Cheater, Cheater, Cheater!

[Laffitupfzbl]

Taco, chili, other seasonings. Jarred marinara for pasta. Frozen garlic bread. Hell yes. All that and more. When I want to make the effort to home bake something, I call my Dad. We call him Waltzilla, The Hot Fudge Sundae Killah, and the man can FREAKING BAKE AND COOK! For instance, I called Saturday afternoon, and had a batch of homemade fudge Sunday, noon. He's also good for a few loaves of homemade bread. Homemade chocolate pies. From scratch mashed potatoes and roast. And breakfast like nobody's business. Yessir, my secret to homemade? Waltzilla. GO DAD!!!

---

PS - Now that I'm carrying not one, but TWO of his Grandchildren, he tends to bend over backwards to cook for me. And I must admit, I'm taking full advantage.

[Bageleth]

Ok, I'll admit to this one, because, there are times, that I can laugh at myself. I made buttermilk biscuits from a Jiffy mix. They never rose to a nice fluffy consistency. They look like flat round crackers that would be better served at communion in church, lol.

[Boomer]

(02-22-2011 08:21 PM)Laffitupfzbl Wrote:  Taco, chili, other seasonings. Jarred marinara for pasta. Frozen garlic bread. Hell yes. All that and more. When I want to make the effort to home bake something, I call my Dad. We call him Waltzilla, The Hot Fudge Sundae Killah, and the man can FREAKING BAKE AND COOK! For instance, I called Saturday afternoon, and had a batch of homemade fudge Sunday, noon. He's also good for a few loaves of homemade bread. Homemade chocolate pies. From scratch mashed potatoes and roast. And breakfast like nobody's business. Yessir, my secret to homemade? Waltzilla. GO DAD!!!

---

PS - Now that I'm carrying not one, but TWO of his Grandchildren, he tends to bend over backwards to cook for me. And I must admit, I'm taking full advantage.

Is he looking to adopt a long lost son?

I can cook....sorta. If I put my head down and grabbed up a recipe I can do it, but gravy - not a chance, pies - dont EVEN, and my worst is probably things like hollandaise. If its grilling I can do that, but I dont get nearly as "dedicated" as some folks. Just not enough time when you work two jobs.

But chocolate pie???? Where has that man been my whole life???

[Laffitupfzbl]

Chocolate pie, brownies, fudge, divinity, ice cream and chocolate sauce. All pretty basic stuff (and notice the theme of mainly chocolate, hence his nickname), but super delish, made from scratch, and he loves to show off his skills, so available most any time. And yeah, he's already adopted my older siblings, so there's always room for more, Boomer. Heck, you even kinda look like him. But, alas, motorcycle riding season will soon cut into his baking and cooking time. Some reasons to love warmer weather, some reasons to hate it...

[Boomer]

Say it ain't so. Motorcycles cutting into cooking time. I cant believe it.

[Spi2ll2ios]

(02-14-2011 08:45 PM)HardwareGrl Wrote:  My question is this-
Have you tried a cheat/shortcut product that you really like?
Has it inspired you to try “the long way around” (learning how to do something from scratch)?

Bless me gramma for I have sinned.

As at least co-perp of the hollondaise holier-than-thou attitude, I've gathered here to confess.

On the occasional weekend morning, I sense a faint rumbling underfoot as great grandmother rolls. For years now I've shunned her time-honoured buttermilk pancake recipe for the ease of the Coyote-brand substitute.

There. I said it. But I'm sure I'm still going straight to hell.

[Boomer]

Oh no - you won't go to hell for that.

What will earn you an engraved invitation is putting tabasco sauce on your biscuits/gravy breakfast. My wife slaves over those homemade biscuits and then makes the most delish gravy - so what does ol Boomy do? Dumps hot sauce on it.

Probably not the last time I will be told what direction I am headed....although lately she has decided instead of slaving over the biscuits - she gets the store bought ones. Not QUITE the same, but I guess thats what happens when you mess with The Momster!

[Neilbubbachuck]

I need a wife! HELLO are you out there ?

[NWoBHM]

(05-23-2011 12:29 PM)Neilbubbachuck Wrote:  I need a wife! HELLO are you out there ?

Be careful what you wish for NBC.........

[Thoughtful Eyes]

After i found out that i had to restrict sodium in my diet, i went from using some pkg mixes to none at all. Too much salt... bleck!

So i have taken to "formulating" most mixes, e.g., taco seasoning (which actually is quite simple and most folks have all of the needed ingredients in their pantry) and searching out reduced sodium versions of foods, like broth, if i have no au jus from a roast, in the freezer. Now, with that being said, I applaud whomever it was that I read makes their own tomato sauce! Right on! We just planted a garden this year and I am REALLY hoping that the tomatoes do well so we can make our own But, that is still to be seen! LOL (*has the brownest thumb evah… thank goodness ma hubby did all this as a kid with his folks*)

The cheat I still use though is flour pie crust. My mom flips out when I do it (she is the master chef in our family! LOL) but I have never gotten my own to taste right *sigh* So I tell her - ok - YOU make my pie crusts then… LOL…And then "somehow", I am back to the store bought (typically the Pillsbury roll out variety). So if anyone has any pointers on making flour pie crusts, I will be MORE than happy to stop my cheating ways ; P (and a question... pic crusts are normally fairly high in salt content, can one get away with reducing the sodium and still end up with a good crust?)

My inspired "long way around" is cake mix. I stopped using those once I found out how eeeeeeeeeeasy it is to make your own from scratch!

Great thread!