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
Enchilada Sauce Mix
I love food with Southwest flair. I could eat it every day of the week and not get tired of it. Enchilada sauce is not just good on enchiladas. It’s also yummy over eggs and in casseroles. Each batch yields about the same as a 20 ounce can of sauce. Read more
Instant Pesto Mix
With pesto a little goes a long way for a delicious fresh flavor. It’s nice to have a jar of this mix on hand as a pantry staple, especially if you use Pesto a lot. Read more
Italian Seasoning Blend
This recipe is one you’ll want to tweak to match your own family’s tastes. For example, I don’t like oregano, so I sub more basil and parsley to make up the volume. If you like things hot add crushed red pepper or cayenne to the mix.
Use it when recipes that call for Italian Seasoning, or to sprinkle on ground beef or turkey as you cook it for Spaghetti sauce or Pizza. It adds a nice touch to garlic bread and croutons too. You can even beat it into your bread dough for a pleasant herb loaf.
Italian Seasoning Blend
3 tablespoons dried basil
3 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1⁄4 tsp black pepper
1⁄4 tsp red pepper flakes
Mix well and store in an airtight container. Yield: 11 Tbs plus 1/2 tsp (about 3/4 cup)
Big Batch Italian Seasoning Blend
3/4 cup basil
3/4 cup oregano
3/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
4 tsp dried thyme
4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp black pepper
4 tsp red pepper flakes
Yield: Scant 3 cups
Cinnamon Syrup Mix
Syrup solutions usually call for 2 parts sugar to 1 part water boiled together for 1 minute. My husband’s mother used 2 cups brown sugar and 1 cup water. After we married I got the secret recipe and added 1/2 tsp of real maple extract to it to make it my own. Then I learned by adding a little flour, cornstarch, or glucomannan for thickening, I could reduce the sugar by half without missing any of the sweetness. This reduced sugar recipe (it’s hard to tell by the first ingredient, I know…) has extra flavor from cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a family favorite, especially around holiday time. Read more
Whole Wheat Biscuit Mix
Use this recipe in the place of any storebought boxed biscuit mix, such as bisquick. It makes biscuits, pancakes, waffles, cookies, impossible pie (both sweet and savory), scones, muffins, and more! Read more
Homemade Cookie Mixes
Cookies are my favorite. I’m especially partial to ones with chocolate, but I’ll eat any cookie. 2 cookies with ice-cream sandwiched in between is the ultimate dessert experience. Read more
Homemade Cake Mix
Cake mix is a convenience food I buy, especially when it goes on sale. The delicious and effective chemicals in them give results I haven’t been able to duplicate by scratch. I’m sure it’s because I’m impatient and don’t separate eggs, or combine dry and wet ingredients separately.
It is probably also because I insist on using home ground whole wheat flour in everything I make from scratch. It’s really not good in cake….especially when compared to the box variety. It makes no sense I know. Using white cake flour would be a step up from going full force into a box mix. I’m a woman. I don’t have to make sense.
I’ve watched Cake Boss competitions where he criticized the contestants for cupcakes that tasted like they came from a box mix. “Blech, what did you do? Use a box mix?” I don’t understand the level of cake he’s on. Read more
Brownie Mix
Brownies…..savor the thought for a minute. They are the perfect accent for unexpected company, potluck suppers, afterschool snacks….any time really. Had a baby? Here’s a brownie. Experienced loss? I’ll bring a whole pan. I can’t think of a time a brownie isn’t appropriate.
If you are gluten free, you can substitute all purpose gluten free flour blend for the flour as long as the mix contains xanthan gum. In theory, xylitol will work instead of sugar in the mix and almond flour instead of all-purose flour for those on a fitness kick. (I’d be tempted to try 1/3 almond flour, 1/3 flax meal, and 1/3 oat fiber.) I haven’t tested these variations yet, so try it in a smaller batch the first time and report back how it went.
This mix can also be used for creative Pinterest recipes that call for brownie mix. 4 1/2 cups mix = a box mix that makes a 9×13 family size pan of brownies.
