What do you make from scratch on a regular basis?

[picote]

Picote,  I've made this recipe a few times in place of pita and it's SO good and keeps well in the fridge or freezer.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/soft-wrap-bread-recipe

Oh, that looks great! The pita turned out ok, but a little dry. I feel like I need a cross between naan and pita!

[Run Amok]

Oh, that looks great! The pita turned out ok, but a little dry. I feel like I need a cross between naan and pita!

Def give that recipe a shot. It's so good. Really soft & pliable but holds up to fillings. More substantial than a tortilla but super easy as long as you have a couple of hours for the rising and resting required.

[picote]

Def give that recipe a shot. It's so good. Really soft & pliable but holds up to fillings. More substantial than a tortilla but super easy as long as you have a couple of hours for the rising and resting required.

I will! Do you freeze the wrap itself, or can you refrigerate/freeze the dough?

[Run Amok]

I've made & frozen the finished wrap. Bread products are one of those things that actually freeze well. But, you could try freezing the dough.

I'd probably use the method described here (i.e. shape immediately and freeze vs allowing a bulk rise) and increase yeast by 20% if you plan to freeze for longer than 3 weeks. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/10/05/freeze-bake-rolls

That said, this recipe is so easy I'm not sure that would actually save you time.

[caribougrrl]

speaking of easy bread, focaccia is something I would never buy... it is WAY better straight out of the oven than it is from even the fanciest of bakeries, and so simple (no knead, easy shaping)

I usually use this recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cracked-pepper-focaccia-with-truffle-oil but only half the salt it calls for

[picote]

speaking of easy bread, focaccia is something I would never buy... it is WAY better straight out of the oven than it is from even the fanciest of bakeries, and so simple (no knead, easy shaping)

I usually use this recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cracked-pepper-focaccia-with-truffle-oil but only half the salt it calls for

Oh that looks amazing! I don't eat bread much, so when I do, I want it to be really good.

[diablita]

speaking of easy bread, focaccia is something I would never buy... it is WAY better straight out of the oven than it is from even the fanciest of bakeries, and so simple (no knead, easy shaping)

I usually use this recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cracked-pepper-focaccia-with-truffle-oil but only half the salt it calls for

This is currently being devoured in our house.  Super easy and delicious.

[caribougrrl]

This is currently being devoured in our house.  Super easy and delicious.

Yay!

[teetime]

Not already on the list, we make most of our nut and seed butters. Peanut butter is just as cheap to buy as to make. But other nut butters are so expensive in the store and if you buy in bulk (nuts.com is a great resource for nuts, beans, dried fruits, and other treats) homemade almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc. is really worth it and so easy.

We also make our own tahini (sometimes it comes out better than others), nutella (still sugar filled but cuts out a lot of the crap in the jarred versions), and seasonally pestos. Dried herbs. Sundried tomatoes.

My husband smokes so we smoke fish and freeze too.

Nonetheless, we still buy way too much that we could make. I make a really good clam chowder but still buy progresso.

[diablita]

Yes, the focaccia was delicious and best of all, DD has been enjoying building lunches around it for school.  This morning she packed an Italian lunch: leftover pasta, the bread (starch heavy but she's a grazer so it'll be spread out), salami and then she started pronouncing fruit with her idea of an Italian accent. 

[moroccangirl]

Guacamole (I tried to buy premade once because I didn't feel like making it. DH almost lit the house on fire. I don't like guacamole so I didn't get it)
Pancakes
Waffles
Brownies
Peanut Sauce
hummus
salad dressing
granola
soup/stock

[Run Amok]

I borrowed a tortilla press on buy nothing for a few weeks and found I didn't make as many tortillas as I thought I would. So, we've still been mostly buying them. (Just can't quite get them as good as a restaurant) That said, this is my fave flour tortilla recipe so far & they are great. Too much work for a week day, imo but good for a weekend. https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/flour-tortillas/

Friday I made a different BA focaccia and it was good. I didn't realize it's a two day process, so I'll try again when I have a little more lead time.

I have been making a batch of these beans every other week and they are super good. I usually add some chipotle in Adobo to kick up the heat & smokiness. Mmm. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/04/perfect-refried-beans.html

[Natasha]

I've tried Rick Bayless's flour tortillas as well, and I can't get the heat right on the skillets. And I neeeeeed to learn to make tortillas. Life isn't worth living without some Mexican food once in a while.

[picote]

I'll have to try the tortillas. Does a press make a huge difference?

And on the subject of making from scratch, is fresh pasta worth the effort to make from scratch? We rarely have pasta, but when we do we like to make it count. We had a brand of tagliatelle we loved and haven't been able to find it since we moved.

I've been having good success with salad dressing and fresh mayo. Lots of other basics got put on the back burner while I was sick. Finally starting to feel better, so hope to get back to some of the suggestions. We have incorporated a new item in the meal rotation—Greek salad with chicken. Made homemade pita and hummus to accompany it the first time, which was amazing, but just the salad alone was simple and good enough to be added as a regular.

[witchypoo]

now that temps are rising, i'll be making chicken paillard at least weekly.  i typically dredge it in egg and then breadcrumbs mixed with grated parm or pecorino.  served with salad.

[picote]

Reviving this thread to see if anyone has a good white wine based mustard. These seem to be the biggest hits but I've struck out twice now.

[radial]

Maybe this is already covered in the thread, too lazy to check.  But mustard is really easy to make.  It's just crushed up mustard seeds and salt plus something acidic.  Usually vinegar, but a white wine would work, either by itself or as an additional ingredient. 

[picote]

Maybe this is already covered in the thread, too lazy to check.  But mustard is really easy to make.  It's just crushed up mustard seeds and salt plus something acidic.  Usually vinegar, but a white wine would work, either by itself or as an additional ingredient. 

I tried something that looked pretty straight forward, but the flavor is just really off. DH likes the deli style mustard—not the super fancy stuff, but not the yellow stuff either. The ingredients on what he likes are super straight forward, so I thought it would be easier to replicate than it has been so far!

[radial]

I tried something that looked pretty straight forward, but the flavor is just really off. DH likes the deli style mustard—not the super fancy stuff, but not the yellow stuff either. The ingredients on what he likes are super straight forward, so I thought it would be easier to replicate than it has been so far!

Probably ought to work with small batches until you find (or create) a recipe you like.  That way you won't feel bad about flushing the failed experiments down the disposal!

[witchypoo]

I tried something that looked pretty straight forward, but the flavor is just really off. DH likes the deli style mustard—not the super fancy stuff, but not the yellow stuff either. The ingredients on what he likes are super straight forward, so I thought it would be easier to replicate than it has been so far!

this is a great video from bon appetit : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ktONdU_wXU (almost all of their videos are great)

i would start with brad's method and experiment.