Cook your way or instant cooking?

I prefer to make things myself. It is cheaper, tastier and you know what is in it. Most times it doesn't take that much longer. And when you are making something time consuming, you can ,ake extra and freeze it!

hello janyen i cook using both an instant package mix of something especially if it is some kind of a sauce or gravy. sometimes like on the weekends, when i do not have to work or anything like that, i will cook something totally from scratch. not very often thou. the instant mixes are so easy to just add water or milk to and stir or even microwave them, it is easier to cook with them than make something homemade and it is also lots cheaper. take care and have a beautiful day today!

I have found several mixes and instant sauce recipes on the internet and use them instead of buying them. My own doesn't have the preservatives in them and I can season them the way I like. I also make my own convenience meals more and more. I can then control what is in them and make them better than the purchased ones. I make some TV type meas to because every one schedule is so different not every one gets or is home at meal tome.

In my case... it would be more practical for me to just buy the instant mix... since i live with my daughter... so there is only the two of us... and she doesn't really eat that much... instant mix is the easiest and cheapest way for me to go... but if i have the time and resources... i sure would do it by myself...

I love cooking, I'm not very good at it (heh) but I really do enjoy it. But the thing is, I don't always have the time or patience to do eveything from scratch, so I think I have a healthy balance of premade meals and home made meals.

It is good to be able to discover that you can be able to do it yourself. I have done things mostly with a little extra effort but to discover things in a short cut method with the same result is fun. That way when you go to work you will know what's best for you to do.;-)

*nodds* I'm with you, but there IS something to be said for using whats available, and if what is available is a can of tomato sauce and some rotini :P then I don't have much choice, But I personally prefer to make from scratch as well and am actually a little disgusted with magazines that give you recipes and more than half the ingredients is what my mom calls "Convenience food" because its already made for you -.- and nobody passes down recipes anymore :( There are culinary arts that go beyond what schools will teach you, and in the United states, the true art of cooking seems to be lost.

You know, unfortunately it comes down to time and energy. I have a full time job that I work 5 days a week, sometimes 6. by the time i get home I'm usually quite tired and it's already getting late. If I were to do most meals from the basic ingredient, slicing dicing, measureing, mixing, prebaring and cooking it would be really late, and I would be even more tired and faced with clean-up duty. So, it's not that i'm in a hurry, it's just that I'm short of time. And i'd rather have what time i do have at the end of the day to spend with my family than cleaning up the kitchen. On my days off, I do try to put together something that takes a little more time and effort. That'll have to do...until i win the lottery or something.

I never buy instant souses, or gravy, or for that matter anything else. the extra time usually does not take that long, and the taste is so much better, and health wise its better for you. You do not get all the extra stuff they add to the instant mixes.