A Cultivated Nest

Helping You Manage Your Home and Life on a Budget

Make Your Own Mix Recipes

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Have you cut your food bill as much as you can but still need to find a way to cut further? I thought I’d start sharing some make your own mix recipes which are pantry staples.  They are easy to make and budget friendly! The great thing about making your own is that not only will it save you money at the grocery store, but you can customize them to your families diet restrictions and tastes. So if you need to keep things low salt you can control that or maybe you avoid MSG or gluten.  If you make your own you know exactly what’s in it. It’ll help you save money plus it’s healthier!

Have you cut your food bill as much as you can but still need to find a way to cut further? One way to save more is to make your mix recipes.

I would suggest starting with one or two things. I know it can be very tempting to think “I’m going to make everything from scratch”. You will burn out and wind up making nothing from scratch! My goal has always been to try one or two new things a month. We started by making our own bread, then we went on to tortillas, chicken broth, coffee creamer, pretzels etc.

Make Your Own Mix Recipes

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The first make your own mix recipe is a dry cream of soup mix. I think I use a cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup at least once a week and they’re expensive unless you stock up when they’re on sale.  Plus even the low sodium version still has lots of sodium and fat in it (not to mention the BPA in the can). So they don’t exactly fall into the “good for you” food category 🙂

Have you cut your food bill as much as you can but still need to find a way to cut further? One way to save more is to make your mix recipes.

Dry Cream of Soup Mix
2 cups instant powdered milk

3/4 cups of cornstarch

2 tblsp. minced dried onions

1 tsp. dried crushed basil

1 tsp. dried crushed thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and  store in an air tight contaner.

To Use:
-For the equivalent of 1 can of cream of… soup, mix 2/3 cup of mix and 1 cup of chicken broth in a small saucepan, whisk until smooth, bring to a boil  and cook until thickened. Or make it in your microwave.

– You can mix with veggie broth, beef broth, or plain water as well. Make your own chicken broth to avoid MSG

-For cream of mushroom or celery you can add chopped mushrooms or celery while you are thickening the soup or saute them before adding the soup mix.

If organic  is important to you use organic cornstarch and organic whole powdered milk and make your own chicken broth. If you’re dairy free you could try making it with powdered rice or soy milk.

The second make your own mix recipe is another one that people frequently use – Onion soup mix packets.  I use these at least once or twice a week.

homemade dry onion soup mix

Dry Onion Soup Mix
4 tsp. beef bouillon granules

8 tsp. dried minced onion

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

This makes one packet of onion soup mix. Mix all ingredients together and store in a snack size storage baggie or make individual foil packets.

Have you cut your food bill as much as you can but still need to find a way to cut further? One way to save more is to make your mix recipes.

I just started making these two mixes so I didn’t make a lot to begin with in case I didn’t like them.  But so far I can’t tell the difference between them and store bought. So far so good!

I think when you’re trying to make any kind of lifestyle changes, doing it bit by bit will give you a greater chance at succeeding. Ideally I’d like to get rid of all processed food in my pantry but I know I need to do it a little at a time!

I’ll be sharing more Homemade Solutions as I try them!

Have you cut your food bill as much as you can but still need to find a way to cut further? One way to save more is to make your mix recipes.

You may also like to check out the other posts in this series: Nesting Skills

 

Comments

  1. Glenda says

    Thanks for sharing some great ideas. I have checked into some of the low sodium mixes which is a big concern for me.
    Have a great weekend.

  2. Kelley Highway says

    This is awesome! I would love to jeep this on hand for a quick lunch. I enjoy soup all year, even though we have two seasons here in the Philippines: HOT and HOTTER.

    Happy weekend,
    Kelley~

  4. Vee says

    Will definitely be trying this recipe. Had to pin it so I won’t forget. Thank you. We really need to cut back on the sodium and this will be a great help. Now if you can get us a Stove Top Stuffing recipe minus the salt. ;>

  7. Debbie says

    Thanks! This is such a great idea. I read a book about make your mixes a few years ago but never tried any of the recipes. I’ll be trying the onion soup mix for sure. I always seem to need a packet of that!

    • Manuela says

      Thanks Debbie! I’ve ready quite a few of those types of books in the past few years. There are tons of recipes online and you just have to tweak them to your tastes.

  8. Cindy says

    Thanks for the recipes. I make a lot of thing from scratch, but making my own cream of..soup would be great. I too use it a lot!

    • Manuela says

      Yes, it’s a homemade version of lipton onion soup packets minus the chemicals. 🙂

    • Manuela says

      Oh good! I used it last night in a crockpot chicken recipe and was great as usual (I always add a bit more thyme) so season to taste.

  12. Bethany says

    Yes, making your own can really save money. I have been making more from scratch and avoiding a lot of processed/packaged foods for the last four years. It’s healthier and cheaper. Thanks for the ‘cream of’ recipe. I have been avoiding recipes that contain creamed soups, but now I have an alternative.

    • Manuela says

      You’re very welcome! There are quite a few cream of soup recipes out there. Some use granulated chicken stock which makes it very handy since all you do is add water. But most granulated chicken stock is not that healthy – sodium, GMO’s that kind of thing. So I try to use my own or at least buy the liquid organic stock. But making your own cream of soup, no matter how you do it, is ten times better for you than buying canned!

  13. Sue says

    I’m definitely making these mixes, Manuela! I like using cream of mushroom soup in several recipes, but, as you said- they are so expensive and full of salt! Thanks for posting your recipes. 🙂

  14. Erin says

    Thank you so much for posting this! We’re living in France currently and finding cream of anything over here is next to impossible. I’m going to try your recipes now! Keep up the good work.

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