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Old 02-18-2017, 06:21 AM
 
Location: Where the sun likes to shine!!
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In one thread we are all talking about plastic bags which of course led to food storage so:

What do you buy frozen as opposed to making it yourself and also what do you make yourself? Do you save money either way?


I buy frozen meatballs because per pound they are cheaper than me making my own. Those are for meatball subs. For spaghetti and meatballs I make my own.

I make my own french fries from potatoes. I used to buy the frozen fries but a bag of potatoes is much cheaper.

Pizza…I make a good pizza and use good cheese. The cheese is what makes it more expensive. My DH likes Tombstone pizza and a whole pizza is cheaper than just the cheese I would buy to make my own. For me…I am making my own

Stouffer's stuffed peppers…again for my DH. It's an easy meal and cheaper in the winter when peppers are high….and ground beef is always high.


I have to admit though fresh and homemade always "tastes" better.




Speaking of does anyone grind their own beef? I'm thinking about getting and attachment for my Kitchen Aid.
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Old 02-18-2017, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ylisa7 View Post
In one thread we are all talking about plastic bags which of course led to food storage so:

What do you buy frozen as opposed to making it yourself and also what do you make yourself? Do you save money either way?


I buy frozen meatballs because per pound they are cheaper than me making my own. Those are for meatball subs. For spaghetti and meatballs I make my own.

I make my own french fries from potatoes. I used to buy the frozen fries but a bag of potatoes is much cheaper.

Pizza…I make a good pizza and use good cheese. The cheese is what makes it more expensive. My DH likes Tombstone pizza and a whole pizza is cheaper than just the cheese I would buy to make my own. For me…I am making my own

Stouffer's stuffed peppers…again for my DH. It's an easy meal and cheaper in the winter when peppers are high….and ground beef is always high.


I have to admit though fresh and homemade always "tastes" better.




Speaking of does anyone grind their own beef? I'm thinking about getting and attachment for my Kitchen Aid.
Just to let you know, if you don't already: yes, frozen meat balls are cheaper but that is due to more filler than actual meat. I think frozen ones are fine if you are having some type of a fund raiser and serving spaghetti but otherwise, it is cheaper to make good ones at home than using frozen.

I do buy frozen pizza and doctor it us a little.
We usually have some frozen veggies: I think they are cheaper, but I still like my fresh produce.
Love frozen veggie burgers.
Love frozen pot stickers from Sam's but make my own egg rolls.
We buy some frozen fish. Can't begin to afford fresh living in the middle part of the country.
I can't think of much else I buy frozen on a regular basis. Our freezers, both the one in the kitchen which is part of our french fridge and our small one in the garage are always full, but most is meat and stuff I make and freeze.

No,we do not grind our own meat; my dad used to but that was 50 or more years ago and our meat grinder was not electric. He or mom turned the handle for hours. Even he gave it up eventually.
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Old 02-18-2017, 07:11 AM
 
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The KA attachment works fine for me with rather lean meat only. Buy it somewhere with an easy return policy and try it out.

No frozen prefab here but the occasional card board pizza or ice cream for SO. Hollow pasta, tortillias, sandwich bread, Doritos (SO knows that a confession of sorts is forthcoming when they show up).

Living in a somewhat underdeveloped area when it comes to grocery store options I am a sales shopper. Red bell peppers 1$, 8 oz local mushrooms .69, 1 pound mini peppers 1.25 this week - I have been chopping and freezing

Homemade is not necessarily cheaper but I control the ingredients. Yesterday was 'foxi-jitas'. Tortillias stuffed with chicken, sautéed red bell pepper, onion, garlic, homemade red sauce and cheddar then baked. One burrito sized tortillia with a green salad is dinner, 6 inch tortillias make breakfast/snack/lunch straight out of the freezer.
Crackers/flatbreads cost pennies.
Bread/pasta can get expensive.
No cold cuts here but smoked turkey breast/ham. Leave a generous amount of meat on the bone, which makes for happy beans. Do not hold the cheese in the corn muffins.
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Old 02-18-2017, 07:19 AM
 
Location: Where the sun likes to shine!!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
Just to let you know, if you don't already: yes, frozen meat balls are cheaper but that is due to more filler than actual meat. I think frozen ones are fine if you are having some type of a fund raiser and serving spaghetti but otherwise, it is cheaper to make good ones at home than using frozen.

I do buy frozen pizza and doctor it us a little.
We usually have some frozen veggies: I think they are cheaper, but I still like my fresh produce.
Love frozen veggie burgers.
Love frozen pot stickers from Sam's but make my own egg rolls.
We buy some frozen fish. Can't begin to afford fresh living in the middle part of the country.
I can't think of much else I buy frozen on a regular basis. Our freezers, both the one in the kitchen which is part of our french fridge and our small one in the garage are always full, but most is meat and stuff I make and freeze.

No,we do not grind our own meat; my dad used to but that was 50 or more years ago and our meat grinder was not electric. He or mom turned the handle for hours. Even he gave it up eventually.

Agreed on the fillers…but if DH is happy with them who am I to complain They are actually pretty good on a ww bolillo with sauce and melted mozz cheese.



Good idea about the attachment. I just saw one at the store last week….maybe I will try one.
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Old 02-18-2017, 09:24 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ylisa7 View Post
.....Speaking of does anyone grind their own beef? I'm thinking about getting and attachment for my Kitchen Aid.
My family grinds all of their own meat. Both for the people and for the dogs. We ground 160 pounds of beef round just this week. We grind beef, pork, turkey, or chicken.

I make my own dog food and ground meat is easier to cook into dog food so a lot of meat gets ground for dog food in my house.

The hamburger my son makes for the people is vastly superior to store bought burger. He buys a whole certified Angus shoulder and then very carefully picks out anything that might not be 100% pure muscle meat. No scraps, no mystery meat, no connective tissue. Its a lot like eating steak. Price is noticeably lower than quality ground beef at the grocery store. A local store has ground beef for about 30 cents a pound more, but it is nasty. We call it road kill burger.

I raised some heritage turkeys. The flavor was superb, but the meat was tough. So those got ground and made excellent ground turkey.

I don't know about using a Kitchen Aid for grinding meat unless you are going to grind just 1-2 meals worth at a time. We have a heavy duty grinder and do well over 100 pounds at a time, then weigh, package correctly, and put it into the deep freeze.

I suspect in such small batches, you could get a superior product but you won't be saving any money because you will be paying retail for small batches of beef.

Last edited by oregonwoodsmoke; 02-18-2017 at 09:35 AM..
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Old 02-18-2017, 09:33 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
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In answer to the bigger question: yes, I occasionally buy frozen foods. Often they are not better and they are not cheaper, but convenience is worth something.

There are exceptions. Costco sells a frozen gluten-free pizza that is absolutely worth buying. I think that the shoestring frozen french fries that I buy are cheaper and certainly a lot less work. The price per pound for the potatoes is marginally higher but I do not have to pay for a couple of cups of cooking oil. My family adores home made french fries, but that is a fairly big project and we all eat the frozen ones quite happily when there is no time to cut potates, heat oil, wait for them.

There is a specific brand of canned chili that we all like for a quick meal when pressed for time, and I buy frozen tamales.

The thing about the heat and eat commercial foods is that they are deliberately made to taste good with no concern for health. Lots of salt, lots of fat, flavor enhancing chemicals. So some of the frozen foods taste really good. Personally, I don;t think that eating them occasionally is going to hurt anyone. I wouldn't have my family on a steady diet of those products, but once in awhile is OK.
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Old 02-18-2017, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Where the sun likes to shine!!
20,549 posts, read 30,275,117 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke View Post

I don't know about using a Kitchen Aid for grinding meat unless you are going to grind just 1-2 meals worth at a time. We have a heavy duty grinder and do well over 100 pounds at a time, then weigh, package correctly, and put it into the deep freeze.

I suspect in such small batches, you could get a superior product but you won't be saving any money becasue you will be paying retail for small batches of beef.

I live in a solar house so I only have one freezer hence I couldn't grind up too much meat at one time anyway

I was hoping to buy beef when it is marked down and on clearance to grind. Do you think any cut would work?
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Old 02-18-2017, 11:32 AM
 
Location: Garbage, NC
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I buy frozen pizzas. My husband likes to eat pizza lot more often than I do, so it's nice to have them on hand.

I do buy frozen meatballs occasionally but prefer to make and freeze my own.

I do buy frozen French fries and tater tots. I know I should make my own, but I usually don't.
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Old 02-18-2017, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Middle America
37,409 posts, read 53,258,010 times
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Most frozen foods we buy are vegetables if the fresh selection isn't good or doesn't supply what we want. My husband will occasionally buy frozen fish/seafood (often shrimp for creole dishes), as we're in the Midwest, and fresh selection can be sketchy and overpriced.

Mostly, stuff in our freezer is stuff I've batch cooked and portioned out into single servings, or tubs of stock we've made for use in recipes.
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Old 02-18-2017, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Delaware
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For the most part, I do my own cooking. I do not like frozen meatballs and choose to make my own. I do like an upscale Frozen ravioli because ravioli is so work intensive to make. When I am going out with my girlfriends, I will keep a Stouffers or Marie Callender pot pie or two in the freezer for my husband who doesn't like to cook. Otherwise, I make everything myself fresh because I think it is healthier and tastes better.

I do not grind my own meat.
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