Bake or Buy?

Tomato Soup

2012-03-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

It was a cool, rainy weekend in the coastal Carolina area and I was craving some warm, creamy soup. I was about to heat up a can of tomato when I thought, what the hey, I have lots of canned tomatoes from last summer, let's make some from scratch!

The store brand: Campbell's Tomato Soup

My Recipe:
1 28 oz can whole plum or diced tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup half and half

Easy to make - saute your onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes until translucent.

Add your tomato paste and flour and then slowly add some water from the tomatoes while stirring to get out the lumps. Once you get a smooth consistency add all the tomatoes. Simmer 20-30 minutes.

Puree with a hand blender or blend it in a blender/food processor. Add the half and half and enjoy.

Optional: Garnish with fresh basil and croutons. I used some homemade croutons!

I can't even begin to explain how much better the homemade soup was. My husband said in comparison the Campbell's tasted like ketchup, but bad. I made mine with half skim milk and half water. The homemade was just so much more tomato-y and had some texture to it.

The price didn't come out much different. My recipe made more soup - you could easily half this if you are making it for yourself and use a small can of diced tomatoes. It costs a little more to make your own, but TOTALLY worth it in my opinion.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Cup
Campbell's Tomato Soup	21.5 oz	$ 1.12	$ 0.42
Homemade	32 oz	$ 1.92	$ 0.48

Overall, the homemade tomato soup took about 40 minutes from start to finish, but only about 10 minutes of hands-on work. I have to say it was really, really easy.

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Italian Salad Dressing

2012-02-28T08:59:00.000-05:00

I've been making some interesting salad dressings lately - I have a miso mustard one that is my new favorite. But if I'm going to blog about it, let's figure out what the best option is - we'll start simple with Italian.

The store brand: Ken's Italian Dressing and Marinade

My recipe (adapted from allrecipes.com):
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsely
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 cup vinegar (white, red wine, or balsamic)
2/3 cup olive oil

The rest is simple - combine everything and shake it up. It's best to let it sit and soften all those dried herbs (or you could always use fresh to make it extra delicious). I keep this out on the counter because the olive oil will solidify in the refrigerator, and then it's a pain.

So the comparison? The storebought Italian that I purchased was just terrible. It had NO herbs or seasonings, and tasted like oil, vinegar, and salt. I have had lots of great bottled Italian dressings, but this is just not one of them. Usually I think bottled Italian dressing is pretty good (although salty), but this time, mine was just better.

So the cost here really surprised me. It cost more to make homemade dressing than to buy the bottle. The biggest discrepency was the olive oil - the bottled version used vegetable oil, which would have cut my price considerably (The olive oil in my recipe was $1.49 of the total $1.99).


Ken's Italian Dressing and Marinade	16 oz	$3.55	$0.22
Homemade	8 oz	$1.99	$0.25

So although it is nice to make a fancy dressing youself, or to get the rich olive oil and herb taste, I just don't know if it's worth the effort. There are lots of bottled dressings out there that are delicious, and when I buy them on sale, they cost much less than making it yourself.

Bake or Buy? BUY!

Somersaults Giveaway!

2012-02-26T14:45:00.002-05:00

I've been on vacation in Nicaragua for the past week, so I'm back with a great giveaway.

This is my new favorite healthy snack. I am seriously in love. I just happened to pick up a pack of these Somersaults (Salty Pepper flavor) on sale at the local health food store. Ohhhh golly. They are little crunchy nuggets with sunflower seeds in them. They have tons of protein and fiber - great for a vegetarian.

I went on their website to check it out and sent the company an email saying how much I love them. They offered to send me a variety pack - apparently they have many flavors. You can purchase them online or check out local health food stores.

So, the pack they sent me was amazing. Sample of every type they make - and you can have the same pack sent your way!

Alright, onto the giveaway. It's simple - do the things on this list and leave a SEPARATE comment for each one you do.
- Check out http://shop.somersaultsnackco.com/ and leave a comment saying what flavor you'd most like to try.
- Like Bake or Buy on facebook (or leave a comment that you already do).
- Share this giveaway on facebook or twitter: say something like "Win some delicious snacks in a giveaway at http://bakeorbuy.blogspot.com/2012/02/somersaults-giveaway.html".

And that's all there is to it! I will draw a random winner on Wednesday, March 7th.

I love EVERY flavor, but I think my favorites are Spicy Pepper and Santa Fe Salsa. Cinnamon crunch is pretty fantastic too! Now get to it getting your entries. One comment for each thing you do to enter.

Portobello Burger Recipe

2012-02-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't a Bake or Buy comparison. But it's my blog, and I can do what I want! I've been getting a little burnt out on the bake or buy concept, so I figured I would start to post some personal recipes in between Bake or Buy's to keep the content flowing.

So, I made this for dinner the other night and I thought I'd share the recipe(s) with you. I didn't plan to do it, so there aren't many photos of my process, but next time I'll do better.

Drool.

Marinated Portobellos:
2 medium portobellos (portabellas?... whatever.)
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon siracha (this was pretty spicy)
salt and pepper

Combine the marinade ingredients and let sit at room temp for at least 30 minutes. I flipped and basted ever so often while I worked on the HOMEMADE BUNS (!).

So obviously you could pick up hamburger buns, but I'm obsessed with my new breadmaker, so here we go. You can make these by hand, but I put the dough in my breadmaker. Recipe from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/kaiser-rolls-recipe (there are handmade directions there)

3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup water

In my breadmaker, you add the wet, add the dry, and poke a hole and put the yeast in. I let it go through the first knead, rise, second knead, then took it out. From there I split it into 6 pieces, tied them in a knot and tucked the ends (no kaiser cutter), and let them rise again. About 45 minutes later i brushed the tops with milk and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Bake at 425 for 15 mins.

I also made these super easy steak fries, that were actually crunchy and delicious.
3 medium russet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper

Cut your potatoes into wedges and toss with oil and spices. Bake at 425 for about 40 minutes, flipping half way.

For the portobello burgers, I grilled the portos on each side for ~5 minutes over high heat. I leave the gills in, but if they offend you, scrape them before marinating. Top your burgers as you wish! We used avocado, baby spinach, tomato, hummus, and cheese.

Enjoy and think about how healthy and delicious this is compared to fast food!

Wheat Bread

2012-02-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have been a little absent lately, but when I show you the photos for our newly remodeled bathroom, you will totally understand! Remodeling is hard work, and I'm hungry, so time for some fresh bread! I'm going to attempt my first honey wheat bread recipe.

The Store Brand: La Brea 9 Grain Wheat Bread

My Recipe (adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-whole-wheat-bread/):

1 cup warm water

2 tsp active dry yeast (just about 1 packet)

2 tablespoons honey

1-1/2 cup bread flour

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and honey. Add white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

Mix in melted butter and salt. Stir in 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour (continue to add in to avoid sticking). Knead in sunflower seeds as you go. This may take up to 1 additional cup of whole wheat flour.

Place in a greased bowl and cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch down and place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Both breads were delicious. I think my version was a better sandwich type bread. It didn't have the nice hard crust that I prefer, but it was very moist and tasty. The store bread is obviously much smaller, but that's just because I bought a petite loaf so I would be on bread overload this week (I used full size for the cost comparison).

Mine on left, storebought on right.

The cost difference is amazing! It costs 4x as much to buy the store brand. And before anyone says, WHO PAYS $5 FOR A LOAF OF BREAD??: I really don't like the preservative laden packaged breads, so I always buy the grocery store baked kind. It is pricey, but it's SO much better. And even if you are buying the $1.99 sliced wheat bread, it STILL costs less to make it - and it is wayyyy tastier than that type.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
La Brea 9 Grain Wheat Bread	18 oz	$ 4.99	$ 0.28
Homemade	18 oz	$ 1.21	$ 0.07

So yeah, I had to knead bread for TEN minutes. But it was totally worth it. It was SO good. I think next time I will look for a "crustier" recipe, but I will definitely be baking this again.

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Chocolate Syrup

2012-01-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

CHOCOLATE MILK??!? Yes, please. I love me some chocolate milk. I have never used anything but Hershey's, but I figured, what the h.e.double.hockey.sticks., let's go to town with some homemade.

The store brand: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

My Recipe (from http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2011/03/08/homemade-chocolate-syrup/):

1 1/4 C sugar
1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C water
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cocoa powder. Add water and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, until thickened, continuing to stir frequently. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then add vanilla extract.

Store in air tight container in the fridge.

I made a half batch and it made just about 1 cup of finished syrup. It was super fast - like 5 minutes from start to finish.

So, the comparison? Well Hershey's is just high fructose corn syrup with cocoa and preservatives. I'd take real sugar over HFCS any day. Taste wise, the homemade version just tasted more chocolatey. Very deep chocolate flavor - I also needed a little less to make my chocolate milk. I was worried it would be too thin and watery, but it was thick and great!

The cost to make your own is just about the same. I used the cost of my homemade vanilla, which saves a little money.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup	24 oz- 2.25 cup	$ 2.35	$ 1.04
Homemade	2 cups	$ 1.96	$ 0.98

So overall, it costs about the same to make your own, but it tastes so much richer and more chocolatey.

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Cookie Giveaway Winner!

2012-01-25T16:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the entries!! I used the random number generator and drew a winner - JENNY J! Congrat Jenny. I've sampled these cookies and you will LOVE every one. I've emailed you for your address.

New post coming tomorrow. Just a hint... I'm feeling like chocolate.

Cookie Giveaway!

2012-01-17T17:05:00.000-05:00

Alright. So I had a great snack this afternoon. I had lunch at the natural food store/deli and I picked up this vegan cookie to take with me. I know, vegan baked goods? Ick. NO WAY. This cookie was freaking fantastic. I went with Luscious Lemon Poppyseed.

The company is called Alternative Baking Company out of Sacramento, California. When I wrote them to tell them how amazing their cookies are, they gracefully offered to send me some to try (!!!!). I am going to pass some of this amazing gift onto you.

You will receive a sampling of cookies to include:

Cranberry Orange MuffinCookie

Phenomenal Pumpkin Spice

Double Chocolate Decadence

Amazing Almond MuffinCookie

How to enter (THREE possible entries - leave separate comments):
1.) Like the Bake or Buy facebook page and leave a comment below.
2.) Like the Alternative Baking Company facebook page and leave a comment below.
3.) Sign up for Bake or Buy emails (on the right of page - must confirm subscription to be counted).

Fans of Alternative Baking Company's facebook page are also entered to win cookies each month, so bam, entering two contests with one click!

I will draw the winner on Wednesday, January 25th and send your cookies out ASAP. If you don't win, you can always order cookies on their website or check your local health food stores! Good luck :)

Whipped Cream

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love whipped cream. On my pie, ice cream, hot chocolate, fresh fruit, and the list goes on. When I'm making something creamy, I must admit I use cool whip, but there are some scary sounding ingredients in that stuff. Reddi Whip from the can is so fun and easy to squirt straight to your mouth when you just NEED it. Real whipped cream is super tasty, and you can control the sweetness.

Who will take the cake? Muahaha - pun intended.

The store brands: Cool Whip (tub from the freezer section)
Reddi Wip (yep, from the can)

The recipe (from http://www.allrecipes.com/):
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chill the bowl and beats in the freeze for at least 5 mins before starting. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat about 2-3 minutes until peaks form. Don't beat too long or you will end up with butter (not such a bad thing)!

So cool whip always comes from the freezer section, which means it takes at least a little planning. I've tried to make the creamy jello while it's still too frozen - don't do it. Reddi Wip from the can tends to "melt" down really fast. Homemade will fall as well, and you need to handle it fragilly so you don't let too much of the air out.

As far as taste goes, the Reddi Wip was out right away. It's the lightest, but it has a chemically taste - it's just not right. The Cool Whip was far sweeter than my whipped cream, but the homemade was just so much creamier. If you want it sweeter, you can always just up the amount of confectionerary sugar.

Left is Reddi Wip, middle is Cool Whip, and right is homemade.

Well the cost works about about the same for cool whip and homemade. Reddi Wip comes at a premium, but it is convenient to use it when you need it. My mom always used to keep a can in the fridge.

	Amount	Cost	Cost/oz
Cool Whip	8 oz	$ 1.65	$ 0.21
Reddi Wip	6.5 oz	$ 2.79	$ 0.43
Homemade	8.5 oz	$ 2.03	$ 0.24

So Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Cool Whip will do fine if you need to fold it into a recipe, but if you are topping off some fresh strawberries or a warm pie, buck up and make your own!

Hummus

2012-01-10T09:34:00.001-05:00

We almost always have store-bought hummus in the fridge. I'm not a mayonaise fan, so I use it on sandwiches, dip carrots or crackers in it, and even in place of sauce on a veggie pizza. I have made hummus before, but it's definitely not something I do on the reg.

The store brand: Harris Teeter Traditional Hummus

My recipe (adapted from simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hummus):
1 garlic clove, mashed and then minced
1 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of tahini (roasted)
2 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (one juicy lemon)
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt

In a food processor, combine the garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt to taste.

I will say that I think tahini is really difficult to work with - it separates and is impossible to stir. Even worse than natural peanut butter! But when you are making it in the food processor, you don't need to get it mixed up much before adding it in. This is fast to make and I do love being able to make custom flavors (think feta and sundried tomato, roasted red pepper and garlic...).

So side by side they look almost identical. Taste-wise they are a little different. The store bought was smoother and tasted a little different - saltier and more lemoney. I felt that mine was a little heavy on the tahini and I'll use a little less next time. They were both tasty and I think I'd rate them just about the same taste-wise.

Store bought on left, homemade on right.

And the cost?

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Harris Teeter Traditional	10 oz	$ 4.49	$ 0.45
Homemade	12 oz	$ 3.12	$ 0.31

I tend to keep tahini on hand, just for the sake of making hummus. I will also say that my grocery store almost always has one brand of hummus on sale, which makes it about the same price as homemade...

Bake or Buy? BUY!

It is easy to make, but I'd just as soon stock up on fun flavors while they are on sale (they last a long time in the fridge).

Butter

2012-01-03T11:56:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not about to get out my butter churner. I've read you can make it by shaking, using an electric mixer, or even the food processor.

The store brand: Land O' Lakes Unsalted Butter

My Recipe (adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/homemade-butter-recipe/index.html):

1 pint heavy cream, very cold

Pinch salt, optional

- Refrigerate the bowl/beaters/jar or whatever you are going to use ahead of time to get everything very cold. The food network recipe says to shake the cream in a jar for 15 to 30 minutes, but I just put it in my food processor.

This whole process took about 8 minutes.

- Pour into a strainer set over a bowl. The chunks in the strainer are butter, and the liquid in the bowl is buttermilk.

- Pour the buttermilk into a clean container, cover, refrigerate, and reserve for another use.

- Turn the butter into a clean bowl and cover with very cold water. Pour into a strainer, discarding the liquid. Continue rinsing the butter with very cold water until the water runs clear. (The cloudy water is buttermilk which will make the butter turn sour.)

- When the butter is clean, work with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to press out any remaining liquid. Discard this liquid. If desired, add salt to the butter. (Salted butter will keep longer.)

- Transfer the butter to a clean container for keeping and refrigerate until ready to use.

So that's it - you've got butter! It tasted unremarkably like butter - for some reason I thought it would taste like magically delicious butter, but no, just butter. It was a really neat thing to see though, I'd recommend everyone tries to make butter.

The cost? You aren't going to save money making your own butter. But I didn't account for the cup or so of buttermilk you will also get during the butter making process, so that's a bonus for your pancakes or bisquits or whatever. That buttermilk is not the cultured kind you would get from the store, and I haven't used mine yet, so I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

I usually just buy our store brand butter, which costs about a dollar less than Land O' Lakes, so store bought definitely wins the price category.

	Amount	Cost	Cost/pound
Land O' Lakes Unsalted Butter	1 lb	$ 4.49	$ 4.49
Homemade	3/4 lb	$ 5.00	$ 6.67

So overall, you get a butter that tastes a lot like the store bought version, that takes a little bit of work, but costs more...

Bake or Buy? BUY!

Ice Cream

2011-12-30T20:42:00.003-05:00

Yeah, yeah - most people don't think much about ice cream in the winter. Well you should - ice cream is always delicious and if you've never made your own, it's incredibly easy. For this post I was totally planning to do vanilla vs. vanilla - a serious showdown. Well I still had some Oreos left from that post, and I couldn't help myself - COOKIES AND CREAM! I already have the upper hand on Breyers.

The store brand: Breyers Vanilla

My Recipe:
Ingredients
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla (if making plain vanilla, use a vanilla bean for flavor)
8 oreo cookies

Directions

Coarsely chop the Oreos.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir it up. I added my Oreos now also (I wanted them to get soft), but they ended up almost emulifying in the ice cream maker - you can add them once the ice cream just starts to get hard to get larger chunks. It still tastes like cookies n' cream either way!

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker according to unit's instructions (mine is dump in, turn on and let it go for 30 mins). The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once it has reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer at least 1 hour before serving.

Okay, it looks like chocolate, but it tastes like cookies n' cream! Promise.

Now scoop out all this leftover ice cream and eat the crap out of it:

Taste-wise this ice cream was fan-freaking-tastic. Really great ice cream. Breyers makes a decent ice cream as well, but mine was so creamy and flavorful, I couldn't get enough. At this point it would probably come down to cost.

I was very surprised by the cost. You can actually save money making your own ice cream. Even with my $1 worth of Oreos, it's less to make your own ice cream (if you own a maker)! Honestly, I almost never buy ice cream if it's not at least buy one get one free, but hey, still less than full price.

	Size	Cost	Cost/oz
Breyers Ice Cream - All Natural Vanilla	48 oz	$ 6.99	$ 0.15
Homemade	32 oz	$ 3.94	$ 0.12

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

I'd honestly have to say, I think it's worth while to invest in an ice cream maker. And keep an eye out for some posts coming up on what to do with that leftover whipping cream!

Oatmeal... FAIL?

2011-12-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday! I am back to the grind, so here we go...

As a kid I hated oatmeal. It was just so mushy and icky. I'm an adult now (sorta), so naturally, I've learned to like it and this cold weather has me itching for a hot breakfast. We have about 100 inherited packets of instant oatmeal in our cupboard, so I figured I would do a Bake or Buy on making my own oatmeal. So good straight from the stove top.

Store Brand: Instant Maple and Brown Sugar

My Recipe (this is just how I make it - use whatever toppings you like):
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup skim milk
Spoonful of dried cranberries
Spoonful of chopped walnuts
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon

- I start by putting the milk on the stove with the cranberries and heat it to a low simmer.
- Add the oats and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.

- Put it in a bowl and let it sit a few more minutes to thicken.

- Add sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts.

- Stir and enjoy!

So my homemade oatmeal turned out great. Surprisingly enough, the issue came in when I made the instant! I know, crazy. Since I am not a big fan of instant oatmeal, I just read the bag which had two options - add boiling water to the packet, or add milk or water and cook in the microwave. I added milk and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes (packet read 2 - 3 mins). I was busy with the stovetop oatmeal and when I went to grab the instant - AHHHHH!

Hmm, not such a great way to start my morning after all! Anyways, I will compare them for the sake of competition.

The instant oatmeal was very thick and almost like paste. The flavored packet (brown sugar and maple) was far too sweet for my tastes as well. Obviously, the instant oatmeal here isn't winning any awards.

I was fairly surprised by the cost. With all my gourmet toppings, I assumed it would cost more, but if you make the instant with milk it's just about the same cost (the instant makes a little less than my recipe).

	Amount	Cost	Cost/cup
Quaker Instant Oatmeal	2/3 cup	$ 0.42	$ 0.63
Homemade	1 cup	$ 0.66	$ 0.66

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Vanilla Extract

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

Making your own vanilla extract? This is SO easy. I have no idea why people aren't doing it. I actually realized how expensive vanilla was when I was calculating the cost of homemade Oreos and wondered how you would make your own. Alas, there are lots and lots of people out there talking about how to do it - so here we go.

The store brand: McCormick Pure Vanilla

My Recipe:
1 cup vodka (I used Stolichnaya from duty-free, but normally I would go Svedka)
4 vanilla beans
1 tablespoon brown sugar (the store brand used corn syrup so I figured what the heck)

- Slice the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the good stuff. Chop up the shells into 1" pieces.

- Combine the vodka and all the bean parts and let it sit for at least 1 month (up to 6 months).

- Strain out the solids before using. I put it through a stainer to get the big pieces out and then a coffee filter to remove most of the vanilla beans. Step two completely optional.

The bean pods are still flavorful and vanilla is expensive - you can reuse them to make vanilla sugar or flavor your coffee!

I read up quite a bit, and it sounds like 4 or 5 vanilla beans to 1 cup vodka will give you the same concentration as a typical store brand. I used Madagascar beans (they were the most affordable at $1.50 a piece), but there are lots of varieties out there.

My vanilla does look a little lighter than the store brand. Taste-wise, they taste VERY similar. I'm not sure if the concentration is the same, if you want something to have a really strong vanilla taste, maybe use a little extra, but it seems to do the job!

So how does the cost work out? Wow, it costs a LOT less to make your own vanilla extract. I will say my grocery store does have half price vanilla once in a while, which is when I stock up. Even with that sale price, I can still make my own cheaper.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract	2 fl oz	$ 7.99	$ 4.00
Homemade	1 cup	$ 10.00	$ 1.25

So bake or buy? BAKE!

I will say my complete lack of planning will probably put me buying this stuff in a pinch, but I'm going to try to keep up with it! And that cup of vanilla should last me a long time - maybe I'll put it on the list to do every year when I do my canning.

Bagels

2011-12-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

Another bread-making opportunity! I'm excited for the smell of the house and to eat some warm chewy bagels.

Now, if I lived in NYC, I wouldn't even bother doing this test. They have the BEST bagels. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside - don't even ask to have it toasted. AMIRIGHT? Anywho, I don't live there, and I'm going to look to replace my grocery store bagels with something better. Here we go!

The Store Brand: Thomas' Everything Bagels

My Recipe (adapted from http://www.lifecurrents.dw2.net/):

Egg Bagels
1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon grapeseed or light olive oil
3 ½ – 4 ½ cups unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Toppings - use whatever your heart desires - I used 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and garlic powder

- Whisk together water, eggs, 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, yeast, and oil in a large bowl until the yeast dissolves.
- Stir in 1 cup of the flour. Then stir in 1 tablespoon salt and enough additional flour to make a soft dough, about 2 ½ cups.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, gradually incorporating more flour, until the dough is smooth and quite firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces; roll each piece into a 10-inch-long rope. Form into bagels by overlapping the ends up 1 inch. Pinch ends together firmly.
- Set bagels aside, uncovered, to rise until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes.

- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Bring 6 quarts water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt to a boil in a large pot.
- Get your egg wash and topping ready to go, because the next few steps go fast.

- Slip about 3-4 risen bagels at a time into the pot; the water should be at a lively simmer. Cook for 45 seconds, turn them over, and cook for another 45 seconds.

- Drain the bagels on a clean dish towel, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the tops of the bagels with egg white and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of your chosen topping, if using.

- Bake for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake until golden brown, about 5 more minutes.

- Freeze fresh bagels (once cooled), unless you are eating them all that day (don't laugh - you might!).

I just made a half batch - very easy recipe to split. And the taste? They were SO amazing. The bottoms were perfectly crispy - next time I will probably leave the tops under the broiler for just a minute to get them a little crispier. Thomas' just weren't good - no crisp to the crust at all. If you're going to buy your bagels, get them from a bakery - packaged bagels just aren't the same.

And the cost? Wowser, Thomas' bagels are no joke - I guess that's why I always buy them when they are BOGO (buy one, get one free). Even at half price, they cost almost twice as much as homemade! Fair enough, mine are smaller, but you could easily make them larger and they would still cost less.

	Count	Cost	Cost/Bagel
Thomas' Bagels - Everything	6 Bagels	$ 4.49	$ 0.75
Homemade	12 Bagels	$ 2.41	$ 0.20

So Bake or Buy? BAKE!

See this post and more:

Tastetastic Thursday at A Little Nosh

Mashed Potatoes

2011-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

We love mashed potatoes in our house - loads of butter and sometimes sour cream or cream cheese. Mmmmm. And I'll have to say... I did something VERY exciting with these mashed potatoes...

OMGoodness - I made a famous bowl, just like KFC, but better (and sans chicken)

Back to the mashed potatoes:

The Store Brand: Betty Crocker Creamy Butter

My Recipe (adapted from from http://www.allrecipes.com/):
Ingredients:
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

Directions:
- Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water.

- Boil for 20-25 minutes or until very tender.
- Drain well (I add the potatoes back to the hot pan to evaporate all the water).

- Add milk (make sure it's warm), butter, salt and pepper; mash until light and fluffy - I used my mixer to get them super creamy.

So great. I love mashed potatoes. If I were going to eat them plain, I would mix in some extras, but today they will have PLENTY of pizzaz.

Mike are on the left and Betty Crocker's on the right

Taste test is interesting - I can't lie, Betty Crocker's weren't terrible. They were a little too salty for me, but they were pretty darn creamy. There were two options - microwave with all water or stovetop with milk and water, so I went with the latter. They really were pretty tasty, but I mean the homemade are just better.

And how about the cost? So potatoes are really cheap, which helps out on this recipe. Even though the Betty Crocker mix is pretty inexpensive, it just can't win.

	Amount	Price	Cost/cup
Betty Crocker	2.25 cups	$ 1.25	$ 0.56
Homemade	4.5 cups	$ 1.55	$ 0.34

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

     And now for the good part.
     Mashed potato bowls:
       3 cups mashed potatoes
       1/2 cup prepared gravy
       1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
       1/2 cup frozen corn
       dash hot sauce

     Once the mashed potatoes are made, the rest is history. Layer with gravy, corn, and cheddar cheese, then top with liberal amount of Frank's Red Hot. Amazingness.

Oreos

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oreos are not my favorite cookie. In fact, I generally enjoy fruity desserts more than chocolate. But my husband loves Oreos and I'll be shipping most of these out as part of the Great Cookie Swap.

If you haven't heard, the Great Cookie Swap is a food blogger event, where bloggers make cookies, send them to other bloggers, and get a bunch in return. Cookies in the mail?? How exciting! And look at this mountain of cookies in the works:

So anyways... The store brand: Oreos. (Nabisco)

My recipe: (From http://www.smittenkitchen.com/)

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

- In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.

- While pulsing, add the butter, and then the egg and process until it forms a mass.

- Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set cookies on a rack to cool.

- To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

- To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

And the outcome? The cookies were great. I guess I expected them to be soft and more like a whoopie pie, but the chocolate cookies were really crunchy, just like an Oreo (after a day in a container, they got soft from the filling and I think they were even better that way)! The filling was better than the competitor - and I filled them almost to the point of a double stuffed Oreo. I said I wasn't a huge fan of Oreos... but I could eat 10 of these.

The cost was actually pretty interesting. With all the butter, vanilla, and cocoa powder, I thought the store bought version would cost much less to buy. It was close, but the homemade cookie came in at just a few pennies more per cookie (they were also a little larger):

	Cookies	Cost	Cost/Cookie
Oreos	30	$ 4.39	$ 0.15
Homemade	28	$ 5.14	$ 0.18

So, my opinion here is if you are going to eat a cookie, it might as well be delicious and you should have to work for it (a little). This recipe was made entirely in the food processor and the filling was really easy. So come on, go the extra mile for your desserts, and earn those calories!

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

2011-12-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

And the cookie swap is complete! I shipped out three dozen of my Bake or Buy cookies (post on those to come Monday) and I've received three dozen cookies in return!

Read all about it

And they are:
- Peppermint Mocha with a chocolate filling
- ButterBeer (not a harry potter fan, so I probably don't get the reference, but they are butterscotch cookies with a butterscotch ganache filling)
- Spiced Oatmeal Raisin (they have Chai Tea in them - I almost got past my "raisins are imposter chocolate chip feelings for these)

All three of these cookies were delicious! What a great cookie swap - can't wait for next years!

The recipes for all three of those cookies will be up Monday - if you want them, they will be on the following blogs:
Peppermint Mocha: www.delectablebakedgoods.com
ButterBeer: www.peacelovebagels.com
Spiced Oatmeal Raisin: www.chopsticksandmeasuringcups.blogspot.com

Ravioli

2011-12-08T10:00:00.008-05:00

YAY! My first attempt at using my pasta maker! I'm very excited/nervous because this task is really intimidating me, even though I feel a little more confident since trying my hand at gnocchi. I understand that my comparisons aren't quite fair - I am making a chipotle sweet potato ravioli and the store brand is basil, asiago, and pine nut pesto. Deal with it.

The Store Brand: Rising Moon Organics - Basil, Asiago, and Pine Nut Pesto Ravioli (couldn't they really just call these asiago and pesto...)

My Recipe:
Filling:
1 large sweet potato
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 adobe pepper in sauce

I baked the sweet potatoes (I used 3 small ones, and it was way too much filling) at 375º for ~30 mins, then peeled them. Put in the food processor with everything else and puree.

Turn these into this ---->

Ravioli Dough (adapted from foodnetwork.com):
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp evoo

- Combine the flour and salt on a flat work surface; shape into a mound and make a well in the center.

- Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the well and lightly beat with a fork.

- Gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well in a circular motion; use 1 hand for mixing and the other to protect the outer wall. Continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Knead for about 10 minutes until elastic.

- Cover with plastic and let rest for 30 mins.

- Cut the ball of dough in 1/2, and press the dough into a rectangle and roll it through a pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at widest setting. Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times.

- Continue until the machine is at the narrowest setting; the dough should be about 1/8-inch thick.

- Dust the counter and sheet of dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta, and brush the top surface with a beaten egg white, which acts as a glue.

- Drop tablespoons of filling on 1/2 of the pasta sheet, about 2-inches apart.

- Fold the other 1/2 over the filling like a blanket.

- Gently press out air pockets around each mound of filling.

- Use a sharp knife to cut each pillow into squares and crimp the 4 edges with the tins of a fork to make a tight seal.

- Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for 4 minutes; they'll float to the top when ready (don't overcrowd the pot).

- Lift the ravioli out with a slotted spoon.

So... my ravioli. Ugh - I almost lost it during this process. The dough was really, really dry, which made it hard to knead. I added a little milk (probably not the right thing to do) and it was better, but still didn't seem quite right. Getting it through the pasta roller took two people - could just be my inexpensive pasta maker. Once they were cooked, the dough seemed a little hard - maybe not cooked long enough or my impromptu milk add-in, but they were floating away when I pulled them out.

So obviously mine were huge compared to the packaged brand. I didn't think mine had quite enough filling to pasta ratio - next time I will try to fill them fuller or cut them smaller. The pasta didn't seem much better on the frozen kind - a little hard, maybe they all just needed to be cooked longer.

The sweet potato filling in mine was very delicious - can't argue with that. Overall, it just seemed like a lot of work for a decent piece of stuffed pasta. I will try it again - stretching the pasta a little thinner, filling it more, and cooking a little longer.

So the cost? So even though the cost worked out the same, mine were about twice the size, and I could easily have made a LOT more out of that recipe. So in reality, I'd say mine cost half as much as the store bought version.

	Ravioli Count	Cost	Cost/Piece
Rising Moon Organics Ravioli	30	$ 2.99	$ 0.10
Homemade	20	$ 1.96	$ 0.10

But for now:

Bake or Buy? BUY.

Peanut Butter

2011-12-06T13:05:00.000-05:00

I always see the "grind your own pb" section at my health food store. It's tempting, but stirring fresh peanut butter seems like a pain in the a$$, so i tend to stick to the regular processed store brands. For this test, I am going to compare the store ground, regular Peter Pan, and a homemade version.

The Store Brand(s): Peter pan creamy AND tidal creek freshly ground

My Recipe:
1 cup peanuts
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vegetable or peanut oil

The homemade is pretty darn easy - put it in the food processor and let it go until it's the consistency of peanut butter. You may need to add more oil if it seems dry.

This entire process took maybe 1-2 mins in the food processor. I ended up adding a little bit more oil, and left it just a little bit chunky.

So the final products:

Starting on the left is my homemade, middle is fresh ground from the store, and right it Peter Pan. Husband and I tasted all three and we both agreed the fresh ground from the store was the best. I'm pretty sure there are no add-ins to that type, but it tasted very similar to my homemade version. The homemade seemed dry compared to the store ground - not sure if it's the peanuts they use, or the grinder. The Peter Pan was, well, Peter Pan - creamy and salty. It's good if you're into that sort of thing.

And the cost? Making your own peanut butter is pretty expensive compared to Peter Pan. The grocery store type is basically just a vat of peanuts and you select how creamy/chunky you want it and then push the button to fill your container. It was $3.99 a pound, which I estimated to be 1 3/4 cups. Using my Planters dry roasted peanuts, the homemade version is actually really expensive, but I'm sure you can get peanuts a lot cheaper. If you're willing to splurge a little on the cost, it seems like the fresh ground is your best choice.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Cup
Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter	18 oz (2 cups)	$ 2.75	$ 1.38
Tidal Creek Fresh Grind	1/2 cup	$ 1.15	$ 2.30
Homemade	1/2 cup	$ 1.84	$ 3.68

Bake or Buy? BUY... but buy the good, fresh stuff!

Croutons

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

When I have a loaf of bread that's been around a day too long I am thinking one of two things: breadcrumbs or croutons? Post thanksgiving I had half of my herb loaf left from stuffing and I thought bake or buy croutons would be a great challenge. These are great on salads or soups, but I must admit that I do sometimes snack on them all by themselves...

The store brand: Rothbury Farms Croutons - Seasoned - Italian Style

My recipe:
Half loaf semi-stale bread
2 tbsp evoo
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375.

Cube your bread up to whatever size croutons you prefer. Mine are fairly large - probably 1" cubes.

Put all the bread cubes in a ziplock bag and sprinkle the herbs cheese and evoo. Close up the bag and shake away! You can choose whatever combo of herbs you like.

Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 20 mins or until bread is toasty, brown, and dry. Leave them open to air overnight before packaging up to ensure they are completely dry - nobody likes a soggy breadcrumb!

These were DELICIOUS. Super crispy and the herbs were great - the parmesan cheese is definitely a winner. I like my croutons a little larger and the little store cubes just can't stand up to these. The store brand was also SALTY. In just a few cubes, you get 4% your daily sodium intake. Ouch.

Mine are on the left:

The cost? Now, I usually use a loaf of stale bread that is about to go to waste, but I used the full store price for the bread here. Store bought croutons are essentially really expensive stale bread. To make your own costs less than half the store bought, and you get to use up some unappetizing bread.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Cup
Rothbury Farms - Italian Seasoned	6 oz (1.5 cups)	$ 1.99	$ 1.33
Homemade	3 cups	$ 1.95	$ 0.65

Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Apple Cider

2011-11-28T09:29:00.001-05:00

Another apple recipe! I think after this, I will have contained my apple stock. I've never even considered making my own cider, so this should be exciting.

The most exciting part was when I started looking around at methods, I discovered you don't need to peel or core the apples! Just quarter them up and toss in a pot - easy peasy!

The Store Brand: Harris Teeter Farmer's Market Apple Cider

My Recipe:

Ingredients:
8-10 apples (any color, any kind)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
12 cloves

Directions:

- Quarter all the apples and put them in a large pot.

- Add water until the apples are just covered.
- Add sugars and spices.

- Keep at a rolling boil for about an hour.

- Cover and cook at a low simmer for 2 hours.
- Mash up the apples with a potato masher.

- Let cool and put through a cheesecloth to strain out the solids.

And finally, mmmmm:

The final product looked just like apple cider! The flavor was good - I think the spices were a little excessive. Next time I would probably half the cinnamon and allspice. Once it was chilled, it was really thick. Probably could have added some more water to get a better consistency and tone down the spices.

Compared to the store brand, I had a hard time loving my homemade version. The homemade batch did have a great flavor, but the thickness was definitely weirding me out. I just like my drinks to be liquid.

What about the cost breakdown? Most of the cost in the homemade was the apples ($4.95). The homemade version cost almost twice as much as the store bought. $5.50 for a half gallon of cider seems pretty steep for me. Combine that with the 3 hours of simmering and phew, I'm not sure about this effort.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Harris Teeter Farmers Market Apple Cider	64 fl oz	$ 3.49	$ 0.05
Homemade	64 fl oz	$ 5.53	$ 0.09

Even though it was a great way to use up some expiring apples, I'd have to say:

Bake or Buy? BUY!

Cranberry Sauce

2011-11-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

This is like the best day ever. Here's why:
- It's my birthday.
- I got an Ipad.
- I had a guest post put up on Macheesmo! (same post as below - http://www.macheesmo.com/2011/11/guest-post-bake-or-buy-cranberry-sauce/#comments)
- I am going to get the bestest creme brulee tonight.

So anyways... onto the subject at hand:
I know... I'm just asking to make some enemies with this one. There is a clear line between who likes their sauce from a can (still in the shape of it even) or chunky and fresh.

The store brand: Ocean Spray - I bought both Jellied and Whole Berry

My recipe:
1 bag cranberries (12 ounce)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/6 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup orange juice
pinch cinnamon

It's pretty easy - put it all in a pan and let it cook down over medium heat for about 15 minutes. I was using fresh oranges, but I realized my oranges didn't have quite enough juice, so I ended up using half store bought juice.

And once it's all said and done (mine's on the right):

And if you have to have the can shape:

Interestingly enough, the whole berry and jellied cranberry sauce had the exact same ingredients - cranberries, high fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup. One is just emulified and one's not. So I win nutrition right there.

My cranberry sauce actually jelled up a lot more than I thought it would when it cooled - it was really thick and delicious (I bet you could even use a hand blender and shape it like a can if you had to). The canned jellied version is totally out - I knew that was true for me, I need the chunk.

Head-to-head on the whole berry version? Homemade crushes the taste category. It's fresh and tart, and that hint of citrus makes it. Period. The canned was oversweetened, so you didn't even get a good feel for the tartness of the cranberries.

And the cost? Well it actually costs more to make your own. But aside from Thanksgiving, how often do you have cranberry sauce? Treat your guests for the holiday!

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce	14 oz	$ 1.99	$ 0.14
Homemade	16 oz	$ 3.15	$ 0.20

So, Bake or Buy? BAKE!

On a side note, what did I do with all that cranberry sauce? I'm still trying to get rid of an influx of apples, so I made cran-apple crisp. Mix a batch of that fresh cranberry sauce with 4 sliced apples and top with your favorite crisp topping!

My recipe:

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 stick butter (cubed)

Fork the crisp ingredients together and spread over the top of the apple/cranberry mixture. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Eat warm! Wish I would have shot a picture of this - it's just GORGEOUS! :)

Gnocchi

2011-11-20T10:00:00.031-05:00

Before you even read this take a deep breath. You can do this. Seriously, I was really nervous to make gnocchi, but it wasn't that hard. I watched about 10 youtube videos first to make sure I had the method down, and it really wasn't necessary. There is minimal kneading and no wait time to cook the pasta.

I mean, just think about how delicious this will be (couldn't even wait for the end for the photo):

The store brand: World Market Original Potato Gnocchi

My Recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg

3 medium potatoes (1.5 pounds)

pinch nutmeg

pinch salt

- Boil the potatoes (I halved them first) until soft.

- While they are still warm, peel the skin right off (easy to do with your hands) and grate through a cheese grater. You can also you a ricer if you have one.

- Make a well in the middle of the potatoes.

- Sprinkle all over the potatoes with flour, salt, and nutmeg, and then add the egg in the well.

- Mix briefly with a fork and then knead for just a couple minutes until the dough is smooth and somewhat dry (continue to sprinkle flour as needed - I used ~1/3 cup more flour).

- Divide the dough up into 4 balls and roll each ball into 2 long "snakes" - maybe 3/4" around.

- Cut the snake into 1" pieces and roll across a fork to get the gnocchi marks. Make sure to keep the dough on a floured surface the whole time.

- Drop into boiling water in batches (don't overcrowd!).

- Once gnocchi start to float, which shouldn't take more than ONE minute, remove and continue to drop batches until complete. Melt a little butter or drizzle with EVOO while they are hot to prevent sticking.

- Top with your favorite sauce (I use vodka sauce) or butter and enjoy.

OMGoodness. These are the best - they are fluffy and taste more like a dumpling than a pasta.

And the comparison? At first taste I thought the store-bought wasn't so bad... second taste I knew the homemade were MUCH better. The store bought were much chewier and almost pasty compared to the light fluffy homemade gnocchi (Mine are on the right).

The process of making the gnocchi really only took about 15 minutes once the potatoes were cooked. I'm sure you could even use leftover baked potatoes. As far as nutrition goes, you save on the packaged preservatives, but the store dumplings were made with potato and flour, so not much different there.

And the cost? Potatoes are cheap! Making this recipe is very affordable and costs about half of the store bought.

Gnocchi	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
World Market Original	16 oz	$ 2.79	$ 0.16
Homemade	22 oz	$ 1.82	$ 0.08

So, Bake or Buy? BAKE!

Sweet Potato Chips

2011-11-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

If you follow my facebook page (you can "like" it on the right of your screen right now!) you would know that I have a LOT of sweet potatoes from my garden. Like a lot.

The store brand: Terra Spiced Sweet Potato Chips

My Recipe:
3 large sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt

- Preheat your oven to 375º.
- Start out by peeling the sweet potatoes and slice them thin (I used my mandolin, but if you're good with a knife, go for it).
- Mix all the spices together - vary amounts based on preference (I'll probably try a sweet batch later).

- Toss the sweet potato slices in a bowl with olive oil until lightly coated and then sprinkle with spices and give another toss.

- Lay sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

- Bake for about 15 minutes, flip, and bake another 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them so they don't burn!

And the chips? They were good. Since they were baked, they weren't perfectly crispy, but they were still really good. The spice was perfect. The Terra chips were obviously fried and perfectly crisp - every last one. I liked that my homemade batch was not as salty as the Terra chips.

The cost? I grew these sweet potatoes myself, but I used the store price ($1/lb) for the comparison:

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Terra Sweet Potato Chips	6 oz	$ 3.99	$ 0.67
Homemade	12 oz	$ 3.61	$ 0.30

Using my homemade sweet potatoes makes these chips almost free (actually 61¢). Even purchasing the sweet potatoes, it is much more affordable to make these. The homemade version is healthier, since they are baked.

Overall, they were just different. SO different. Making these with my own potatoes is something I would definitely do again. Would I go to the store and buy sweet potatoes to make my own chips? Negative. We don't eat many chips anyways, so when I do crave something crunchy and salty, I'd likely just buy a bag.

So on a normal day where I'm not digging potatoes out of my garden...
Bake or Buy? Buy.

P.S. I'm still going to try the sweet batch - keep an eye on my facebook page for the recipe!