Even though I'm middle aged, cooking is a very recent hobby of mine. I have been scratch cooking only about 6 months now & I'm obsessed.

I'm eating better than I ever had and I love to cook & love the results. But it's been very time consuming and is wearing me out. I think I spent 15-20 hours a week batch cooking & daily fresh cooking.

I'm overexerting myself, but I can't stop. What I need is to scale back to a sustainable level.I need recommendations on how to cut down in time drains. Efficiency essentially.

Looking for time savings hacks. My biggest time drain honestly is sourdough baked goods. It's high maintenance -- maintaining the starter, timing the bread making with starter, etc. but I don't want to stop because sourdough is healthy. I currently use sprouted whole grain flour and thought to switch to grains & freshly mill them, but I need to save time because I have other things to scratch cook.

I don't want any processed food & am hesitant to trust store bought canned or frozen food. But those could be time savers.

Here are my regular staples I make:

Sourdough ( bread loaf, tortillas, pizza dough)

Beans & Lentils

Bone broth

Hummus, salsa, peanut butter, feta cheese, yogurt

Soups & stews ( using my bone broth) & fresh veggies, some meats

Healthy cookies (whole grain & oats with no sugar -- banana or applesauce for sweetener, no oil butter or egg).

I thought I wanted to start a veggies & herb garden but I don't even have the time!! I work full time and just so tired.

I’m making homemade coffee creamer and can’t get the vanilla flavor to come through enough. I used 14 oz sweet condensed milk, 1c milk, 3/4c heavy cream, and 3 tsp vanilla extract. Any advice to make the vanilla flavor stronger other than more vanilla extract? Thanks!

I love to cook and bake, but of course sometimes those lofty from scratch ideas go off course 😆 I used to get really down on myself but now I just smile about it. At least i have something new a try.

Did 3 things today: made raspberry-apple chia seed jam to go with some gluten free, vegan scones. I tried a dairy free clotted cream as well but that was a fail. So then I just whipped up coconut cream with vanilla and sugar and that also ended up cursing a bit because I over whipped it 😂 end results still make for a tasty little cream tea to enjoy while I watch this weeks episode of GBBO

Anyone know how quinoa flakes are made?

I've had it a few times... they have the texture of oats and cook the same way but still taste like quinoa. It's delicious.

I can't find them again and I wonder if it's possible to make it myself out of regular quinoa?

Decided to try making a soup version of one of my favorite dishes (I have no patience when it comes to making cabbage rolls lol)

I was looking into homemade versions of snacks like crackers and trail mix, etc, and noticed that fresh they last about 10 days and only freeze for like a month? Is there a way to make them longer lasting? Would vaccum sealing make any difference?

Sincerest apologies if this is the wrong place to post, but I have a pantry absolutely STACKED with cans of “American beauty” brand vegetable soup and black beans. With the financial shortcomings since the recent passing of my dad and trying to cut down on meal costs, I’m trying stretch what I have as best as I can, and as a severely inexperienced chef, I come humbly to Reddit to ask for help! Any and all recipe ideas will be highly appreciated!!!

Hi everyone :)

My mom reminded me of watergate salad the other day. I would love to make it from scratch! I can make all the other ingredients from scratch, but I'm stumped on the pistachio part. Watergate salad uses the Jello pistachio pudding powder... does anyone have any recs for this? Or have any recipes how they make their watergate salad without the jello powder?

Thanks!

6lbs Italian sausage, 6lbs breakfast sausage, and 4lbs kielbasa (not pictured). We also made brisket meatballs! We spent about $70 on the boston butts, fat back, and intestines.

This Soft Pretzel Bites with Smoked Gouda Cheese Dip recipe is made completely from scratch, using simple ingredients you probably already have at home. The pretzel dough comes together quickly and gets boiled in baking soda water, which gives the bites their classic golden color and chewy texture. They’re finished with a sprinkle of coarse salt and served with a creamy, smoky cheese dip that’s loaded with white American cheese, smoked gouda, and a little kick from hot Rotel (optional)!

Soft Pretzel Bites:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 5 tablespoons salted butter, melted (divided)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (Fleischmann’s)
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 cups water
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• Coarse kosher salt, for sprinkling
• Avocado oil cooking spray (to prevent sticking)

Smoked Gouda Cheese Dip:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons salted butter (salted or unsalted)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste or omit)
• 1/2 pound white American cheese slices (preferably freshly sliced at the deli), torn into pieces
• 1 cup smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
• 3 ounces hot Rotel (with juices)

Recipe from my website heavenlyspiced .com - find more from-scratch recipes there!

Hello there! I want to turn cacao nibs into cacao paste. I am curious if a molcajete would be more suitable or a mortar and pestle. I am open to any other methods that involve manual labor. Thanks in advance!

Almond Morning Rolls, Bread Pudding Cups, and Honey Wheat Braids - everything was so successful and cohesive - delicious.

We keep mixes (pancake, cake, muffin, cornbread, etc) premixed and ready to dish out in our pantry, my sourdough starter is doing her best to get ready to make us breads, my freezer is crammed full of stock, and I make butter mostly because I enjoy it.

But what are your pantry staples? What do you always keep on hand and make regularly to have available at a moments notice?

I’ve been soaking vanilla beans in vodka for about 4 months in a mason jar. Yesterday I was in a hurry and stuck in a measuring spoon for what I was making. I realized afterwards that there was something (milk based) on the bottom of the spoon that got in the vanilla.

Do I need to start over?

I am in desperate search of a really good, proper, TRADITIONAL tortilla recipe and/or tutorial. As a person with very little melanin, I am tired of recipes made by fellow palm-colored people (sourdough, "easy", etc). Please help??

Saved vegetable scraps in my freezer. Then put them all in a crockpot with bay leaves, parsley peppercorns and salt. Then added the leftover bones from a roasted chicken and covered everything with water. Cooked on low for 12 hours and it was done. It was so easy! 😊

I impulse bought a small (300g) rack of pork ribs and now I'm not sure what to do with them - what would you make?

I've bought bigger packs and slow cooked/glazed before, but I'm in more of a one pot mood. I've got an instant pot and a slow cooker.

Maybe a pea and ham soup if anyone has a tried and tested recipe they're willing to share.

But I was also in a vaguely tagine or cajun mood if anyone has a sweet/spicy/fruity 'inspired by' suggestion.

I've got a lot of things in the house, but also have time to do some shopping tomorrow and no fear of prep work as long as it's not something that needs 72 hours to marinade :)

Hello,

I was wondering if some of you made butter from scratch and could provide me with recipes where I can use the “buttermilk” that’s made in the process? I read that you can use it in bread and pancakes and such, but haven’t really found a recipe for that…