What do you consider a 'home cooked' meal?

[Keli]

Today as I was fixing lunch it dawned on me how heavily I rely on pre-packaged food and I got to wondering if any dinner I fix would qualify as 'homecooked'?

I like to buy refridgerated pasta at sams club (sausage ravioli--so good!) or marinated chicken or steaks. Every once in a while I will fix hamburger helper if we are in a real hurry. That's not to say I never throw a roast in the crock pot or make a meatloaf because I do but so many dinners are either entirely or partly out of a box. Would you consider those dinners 'home cooked'?

 

[Hercules10]

PBJ

 

[mickeyboat]

I don't think I ever cook a meal without using some sort of pre-packaged product. I guess I would really consider something "home-cooked" if it was not ordered from a restaurant, not previously frozen, or if it was mostly made from non-prepackaged products.

Denae

 

[pumba]

I like a home cooked meal......taht would be meat veggies and potatoes......or home made sauce that cooked for six to eight hours....or a stew in the crockpot.....that is what I consider homemade.....banana bread I did yesterday from scratch......YUMMY

 

[Christine]

I do consider them "home cooked" in the sense that there was "some" preparation, i.e., you didn't pick it all up from Boston Market.

Do I consider it healthy, wholesome food--ummmm, not necessarily.

I remember one day I brought in some leftover tuna casserole to work and one of co-workers raved and raved about what a "healthy" homecooked and well-rounded meal it was. Well, I really disagreed with him. I mean, come on, you open a can of cream of mushroom soup (blech) and a can of tuna, some pre-shredded cheese, egg noodles, etc. I mean it's not the worst thing you could eat but it is not my definition of a healthy meal. Sadly, some people think this is healthy. People's ideas of what constitutes "healthy" and "home cooked" is really very different.

 

[NMAmy]

Not really--although I do occasionally use shortcuts myself. A roasted chicken from the grocery store can be a godsend some nights.

I make most stuff from homemade--mainly because my mom did and I think it tastes better and is healthier for you. I tend to cook in bulk and freeze stuff for those crazy nights.

 

[Hedy]

Something that isn't take out. EG I consider it home-cooked if I heat up a bag of frozen pasta for my mother and I.

 

[lulugirl]

Dh (a former chef) and I are food snobs. We like to make everything from scratch. Now that we have two kids, I do occasionally rely on boxed items due to time constraints.
One boxed item I really like and make often is Near East brand rice, it's really just as good as homeade rice pilaf.
I have to laugh though at what some people consider "homemade" a friend of mine opens a box of Bisquik and considers her pancakes "made from scratch" um, no, don't think so. Like I said I'm a bit of a food snob.

 

[beck0321]

I remember one day I brought in some leftover tuna casserole to work and one of co-workers raved and raved about what a "healthy" homecooked and well-rounded meal it was. Well, I really disagreed with him. I mean, come on, you open a can of cream of mushroom soup (blech) and a can of tuna, some pre-shredded cheese, egg noodles, etc. I mean it's not the worst thing you could eat but it is not my definition of a healthy meal. Sadly, some people think this is healthy. People's ideas of what constitutes "healthy" and "home cooked" is really very different.

Well if you eat the normal serving size of tuna casserole along with the appropraite servings of veggies, I wouldn't consider it UNhealthy. So I would say your tuna casserole is homecooked if you have like a salad and a veggie (not from a can) prepared with it.

 

[Christine]

One boxed item I really like and make often is Near East brand rice, it's really just as good as homeade rice pilaf.

Well, thanks for that recommendation.

I've been making their couscous mixes lately and I really like them.

 

[Christine]

Well if you eat the normal serving size of tuna casserole along with the appropraite servings of veggies, I wouldn't consider it UNhealthy. So I would say your tuna casserole is homecooked if you have like a salad and a veggie (not from a can) prepared with it.

I know that it is homecooked, I just don't think it is an overly HEALTHY meal as my co-worker seemed to think it was. Of course, healthy or not has nothing to do with this thread, I guess. Just trying to point out that people have different perceptions of what healthy is, as well as what constitutes home cooking.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I have to laugh though at what some people consider "homemade" a friend of mine opens a box of Bisquik and considers her pancakes "made from scratch" um, no, don't think so. Like I said I'm a bit of a food snob.

I would say "homemade" and "from scratch" are two completely different things. The pancakes in your example, I would call homemade, but they're obviously not from scratch.

 

[DMickey28]

I think I cook mainly homecooked foods. I don't make my own pasta or flour or anything but most stuff is made from scratch.

I do use Near East rice though all the time. I might tweak it but I use it as a base. I also used boxed chicken broth, not homemade b/c I don't have the space to store frozen chicken broth.

I always make my spaghetti sauce from scratch, I can't even use the cans anymore and I am kicking myself for that b/c it's so much easier sometimes! I never use pre-packaged chicken, always make whatever from scratch.

Have never touched a box of mashed potatoes or gravy. I have had hamburger helper but that's only b/c I had a craving. My husband wouldn't let me cook it.

I make my own enchilada sauce and salsa when I do mexican, but I use boxed rice. I never use the envelopes of seasoning, always season my beef or chicken with my own spices and/or herbs. I do use canned tomatoes for that though.

 

[lulugirl]

I would say "homemade" and "from scratch" are two completely different things. The pancakes in your example, I would call homemade, but they're obviously not from scratch.

Well, I see your point but adding water and an egg to a box mix I don't consider "homemade" or from "scratch".
As Christine pointed out , we all have different perceptions on what "homemade" means.

 

[cakesnkids]

Most of my meals are from scratch. We grill alot, and that helps ALOT, veggies are either frozen or fresh, and we generally eat a salad with each meal. OCCASIONALLY I will use a boxed mix, but I hate the preservatives in them.

 

[mickeyboat]

Have never touched a box of mashed potatoes or gravy. I have had hamburger helper but that's only b/c I had a craving. My husband wouldn't let me cook it.

Ooooh. Betty Crocker boxed mashed potatoes (four cheese) are yummy! Your DH was right not to let you cook the HH. Browning hamburger was really the only thing that I could not stand to smell when I was PG, well, that and coffee.

Denae

 

[DaisyD]

We mostly have what I consider home cooked meals. We eat chicken breast or fish a lot. I do the marinating and cooking and it is all fresh, right down to the herbs. I don't do starches as it is bad for one's weight but do steam up fresh veggies every day. Today it is cauliflower and yesterday it was asparagus. All fresh as I hate frozen or canned veggies. The only processed food we eat for dinner is my Pepperidge Farm light style bread. In the winter I get out the bread machine and bake fresh bread.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Well, I see your point but adding water and an egg to a box mix I don't consider "homemade" or from "scratch".

As Christine pointed out , we all have different perceptions on what "homemade" means.

Well, in all honesty, how many more ingredients are there in most pancake recipes? Flour, baking soda, salt and maybe one or two other ingredients? The mix is just one shorcut, IMO.

Now, if you said she took the pancakes out of the freezer and popped them into the microwave, I would have a hard time calling that homemade.
But you're right, everyone has different perceptions on homemade.

 

[SetzKitten]

To me, homemade = from scratch for the main part of the meal. For instance, I consider it a homemade meal even if I bought a loaf of bread instead of making it from scratch. The meat has to be fresh, veggies fresh or frozen and a starch like potatoes or brown rice with no powders or junk added.

My biggest cooking pet peeve is when I buy one of those cookbooks where it says, "open a roll of crescent rolls" and put it in a pan, or "open a box a bisquick". To me, this is not a homemade recipe and I feel cheated.

 

[CJBaby]

I would say "homemade" and "from scratch" are two completely different things.

That's exactly what I was going to respond!

Your 'homemade' question made me think of my sister's last party. During dessert, I was trying a piece of cheesecake because I thought she had made it (I was trying to be good.) When I complimented her, she told me it was made by the restaurant downstairs. I still laugh because she said that it still qualified as "homemade," b/c someone at the restaurant made it. I didn't have the heart to ask her what wasn't 'homemade' then, because everything is made by someone at some point!