Time To Put on the Oven Mitts

Make or Buy These Fall Foods

Photo by Nathan Dunlap on Unsplash

Many people would rather go to the store and buy food but many of the things they buy can easily be made at home. Although making it yourself can take time and effort it is more rewarding it also has a lot of pros to it. When a  person makes their food at home it is critical to the person's taste buds and will also have a more fresh taste to it. I decided to make and buy four classic fall foods. Apple Pie, Chicken Pot pie, Pumpkin spice latte and Pumpkin loaf.

Apple Pie

The first dish I bought was a classic fall dessert, the apple pie. This whole pie at the fresh market cost $15.30 and was pre ready and ready to be eaten.The direction said that people can hear it for a better taste, but it's optional. Due to it not taking any time to make the dish I timed how long it took to drive to the fresh market from my house. Personally the drive is five minutes with traffic and this number can vary from where people are. Before eating the dish I warmed it up for one minute and the taste was good, it reached my expectations. 

For making this meal homemade it total for all the ingredients is 24.22$. This may also vary on how many of the ingredients you already have. It takes 45 minutes to make this dish and the dish comes piping hot out of the oven and fills the room with the smell of cinnamon. The taste is all worth the effort. It has a nice, warm cinnamon taste. The pie crust was cooked perfectly. I added a bit more apples than the recipe called for to get the perfect dish perfect for me. This apple pie is much better homemade than store bought. 

Chicken Pot Pie 

Chicken pot pie is a comfort food for fall and is amazing so I had to make this dish. The chicken pot pie the store bought cost 15 dollars at a fresh market and can serve around four people. The taste of the dish was nice and comforting. It had all the right flavors with it and was a good portion size to fill up a few people. It took roughly around an hour to prepare and all you have to do is preheat the oven and put the pie in and wait. Overall making the dish very easy to make.

 With making this dish yourself all the ingredients cost approximately $31.22. This price can vary from how many of the ingredients you already have. This dish is a lot more tedious than the store bought. It takes a lot of meal preparation, with cutting all the vegetables and cooking the chicken. The total time it took me to make and serve the dish is an hour and 10 minutes. Although the price and time won for store bought, the taste really decided if it was better homemade. The taste of the dish was amazing, it was warm and I switched out some of the ingredients to create a meal that I would enjoy the most. Overall home made won. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte

The most classic drink for fall that no one can get away from is the pumpkin spice latte. I needed to make this drink. I got a pumpkin spice latte for starbucks. It took five minutes to drive there and two extra minutes in line. The drink cost 5.95$ to get a grande. I personally do not like coffee so this drink is very bitter. I decided to make it at home.

For this drink all ingredients cost 13.20$. It only serves for a small position of the original drink and the cost is also more. To make this drink you need an espresso machine which not many people have access to so I switched that for freshly brewed coffee. I decided to use less coffee than the original recipe said so that I could enjoy it better. The taste was ok but still nothing special. The time it takes to prepare it is seven minutes. For this fall drink it is a lot easier to buy then make it. Store bought wins this one. 

Pumpkin Loaf

The pumpkin loaf is a classic fall dessert that Starbucks opens up to the public in August. I decided to get a slice of their loaf for three dollars. The drive from my house to Starbucks is five minutes plus the additional two minutes I waited in line. The taste of the baked goods was mediocre. I wished that the pumpkin loaf had more cinnamon but, in general, it was good. The proportion was a bit small compared to the price of it. It was time for me to go home and make it there. 

For making this dish yourself all the ingredients cost 31.22$ but this dish can serve up to 11 people. That means each piece is roughly around 2.5$ cheaper than store bought. This price also will fluctuate depending on how many ingredients that a person has originally. The meal takes about an hour and five minutes to cook but is very easy to make. Majority of the time I was waiting for it to cook in the oven. The taste of the pumpkin loaf was extraordinary. I added a bit more cinnamon to adjust the meal to my personal liking. For this one the price and taste was better, homemade won. 

Overall making things homemade wins. Doing all this by yourself is very rewarding and tastes a lot better than just buying it from the store. Next time you want to buy something, just think, is it better if I make it?