Friday Frugal Tips-Snack Bags for Freezing

 
Since there is just two of us living at home, I freeze many things in individual servings.  I talked about this in my post about Freezing Buttermilk.  For this purpose, I use common, inexpensive snack bags.  Usually I can get as much as 3/4 c. into a bag.  Since the bags are not thick enough to be freezer bags by themselves, I put the bags into a larger freezer bag, one quart or one gallon depending on how much I am freezing. They are then actually more protected than if the items were just in a freezer bag.  I can easily remove however many snack bags of an item I need at  a time.

Some of the things I put in these bags are:  Freezer Coleslaw, Grinder and Taco Fillings, browned Italian Sausage for pizzas, pepperoni for pizzas, applesauce, browned breakfast sausage, and, of course, the buttermilk.  As regards the applesauce,  I can never find a good sale on applesauce except for the larger jars.  When I open a jar for a recipe and will not use all the applesauce right away, I freeze it.  I find this method of storing food in the freezer both economical and convenient. 

Frugal Friday Tips-Make Your Own Onion Soup Mix

Today I am going to talk a little bit about onions and onion soup mix.  Onions generally keep for some time, but if they are starting to go “south” as they say, chop them up and put in the freezer.  Put the chopped onions in 1/2 c. amount in snack bags.  Put the snack bags into a large freezer bag and freeze.  The onions can then be removed as needed and added directly to soups, stews, sauces, and casseroles.

One of the handiest things to have in your kitchen is onion soup mix because there are so many things you can do with it.  Purchased onion soup mix is expensive and high in sodium.  A homemade version of the mix can be made in less than 5 minutes with ingredients probably on hand, and will be lower in sodium even with using the instant beef broth granules.  If sodium is a concern, use low sodium granules.  Note:  The mix in the photo above is not as brown as some would be due to the brand of instant broth I used.

The mix can be stored in an air-tight container and measured out as needed, or 5 T (the equivalent of 1 envelope of mix) can be measured into snack bags and stored in a larger plastic storage bag.  Dividing the mix up ahead saves time when using it.

An advantage of homemade mixes is that they can be customized to a person’s tastes.  After trial and error, this is my version of homemade onion soup mix with several recipes to use it in.  I like to place my dried onions in a 350 degree oven and toast them for about 3 minutes, but that is optional.  Watch them carefully.

Homemade Onion Soup Mix

3/4 c. dried onion flakes, toasted if desired
1/3 c. instant beef broth granules
1 T. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. celery seed
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. black pepper

Combine all ingredients together, blending very well.  Store in an air-tight container.  When ready to use, shake container well and use 5 T. for 1 envelope of mix.  This can also be divided up into 5 T. amounts and stored in snack bags.  If using for onion dip, spread, or rice add 1 t. dried parsley to each 5 T. mix
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Onion Dip

5 T. Onion Soup Mix
1 c. sour cream or cottage cheese (put through a blender)

Mix soup mix and sour cream or cottage cheese together and let chill at least 1 hour.

For Onion-Cheese Dip add 1 T. grated Parmesan Cheese to above mixture.

Onion Spread

5 T. Onion Soup Mix
1 pkg. (8 oz.) softened cream cheese, reg., low-fat, or fat-free

Mix soup mix and cream cheese together, blending well.  Let chill at least 1 hour.

Onion Rice Pilaf

1 T. butter or olive oil
1 c. rice, uncooked
1/2 c. vermicelli or thin spaghetti broken into 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 T. onion soup mix
1 1/2 to 2 c. chicken broth or water.

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add rice and vermicelli and cook until vermicelli is browned, watching carefully and stirring often.  Add onion soup mix and chicken broth or water.  Bring to boiling, reduce, cover and simmer until rice is done and liquid is absorbed.  I give a range on the water because most directions  call for 2 cups water to 1 c. rice, but I have better luck with 1 1/2 cups.  Serves 4.

Curried Apricot or Peach Chicken

Chicken:  may be whole, cut-up; skinless thighs, or boneless, skinless chicken breasts-enough for 4-6 people
1 bottle (8 oz.) bottle Catalina Dressing or make your own.
1 (10-12 oz.) jar apricot or peach jam
5 T. onion soup mix
1/2 –1 t. curry powder

Place chicken in a foil-lined baking pan.  Combine Catalina Dressing, jam, onion soup mix, and curry powder.  Pour over chicken.  Bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hour depending on what chicken parts you use.  Sauce is good served over rice or couscous.  Makes 4-6 servings.

Frugal Friday Tips-Quick and Easy Bread Sticks

Today's Frugal Friday is shop your local bread discount outlet.  In the moderate-sized town near me, there are three bread discount outlets.  There I can get bread products for a little as $1.00 an item.  This is real savings over buying the same items at the grocery store.  I shop two of the stores on a regular basis.  Here is what I last purchased at the store A for $1.00 each.  As you can see, you can get other products beside bread.  This trip I was able to snag tortillas, pizza crusts, and potato chips. 

This is what I last purchased at Store B.  At this store, you must buy 5 items to get them for $1.00 each.  I also purchased a box of donuts which I took to work, so they are not in the picture.  I will divide up the Brown and Serve Bread Sticks and put them in the freezer.  I am not always able to get the bread sticks.  When that happens, I make bread sticks from oblong sandwich rolls.  Today I used the French Hoagie rolls, and this is how I do it.

1/2 to 1 roll for each person
1 T. butter per roll, melted
Seasoning to sprinkle over rolls I like Spice Islands Garlic and Herb Grinder); any spice, herb, or blend can be used.
Grated or shredded cheese as desired (optional)

If rolls are not completely cut in half finish cutting them in half.  Cut the halves in half.  There will be 4 sticks per roll.  Brush each stick with melted butter.  Sprinkle chosen herb or spice over bread sticks.  Bake in a 375 degree oven 5-10 minutes or until as brown and crisp as desired.  I do not go too brown with the Spice Island Blend so the garlic doesn't burn.  Allow 2-4 bread sticks per serving.

Frugal Friday Tips-Twice Baked Croutons

This post could go in my DIY Groceries series, but I am posting it here under Frugal Tips instead.  One the most over-priced items in the grocery store, in my opinion, is packaged croutons.  I can buy bread at three different bread surplus stores in my area for as little as $1.00 a loaf, and it is perfect for making croutons.  Besides saving money, there are other reasons to make your own croutons.  Homemade croutons have no additional preservatives other than what is in the bread. They can be made from any bread, which provides unlimited variety.  My personal favorite for making croutons is 12-Grain bread, although that is not what I used today.  They can be made in small batches so they are fresher.  They can be seasoned with any combination of seasonings.  They are very easy to make.

I use a double bake method when I make croutons.  This is a little more labor intensive than most methods, but not much.  I cube my bread, bake it, add the butter/olive oil/seasonings/etc. mixture, blend well and put back in the oven to finish baking.  Before I started to do this, some of the croutons absorbed too much oil and were greasier than the rest.  This method seems to avoid that.  This is what I made today.  Unfortunately, I tend to eat homemade croutons like popcorn which is not very good for my hips.

Sour Dough Garlic/Parmesan Croutons
8 slices Sour Dough French Bread
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 t. garlic powder
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese

Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes.  Spread out in a single layer on two jelly roll pans.  Place in a 300-degree oven and bake for 7-8 minutes.   Turn bread cubes and bake another 7-8 minutes.  Remove from oven and place bread cubes in a large bowl.   Place butter and olive oil in a glass measuring cup.  Microwave at 50% power 1 minute or until butter is melted.  Add garlic powder and Parmesan Cheese.  Mix well.  This will form kind of a paste.  Pour the paste as slowly as you can over the bread cubes, stirring and stirring until it is all very well mixed.  Place the bread cubes in single layers back into the jelly roll pans.  Return to oven and bake 10 minutes, turn bread cubes and bake another 5 to 10 minutes until as crisp as you like.  They will crisp up some more as they cool.  Store tightly covered.  This makes at least as much as a package of croutons.

Linked to I'm Lovin It at Tidy Mom and Frugal Friday at Living on a Dime