AllenOK
Executive Chef
Even though I work in the industry, I'm sorry to say I'm only about a 45% or so. I do make my own stocks, chicken, beef, and seafood. I make soups from scratch, but use canned tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, paste, etc. I do keep a couple canned veggies in my pantry, hominy and green beans. All other veggies are fresh or frozen. I buy pasta, ramen noodles, and mac-n-cheese (for the kids). Condiments, sour cream, etc., are store-bought. My herbs and spices are purchased, with the exception of the 6 oz or so of dried sage that I grew, harvested, and dried over a year ago. We keep a couple different "instant" rice mixes on hand, although I prefer to make pilaf from scratch. We keep canned tuna in the pantry. PeppA, my other half, also likes potted meat, and I usually stay away from the stuff. I keep some Cream of Mushroom soup, and a few cans of chicken-noodle, for when I'm sick and don't want to really spend a lot of time cooking. I might just make a batch of chicken soup, freeze it, and cook the noodles when I go to thaw/reheat the frozen soup.
I buy chicken leg-and-thigh quarters in a 10 lb bag for $3.90 + tax. 39 cents / lb for chicken is pretty good in my book. Of course, getting PeppA to use it is another thing. She doesn't like to use it, and prefers breasts and chicken tenders, which I complain about each and every time she buys it. Of course, when I cook chicken dark meat, she eats it like there's no tomorrow, go figure.
PeppA buys a lot of packaged products. This is how she was brought up. Her grand-parents have a lot of ties to the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish community, but, her mother just doesn't cook much from scratch. PeppA learned to cook from her mother, so there's all the packaged stuff.
I try to cook the majority of my foods from scratch, but since there's 5 kids here, and money's tight, some corners have to be cut.
I buy chicken leg-and-thigh quarters in a 10 lb bag for $3.90 + tax. 39 cents / lb for chicken is pretty good in my book. Of course, getting PeppA to use it is another thing. She doesn't like to use it, and prefers breasts and chicken tenders, which I complain about each and every time she buys it. Of course, when I cook chicken dark meat, she eats it like there's no tomorrow, go figure.
PeppA buys a lot of packaged products. This is how she was brought up. Her grand-parents have a lot of ties to the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish community, but, her mother just doesn't cook much from scratch. PeppA learned to cook from her mother, so there's all the packaged stuff.
I try to cook the majority of my foods from scratch, but since there's 5 kids here, and money's tight, some corners have to be cut.