Friday, March 16, 2012

Making your own mixes

About 4 years ago I heard of a book called Make a Mix and how easy the recipes in it for making your own mixes so I bought the book. That book sent me on a journey that I have yet to return from. The first recipe I tried out of the book was chocolate pudding mix. I knew if that recipe past my family's taste test then I had a real chance at making more and thus saving money. Since then I have surfed the net and thanks to other people's creative minds I have collected over 300 make your own mixes. I use this mixes a lot because they save me a lot of money over time. I am not paying  for fancy packaging and all I need to stock are the basic food supplies to make them. I keep all my mixes in glass canning jars and gallon pickle jars that I get for free from local restaurants.

Some of the mixes I make are pancake & waffle mix, different pudding mixes, cake mixes, ABM mixes, baking mixes, gravy mixes, cookie mixes, hot cocoa mix, flavored tea mixes, hamburger helper, rice a roni and more. These mixes also make great gift baskets at Christmas time. I have made several gifts for my family and friends over the last few years. One time I made my daughter and her family a breakfast basket that included the pancake & waffle mix, home made pancake syrup, homemade jams & jellies, hot cocoa mix and precooked shelf stable bacon. Along with the food I included a new cast iron pan because she had been wanting one. I have done dinner theme baskets, tea for two basket, a dessert basket that included a new cake pan and cookie day basket that had new cookie sheets, parchment paper and cookie cutters in it. Everyone who gets these baskets love them and always want to know what kind they are going to get next year. :)

One basket that I am planning on for this year is popsicle baskets. I hope to find popsicle molds this summer to include with the pudding mixes to make their own pudding pops. And maybe some cute sundae dishes for pudding desserts. I think those baskets would go over real well with everyone.

If you have not tried to make your own mixes please give it a try. I bet you will be surprised at how easy they are to make and all the money you can save by making them yourself.  You may find yourself hooked on making your own mixes and go on the same journey that I am on and find that you may never come back from it. :)