RECIPES
Desserts | Main Dishes | Bread Rolls | Mixes | Soups | Salads | Vegtables |Snacks | Holiday Specials | This and That
MIXES
Homemade Taco Mix
1 Tablespoons dried onion powder
1 Tablespoons dried cumin powder
1 Tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
(I use pizza peppers or 1/2 teaspoon of ground red cayenne pepper)
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon paprika
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Teaspoon season salt
1 Tablespoons dried oregano leaves, crushed
Mix ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to combine. Store in a recycled glass jar away from heat and light.
How to use: mix 1 tablespoon taco mix with 1 pound ground meat that has been drained of any fat. Add ½ cup water and ¼ cup of ketchup, stir together and simmer for 10 minutes. This akes enough mix for six pounds of ground meat. When I did a price check on the difference between the homemade mix and the commercial mix, judge for yourself. The commercial mix costs 95¢ per packet or $5.70 for the batch. The homemade version costs 32¢ per packet or $1.92 per batch, for a difference of $3.54 for 10 minutes of work. If made 6 batches, I would save $22.68!
Penny-Wise Cinnamon Spice Coffee Creamer
1 cup powdered coffee creamer
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamom
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon powdered cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Mix well. I used a blender, and it took just a minute or so .
Place in a small glass jar and use like any other powdered creamer.
To make this into a coffee mix, add 3/4 cup of instant coffee to the mixture. When I made my batch, I mixed up the creamer & spices and took out 1 cup for the creamer then I added 1/2 cup of instant coffee to the remaining cups of creamer mix and then had the coffee mix too.
Two gifts for the time and effort it took to make one gift!
HOMEMADE "HELPER" ITALIAN STYLE
1 cup dry macaroni or noodles
1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Mix the ingredients into a zip-type bag, or a recycled salad dressing or peanut butter jar and store in the cupboard. When you need a quick supper, you will need the following:
1 pound ground meat (I use beef)
1 recipe 'helper'
1 8-ounce or 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce or 1 cup of ketchup and 3 cups of plain tap water Brown the meat in a large skillet; use a fork to break it into small pieces, and turn often to brown them well. Pour off any fat. Add the water to the meat in the skillet and bring it to a boil. Stir in the tomato sauce or ketchup and the bag of "Helper". Cover with a lid, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir often to keep from sticking; you may have to add a little water. Serves 4 hearty appetites. I serve this with baking powder biscuits and a vegetable. (The planned-overs will keep a couple of days in the fridge, and I have put it in the freezer for yet another meal.)
"Helper" mixes in the stores cost anywhere from $1.89 (on sale) to $3.89 depending on variety and the spices in the box. Quite frankly, all they consist of is the pasta and the seasoning packet. You still have to add the meat and sauce. I bought the pasta for 30 cents, but this could be less if you find a bargain on pasta. I figured the spices at a generous 20 cents, so my box of "Helper" cost just 50 cents instead of the $3.89. Doesn't take many of these to add up to quite a savings!
SWEET & SPICY CIDER PACKETS
Many times, the packets of commercial cider mix make too much at once....usually a gallon.
The following recipe is just right for 4 cups of cider or apple juice.
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
3 pieces of dried orange rind
1 2-inch cinnamon stick broken into small pieces
Cut 4-inch squares of cheesecloth, muslin or coffee filter. Put one on top of the other and place the above ingredients in the middle. Bring up the corners and tie with string. You could put several packets in a recycled pretty jar...or decorate one.
or, put a couple of these in a pretty cup or mug. Tie on a card with the following directions:
Pour 4 cups of apple juice or cider in a pan or microwave safe container. Put packet in the juice/cider and heat just to boiling. Let stand a few minutes and serve.
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF ONION SOUP MIX
1-1/2 cups minced dried onion flakes
2/3 cup beef bouillon powder
3-1/2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Mix all of the above ingredients in a small bowl. Store in a recycled jar
with a tight lid. Five tablespoons of this mix equals one envelope of
commercial soup mix
To use, mix the five tablespoons of soup mix powder with 2-1/4 cups of
water for soup or combine with one 16-ounce carton of sour cream for dip.
I use five tablespoons sprinkled over a beef roast in the crock pot along
with the water and let it simmer all day. Good to have on hand for a
quick meal and it makes heavenly sandwiches. Or, you can add some
barbecue sauce to some of the roast that's been shredded ... yum!
This recipe makes the equivalent of six envelopes of soup mix. The last I
bought was $2.89 for a package of two envelopes. The total price for this
mix when I made it myself was under $3 for the six!! Quite a savings, and
nice to have on hand when you need it.
RANCH DRESSING MIX
An all time favorite!
30 squares of saltine crackers
1/2 cup onion salt
1 cup dried parsley flakes
1/2 cup garlic salt
1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/4 cup onion powder
1 tablespoons dried dill weed
1/4 cup garlic powder
Put the cracker squares in a blender or crush with a rolling pin until very finely powdered. You don't want any chunks. Add the parsley flakes, minced onion and dill weed. This too has to be very finely powdered. You can do it with a rolling pin, but it does take a while, a blender makes this part a lot easier.
Pour the powdered ingredients into a quart bowl and use a wire whisk to blend in the onion/garlic salts and powders.
Pour the blended ingredients into a container with a tight lid. Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight and away from heat and moisture. Use the mix within one year.
This recipe makes 48 tablespoons of dressing mix.
One Tablespoon equals one (4 ounce) commercial package.
To make the dressing:
Combine oats Tablespoon of mix with 1 cup of buttermilk and oats cup of mayonnaise. For a lower fat version, use non-fat powdered buttermilk mixed with skim milk and either 1 cup of plain non-fat yogurt or non-fat cottage cheese (blended smooth) in place of the mayonnaise.
When I did the price check I found that packages package of commercial mix cost $1.49 or $71.52 for 48 packages.
The home-made mix comes in at 20 cents per package or $9.60 for the 48...for a difference of $61.92 cents! (Most of us can take 10 minutes to save over $60!!)
Suggestion: Since the mixture should be used within one year, this is a good recipe to share with 3 friends. Each contributes a couple of dollars and gets the equivalent of 12 packages of dressing mix.
"LIKE DOROTHY" SALAD DRESSING
1 can tomato soup
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Put all ingredients in a deep bowl and whip with an electric beater. You can use a wire whisk if you have a strong arm. Put into a bottle and keep in the refrigerator. This will keep for months.
When we did the price check on this, the commercial product was $3.59 and the same amount of the homemade cost $1.39!
MAKE IT YOURSELF LEMON EXTRACT
I make this for my own use and would never go back to the store-bought stuff.
To make your own lemon extract, peel the yellow part off of fresh lemons...do not include any of the white bitter stuff (it's called pith). Chop the peel up fine so that you have at least 4 Tablespoons of the yellow part. Put it in 1/2 cup of vodka mixed with 1/4 cup of water. (If you think it's a lot of alcohol, check out the commercial stuff) Let sit for at least packages weeks (I used an old jelly jar). This will yield about 3/4 cup of Lemon Extract, which will keep for about a year. Strain before using.
If you would like to give some as a gift, make some curly lemon peel pieces, place them in a small jar (quilted jelly jars are nice) and add the strained extract you've made.
Salt Free Seasoning Mix #1
1 Tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 Teaspoon dried oregano
1 Teaspoon dried thyme
1 Teaspoon dried parsley
1 Teaspoon dried savory
1 Teaspoon ground mace
1 Teaspoon ground back pepper
1 Teaspoon dried sage
1 Teaspoon dried marjoram
1 Teaspoon dried grated lemon peel
Mix together throughly until combined. Store in small sealed container in a dark, cool place. Use on meat, poultry or fish.
Salt Free Seasoning Mix #2
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons celery seed
1-1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper
1 tablespoon dry mustard powder
2 teaspoons dried chopped lemon peel
1 teaspoon black pepper
Mix together throughly until combined. Store in small, sealed container in a dark, cool place. Use on meat, poultry or fish.
