FOODS that are cheaper to PURCHASE pre-made for less THAN making YOURSELVES

[PurpleBunny89]

I echo a lot of ones other people have said.

Perogies (We fry in butter as well)
Pie Crusts (we buy tenderflake in frozen section)
Frozen fruits and vegetables
Lasagna
Jam!!! (I got a large jar for $1 at WM and thats their regular price. I've only made jam twice and the price and effort that goes into it?!?! Gosh no!)
Cake Mixes (When they go on for $1)

As for pizza? That is definitely more economical homemade in our home. Delissio used to be the frozen pizza of choice in our home but they changed the recipe and now we don't like it. Little Cesars has really yummy pizza but DH insists Meat Lovers which comes to $9 (?) after taxes so yes, we can definitely make homemade cheaper. Get cheese on sale $3.99 or less, lasts for two pizzas, pepperoni from no frills for like $3 which lasts for 4+ pizzas, an onion when we get 10LBs of $0.99, bulb of garlic (three for $0.50) and then whatever bits of leftover meat we have in the freezer. We make our own dough too which is so cheap plus we don't have to pay for hydro for the bread machine. The large pizza I make has 8 very large filling slices so is good for two meals for each of us.

[Kikks]

hard to beat a whole bbq/rotisserie chicken from costco, buy a chicken, season it, place in roaster, turn on oven, roast, wait, clean/wash...or just buy one already done.

[beckie.c]

has anyone bought meat from a farm directly? or an abattoir?

I'm wondering what the price difference is between source and shop..

We purchased a side of beef last spring from a local farm for $4.50/lb cut and wrapped (hanging weight). After all was said and done, I calculated it out to about 6.99/lb for the finished product. DH and I paid $540 for our share of the half (we split it with family), and it lasted us about 7 months. In BBQ season we eat 2 to 3 beef meals per week.

We don't purchase a lot of prepared meals. I do find that frozen chicken breasts (on sale) are usually a better price compared to the fresh packaged ones. I defrost them in water and give them a rinse to remove some of the brine.

We make homemade pasta with my grandma at Christmas time, I think boxed pasta ends up being way cheaper than the homemade stuff.

[Purdee]

my hubby loves pizza - i mean he has it at least once a week for dinner so we usually go with pizza hut $5 bucks deal. It works out great for us since we don't have to buy all the ingredients and make them ourselves.

[lecale]

my hubby loves pizza - i mean he has it at least once a week for dinner so we usually go with pizza hut $5 bucks deal. It works out great for us since we don't have to buy all the ingredients and make them ourselves.

Same with sub sandwiches - really couldn't get the same variety of cuts and vegetables in for the same price as the sandwich store. It's these projects where there is a small amount each of a pile of different ingredients where the costs at home really add up.

[jasperandchar]

We boil our perogies then fry them in butter or with bacon. Bf won't let me deep fry them as he says it's not safe they expode. He's being a fuddy fuddy about certain methods of cooking

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You have to be careful as they sometimes do but I find when removing them from the oil, I cover with a plate this way if they explode it's in the plate, we prefer them deep fried the trick is to remove when they are just starting to turn a light golden color then immediately cover with a plate.

[jasperandchar]

my hubby loves pizza - i mean he has it at least once a week for dinner so we usually go with pizza hut $5 bucks deal. It works out great for us since we don't have to buy all the ingredients and make them ourselves.

Is the first pizza regular price then the rest $5 each?

Has anyone ever frozen pizza from such places like Pizza Hut or Little Ceasars just curious how they turned out when reheated? thanks

[macw1960]

Is the first pizza regular price then the rest $5 each?

Has anyone ever frozen pizza from such places like Pizza Hut or Little Ceasars just curious how they turned out when reheated? thanks

It never lasts that long here to freeze it but I am sure it would be fine.

[grumpy]

Has anyone posted about the food delivery services that send you all the ingredients for plated dinners and a recipe? It actually is cheaper than home made and going to the grocery sometimes. I use Chef's Plate and it's $11 per plate in Toronto (plus i can often find promo codes). They send everything you need (you just need pan/baking sheet and oil) and you get a fish or meat or veggie gourmet meal. For us, it's cheaper cuz the salmon would be $10 each at Sobeys for example, and then all the veggies and other stuff would be more than $11. It's all fresh ingredients plus you get to learn new techniques for cooking. Have you guys tried these companies and are there other ones in other provinces you;re aware of? looking for one in vancouver for my mom.

[Granger]

Interesting thread! Since I bake and cook GF for my daughter, a lot of frozen is not cheaper.

The lasagnas I made recently cost the following:

GF noodles: $7
Cheese various: $16
Beef: $10
Pasta Sauce: $5
Egg and Spices: $0.50?
Total: $38.50

This made 2 9X13 pans. So $19.25 each.
Each pan served 12 slices.

Local GF bakery sells at $7 a slice = $84 (Maybe I should sell mine!)

Each lasagna is about two meals for our family which means if I estimate I am paying $2.50 a person.
I think I will start posting here a little more so I can see if I am saving or look at ways to help reduce the cost!

[Frugalbigmama]

Has anyone posted about the food delivery services that send you all the ingredients for plated dinners and a recipe? It actually is cheaper than home made and going to the grocery sometimes. I use Chef's Plate and it's $11 per plate in Toronto (plus i can often find promo codes). They send everything you need (you just need pan/baking sheet and oil) and you get a fish or meat or veggie gourmet meal. For us, it's cheaper cuz the salmon would be $10 each at Sobeys for example, and then all the veggies and other stuff would be more than $11. It's all fresh ingredients plus you get to learn new techniques for cooking. Have you guys tried these companies and are there other ones in other provinces you;re aware of? looking for one in vancouver for my mom.

I haven't used these services and don't ever plan to. I can shop/cook for way cheaper.

[Purdee]

yes 1st pizza is regular price then the next 4 is only 5 bucks each - it was a promo and they run it once maybe twice a year.

Is the first pizza regular price then the rest $5 each?

Has anyone ever frozen pizza from such places like Pizza Hut or Little Ceasars just curious how they turned out when reheated? thanks

[PurpleBunny89]

From my earlier post where I stated that we buy frozen pie crusts - not anymore! I finally had the nerve to try making these again and they weren't great but were good enough for second time ever making. I just didn't add enough water so I know what to do for the next batch. They were so quick and easy to make. I did up a whole pound of lard so it made 6 crusts which I froze in discs for when I need them.

The first time I made pie crust it was an epic fail because I used crisco. Gosh never again!

So here is my math - 1 pound of tenderflake lard $1.50 divided by 6 crusts = $0.25 each
One box of two tenderflake pre-made crusts $1.97 divided by 2 = $0.99 each

I didn't count the flour in the homemade ones because I always have some on hand and really what difference does it make? A few cents? You get the idea that I'm going for here with price comparison.

[lecale]

From my earlier post where I stated that we buy frozen pie crusts - not anymore! I finally had the nerve to try making these again and they weren't great but were good enough for second time ever making. I just didn't add enough water so I know what to do for the next batch. They were so quick and easy to make. I did up a whole pound of lard so it made 6 crusts which I froze in discs for when I need them.

The first time I made pie crust it was an epic fail because I used crisco. Gosh never again!

So here is my math - 1 pound of tenderflake lard $1.50 divided by 6 crusts = $0.25 each
One box of two tenderflake pre-made crusts $1.97 divided by 2 = $0.99 each

I didn't count the flour in the homemade ones because I always have some on hand and really what difference does it make? A few cents? You get the idea that I'm going for here with price comparison.

Yah really wanna know? Lol, I was doing the math on this one recently. Here's a reference recipe https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Flaky_Pie_Crust

For 1 lb lard you need 620g flour. You can get that 10kg for $8 but I usually buy 2kg for $2 at SDM. The flour at my price is worth $.62 and best price $.50

The only other things you need are water, salt so you are at $.33/crust.

I was going to say before that I didn't think frozen pie crusts were a deal, but you have to own a rolling pin and that's $10-$25 so I figured it might be a fair deal after all.

Good for you for going after this one!

ETA: fixed total cost because there are 6 crusts.

[Purdee]

... I do find that frozen chicken breasts (on sale) are usually a better price compared to the fresh packaged ones. I defrost them in water and give them a rinse to remove some of the brine.

i also buy frozen chicken breasts. i liked safeway when they had the 4kg box on sale for $26.23 combined that with their 10% off on the first tuesday of the month. But since they were bought out by sobeys they have not put the chicken breasts on sale. So i found Save On Foods ones also go on sale for the same unit price but their box is 3kg. Last month, save on foods had a sale that included the schneider ones too so i got 3 x 3 kg boxes and used the coupon for free stuffed maple leaf chicken