As a full-time homemaker for almost five years now, I have learned my favorite ways to cook from scratch! These are the best things this homemaker makes from scratch weekly, if not daily.
Cooking from scratch seemed intimidating to me at first. I didn’t grow up learning how to cook meals, and it wasn’t until I got off my meal plan at college that it was all put to the test. I survived on basics like fried eggs and canned soups, and after college, I still wasn’t getting the practice that I needed.
After I got married, I quickly learned how to make amazing meals for the two of us using my crockpot, as I was gone all day working. Once we had our first child and I quit my job to stay home with her, I finally had the freedom and space to learn how to make all our meals from scratch!
It took quite a bit of time of just practicing and being in the kitchen to start to feel confident in my cooking. I relied on cookbooks for a long time but now I enjoy making my meals with just my brain, my kitchen tools, and the food I have in front of me.
All that to say, that what this homemaker makes from scratch might just take time and practice for you to get to that point too. But don’t give up! It will come and you’ll find the ebb and flow that works best for your family.
Here are my tips and tricks…
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Bread (and Breadcrumbs)
I finally feel confident in making bread for my family weekly! It took longer than I would like because I was gluten-free but my husband was not. I didn’t want to make two types of bread each week for us because we couldn’t find a good compromise that we could both enjoy.
Recently I purchased a grain mill and have been milling my flour at home. I discovered Einkorn and started making sourdough with it. We now enjoy organic freshly milled sourdough einkorn bread as a family, and even though einkorn does have a bit of gluten in it, my body has adapted well to it!
Making bread from scratch comes in all sorts of levels from your basic yeast sandwich loaf to sourdough, milling your own grain at home, and even artisan breads. Check out these books to help you find the perfect fit for your family!
Breadcrumbs are simply dried-out bread pieces that are blended or ground! Leftover bread is great for this, or even toast them in the oven for homemade croutons.
Related Post: 17 Homemaker Habits And Skills That Will Make You The Best Homemaker
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Other Baked Goods
Biscuits, pie crusts, muffins, quick bread, and more can all be made so easily at home! While I make a couple of loaves of bread each week for the family, I also try to make one fun bread, as we call it.
For example, this week I made an applesauce loaf with our leftover applesauce. Last week it was chocolate zucchini bread. Sometimes it might just be the tortillas to go with our meal. There is always a carb that can be made to bring a bit of excitement to our meals!
Related Post: The 7 Best Cookbooks On Ancient Grains, Einkorn, And Milling Flour
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Broth
I make broth so easily by adding my chicken bones, frozen items from my broth bag, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and water into the bowl of my instant pot. It cooks on high pressure for an hour and a half and naturally releases. You can’t mess it up and it’s basically free!
My broth bag is all my vegetable scraps from meals throughout the week – carrot ends, onion ends, celery ends, and sometimes tomatoes or other herbs. It lives in the freezer and gets added to as necessary.
These books are also great options for broth recipes: Nourishing Broths and Broth & Stock
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Creamed Soups
While our family is dairy-free for the most part, we love to switch up our soups once in a while. Here is a wonderful way to always have “Cream of” soup bases on hand and never buy them from the store again!
Cream of Anything Soup Recipe (from Old-Fashioned On Purpose)
Ingredients
-2 tbs butter (or oil)
-3 tbs all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1/2 cup whole milk (or canned coconut milk)
-salt and pepper to taste
-add-ins (1/2 cup mushrooms and 2 tbs onions for cream of mushroom; ¾ cup celery and 2 tbs minced onions for cream of celery; ¾ cup chicken and 2 tbs minced onions for cream of chicken)
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the add-ins if applicable. Stir until vegetables are softened and whisk in flour. Cook for 2 minutes, mixing. Pour in broth and milk and mix until thickened. Add the salt and pepper and store for up to one week or freeze for several months.
What this homemaker makes from scratch may not be exactly what fits your family’s needs, but it’s always worth giving something a try to see if you can replace it from the grocery store!
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Dairy Products
As a dairy-free family, we don’t make a lot of dairy products from scratch regularly, like cheese and butter. But I do enjoy making almond milk instantly whenever I need it with this almond milk base. It’s just almond paste and water that is blended to make almond milk.
I also enjoy making coconut milk yogurt in the instant pot every once in a while! You can also make dairy-free ice cream in an ice cream maker. Even whipped cream can be easily made from scratch in your mixer, including dairy-free with coconut cream!
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Ferments
Fermenting foods is wonderful for your gut and immune systems. Natural bacteria and yeasts have so many beneficial probiotics that your body needs. Some examples of things I regularly make include apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut, yogurt, and sourdough.
It can be intimidating at first to start fermenting your own foods, so pick up one of these books to learn all about it first and get your recipes correct!
Related Post: 7 Must-Read Books On The Traditional Foods Movement For A Healthier Life
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Jams and Jellies
Jam was the first thing I learned to make when I wanted to try my hand at water bath canning. But, you don’t even need to can it! You can make freezer jam or just enough to store in the fridge at one time.
There is no need to purchase jam or jelly from the store when it is so easy to make at home. I particularly like using Pomonas Pectin to make no-sugar jams and jellies.
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Applesauce (And Baby Foods)
We have apple trees on our homestead, so we always stock up on applesauce in the fall when the harvest comes in. Our favorite way to preserve our applesauce is by freeze-drying it. But if you don’t have apples growing on trees in your yard and if you don’t have a freeze drier, it is still so easy to make your own applesauce and preserve it!
Find some at the farmer’s market and buy them in season, or buy organic from the grocery store. Peel, core, and slice them and start cooking them down in a roaster pan, crockpot, instant pot, or a large pot on the stove. Don’t forget to add a bit of water! Then blend them with an immersion blender and portion them out into freezer containers.
Check out this blog post for more information on our applesauce-making process.
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Home Remedies
Fire Cider is a wonderful remedy when you are feeling sick. Fermented honey garlic, teas, and salves are also so helpful to have on hand! All of these can be made fairly quickly and easily in your home kitchen.
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Condiments
Mayonnaise is so easy to make. All you need is an egg yolk, a cup of oil, and a pinch of salt! Whip it up with an immersion blender and you are ready. Try tweaking it with different recipes online if you want to change the flavor or consistency up a bit.
Salad dressings are easy to make with a little oil and herbs! There are so many recipes online. You can easily avoid the bad ingredients of the dressings in the store by making your own. It’s one healthy alternative this homemaker makes from scratch.
This includes beans too – just buy them in bulk and put them in the pressure cooker! Stock pots work too. You can also make your own maple syrup from taping trees!
Related Post: Do You Have These Essential Homesteading Skills?
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(Basically) All Meals
I make all our meals from scratch every day! We rarely go out to eat or buy food on the go. It’s not just because it saves us money, but also because it is more nutritious and frankly, tastes better!
I keep a well-stocked pantry and try to improve my garden each year for more produce for our family. I’m on a journey and not perfect. I am working towards making pasta sauce and other tomato products from scratch next! Even making my own pasta is something I haven’t tried yet.
These are the things this homemaker makes from scratch, but what will you be making from scratch next? My advice is to just pick one thing you can replace from the grocery store at a time.
First, focus on making your own jam. Then when that is mastered, move on to making your own bread. Then move on to all your own soups. Slowly you will be making everything from scratch (that you are able to) and enjoying the benefits!
Let me know in the comments below what your journey to cooking from scratch looks like! Is it how this homemaker makes from scratch?
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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