packet mix - cheating!

[amyamz]

i went to the supermarket today to buy some choc chips for some homemade cookies for darling B/F to take to work and i saw a packet mix of choc chip cookies that were the same price as a packet of choc chips so i thought id get the packet. i cooked them up and B/F ate one and didn't notice any different - so i saved my self mucking around measuring out flour and sugar and creaming the butter and sugar and they still taste as yummy. but then when i confessed to b/f that they weren't his "miss amy cookies" he said i cheated!
do you think buying a packet mix is still classified as home made cooking?

[Kekka]

No Amy. :)

[Naomi]

:roll: You cooked it at home. It's home cooking.

Screw the purists who think you have to measure out all the ingredients blah blah.

Apparently I'm a fake mother because I do fake cooking ...

[amyamz]

well yes i guess it is home made considering i did make them at home :)

[Kekka]

Is buying a chicken cordon blu (spelling?) at a chicken shop, then baking it at home in the oven home cooking?

[Naomi]

:blink:

Um. If you want it to be. Why does someone else's opinon on what/how you cook matter?

[Kekka]

Nothing matters. It's just my opinion. Each to their own. I'm just chatting.

[Naomi]

The OPs partner complained that she was 'cheating' but she didn't lie to him (she told him it was a packet). He should be congratulating her on saving money - the packet cost the same as just one ingredient of the bake from scratch biscuits. He got the same enjoyment out of it, and probably would never have realised if she hadn't told him it was a packet mix.

If I bought a pre-prepared but cook at home meal, assuming anyone asked (and that's unlikely given that if I cook, it's usually only the children and I, and the child who talks, doesn't eat. And the other one doesn't stop eating long enough to ask, even if she could talk) I'd say it was preprepared. Anyone who knows me would probably be thankful that I hadn't taken it upon myself to try anything more adventurous than opening a packet.

Sorry, OT.

My one line opinion is, it isn't cheating if you are honest about it being a packet mix. I am. I always tell people stuff I've made is out of a box, if it is. (And it usually is).

[Naomi]

And the other thing is, I am far more likely to buy premade - so absolutely NO preparation by me at all ... surely on the Martha Stewart scale of good housekeeping that's like minus 12.

And. Sorry I sound so angry. I am, but not at this thread.

Amy, next time tell him to bake them himself :yes:

[Mad Old Cow]

well Naomi i don't want you to read this post while your cranky so can you leave mine to read till tomorrow:yes: i always let people know when i offer cake or cookies that i made it all myself because yrs ago i made a packet cake & my sis had a go at me because she said thats not cooking & told everyone that i didnt make it myself (she can be a real bitch at times) & so for some reason i never used packets again but i don;t care who else does & i also think you made it at home so its homemade;)

[Rachel]

If he didn't notice the difference in taste Amy and it was cheaper and easier- then big deal! LMAO
I buy cake mixes at times mainly when they are on special. Some of them are really tasty although there are some things like carrot cake that I would never substitute for a packet mix..
I wouldn't say using a packet is cheating- It would be though maybe if you made them for the man next door and not your BF! LMAO

[Naomi]

:hehe: That's ok Di, I'm over it now (it was seriously nothing to do with this thread or even the internet :O ). I'm ok with using packets because to be honest, most of the stuff (packet or from scratch - which I occasionally do too) is never eaten. Hugo likes cooking to break the eggs, have a go at mixing, licking the bowl and icing the finished product. He gets to do all that with a packet mix. He only ever eats the icing from the cake anyway so most of it gets thrown out and we never get through the whole batch before they are stale ... this will probably change once [-]the human garbage compactor[/-] Sophia realises what cake is.

I will admit there are some packets that taste appalling and I wouldn't buy or use them.

[redrobyn]

I do a bit of both can't see the problem, if someone enjoys what they've eaten doesn't really matter how it was made, you still have to mix it and bake it.

[Kekka]

I can taste a packet mix.

Naomi....I hope whatever annoys you ATM goes away or lessens in intensity very soon. :yes:

[Naomi]

LMAO Oh yeah, it's going away ... tomorrow morning at 6am LMAO

:O I didn't mean that!

[Mad Old Cow]

oops you read it LMAO

[Supa]

I dont use packets I like to cook from scratch & the kids like it too. They can both follow a recipe & I found it a good maths lesson too

[kezabelle]

Tina, I know a home ec teacher who claims there's no maths involved in cooking... LMAO - long story that one :)

I would think it was cheating if you said it was your own recipe or similar and it was a packet mix. I use the packet mixes here and there for convenience, and some thigns are perfectly fine. But Amy, I have a brilliant recipe for choc-chip cookies that only uses four ingredients and is my favourite type - throw it in and mix :)

[jillybeanz]

I think if packet cakes were legitimately 'home made', they would be called Home Made on the boxes! Simple! But there's absolutely nothing wrong with using the packet mixes if you want to. :yes:

[Heather]

I do a bit of both can't see the problem, if someone enjoys what they've eaten doesn't really matter how it was made, you still have to mix it and bake it.

Ditto..

[amyamz]

gee girls ive certainly raised some opinions here. :uhno:i have no problem with using packets especially when they are cheaper and i have limited time. B/F is goobling them down so obviously they arent too bad.
i do have a couple of delicous choc chip recipes already and actually keza i think from memory one of them does actually only have 4 or 5 ingredients!

[Patricia]

:O Packets? :O

Oh my goodness I can't believe you use a packet...how do you girls sleep at night?

It is only 'real' cooking if it is made from scratch!...:hehe:

[Stormy]

I hate this bollocks about cooking stuff from scratch. If you have the time to do so and you enjoy it, go right ahead. If it tastes good, who gives a rats whether it is from a box, freezer, bottle etc. I have eaten enough rubbish home cooked meals in my life (mainly at my house but at MILs and my own family's house as well) to know that from scratch cooking is only as cracked up to be if the person can actually cook! :brow:

We have afternoon teas at work all the time and you know what, all of it comes preprepared from a bakery, deli or even cooked at home but from a box/bottle. No one complains about the quality of the food. Actually the only time I have ever had a bad afternoon tea experience was with cooked from scratch brownies - they were hard enough to crack a tooth on! Thank god for coffee to dunk it in, otherwise it would have been inedible. :blink:

I am a cooking-challenged woman, hear me roar! :P

[Naomi]

:O Packets? :O

Oh my goodness I can't believe you use a packet...how do you girls sleep at night?

It is only 'real' cooking if it is made from scratch!...:hehe:

I sleep at night knowing my kids don't care if it comes from a box or not, they just enjoy the process anyway.




Edit - actually the real reason I sleep at night is that after 13 months of waking 2-10 times a night, I'm just plain exhausted. That's probably also why I use packet mixes. My brain can't cope with the maths involved in real cooking ... geez, it's all I can do to count out two eggs

[Alexa]

I can't cook to save myself and I don't enjoy at the best of times, so something that is easy and quick is great, if others don't mind who cares.

We have morning teas at work and just cook something out of a packet and it always gets eaten...I think people just appreciate the effort.

[mel35]

This thread has given me a good giggleLMAO

Tina, I know a home ec teacher who claims there's no maths involved in cooking... LMAO - long story that one :)

My cooking doesn't usually involve maths- just a bit of cricket and religion- Chuck it all in and pray its edible:P
I really don't think it matters wether it comes from a packet or jar or made from scratch as long as it turns out nice to eat is whats important.
My kids bake about every 2nd day from packets and scratch and they've had good and not so good results with both ways.

[Patricia]

* Hopes the sarcasms wasn't missed in her post above :hehe: *

Hell, everyone knows I am all for making things as easy as possible so if a packet mix can do that then more power to you...:yes:

You have given me an idea for another thread now...*toddles off to start it*

[Naomi]

LOL Patric I'm just jealous of your cooking ability :P

[Stormy]

Sorry Patric but that comment just reminded me of something my uncle said one night when I had cooked a roast and had the audacity to use a finishing sauce from Masterfoods to put over the meal. :roll:

He used the phrase "it's not 'real' cooking" as well and he was perfectly serious. Although the difference being, he can't cook to save himself. :P

[lucyloo]

I do it both ways, it just depends on how much time I have up my sleeve...:)

[Di Nana]

Sorry Patric but that comment just reminded me of something my uncle said one night when I had cooked a roast and had the audacity to use a finishing sauce from Masterfoods to put over the meal. :roll:

He used the phrase "it's not 'real' cooking" as well and he was perfectly serious. Although the difference being, he can't cook to save himself. :P

That was along time ago, let it go :hehe:
Sorry Stormy, it just reminds me of that Vogal bread add, I do realise your uncle will never be forgiven and I wouldn't forgive him either

I am thankful for packet stuff the more help I can get in the kitchen the better for me and my family,
I do like to make my own white sauce though as the packet ones are disgusting, but that and my mustard sauce are all I can master,
I cant make custard and after many meals of lumpy custard my kids had to endure I decided to treat them to nice smooth prepared custard , they bawled there bloody heads off said that they always had competitions who got the most lumps and now we got none :headh:

[Stormy]

Yes he will be paying for that comment for a long time to come :P

[Night Crawler]

I just found this particular thread. I have to come down on the side of whatever works for you - do it! I "cheat" all the time, not because I can't cook, but because it's easier! It is also often cheaper to buy ingredients to make stuff from scratch. Years ago I had a friend over for dinner and served yorkshire pudding. She always teased me about "cheating" but really enjoyed these. Got her good when she licked her lips and asked for the recipe... I didn't say a word, just walked over the garbage can, lifted the lid, pulled out the empty packet and handed her it to her. She nearly fell out of the chair! :hehe:

[Naomi]

Yorkshire pudding comes in packet mix? LOL I'll have to try it on my husband. He loves the stuff so much his Granny makes an entire extra one when we visit.

[Stormy]

Well I don't know about packet mix but it certainly comes in pre-prepared frozen version. :hehe:

[Patricia]

Aldi's have Aunty Betty's Naomi....Adam is quite partial to em ..:yes: