Homemade: Cooking from scratch.

This year has been a year of discovery: my inner baker. Or is it chef? Ah, whatever.

I’m discovering that I really like making things from scratch.

1. They taste better than boxed or frozen things.
2. It’s frugal.
3. It fulfills some inner homemaker need deep within.

This past year I’ve learned how to make:

• Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
• Homemade bread
• Pizza dough
• Buttermilk biscuits
• Soft pretzels
• Bagels
• Flour tortillas

They’re all so easy. (Especially if you have a bread machine to make the dough, but even if you don’t.) The pretzels and bagels are basically the same process, you just divide the dough into different sized pieces and shape them accordingly. The dough for those and the pizza are made in the bread machine. But for the biscuits and tortillas I’ve learned the art of kneading and rolling. And guess what – I got the hang of it!

I’ve learned to make other things, too.

• pico de gallo
• taco seasoning
• pancakes (from scratch- no boxed mix!)
• alfredo sauce
• gravy nah, still working on that one

Not only do I feel like I’m becoming a better cook, my family seems to prefer the homemade version for most of those.

My daughter told me the other day that my biscuits rock and she never wants me to make the others again.

Last time I made Alfredo sauce I used a Knorr package mix – and my hubby commented I must’ve purchased a cheap brand or something because it wasn’t quite right. (He doesn’t know I usually make a homemade lower fat version!)

The kids love it when I make granola bars, and everyone raved about the flour tortillas.

Oh, sure, it only took me 30 years of life, 10 years of married cooking, and several months of bad experiments to get here, but now that I’m starting to get the hang of this, well.. it’s nice to feel it finally working for me!

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.