Homemade PopTarts and other things you’ll never make again

[Ann.without.an.e]

I made homemade PopTarts. So yummy but I won’t make them again. The time investment is ridiculous.
 

For fun, what have you made that you were like “oh this is so good” but also “never again”? 😅

[HomeAgain]

I won't do it, but dh will.  It's a red wine reduction....a Bordelaise sauce? It is amazing and I will lick it off my plate, but I do not have the patience to deal with it.  I did it once.  Never again. 

[Katy]

I will never make caramelized onions on the stove again when it is so easy to make in the crockpot without the stirring. 

I’ll never make potato salad again. 3 hours of work for something more expensive and tastes worse than that giant package of it from Sam’s Club. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

10 minutes ago, Katy said:

I will never make caramelized onions on the stove again when it is so easy to make in the crockpot without the stirring. 

I’ll never make potato salad again. 3 hours of work for something more expensive and tastes worse than that giant package of it from Sam’s Club. 

I need to try the onions in the crock pot. 
 

I don’t think potato salad is time consuming so I’m wondering which recipe you’re trying to use 😂

[Katy]

Just now, Ann.without.an.e said:

I need to try the onions in the crock pot. 
 

I don’t think potato salad is time consuming so I’m wondering which recipe you’re trying to use 😂

Peeling potatoes & discovering more than 50% of the NEW bag was rotten inside. Plus the last time I tried I had two toddlers so I was constantly stashing a knife in a safe place & going to stop them from something.

[LinRTX]

Chocolate croissants. In Texas, in July. Never again. The butter would not stay firm enough to work with. But they were amazing!

[Lady Florida.]

Coconut shrimp. Once was enough/too much. It's too time and labor intensive for me to enjoy the results. I'd rather just order it at a restaurant and let a professional make it. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

15 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Coconut shrimp. Once was enough/too much. It's too time and labor intensive for me to enjoy the results. I'd rather just order it at a restaurant and let a professional make it. 

I’ve always wanted to try to make it. Now I know better. It’s so hard having dietary restrictions because you often can’t eat it unless you make it (like pop tarts) but somethings still are not worth it. 

[stephanier.1765]

Vegan lasagna. I have a recipe that I love but it is so much work and so much time. If I make one now, it's for a special occasion.

[Guest]

Homemade crackers. They were delicious, but…yeah. A lot of toil for like sixteen poppyseed crackers. No thanks! 

[SquirrellyMama]

2 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I made homemade PopTarts. So yummy but I won’t make them again. The time investment is ridiculous.
 

For fun, what have you made that you were like “oh this is so good” but also “never again”? 😅

Homemade pop tarts are my one and done also. They are very good, but way too time consuming.

Kelly

[shawthorne44]

 

Bagels, even starting with the breakmaker-made-dough was too many steps.  Plus, mine weren't even in the same league as Winco's Cheese Bagels.  

Pistachio Ice Cream.   It is DH's favorite flavor and it wasn't hard to make and they were wonderful.   But one batch cost about $12 in nuts.  

 

[marbel]

Baklava.

[Loowit]

Twinkies.  Years ago our pack was doing an edible craft with twinkies during pinewood derby season and my youngest was allergic to them, so I made homemade ones so he could participate.  They tasted fine, but were a lot of work.

Candy corn.  I make it once every couple of years.  DS is allergic to most brands, either because of the food dyes or cross contamination with nuts.  It probably isn't as much work as it seems, but I really don't enjoy it.

[shawthorne44]

41 minutes ago, marbel said:

Baklava.

I've never made that myself.   But, I've been told that it isn't that bad if you do the rolled version.   You do one thin layer of everything, and then roll.  I prefer the taste of that version because the layers are thinner and the taste is more evenly balanced.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

Y’all are brave to have even attempted things like candy corn and bagels and crackers and so many other things 😂

Edited September 2, 2022 by Ann.without.an.e

[pinball]

3 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I made homemade PopTarts. So yummy but I won’t make them again. The time investment is ridiculous.
 

For fun, what have you made that you were like “oh this is so good” but also “never again”? 😅

It’s pie crust and filling, right? And a glaze?
 

we always use the crust scraps to make treats…mostly cinnamon roll-ups. But sometimes we use jam so they are like pop tarts.

[pinball]

1 hour ago, Quill said:

Homemade crackers. They were delicious, but…yeah. A lot of toil for like sixteen poppyseed crackers. No thanks! 

I double stuff like that from the jump.

16 servings is silly…even 32 is silly. But I’d much rather have 32 than 16 for my effort

[pitterpatter]

I made shepherd's pie for the first time this past week. I don't think I'll make it again. Too many pans and dishes to dirty up.

[shawthorne44]

2 minutes ago, pitterpatter said:

I made shepherd's pie for the first time this past week. I don't think I'll make it again. Too many pans and dishes to dirty up.

It should be a way to use up leftovers.  So, you might have a meal consisting of a meat, potatoes and a healthy veggie (or mix of them).   
Then the next day you put the meat in a pie pan, top with the veggies and then make some sort of sauce and add, then mash the leftover potatoes and add to the top.   Tator Tot Casserole is really just a Sheperd's Pie except with tator tots instead of mashed potatoes.  
 

[shawthorne44]

32 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

Y’all are brave to have even attempted things like candy corn and bagels and crackers and so many other things 😂

One time when I was in my early 30's and single, I sprained my ankle really badly right before an international flight home.   I worked from home then, and stayed with my parents while it healed.  My mother went into Take Care of Child overdrive and started to cook a lot.  One meal she made Chicken Pot Pie.  I said, "You can do that at home?"    It honestly hadn't occurred to me.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

6 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

One time when I was in my early 30's and single, I sprained my ankle really badly right before an international flight home.   I worked from home then, and stayed with my parents while it healed.  My mother went into Take Care of Child overdrive and started to cook a lot.  One meal she made Chicken Pot Pie.  I said, "You can do that at home?"    It honestly hadn't occurred to me.  

I don't know why the pop tarts seem like too much lol. 

We cook most things from scratch. We even make our own tamales and corn tortillas. The pop tarts are a no though. 

[Clarita]

Millefeuille after making it I concluded while it was good the one at the bakery was also just as good. Pretzels, the store ones have a better exterior because I don't want to do the lye dip, and also I absolutely suck at making the pretzel shape.

2 hours ago, shawthorne44 said:

Pistachio Ice Cream.   It is DH's favorite flavor and it wasn't hard to make and they were wonderful.   But one batch cost about $12 in nuts.

Same with my husbands homemade pesto. Although it's super yummy because there is no filler just basil, good parmesan, pine nuts and olive oil. $$$$ but it's better than any restaurant or store. When you see the ingredient cost it'll be clear why only maybe The French Laundry will have a comparable pesto.  

[Hilltopmom]

Homemade vanilla wafers and homemade cheezits- ala Heavenly Homemakers.

granola or chewy granola bars, sure. But hard no on the wafers or cheezits.

[athena1277]

GF king cake for oldest dd.  Too much work.  Now that you can buy more GF stuff ready made or easy mixes and dd is old enough to bake herself, I generally avoid GF baking.  Not that I do much regular baking from scratch.  Anything more than a few ingredients is usually not happening.

[happi duck]

Any recipe from Cook's Illustrated!

[Spryte]

Gingerbread houses. When DS was little, with big bad food allergies, I baked all the gingerbread and handmade all the decorations for the houses from safe ingredients. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I would rather spend $$$ on an allergy safe kit than do all of that from scratch again.

 

[heartlikealion]

Haha after that thread where we talked about pop tarts recently I thought of you guys when I saw a homemade pop tart recipe in my facebook feed (https://iambaker.net/pumpkin-pie-pop-tart/)

Hmm I don't know if I'd say "never" but it was quite the pain. Lumpia. Took me a while to figure out how to work with the rice paper and then frying was a pain. I hardly ever use that much oil and I don't like reusing oil (worried it's reached it's smoke point and not a good idea to recycle). I'm just not good at frying stuff and to this day I don't know what else I should have bought as wrapping paper as that looked like the best match in the Oriental Market. People have told me there are better options. I froze some and sent them to xh's house for them to cook in the air fryer. I checked back with them a couple weeks later and they had not even done it! So who knows if my hard work was tossed the time they lost power to the freezer... 

[73349]

Anything deep-fried!

I know there have been other things over the years, but I get rid of the recipe immediately so I don't repeat my mistake. Crackers at least once for sure.

I do make gf soft pretzels, and they're a hassle, but still worth doing once in a while (with the KAF recipe, made into pretzel bites). We do make vegan lasagna, but I buy the noodles and Miyoko's cheese, and do make potato salad from time to time (typically when we have guests).

I've made cinnamon rolls a couple of times, but TBH, it's more work, as much time, and not a very different price than driving 45 minutes to the bakery.

[skimomma]

21 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Gingerbread houses. When DS was little, with big bad food allergies, I baked all the gingerbread and handmade all the decorations for the houses from safe ingredients. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I would rather spend $$$ on an allergy safe kit than do all of that from scratch again.

 

This!  We don't have allergy issues but and friend and I thought we would go all Susie-Homemaker one year and do "real" gingerbread houses with "the kids."  I say "the kids" because between us we have 4 but we also included 3 others kids.  We pre-made the pieces which was WAY more work than I thought possible.  It took us two nights and countless bottles of wine.  Then the day of the assembly was pure chaos.  7 kids in a tiny dining room, completely jacked up on candy, try to use frosting to make the houses.  Even the oldest at the time (10ish) could not handle it.  They kept falling apart.  Or one kid would bump into another's.  Tears all around.  At some point we had the dads step in because we were DONE.  We were hiding in my car with locked doors and more wine.  All of the houses looked like drunk cats made them.  The dads eventually stumbled out of the house looking like they just returned from war.  And despite all of this, those kids, all on their late teens now, claim it was the best day ever!

That said, I make a lot of stuff routinely that have been listed in this thread.  Crackers, granola, pesto, potato salad, shepherds pie.....  I generally have a lot of patience and cooking just takes a long time in my world.  

[Spryte]

7 minutes ago, skimomma said:

This!  We don't have allergy issues but and friend and I thought we would go all Susie-Homemaker one year and do "real" gingerbread houses with "the kids."  I say "the kids" because between us we have 4 but we also included 3 others kids.  We pre-made the pieces which was WAY more work than I thought possible.  It took us two nights and countless bottles of wine.  Then the day of the assembly was pure chaos.  7 kids in a tiny dining room, completely jacked up on candy, try to use frosting to make the houses.  Even the oldest at the time (10ish) could not handle it.  They kept falling apart.  Or one kid would bump into another's.  Tears all around.  At some point we had the dads step in because we were DONE.  We were hiding in my car with locked doors and more wine.  All of the houses looked like drunk cats made them.  The dads eventually stumbled out of the house looking like they just returned from war.  And despite all of this, those kids, all on their late teens now, claim it was the best day ever!

That said, I make a lot of stuff routinely that have been listed in this thread.  Crackers, granola, pesto, potato salad, shepherds pie.....  I generally have a lot of patience and cooking just takes a long time in my world.  

Just reading that story about gingerbread houses gave me flashbacks. 🤣

 

 

[Corraleno]

Chocolate eclairs filled with amaretto custard. They were amazing but I spent an entire day in the kitchen and they were all eaten in like 2 minutes.

 

[heartlikealion]

49 minutes ago, skimomma said:

This!  We don't have allergy issues but and friend and I thought we would go all Susie-Homemaker one year and do "real" gingerbread houses with "the kids."  I say "the kids" because between us we have 4 but we also included 3 others kids.  We pre-made the pieces which was WAY more work than I thought possible.  It took us two nights and countless bottles of wine.  Then the day of the assembly was pure chaos.  7 kids in a tiny dining room, completely jacked up on candy, try to use frosting to make the houses.  Even the oldest at the time (10ish) could not handle it.  They kept falling apart.  Or one kid would bump into another's.  Tears all around.  At some point we had the dads step in because we were DONE.  We were hiding in my car with locked doors and more wine.  All of the houses looked like drunk cats made them.  The dads eventually stumbled out of the house looking like they just returned from war.  And despite all of this, those kids, all on their late teens now, claim it was the best day ever!

That said, I make a lot of stuff routinely that have been listed in this thread.  Crackers, granola, pesto, potato salad, shepherds pie.....  I generally have a lot of patience and cooking just takes a long time in my world.  

I heard an idea recently to use pop tarts for gingerbread houses... I might try that sometime. The website where I saw the examples used frosted ones with coordinating colors (ie. oreo pop tarts on a Halloween house). 

[Farrar]

My mother has a recipe for chocolate chip shortbread that she swears by. It's amazing. It's soooooo good. It's also ridiculously time consuming. I made it once and then I was like, nope. I'll just let her bring me some at Christmas instead.

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, skimomma said:

This!  We don't have allergy issues but and friend and I thought we would go all Susie-Homemaker one year and do "real" gingerbread houses with "the kids."  I say "the kids" because between us we have 4 but we also included 3 others kids.  We pre-made the pieces which was WAY more work than I thought possible.  It took us two nights and countless bottles of wine.  Then the day of the assembly was pure chaos.  7 kids in a tiny dining room, completely jacked up on candy, try to use frosting to make the houses.  Even the oldest at the time (10ish) could not handle it.  They kept falling apart.  Or one kid would bump into another's.  Tears all around.  At some point we had the dads step in because we were DONE.  We were hiding in my car with locked doors and more wine.  All of the houses looked like drunk cats made them.  The dads eventually stumbled out of the house looking like they just returned from war.  And despite all of this, those kids, all on their late teens now, claim it was the best day ever!

I did store bought gingerbread houses with the kids when they were 3 and 2. I'll never do that again either. If I can't get store bought to work out I don't even want to see the homemade situation. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

4 hours ago, pinball said:

It’s pie crust and filling, right? And a glaze?
 

we always use the crust scraps to make treats…mostly cinnamon roll-ups. But sometimes we use jam so they are like pop tarts.

It’s a different sort of crust and to be honest I don’t mind making the crust. It’s the rolling out and cutting out little rectangles that match and then getting each one sealed and pinched just right.  
ETA: nothing gluten free rolls well so it’s always a pain and we’re gf

Edited September 2, 2022 by Ann.without.an.e

[Ann.without.an.e]

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/giant-frosted-chocolate-fudge-pop-tart/
 

 

ok so I know I said I was done but what if I used this method? You can’t toast the leftovers but you can microwave them?  Making one giant sheet and cutting it into rectangles later seems so much more doable. I don’t like frosting so I always skip that. 

[scbusf]

6 hours ago, Quill said:

Homemade crackers. They were delicious, but…yeah. A lot of toil for like sixteen poppyseed crackers. No thanks! 

My daughter made homemade Goldfish crackers the other day. They were good, but one recipe was about a handful and that was it!!

[Danae]

2 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

I heard an idea recently to use pop tarts for gingerbread houses... I might try that sometime. The website where I saw the examples used frosted ones with coordinating colors (ie. oreo pop tarts on a Halloween house). 

Homemade pop tarts?
 

*ducks*

[Spryte]

2 hours ago, Clarita said:

I did store bought gingerbread houses with the kids when they were 3 and 2. I'll never do that again either. If I can't get store bought to work out I don't even want to see the homemade situation. 

More flashbacks! DH just reminded me that the time we made them — and all the decorations, gaaaah, what a nightmare it was! — was also the time the front of our oven door fell off!

The things we do for kids … smh.

In that vein, when DS was little with all the crazy, big allergies, I went through a grieving process about food. All of the special holiday treats my mom made, all our favorite cookies and breads, and lots of favorite meals — I couldn’t imagine his life without those things. I would try to recreate them to no avail. And then at some point a holiday would hit, and I’d be like, “But candy corn!” or “Candy canes!” I would spend weeks researching and finding safe versions, order them for ridiculous amounts, just so he could taste a *whatever* … only to be mildly underwhelmed (of course). I finally settled into our own traditions, but that’s another thing I won’t ever do again — obsess over finding a safe version of some childhood food. Nope. All done!

Those gingerbread houses, though. Yikes. Never again!

 

 

[MagistraKennedy]

Salmon croquettes --- they are incredibly delicious, and a comfort food for me, as I had them growing up. But they are WAY labor intensive. To be fair,  my husband made them for me, but it was a huge amount of work. 

Persimmon pudding -- it's a family recipe for my husband, but you have to pulp the persimmons. It's a mess. Pretty yummy dish, but a pain in the arse. 

[ScoutTN]

7 hours ago, shawthorne44 said:

One time when I was in my early 30's and single, I sprained my ankle really badly right before an international flight home.   I worked from home then, and stayed with my parents while it healed.  My mother went into Take Care of Child overdrive and started to cook a lot.  One meal she made Chicken Pot Pie.  I said, "You can do that at home?"    It honestly hadn't occurred to me.  

Homemade chx pot pie is a lot of work, but SO good! It’s my kids’ winter favorite, so I cannot escape making it.

[MagistraKennedy]

7 hours ago, pitterpatter said:

I made shepherd's pie for the first time this past week. I don't think I'll make it again. Too many pans and dishes to dirty up.

I think the trick is making big batches -- it's one of our favorite dishes here, but it IS labor intensive. Peeling potatoes, mashing, and I think there's a roux involved at some point. 

FWIW, Trader Joes has a frozen Shepherds Pie that's pretty good. 

[ScoutTN]

Fried chicken. 
Fabulous, but a huge mess and lots of work. Nope! We have both Publix and Prince’s Hot Chicken about a mile away. Take out is lovely!

[heartlikealion]

12 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Homemade chx pot pie is a lot of work, but SO good! It’s my kids’ winter favorite, so I cannot escape making it.

You can get a rotisserie chicken if you want. I buy crusts. The blind baking step is kind of a pain. I use the recipe called classic on the Pillsbury website. I buy the carrot/pea mixed veggies. 

[ScoutTN]

I make piecrust - 10 mins, routine, nbd. Made with lard from pastured hogs and grassfed butter. I do generally use rotisserie chx. I use homemade stock, fresh veggies and heavy cream. It is a comfort food to the max.

Edited September 3, 2022 by ScoutTN

[heartlikealion]

1 hour ago, Danae said:

Homemade pop tarts?
 

*ducks*

Oh gosh no lol 

if I’m trying homemade it won’t be for a house that might not get eaten. Plus the homemade ones probably aren’t rigid enough. I’ve watched someone attempt to replicate one I think on a cooking show. I can’t remember the show but we watched on YouTube? This crew recreated tons of store bought items with varying success. Ah, here she is: https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23clairesaffitz

[heartlikealion]

29 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I make piecrust - 10 mins, routine, nbd. Made with lard from pastured hogs and grassfed butter. I do generally use rotisserie chx. I use homemade stock, fresh veggies and heavy cream. It is a comfort food to the max.

Last year I made 2 turkey pot pies with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Froze then had one less thing to cook for Christmas. My kids are wishy washy on liking it! I love it 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, happi duck said:

Any recipe from Cook's Illustrated!

Sacrilege! That is my absolute favorite baking book! I have never had a recipe go wrong. The Lemon Bundt Cake is like a miracle in my mouth! 

[Guest]

In a perfect illustration of something that is very likely to contribute to tis thread, dh is in the kitchen *now* (10:26 pm) making jars of hot sauce with allllll the peppers left in the garden, including Carolina Reaper and Habernero. I literally had to leave the kitchen because I feel like I’m going to have an asthma attack. In all probability, they will be much to hot to actually use.