Monday, September 8, 2008

Our Busy Lives

We are just starting basketball for the new school year. The first practice was last Friday and I know it is going to get busy around here. Many times when we get busy, we do not eat well because we'll grab something from the fast food joints and scarf it down on the way to our next appointment. The stress of a too busy lifestyle is NOT the topic of this post but it is a good topic to explore...someday.

To make sure we eat well during this time of the year I usually use my crockpot a lot. Another thing I do is to make up mixes ahead of time...simple things that cook up fast with just a little prep work. Think of those overpriced rice packages and meal kits. You can make up the same thing at a fraction of the cost, avoid all the preservatives and you'll feel good about serving "made from scratch" meals to your family.

So...welcome to the first edition of (drum roll please)...

Make A Mix Monday!

Most of the time, I put these into mason jars and put on an "already used" lid on it. There is no point in using a new lid or heat because the rubber seal on the lid is just fine for our purpose. If you were making these up for long-term food storage then you'd do it a little differently. You can also purchase the plastic lids that fit your jars in the canning isles of your local store. I prefer to use up all my regular mouth jars because I don't like using them for canning.

Let's get to our first recipe!

Cheesy Potato Soup Mix

1 3/4 cups instant mashed potato flakes
1 1/2 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup dry cheese powder (local health food stores or HomeStyle Mercantile)
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
2 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Store in quart sized Mason jar or other suitable container. For long-term storage, simply add a 55cc oxygen absorber and seal tightly.

To use: Combine 1/2 cup mix with 1 cup boiling water...stir until smooth.

Have a great day!

Mavis D.

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