Welcome to the second guest post in my series “The Great Grocery Budget Battle: Choose Your Weapon”.
Today I’ve got Susanne , The Hillbilly Housewife and Author of Homemade Mixes – Make It Yourself and Save sharing with you one of her money saving strategies.
Here’s Susanne, talking about homemade mixes
When Beth invited me to write a post for you, I sat down and thought about what I could share that would be most helpful. I decided to stick with one of my most popular topics – Homemade Mixes.
Making your own baking and seasoning mixes is a great way to save a little money. Our stores are filled with convenience foods made to make our life easier … but once you start making a few of your own mixes, you’ll find that it’s just as easy to mix these things yourself. And there are two big bonuses to making your own mixes. You save some money and you know EXACTLY what’s in your mixes. You won’t need any artificial colorings or preservatives and can use all natural ingredients instead. There’s no need for flavor enhancers or lots of salt to make things taste good. Instead you mix things yourself (adjusting for your own taste – another benefit you don’t get with a store-bought mix) and end up with a much healthier end product.
Here are two great recipes for you to try.
Homemade Bisquick Mix
How many boxes of bisquick mix have you bought in the past year? If you’re anything like me, you use it all the time to make biscuits, dumplings, waffles, casserole toppings and the likes. Save a few dollars and stir together your own mix. It works just as well and is fresh and ready when you need it.
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 3 tbsps. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. salt
- Sift flour, salt and baking powder three times into a large bowl.
- Use pastry blender to cut shortening in until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 months.
- Use in place of Bisquick in any recipe.
- Makes 7 cups.
Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
Making tacos is a snap with this easy seasoning mix. It’s also great for seasoning beef, making burritos or taco soup.
- ¼ cup instant minced onion
- 2 tbsps. cornstarch
- 2 tsps. crushed dried red pepper flakes
- 2 tsps. paprika
- 2 tbsps. chili powder
- 1½ tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tbsp. instant minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. dried marjoram
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend thoroughly with wire whisk. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
- Equivalent to 6 store bought envelopes (2 tbsps. each)
Make-Your-Own- mixes are fun to make, healthier, tastier, and cheaper than store-bought. Want to get started making your own mixes? Take a look at the Homemade Mixes – Make It Yourself and Save Kindle Book.
Susanne, The Hillbilly Housewife has a passion to help families with limited time, money, and energy. Her mission is to share only the very best resources to help parents run their household and raise their families all while squeezing a bit of fun so they end their days with a smile and a grateful heart.
She runs the wildly popular blog www.HillbillyHousewife.com where frugal living is the focus. She believes that if people can live within their means, they can truly enjoy all the blessings God has given them.
Her mission is to provide a well-rounded approach to all areas of keeping a home, and provide a place for her readers to voice their opinions and share recipes and tips with each other.
Be sure and connect with Susanne on Facebook and Pinterest
Susanne, thanks for the mix recipes! It was a few years ago when my husband was out of work that I learned to make my own bisquick mix. I have never attempted taco seasoning on my own yet, but now that you’ve shared your recipe, I just might give it a try! 🙂