I'm shocked at how much people are willing to pay for home made jelly.........or any type of homemade item in general.
I love cooking from scratch. I will devote an entire weekend to cooking and fill the freezer. Then no matter what is going on, there is always something in the freezer for dinner, that is not full of preservatives.
The initial expense seems like a lot at one time, but when you break it down it comes out to practically pennies per meal.
This past Christmas, the school that my daughter attends we made dinners for all her teachers, the administration, the governing board and their families.
We made 117 servings of chicken parmigian, a quart of sauce for each family along with a pound of un cooked spaghetti. It was packed with reheating instructions and a bow. The total cost was $65.00.
That was less than we spent the year before on junk for her teachers only. And everybody liked having a good meal without having to cook.
A meal will become our gift every year. Oh, and the time spent cooking is about the same as shopping for 9 or 10 different gifts.