Sunday, June 2, 2024

Homemade Mixes

Any of you who have been hanging around here for a while are aware of the fact that I have a medical condition involving my lower legs.  They have to be wrapped 24/7 to keep them from filling with fluid that could result in open wounds and infection.  I see home health care nurses three times a week.  These angels have kept me wound free and infection free for several years.

I now see a new nurse.  She is not only excellent in doing her job, she is also like-minded.  I know you all are aware of how few and far between like-minded people are.  It is a joy to be able to talk about current issues and preparedness.

We were talking about grocery prices.  I mentioned that I liked having those packets of brown gravy mix on hand for various uses, but I no longer order them because I refuse to pay the price now asked for them.  Instead, I am making my own gravy mixes from scratch and find I like them just as well or better than the packaged mixes.  And I know there are no nasty ingredients in them. 

My new nurse / friend asked for recipes.  I was going to just print out several recipes for mixes, but I am kind of low on printer paper at the moment, so I decided to post them here and anyone who could use them can just copy and paste.  I may have posted some of these before, but if so, I think they are worth repeating.

I have, over the years, collected tons of recipes from the internet and I have no clue where I found them.  These are just a few that I use regularly.  Enjoy.

Homemade Beef Gravy Mix  (About 2-2/3 cups mix)

1-1/3 cups powdered milk                    3/4 cup flour

3 tablespoons beef bouillon                  

1/8 teaspoon thyme or celery powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder                   

1/8 teaspoon sage or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix well and store in an airtight container.

TO USE: Pour 1 cup cold water in saucepan, using a whisk to blend, stir in 1/2 cup mix.

Stir constantly over medium heat until gravy is smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Makes 1 cup gravy.

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Homemade Chicken Gravy Mix   (Makes about 2 cups of mix.)

1-1/3 cups powdered milk                       3/4 cup flour

3 tablespoons chicken bouillon               1/4 teaspoon sage

1/8 teaspoon thyme or 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

or 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Mix well and store in an airtight container.

TO USE: Pour 1 cup cold water in saucepan, using a whisk to blend, stir in 1/2 cup mix.

Stir constantly over medium heat until gravy is smooth and slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Makes 1 cup gravy.

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Chicken or Beef Gravy

3/4 cup all-purpose flour                       1 tsp ground black pepper

3 tablespoons of chicken or beef bullion

Country Gravy

3/4 cup all-purpose flour                     1/2 tsp salt

1 -2 teaspoons of ground black pepper

1 teaspoon of minced, dehydrated or freeze-dried chopped onion

This batch will make you 8 cups of gravy.

To make 1 cup of gravy

Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter, lard or oil in a pan and mix with 2 tablespoons of gravy mix. Once all combined, add 1 cup of cold water and whisk until smooth. Stir until it thickens.

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Spaghetti Sauce Mix

1/4 cup cornstarch                          1/4 cup dried onions, minced

1/4 cup dried parsley flakes

3 tablespoons dried vegetable flakes or 3 tablespoons sweet pepper flakes

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning                   4 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons sugar                                        

2 teaspoons dried garlic, minced

To Use:  1 lb. ground beef,  2 cups water,  1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Directions: Combine the first eight ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place up to 1 year. 

To use: Stir in 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce mix, water and tomato paste. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

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Spaghetti Sauce Spice Blend

1/4 c. celery salt           1 T. dried basil             1 T. dried oregano

1 T. dried parsley         1 T. garlic powder        1 T. onion salt

1 T. sugar                     1 T. pepper

Mix ingredients together, place in an airtight container. Shake before using. Attach instructions. Makes about 3/4 cup. Instructions: To make spaghetti sauce, whisk an 8-ounce can tomatoes with 1/4 cup spice blend in a saucepan; simmer for 30 minutes. Pour over an 8-ounce package prepared pasta. Serves 4.

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HOT COCOA MIX

5 cups nonfat dry powdered milk                    3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups dry cocoa                            1 cup nondairy coffee creamer

pinch of salt

Mix powdered milk, creamer, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Sift in cocoa and powdered sugar. Mix well. Store in a airtight container.

When ready to use, add approximately 1/3 cup to a mug of boiling water. Stir until cool enough to drink.

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Malted Hot Cocoa Mix

1 (25.6 ounce) box nonfat dry milk powder

1 (16 ounce) container instant chocolate milk mix

1 (13 ounce) jar malted milk powder

1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

1 (6 ounce) jar powdered nondairy creamer

1/2 teaspoon salt

In large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well blended. Store in an airtight container. Keep in a cool place.

To serve: In mug, pour 6 ounces of hot water over 1/3 cup cocoa mix, and stir until well blended.

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The above are a few of the mixes I regularly use.  I find that in addition to doing more pressure canning lately, I am making more homemade convenience foods rather than pay the insane prices that continue to go skyward.  I still believe that the more we can do for ourselves, the better off we will be.

Keep stacking, my friends.  Keep praying!


9 comments:

  1. How fun for you to have a new nurse to visit with! I miss having someone to regularly chat with about such topics in real life. And kudos for sharing some recipes with her for saving some money and being healthier at the same time.

    I've got two things to share, if I might.

    First, make sure the cocoa used in the mixes is Dutch-processed. Otherwise the result will taste nasty.

    Second, you can easily make your own coffee creamer.

    Powdered Coffee Creamer
    1 cup powdered milk
    ¼ cup powdered sugar
    1 ½ teaspoons coconut oil, melted

    Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Store in an airtight container. Use as you would any powdered coffee creamer.

    The address below will take you to recipes for the powdered creamer above, as well as for flavored powdered creamers and a liquid creamer.

    https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2023/10/homemade-coffee-creamers-using-powdered.html

    You know, Vicki, you've posted three times in the past week. I like this much better than a couple of times per month. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jennifer...Thank you for the kind words. Truth be known, I was considering going "gray man." I know I am a very small voice but felt I just didn't need any possible hassle from those opposed to my very opiniated self. And then Trump was convicted, and it became crystal clear that hiding was not the answer. Using every opportunity to voice our objections to the criminality that is entrenched within our government is way more important than keeping my life peaceful. So here we are. Back again in full rant mode!

      Thanks for sharing the coffee creamer recipe. Don't think I had that one. One less thing to buy at the store, and that is the whole point of this exercise. Take good care, my friend.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for these, Vicki.
    What type of bullion do you use, if I might ask?
    You all be safe and God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LindaG...Depends on what I am making. If I want bouillon for flavor in canning soups or jar meals, I will use bouillon cubes. But for the dry mixes I use the powdered bouillon.
      Things are getting crazier by the day. God bless and keep you and yours!

      Delete
  3. Thanks Vicki!! If you wanted to repost your canning recipe for your pot pie in a jar kind of mixes, I would love that! Or reference the date and I'll go look.

    My Nectarine Butter is awesome --- only fruit, a little bit of sugar and lemon juice. Opted to freeze what I made and that made it doable for me. Used repurposed 8oz sour cream containers. Got 3 containers from my itty bitty batch.

    Cheers, SJ now in California

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    Replies
    1. SJ...There really is no recipe for the meals in a jar. The first batch I canned went kind of like this: Bite size raw chicken breast in the bottom of a pint jar. Then layers of chopped onion, potato cubes and carrot slices. Topped with two chicken bouillon cubes and then water to within one inch from the top of the jar. Ran out of carrots so used frozen peas or frozen corn instead. Green beans would be good, too. The pint jars were processed for 75 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure for my altitude. The 75 minutes is the time for the pints of meat. Always use the longest time for the ingredients, and that is usually for the meat. I am canning quart size jar meals this evening using pork and the time for quarts is 90 minutes.

      Canning this kind of meal in a jar has no real recipe. Just whatever meat you prefer as a base plus whatever veggies appeal to you. The bouillon just adds flavor, but seasonings could just as easily be added when heating to use.

      The lovely thing with this idea is that a jar can be opened and eaten as a soup or a full meal. Or it could be thickened as a stew and eaten over biscuits or used as a pot pie filling.

      I just canned 16 pints using pork, onions, cabbage and carrots and have 7 more quarts in the canner as I type.

      Have fun with it. There really is no wrong way to pack the jars. Use whatever you fancy. Just pay attention to the processing times for meat.

      Now that I think about it, I wonder if something similar could be packaged and frozen. Maybe?

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  4. Thanks for the recipes, Vicki! I am also glad to see you back posting regularly. I'm also glad you have such a wonderful nurse that you can relate to. I'm sure she appreciates your guidance on preparing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are welcome, Mandy...The higher grocery prices get, the more I am looking to 'do it myself.' I will try to post more than I have lately. I sometimes think that after nearly 15 years of blog posts, I probably have run out of things to talk about, but then another bit of insanity creeps into our world. Blog fodder. :)
    Take good care and stay safe.

    ReplyDelete