A lot of the recipes I been making lately have called for a can of cream of chicken soup, mushroom soup or celery soup. But, I’ve noticed lately that those soups are pretty expensive in the store. The last time I bought a can of cream of mushroom soup at Walmart, I had to pay a $1. To me, that’s expensive, especially since I’d only be getting one meal from that can.

Lately, I’ve been stocking my pantry with homemade baking mixes, breakfast mixes and spice mixes. So why not add to my homemade dry soup mix list? I came across this recipe for homemade cream of “something” soup mix and thought since I have all of the ingredients on hand in the pantry, I’ll give it a try. I adjusted the seasonings to my family’s preference and of course you can do the same. I used an empty See’s candy container I had and the recipe filled half the container. Because I have other mixes I want to make, I decided this amount will do for now.

Homemade Cream of “Something” Soup Mix

Makes: the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup non-fat dry milk
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup bouillon (I used the powdered chicken flavor bouillon I had in the pantry, but you can use whatever you like…beef, vegetable.)
• 1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried celery flakes (cream of celery)
• 2 teaspoons dried mushrooms, chopped (cream of mushroom)

Directions:

1. Mix 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water. Cook until thick.

You can make some wonderful frugal weeknight dishes for your family like this Tater Tot Casserole with this soup mix.

What soup mixes have you made for your family’s pantry?

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.

A few weeks ago, our oldest, as some of you know was accepted into the Music Institute in Hollywood, Ca.  Right there off of Hollywood Blvd. He went down with the bare minimum and is sharing an apartment with two other people. We were glad he was able to find a reasonable apartment on such short notice.

And now that he’s living a 9 hour drive (depending on how fast you’re going) away from us, I’m sure he’s going to miss some home cookin’ like crazy. He’s already made a comment to me about just eating Top Ramen and PB&J. If’s he’s going to school five days a week and working five days a week, he needs good comfort foods that will keep him energized, focused and healthy.

Before I try and send any type of care package down to him, I thought about putting out a call for help. I’m not sure what kind of homemade foods will ship that distance and still taste great upon arrival. That’s where you come in. I know there are a lot of you who have great wisdom on this subject.

What items do you like to send off to homesick friends and family? I know cookie tins are always an easy option, but are there certain cookies that work better than others? What about any savory food ideas?

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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??