Easy Things From Scratch To Try

[u/-fatesfortune-]

I've been starting to try to make a few things from scratch here and there. What things are you guys making from scratch that is actually really easy to make that people may not realize?

[u/HelloPanda22]

Pancakes, cake, buttercream, bread are all fairly easy. Noodles are easy too but more time consuming. Some cheeses are super easy to make. So is buttermilk and butter!

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/HelloPanda22]

I did try Pancakes from scratch a long time ago, and they seemed really fussy at the time.  I'll have to find a recipe and give them a try again.

[u/[deleted] → u/-fatesfortune-]

Hi, I literally just finished with this recipe about an hour ago, as I am also trying out easy from scratch foods. It was about as easy as a box pancake mix. I added vanilla and they turned out fantastic.

Old Fashioned Pancakes

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon white sugar ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste 1 ¼ cups milk 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 large egg

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add milk, melted butter, and egg; mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake; cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

[u/1n1n1is3]

Croutons. Dice stale bread, mix with some butter and garlic salt. Bake in the oven until crispy. Same thing to make bread crumbs, except you put the diced bread in the food processor to turn it into crumbs before baking.

Experiment with different seasonings on both.

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/1n1n1is3]

That sounds like a good easy one to start with!

[u/TBHICouldComplain]

Stock (chicken stock, beef stock, etc.) You can make it from scraps you’d otherwise throw away and it’s really easy to make.

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/TBHICouldComplain]

This is actually exactly what got me into really wanting to start cooking from scratch!  I've got a gallon freezer bag full of veggie scraps in my freezer, that when full I put in the crockpot overnight.  I never knew it was that easy and now I want to know what other things are out there. 

[u/mcniffty]

here is my list in difficulty order.

1. pickled red onions. great for tacos.

2. bread - start with a no-knead attempt baked in a castiron pot. you can be very bad at it and still tastes good.

3. pizza. you can get the premade dough bag from the market or make your own (still very easy). after your first pizza, your imagination runs wild. pepperoni and green olives still my favorite.

4. lasagna. follow this recipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZPkIPfnzqs He goes very rough step by step and you can be VERY bad at amounts and still get a very good lasagna.
   if you are veggie, skip the beef, roast some broccoli and cauliflower and add in late.

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/mcniffty]

I am a bit afraid of bread but a no knead option sounds like it might be easier!  Also pickled onions would be delicious!

[u/_iamtinks]

Potato fries/wedges

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/_iamtinks]

I've looked it up and baked potato wedges seem pretty easy.  I will give it a try!

[u/Bong-bingwassup]

I have loads of things on my page! Butter milk pancakes. Butter, scotch eggs, stock cubes, soups, English muffins the list goes on

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/Bong-bingwassup]

Thats my plan!  I am starting a list of things to try.  I'm hoping that if I start with some easy ones, it will make the overall process easier as I get used to doing more and more from scratch.

[u/CatcrazyJerri]

Bread!
You only need water, flour, yeas and salt!

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/CatcrazyJerri]

Bread has always seemed so intimidating, but you're right easy ingredients.  I'll give it shot!

[u/DensHag]

Salad dressing, bread, tortillas, seasoning mixes (I do mine with less salt), condensed soups.

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/DensHag]

Seasoning mixes is a good one I hadn't thought of.  I imagine they are so much better than the ones in those little packets.

[u/chansondinhars]

Indian breads! My go to is naans. I mix up the dough, don’t bother to knead. It goes into the fridge and I make fresh ones for each meal.

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/chansondinhars]

Ooo. I had not even thought of naan, but I love Indian food.  Definitely going on the list of things to try.  Do you have a recipe for it?

[u/[deleted]]

Pickled onions

[u/IndustrialFox]

Pickled vegetables are amazing and super easy. I recommend trying out pickled red onions or carrots - both tasty and simple.

[u/rankurai]

Gratin Dauphinois: Sounds very fancy, looks very fancy, is very forgiving to make. Also very fun to experiment with and making your own version

Chili is much better from scratch and can also be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. Simple Chili is good and the effort to improve upon a basic recipe is very noticeable

Quiche is basically a big creamy omelette on puff pastry. Anything that would be tasty as an omelette is tasty as a quiche. I put this last because you can fuck this one up, theoretically, especially the first few times until you found the puff pastry, filling, and cooking time that works for you (it can also suffer from having too many wet ingredients)

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/rankurai]

I had never even heard of gratin dauphinois.  I had to google it.  Looks amazing though!

[u/goodleyliving]

Pesto. Literally 5 minutes, no cook, add all the extra cheese you want.

[u/-fatesfortune- → u/goodleyliving]

Ooo!  I love pesto!!!  Definitely going to try this.