Make 5 Foods with 5 Ingredients (from Scratch!)

You know those days when you stare in your cupboards, seeing only the most basic ingredients, and declare there is “nothing to eat?” Yeah…me too. The things is, over the last 4 years, I have made it part of my habit to learn how to make the things we love most ourselves. Through that, I have learned how to take the basic ingredients and make some pretty cool stuff! I can make 5 foods with 5 ingredients and almost every house will already have what they need!

We have come so far away from where we used to be when it came to cooking. I mean real cooking, not opening a box or aluminum can to heat and eat. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience of it but I don’t care for the chemical taste anymore (so I started making my own meals in a jar!). I’m a big girl and my love of TV dinners, hot pockets, and pizza is evident and won’t be fixed overnight. We have gotten so deeply ingrained to a homesteading lifestyle that when we do splurge and get a TV Dinner, we are less than enthused about it. In fact, last week we decided not to get something quick and easy to eat. Though I was incredibly tired, I wanted something that would taste good, and not just so-so. The greatest compliment my husband has recently given me is saying he would rather not get take out because it just wouldn’t be as good as what I make. Oh yes, he got an exceptional dinner that night. 😉

OK so on to it! What are these magic ingredients and what can you make with them?

The Ingredients

• Flour
• Sugar
• Egg
• Milk (powdered or liquid)
• Butter/Lard/Shortening

The Foods You Can Make

• Crackers (We’ve been making our own for a while now and love them)
• Tortillas (the recipe I used calls for baking powder but you can make it without, too)
• Dumplings
• Pancakes
  • Bonus recipe! Old Fashioned Swedish Pancakes.
  • Double Bonus Recipe – CREPES!! 
• Pasta or Egg Noodles

Truthfully, there’s much more you can do with these basic ingredients than what I’ve listed here. If you can add one or two other basic ingredients, the possibilities increase rapidly! One of my favorite sites to help me with figuring out what the heck to make using only what I have on hand is Supercook.com. Input the ingredients you have available and then get a list of recipes you can make using only what you have. It helps stretch the budget out and introduces new ways to make sure nothing is wasted. Plus, you’re likely gong to learn some new recipes for cooking from scratch and that is always a bonus!