Cream Soup Mix

homemade cream soup mix

Canned cream of “___” soup, how I love thee!  Let me count the ways.  You don’t curdle in the slow cooker. What kind of chemical wizardry allows this?  Any dish I pour you in, becomes an instant child favorite.  You are a time saving genius.  But alas, you carry a suitcase full of MSG headaches and I’m afraid what your chemical  wizardry will do to my insides.  We won’t part ways forever….I’m just saving you for special times. Read more

Homemade Seasoned Salt

homemade seasoned salt blend

Seasoned salt gives that little something special to homemade baked fries, vegetable dips, and tacos! We are big fans of Lowry’s seasoned salt, especially since is MSG free, but homemade mixes are my thing too!

Homemade Seasoned Salt Blend

1/2 cup salt

2 Tbs sugar (or truvia)

4 tsp paprika

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp ground celery seed

Combine all and put in a shaker jar.  (Did you know parmesan jar lids fit on regular mouth mason jars, and spaghetti jars etc…?)

Homemade Onion Soup Mix

homemade onion soup mix

Onion soup mix is rarely used for onion soup around here.  It makes a great dip mix, roast potato topping, roast beef seasoning….There are a ton of recipes calling for this stuff.  To save money, buy your dried onions in bulk.  Read more

Homemade Alfredo Sauce Mix

Alfredo sauce is mostly cream and butter with a touch of garlic and maybe some white wine.  This recipe is a lot lighter than that, but still gives the creamy texture and mouthful of flavor that you’re hoping for.  The original mix I created has pasta already in it for a fast skillet in 1 dish, but you can leave it out to just make the sauce for pizza or something like that.  If you want it to be REALLY rich and creamy, when preparing the final dish replace a cup of milk with a can of evaporated milk.

homemade light alfredo sauce mix

8 oz Fettucini, broken into pieces (whole grain pasta works fine)

2 T flour (or 1 Tbs Cornstarch for gluten free)

2 T powdered instant skim milk

1/2 t basil

1 t lemon pepper

1/2 t garlic powder

1 t salt

1/2 C parmesean cheese

Mix all in a quart bag. To prepare. Pour mix into a skillet with 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk. Stir well until all the powders are blended and noodles are well moistened. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools. If you like, stir in sauteed vegtables, cooked chicken cubes, turkey sausage, or shrimp.

You can also make the mix without the pasta and just make sauce.  To prepare stir the mix with 1 cup of milk and cook and stir until thickened.  It makes a nice sauce for Alfredo pizza :).

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

homemade ranch dressing mix

Ranch dressing is the ultimate in comfort foods.  It’s makes raw veggies party food.  Unfortunately the secret ingredient in most bottles of ranch is MSG.  That stuff tastes really good and brings along with it a side affect of massive headaches (and mouth rash for my kids.) So here’s a yummy recipe for you that is mostly herbs and dried vegetables. Read more

Homemade Beef Stew Mix

homemade beef stew mix

Beef stew is one of those dishes that is hard to mess up (if you use the right about of salt.)  Onions and garlic can give plenty of flavor on there own.  Once you taste a stew with just the right blend of herbs, it changes everything.  Read more

Homemade Italian Dressing Mix

Homemade Italian Dressing Mix

Italian dressing is the perfect condiment for a romantic date night at home.   It also makes a good chicken marinade and a bread dip. Here are 3 varieties to choose from: Italian Vinaigrette; Creamy Italian, and an Olive Garden variety which is partway between the two.  Here’s mixes for all 3 types for you!  Read more

Spaghetti Sauce Mix

homemade spaghetti sauce mix
Mmmmm, Spaghetti!  A crowd pleaser for sure. All of these recipes work really well in the slow cooker for hands off cooking that will fill your house with a delicious fragrance.  If you have them on hand, and time to chop, add sautéed veggies too!  Traditional veggies include bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms.  Garden variety sauces may also have carrots, zucchini, or eggplant. Each batch is enough sauce for about a pound of pasta (measured dry.)  Read more