10 Foods I Always Make at Home

I’m always looking for ways to cut a few extra dollars here and there off of our grocery bill and making things at home is a great way to do this.  Here is a list of things I always make at home, without sacrificing taste or quality, to save some money :

1. Popcorn

We love popcorn in my family, especially my kids.  It’s so easy to get out the air popper and make a quick batch of yummy popcorn and my kids get such a kick out of watching it pop.  It really is the little things! 🙂

2. Chicken Broth / Bone Broth

This couldn’t be easier to make!  I throw all of our chicken bones along with some celery, carrots, peppercorns, a little salt, garlic, onion, a bay leaf and as much water as my slow cooker will hold.  I cook it overnight and wake up to delicious, rich bone broth.  We freeze it and use it for soups, recipes that call for it, and we use it in place of water when we cook rice.

3. Rice

I know that there are a lot of yummy boxes rice mixes out there but some of them are full of stuff that I’m not comfortable feeding my kids.  We buy bulk white and brown rice and use it to make garlic pilaf, Spanish rice or just plain rice.

4. Pizza Dough

I’ve been making pizza dough at home for years now.  We typically have homemade pizza every Friday night so I will make enough pizza dough for the whole month and that it’s ready to go when we need it.

5. Salsa / Pico de Gallo

I LOVE salsa!  I am not really a fan of the canned versions from the store so I learned to make my own at home and have never looked back!  I tend to make a batch without any spice for the kids and then make a nice big batch for the grown ups 🙂

6. Salad Stuff

It’s very convenient to buy pre-made salads, salad mixes or chopped vegetables but that convenience comes at a higher price.  I take a few extra minutes each week to prep all of my salad fixings for that week (I try to do a theme each week) and then I’m done all week.  It saves time and money!

7. Beans

These are another thing that takes no time at all and saves a lot of money.  I buy dried black beans and pinto beans, put them in my slow cooker with some water, onion and spices and then I portion them out into 2 cup servings.  I’ll typically make them the day we need them and then I’ll freeze the rest.  One pound of beans usually yields enough for 6 cups which is equivalent to 3 cans.  Huge savings!

8. Pancakes / Waffles

There are a ton of yummy mixes and even already made pancakes and waffles but it’s really easy to make the same thing at home and save a lot of money.  We just make a big batch and freeze the rest which is such a time saver during the busy week!

9. Banana Bread

We love banana bread so when we make it, we make a few loaves at a time.  We slice it up and freeze it so it’s easy to grab and go!

10. Cookie Dough

I don’t love baking so I try to make things easier on myself.  We normally make a big batch of cookie dough, roll the dough into balls and then flash freeze them individually.  Then, when we need  (or want… :)) to make some cookies, we can pull out what we need and not have a ton just sitting around.

I hope these have been helpful for you!

What are some items that you always make at home?