If the store bought is good, use it as a time saver. Life is short. Enjoy.

I've been a hold out on the pre-made doughs too. Truthfully, I call tell when someone has used one of the purchased pie crusts. I will quickly admit I do have a couple of recipes where I use the frozen puff pastry dough...I will use that one as a time saver, I've never mastered the patience for a good homemade puff pastry. Let us know how your Dutch pigs turn out.

I'll never forget the box blueberry muffins that were much much preferred over my home made.... Needless to say, I never made home made again, except "just for me". :)

They will do in a pinch, but still like my dough better. I love making dough.

We tried frozen pizza for the 1st time. It was delicious! Mine is better....but......we will be eating frozen again. :0) What a time saver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PIzza is something I rarely make. I do not like pizza, so hubby will order one for himself. I have a Italian friend (born in Italy) that uses the frozen pizza dough sometimes also. I honestly would not know the difference.

Judy, you have an enviable talent for making good dough. I couldn't do that if my life depended on it. LOL I say you should stick with your good stuff. Don't cave to convenience. I really wish I could make a good pie crust. People say it's easy, but those people are usually excellent bakers. I use Pillsbury pie crust because I don't want to waste all those good apples by making a lousy crust myself. :) Your Dutch pigs in a blanket look delicious!!! Yum!

Hubby loves chocolate cake. I used to make him beautiful cakes made from scratch. He likes grocery store bakery cakes better, especially the fillings and frostings. I tease him that he prefers chemical cake to the real deal, but that's what he likes, so I stopped baking cake and now I buy him a bakery cake now and then. He's happy; that's all that matters.

But, there are other things I make from scratch that he won't buy from a store or restaurant because they don't compare to mine. One is apple crisp. I made one yesterday using apples from the tree in our yard. It's delicious (if I do say so myself) and he can't leave it alone. I'm happy because in the case of apple crisp, my time and efforts aren't wasted.

I hope your family tells you that they much prefer your homemade dough for pigs in a blanket. If they don't, they are just going to have to suffer and be subjected to your dough in the future because you like to make it! :-)

Looks good to me. Make what makes you happy. With few exceptions, I prefer homemade to store bought. I don't like to make the effort to make it. Unfortunately, my family knows the difference.

I would never feel guilty about using cooking shortcuts.....like a pre-made pastry. Nor would I presume to criticize anyone else that might use them. Sometimes they just make life easier :-)

While I do make scratch pie crusts or rolled pastry from time to time, my kitchen is so small and with such limited counter space, it is just more convenient to use the pre-made ones 95% of the time. I would also never bother with a homemade puff pastry when the frozen ones are pretty much just as good.......and with almost no effort involved! That's a win-win in my book!!

It's only when you don't enjoy doing something that the store bought is better. Since you enjoy making dough, I would stick with that. I can remember when the kids preferred that ugly orange stuff in the box called mac and cheese. :-)))

but it's fun to slide the noodle on the fork prong...LOL

My short cut secret - and I was disappointed when I made a monthly stop at Trader Joe's over the weekend and they were completely out....Trader Joe's mirepoix. $2.99 for 15 oz carton (and the carton is recyclable ;0))

I have knives and can chop so could easily cut up my own. Do I enjoy all the chopping and prep work? Not always. So I keep Trader Joe's mirepoix on hand since I seem to need it about once a week. I freeze any containers that I won't use by their use by date...the vegetables thaw a little soft but I'm browning them for recipes anyway and it doesn't really hurt the quality in a cooked dish.