5 Foods to Make/5 Foods to Buy

5 Foods You Can Easily Make Yourself

1. Tomato sauce (from canned, crushed tomatoes)

Recipe in separate post.

2. Bread crumbs

When bread is getting stale, throw it in a blender. Freeze in small containers.

3. Pizza crust

If you have a bread machine, it only takes about 5 minutes to put the ingredients together and another five minutes to roll it out or stretch it.

4. Ranch salad dressing

This is a no-brainer if you already make your own yogurt. 

Recipe: Mix half yogurt and half mayonnaise (1/2 cup each or more). Add lemon juice or vinegar, then a few shakes of garlic powder. It should taste at least as good as store-bought.

5. Bread for meals

If you have a bread machine, it only takes 5 minutes to toss in ingredients and get bread in 2-3 hours.

5 Foods to Buy

We've tried to make these things at home and it's either too messy or time-consuming to make them ourselves, or they just don't come out as good as store-bought.

1. Stuffed grape leaves

(Even with canned grape leaves available, making the stuffing and then putting it into each individual leaf takes a LONG time).

2. Sandwich bread

If you're packing a sandwich for school, it's going to hold up better if you use commercial sliced bread. I've been experimenting with adding xanthum gum and/or gluten to my bread to make it hold up better, but it's still not as crumb-free and malleable as commercial bread.

3. Potstickers/dumplings/pierogies

Again, very time consuming and the end-result at home is no better.

4. Salsa

Noted, with exceptions: Unless you're using fresh tomatoes, making salsa from canned tomatoes will not taste as good as a store-bought jar of salsa.

5. Crushed tomatoes

Unless you grow your own tomatoes, it's more economical to buy them in a can rather than canning them yourself.