and if you could save cost in other areas.

My ‘from scratch’ steak pie = steak and other ingredients into instant pot. When cooked, put into pie dish with ready made flaky pastry. Put in oven.

I don’t think from scratch means you have to raise the cow yourself.

You'd still have to heat up a bought pie.

I cook from scratch but I've never made a pie. Why does it need three hours in the oven, seems excessive.

Make a casserole in the slow cooker instead.

Or in the pressure cooker. And stick some ready made pastry on the top if you like.