So tonight, we’re having Fried Rice with Chicken and Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce. When you have an abundance of rice, fried rice is a good choice if you’re looking for a different twist on plain old rice. We have a favorite Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce dipping sauce that I make whenever we have Chinese food that I’ve adapted to our family’s liking. It’s not only sweet and sour, it has a bit of a kick to it. My family enjoys it and I added it to our family’s meal planning and recipe binder. It’s a great sauce for Egg Rolls, Won Tons, over plain white/fried rice, Chinese Chicken Salad or whatever you like.

What’s even better, it’s frugal and didn’t cost anything to make. Everything was right in my pantry. Much cheaper than the bottle of sauce you buy at the grocery store. Can it get better than that?

Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 4 Tablespoons ketchup
• 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (found in Asian aisle of your grocery store)

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in a small sauce pan, medium low heat, whisking until sauce becomes thick.

I rarely buy the soup packets at the grocery store because I always keep a variety of spices on hand in my pantry. I’m always on the look out for ways to make mixes from scratch. So when I came across this homemade dressing mix on A Few Short Cuts, I was looking forward to testing the mix on Wednesday night’s dinner–Spinach Sausage Soup.  This is another great Homemade Mix I use in a variety of dishes or as a dressing for our weekly salads.

Homemade Italian Dressing  Mix

Ingredients:

• 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons oregano, ground or leaves
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons salt or substitute
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground basil or leaves
• ¼ teaspoon ground thyme or leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried celery leaves or flakes

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and store in air-tight container.
   

For Dressing:

1. Mix 2 tbs of this mix with ¼ cup vinegar, 2 tbs water, and ½ to ⅔ cup olive oil or canola oil.
2. Shake before using.

Making your own Homemade Mayonnaise is very easy to make and a great alternative to buying it at the store. Best of all, it’s frugal and you know what ingredients are in it. Today, I’m making a very simple mayonnaise recipe using ingredients on hand from the pantry. It literally only takes a few minutes to make. This recipe received a thumbs up from our daughter who is my strongest critic when it comes to homemade staples like this one.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Makes: 1 pint

Ingredients:

• 2 large fresh eggs
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 -2 cups vegetable oil (or you can use half vegetable oil and half olive oil)

Directions:

1. Use a food processor or blender for the best results. In the processor, mix together the egg, vinegar, salt, dry mustard and sugar. While machine is continuously running, slowly add the oil. For a more thicker consistency mayonnaise, add less oil.
2. Store in fridge up to one week.

What do you think? Homemade mayo? Worth the making?

I use Homemade House Seasoning on about 90% of everything I cook. It started off with a pinch of salt, a little pepper and just grew from there depending on what seasonings I have in the pantry. There’s  a nice dimension of flavor and it couldn’t be more simple to make.

I buy all my seasonings in bulk and when I make a batch, I stick some in an airtight jar like a mason jar, label it and place it in an easy-to-grab place above my stove top pantry cupboard. I recommend keeping it stored for up to 6 months. Mine never actually lasts that long.

Makes: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoons paprika
• 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 6 months.

Lately, I have been experimenting with making different seasonings, sauces and condiments from scratch rather than buying them from the store. We go through these types of items from the pantry so quickly, it doesn’t make sense to me to buy them at the store when I can make them at home in larger quantities.

The latest homemade seasoning is a Dry Onion Soup Mix. The great thing about making it at home is you can have control over the ingredients. What I love about this seasoning mix is that it’s a versatile dry mix that can be added to soups, potatoes, chili, or sour cream or mayonnaise with spinach for a dip.

 I use the dry onion soup mix to add flavor to my hamburgers all the time.

Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup dried minced onion
• 2 Tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon powder
• 2 teaspoons onion  powder
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

What recipes do you make with Onion Soup Mix??