Better to make than buy...

Everything tastes better made from scratch!!! :
Applesauce is so, so, so much better homemade. And you can branch out into pear sauce, peach sauce, nice berry sauces for over pancakes, and on and on.
I can't bring myself to buy bakery goods anymore (breads, muffins, cookies)since they are practically inedible compared to homebaked. Yum!
I agree that canned soups can be pretty yucky too, once you get used to making homemade.

I agree about the mac and cheese - we can't stand the boxed stuff now, and my DH used to live on it in his bachelor days.

Fresh homemade pasta is fabulous - it just doesn't even compare to the dry stuff IMO. I still use the dry stuff sometimes, but when I have the time I make it from scratch. Noodles and ravioli both. They even freeze well. And SOOOO much cheaper than storebought "fresh".

Jam is beyond fabulous homemade, and no nasty HFCS. And I'm even at the point where I prefer the homemade PB. Oh, and homemade mayo - nothing storebought tastes that good.

Homemade whipped cream instead of out of a can. Biscuits/pancakes from scratch instead of a mix or a can. I won't go near any canned soup products anymore... the salt those things contain is revolting (not to mention the ingredients). And homemade stock and soup really is easy (and stock freezes beautifully). I used to make my own crackers, too - yummy. But I just don't really eat crackers at this point.

Pretty much anything that you'd buy a mix for can be made better from scratch. Cake, pie crust, cheesecake, muffins, cornbread, frosting, stuffing, jello and even pudding.

There are very few pre-made foods I still buy... mustard, soy sauce, tabasco, a few asian sauces... And sourdough bread from the local bakery (I'm just too lazy). I've made tortillas in the past, and they are excellent - but mostly I buy them just because they're usually part of a 5 minute meal.

Jam. : It's time consuming, but not hard to make and it tastes sooo much better. Plus I know exactly whats in it. Every year my mom, sister and I go pick strawberries at a local farm then I make enough jam to last us the next year.

I also like from scratch brownies much better than boxed mixes, and the work is about the same.

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How do you make your applesauce and specifically what types of apples do you use? My daughter eats it by the truckloads and I buy plain unsweetened applesauce but recently thought I should just make it myself. This has inspired me.
Also, can you freeze it?
(Such a lame chef but I'm working on it - THANKS to this forum!)

I made tons of applesauce last summer with local apples when they were in season. I think I just asked the guy who was selling them which were good for sauce and bought those I don't really remember what kinds they were, but I do remember that it was a variety - just one kind of apple will make an at least semi-bland sauce. You want a decent mix.

As to how to make it, I just cut them up into chunks (I think I basicly quarterd them), then cooked in a little water till they were good and mushy, and put through my foodmill. Then I canned them. You can just water bath apple sauce, which makes it easy. I still have LOTS of it in my basement. I honestly forget about it sometimes!!

I don't even like to eat store bought applesauce anymore!

I make my own hummus...all sorts of different flavors: pumpkin, red pepper, sundried tomato, eggplant, rosemary white bean...

Quick breads and muffins--I can control the fat and sugar content, and they just taste less fake or something

I don't like canned soups because they taste too salty and have a syrupy consistency, IMO; I eat some type of bean stew or soup that I make almost every day for lunch

Pizza!!!!!

I like the flavor of homemade yogurt, but I can't get the consistency right without using gelatin, and I'm vegetarian, so don't like using that stuff

Baguettes

With our food allergies we are starting to make more items from scratch.
I love homemade applesauce (you can do this in the crockpot, you don't need a food mill if you don't mind chuncky applesauce.)

I love home canned peaches, we picked, prepared and canned them for the first time this year.

Guacamole, salsa are super easy and worth the time.

Hummus, very cheap and easy. Much cheaper than the store varieties.

Pumpkin, for pies, breads, etc. Put cut up pumpkin in crock pot (with skin on) and let cook until soft. When soft (and cool, if you like fingerprints) scrape out of skin and let drain(cheese cloth may be helpful to squeeze the liquid out) and run through a food mill or food processer in small batches. I like to freeze it in 2 cup batches(that is how much one of my pie recipe calls for) My family will not eat canned pumpkin unless we are out of fresh

Ohh I forgot about SOUP! We do not eat any canned soup. We actually make extra soup from what ever scraps that we have from a Chicken/turkey for my Grandmother it saves her money, reduces her sodium intake, and she loves it

I made a dessert for Easter and I can now say with confidence that whipped cream, chocolate frosting and pudding all taste 100% better when made from scratch

About homemade applesauce - I've discovered 2 things that make it really tasty. A dash of salt and/or a tiny bit of ginger (not even enough to taste the ginger, just enough so that people wonder what's in there ). And it freezes really well!