Making your own sauces and mixes.
By saundyl
@saundyl (9783)
Canada
June 16, 2009 1:41pm CST
I've found lately that i'm more inclined to buy bulk ingredients to make a wide variety of things. Spices, flour, sugar etc can all be used to make things like gravy, cakes, cookies, seasonings rather than buying the expensive premixed packages that you add water or even just cook.
I was going to buy some Taco seasoning the other day but it wasnt on sale so its was 2.69 for a package (didnt buy it) So i looked up the recipe to make it myself and went and got the couple spice i didnt have in the cupboard. for about 6 dollars I've made a quart jar full of taco spice rather than buying two packs that would have only done two taco nights.
Another one i make is pancake mix - i add all the dry ingredients from my recipe and mark on the side what i need to add for wet ingredients when i make it. Its easy enough to do and makes it quick and easy and i know exactly what is in my mix.
I find this alot less expensive and healthier but i admit it is a bit more time consuming.
Do you make your own mixes? What do you make? do you premake it and store it or just mix it up when you want it?
1 person likes this
13 responses
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
16 Jun 09
We have tacos every Tuesday at my house, but when my husband's doctor told him he had to cut way down on salt, I started making my own sodium free taco seasoning. Cumin has a great flavor and no sodium, also chili powder does not have hardly any sodium either. So this was not as difficult as I thought it would be.
I also do what you for pancake mix, have the dry ingredients prepared together ahead of time and just add the liquid.
I have also made my own hot chocolate mix before.
I have also premade quick bread mix. I love zucchini bread, so I will keep a bag of premixed dry ingredients on hand, and then I just have add the zucchini, and and the dry ingredeints when I am ready to bake.
I also make a variety of marinades and sauces myself. I love doing that kind of stuff.
2 people like this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
17 Jun 09
Having a premixed bag of bread ingredients is a good idea - I love using my breadmaker to make bread.
The recipe I've been using for taco sauce has cumin, chili powder, cayene pepper, onion salt, paprika and something else (I'd have to go look in the cupboard to see the recipe.) it tastes awesome - i like it better than the old el paso sauce
@rainbow (6761)
•
16 Jun 09
I find it cheaper and quite convenient to make my own sauces as I go along too. If I want to do a new sauce I check a recipe and if need be get a different spice. Whether savoury or sweet it makes little difference in cooking time unless it is a marinade but I still feel better knowing the foods was involved in the sauce when I serve it to my children.
2 people like this
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
17 Jun 09
I make alot of my own mixes. I think it tastes better for starts and it has to be healthier for you. I never buy jar or canned spaghetti sauce it isnt allowed in our house since I made it homemade, noone will let me get away with being lazy. LOL! I also make my own sloppy joe sauce, meatloaf sauce ( I came up with it when hubby worked in a restaurant, it was so good owner wanted to buy the recipe. LOL!)
I have never made taco seasoning but I will now, I have so many herbs and spices as I love to cook from scratch. We have a pantry but it isnt big enough for everything so we are building on a small room for the freezers, our canning goods and things like this. I cant wait to have room to really do all this!
It is good to see that others take this route too .. makes ya feel good that you can do things without a box. I also have made my own form of Hamburger helper, they loved it.
1 person likes this
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
18 Jun 09
In our bathroom we have big unit with shelves and the top is full with shampoos, cleaners, lotion and dish soap too, I also buy on sale. I think it is one of the best ways to go.
I cant wait to have the room to store more and make more of my own mixes and such. Just to have more room for the things that we can will be great!
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
17 Jun 09
I love having the sapce to keep things i make myself - its nice right now because i have a 2 bedroom house with a basement all to myself and i can store as much as i want down there. I'm kind of a "storer" that i make things up or buy things like pastas, dishsoaps etc on sale and keep them for when i run out upstairs and they arent on sale when i runout.
MM hot chocolate sounds so good right now - i think im hungry!
@ShirleyBillingsley (1544)
• United States
17 Jun 09
Glad to hear there are other people in the world that do this. I have been making a lot of my own stuff for some time now. I even have a cookbook started on making these fabulous things. Great stuff.
This year, we (my sister and i) are also doing a lot of canning. We did 49 jars of plums, plum jelly, etc. the first day. Then moved on to the improved pintos and potatoes, and then on to chow chow. We have not come close to being finished for the season though.
@ShirleyBillingsley (1544)
• United States
17 Jun 09
My goodness. If you haven't tasted of chow chow, then you have been missing out on some good food. It is made with cabbage, peppers, onion, tomatoes, and you can add in hot peppers if you like. You use vinegar, pickling salt, and sugar. Very easy to do.
1 person likes this
@whywiki (6066)
• Canada
16 Jun 09
I used to use the prepackaged easy way of cooking and baking. Then I started to read labels. Now I am like you I make it from scratch. It not only saves money but it is better for you. I am sure a lot of the cancers are somehow related to all the chemicals and preservatives in our food.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
17 Jun 09
I make almost everything from scratch, but I don't make mixes ahead of time and store them. I just start new every time I need to make something. One reason is that mixes take a lot more room to store than just the basic ingredients, and another is that I'm not consistent in what I cook, so a mix might set on the shelf for a long time before I'd use it.
You're right, though, it's much cheaper in most instances to make your own, and it's not that hard.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
17 Jun 09
I have made mixes in the past. I had a friend that made a lot of them. I am not currently making mixes. I have made homemade cappuccino and muffin mixes and given them as gifts.I had to respond because of taco seasoning. I bought some a few weeks ago, then could not find it when I got home. I just pulled out my favorite seasonings from the cupboard and made tacos anyway. Family loved it. I found the taco mix later and made more tacos, and they just weren't nearly so good. In fact they tasted like they had sugar in them. Yuk. I will not be buying taco mix again, that is for sure.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Jun 09
I make spice mixes for BBq and garlic salt and things like that but I thought that was about all I could make. I didnt know that there was a bunch of stuff online. Id love to never buy an other foil packet of taco seasoning or enchlada seasoning. Thanks for the great tip, this could save me a lot.
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
19 Jun 09
I make several of my mixes at home. I found a book called Make a Mix Cookbook and I have been using it for years. Several things that you can make just like the taco seasoning mix you are speaking of in that book. Of course with the internet you can look up most recipes online without having to pay for a book. I have always liked doing this and it is alot cheaper than buying the prepackaged. Also, you know exactly what is going into your food!
1 person likes this
@jayrene (2708)
• Philippines
17 Jun 09
yes i do make my own mixes because its cheaper if i do that... i buy them in big packs too... like 1 kilo of flour, starch, sugar, its cheaper too if you buy them like that rather than if you buy them by grams only. for taco seasoning, i sure make my own, as my kids like the taste of how i cooked it. we can really save a lot when we make our own rather than buy those pre mixes, especially those gravy mixes, its more than half savings if i make my own which taste much better.
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
17 Jun 09
Bulk packaging tends to be cheaper for most things even if its ingredients that make other things.
I never have figured out what they put in those gravy premixes. I make my gravy with some water and beef boulion and flour/salt/pepper if im wanting gravy and i havent cooked roast beef chicken or pork...if ive made those i make the gravy out of the juices in the roaster.
I hadnt thought of it as putting more love into your cooking. Thats a nice sentiment
@deepzholic (256)
• India
17 Jun 09
hi saundyl....
i love to make my own sauces and mixes from scratch....as i have done my graduation in culinary i love to cook things from scratch.......i generally don't cook and store it ....i mix whenever i need it......because some ingredients have certain self life after which their taste and quality changes.......many a times it is not visible by look....when you start to cook that thing it will show the changes........
1 person likes this
