There are many reasons to make your own food from scratch at home. There are health benefits to knowing what you put into the food you fix for your family. Let’s not even get into the corn byproducts that the food industry and government are sticking into all premade and processed foods causing… no, I won’t get into it. There are home budget benefits as well since you can actually make these “mystery” convenience foods right in your own kitchen for pennies on the dollar in most cases. And once these mixes are made they become time savers as well as you can make delicious wholesome foods in record time. It just takes a little bit of planning.
Why are the foods we eat such a mystery to people? We eat AT LEAST three times a day and yet so many feel that a homemade frosted cake is opening a box at home and then opening a can of frosting to spread. My Mom and I were talking about this just yesterday. Pickles are something that must grow on trees or maybe bushes; they certainly can’t be MADE. Raspberries grow on trees and where does a potato come from? The Ground? In the dirt??? Gross! (These are all true stories… from adults… and a few teenagers). The reason food is a mystery is because we’ve made it that way.
Salad dressings found on the grocery store shelves are an American phenomenon, as I have been led to understand, though my own traveling experiences have barely ever left American soil. A good friend of mine that we used to picnic with often who is from South America brought one of the best tasting green salads ever to share on one of those picnics. I asked her what the dressing was and I was floored at the simplicity when she told me. It was full of flavor but made with very few ingredients. The dressings on our American grocery store shelves are often “fat-full” and have an ingredient list a mile long of things I can hardly pronounce not to mention the good ones cost DOLLARS and the cheap ones don’t taste so good. Then there’s eating for $3 a day per person and you can imagine I don’t want to spend DOLLARS on fattening salad dressing either. Then I was forced to figure out a salad dressing one day as I discovered we were completely out of dressing, we were having company over for dinner AND it was Sunday which meant, among other things, that there were no purchases at the store in my future that day.
I sent in my salad dressing idea to one of my favorite “frugal living” blogs/sites when she did a piece on homemade salad dressings and I actually got a personal response from its author who is really and truly an unofficial genius at frugality. The internet has really led me into a world of connections with people who live like me and have similar priorities though our basic reasons for lifestyle may vary. She thought my idea on making and storing the salad dressings was fantastic and she hadn’t yet thought of it on her own. So there it is… I must be an expert… at salad dressing!?!? Maybe just creative thinking outside the box. Well, it’s something!
Here are a few of my favorite salad dressings and a couple other dry mixes too. I store the dry ingredients in clean dry pint jars and a pint is the perfect size for mixing in the wet ingredients once you decide to make the salad dressing. They are capped with clean pre-used canning lids and rings. (I like to re-use as much as possible). Once I have filled my line-up of jars with dry ingredients I label the jar with masking tape to indicate the type of dressing. Then on a piece of masking tape I stick on the bottom of the jar I indicate the wet ingredients to be added along with their amounts. That way, homemade salad dressing is quick as a wink to make on a busy night and easy enough to create that my older children can even whip it up easily when it is their week for "dinner prep." Usually several kinds of dressing mixes are on my pantry shelves for the “dinner helper” to choose from. And when they’re gone I get out all of my spices and mix up the different combinations all over again. *Important to note; most of my spices are bought in larger quantities at Sam’s Club for further cost savings. With as much cooking as I do for a larger family I don’t have any trouble going through these ingredients. Most of these dressings can sit on the shelf ready and waiting for at least 6 months.
Home-Style Ranch
Dry ingredients: 1 tsp. dry parsley, 1/8 tsp. dry dill, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/8 tsp. dry mustard, optional 1 1/2 tsp. dried chives.
Wet ingredients: 1 c. mayonnaise (no substitutes), 2/3 c. buttermilk (made from 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and milk to total 2/3 c.), 1/4 tsp. white vinegar.
Whisk together. Best results requires 4 hours chilling time before serving.
Italian Dressing
Dry ingredients: 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning.
Wet ingredients: 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 c. canola oil, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. white or white wine vinegar.
Whisk all together. Store in fridge for 2 weeks.
French Dressing
Dry ingredients: 1/4 c. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika (smoked gives it a bacon flavor), 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. onion powder
Wet ingredients: 3/4 c. vegetable oil, 1/4 c. vinegar
Shake until blended. Chill.
My sister requested a couple of other mix recipes as well. I guess her family must have liked “dinner in the mail” that I made for them and sent over 2,000 miles.
The following I store individually in small plastic Ziplocs and then place folded Ziplocs in Mason Jars to keep the dry ingredients fresh. You can make make as many of these packets as you think you’ll use in 6 months.
Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix 1 Tbsp. dried minced onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. dry mustard, 1/4 tsp. celery seeds, 1/4 tsp. chili powder.
Brown 1 pound ground beef. Optional; toss in a chopped green or red pepper with the beef. Add in 1 packet of the seasoning mix with 1/2 c. water and 8 oz. tomato sauce. Serve on hamburger buns (or make your own). Yum!
Taco Seasoning Mix Use in any favorite mexican recipe calling for taco seasoning
2 tsp. dry minced onion, 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (reduce for milder taste), 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tsp. cumin
Brown 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or cook beans until soft. Add 1/2 c. water with one packet of taco seasoning mix to the beef or beans.
Enjoy!
