The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

Banner by Free Pretty Things for You.

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Pantries and Preparedness. Jar mixes.

I love jars, as you must know! Many times I have looked at mixes in a jar that you can make up and have on hand. I love the idea. But usually I have considered the mixtures I have seen and felt we would not necessarily use that recipe.

Thanks to Teri I had a lightbulb moment about this!
Teri wrote me this lovely letter...

"...I never really thought about my pantry in all the ways mentioned in your posts or on other blogs.  I just call it my "food room" and use it daily to feed my family.  lol  Anyway, I make lots of dry mixes and store them in glass jars or #10 cans. Since it is just my husband and me now, I don't do quite as much, but when I make corn bread I just measure all the dry ingredients into pint jars and when I want to make corn bread for dinner, I just pull out a jar, add the wet ingredients.  It's my way of "boxed convenience" so to speak.  :)  I make my own onion soup mix, "bisquick", pancake/waffle mix, rice mix, dry salad dressings mixes (like Italian and ranch) etc. All these things I've been making and using for years.  Cooking from scratch is the only way I know how to cook. lol


I make lots of things like spaghetti sauce, chili, baked beans, taco soup, split pea soup, beef broth, chicken broth, etc. but I can them in jars so they are shelf stable.  I do use my freezer for many baked goods, like you do, and fruit, veggies and casseroles.  It's just nice to have a bit of both...."

This letter made my day! Thank you so much Teri. 
And it hit me. I have been looking at other peoples recipes and mixes and thinking I would not use this or that as it is not really what we eat or like. I haven't thought of them as a potential way to have my own trusted recipes ready to go in record time! 

We all know the production line principal... it is so much faster to repeat one action over and over and mass produce things than repeat the whole process many times and on different days, having to get everything out again over and over.
So I thought of all the things I do often bake, that are useful and we like, that I could pre prepare and have ready to go. Like my own "boxed convinience" as Teri said. How handy would that be on a busy night?! 

It is as simple as placing the dry ingredients in your jars and noting the additions you need to add. For a gift I would write the steps clearly out on a label. For myself I am keeping a master list inside the pantry door... ie Cornbread... "add one egg. one can creamed corn..." and then I know what to do (until it becomes automatic anyhow!)

We love cornbread. When I am serving soups this is the nicest side to soup and I have made it for years. I serve it warm. I still make it for the girls and give them a tray. It can be made as a loaf but I find it easier and neater and also better to freeze individual portions if I make it in as muffins.

This is my recipe...

2 cups polenta,
1 and 3/4 cups SR flour,
1/2 cup sugar,
100grams butter or oil, (3.5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups milk,
2 eggs.
I can creamed corn. Optional.

Mix wet eggs and sugar, add milk and oil then dry ing.  If you use the creamed corn you will need to add more polenta. It is a thick but slightly runny mix. Bake until lightly golden and a tester comes out clean. You could also add cheese to this recipe.
Serve warm with hot soup. Delicious! 


You can see the layers are cornmeal (polenta) flour and sugar. 


The recipe makes two dozen muffin sized, two loaves or a baking tray that you could cut into squares. Pop heaps in the freezer for with soups or stews.


Now my plan is to have heaps of these lined up ready to make and then move on to another useful ready mix.

Teri let me know this is her trusted mix she always has on hand..
SOS Mix (Soup or Sauce mix)  Equal to about 9 cans of cream soup)

2 Cups powdered non-fat dry milk
3/4 Cup cornstarch
1/4 Cup instant chicken bouillon (granules or powder)
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes (I crush mine a bit)
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
a little ground pepper, garlic powder, oregano and basil (use those or other spices/herbs that you like)

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and store in a jar.  (I double or triple this recipe and store in a clean
#10 can (tin) with a tight lid. It sits in my food room and I fill a quart jar for the pantry)

To use:  Combine 1/3 Cup of dry mix with 1 1/4 Cups of cold water.  Cook and stir on stove top or in microwave until thickened. Stir in some sautéed mushrooms, cook chicken, or sautéed celery/onion.  Add mixture to casseroles as you would a can of soup. (if additional liquid is needed in your recipe, just mix a bit more water to the cooked mixture to desired consistency).

* Notes:  This does not have to be refrigerated. The herbs you add can vary, I don't add salt to this as the bouillon has enough, I use my own dried onions if I have them and my own dried parsley and other herbs. You could also use a beef or veggie bouillon.  This is such a handy mix!
Now I am both collecting jars and working out the best mixes that are handy for me to have ready to go. They can also be made up in snap lock bags and labelled with a sharpie. 

This recipe is also used in scalloped potatoes, Broccoli cheese soup, tomato soup and many more. The full list of recipes can be found at Utah state university website where Teri found it. I found it   and here there is a free printable booklet of all the things you can use it to make. What a money saver! I am making this and printing the booklet and sticking it inside my cupboard doors.

Helen makes something similar, if yours is different Helen could you please let us know the recipe and how you use it?

Teri could you possibly add your Bisquick recipe and the ways that you use it if you have time? I think that will be my next project!

This is another way to add to our pantries, make life easier, reduce takeaways, save money and reduce the chemicals found in most packet mixes and cans. A massive win /win all around!

If you have any trusted mixes please share. It's huge help to us all is to be able to make something up quickly and easily and and reduce costs. 

I must have had a mental block with this. I knew it was a great idea but I never thought just to use my own often used recipes! So thanks to Teri for this post and all the possibilities it opens up!

I hope everyone is having a great week. Here we are mid week... I hope to get lots more done by Friday! xxx


51 comments:

  1. Oh I'm so excited to make some of these pantry stocking jar mixes this summer! Sounds so fun and beneficial! Thanks for sharing the recipes from Ms. Terri. Your cornbread recipe sounds wonderful! We love cornbread here! My husband was raised where it was. Nightly staple at the kitchen table!

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    1. Thank you Chrissy! Corn bread is a great meal stretcher. And a comfort food I think.
      Im glad this helps you. I am loving the way the SOS mix is used in potato bake... this sounds good to me and very easy.
      Hope you are having a great week! xxx

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  2. What a fabulous idea Annabel! I've made bulk mixes in the past that are very handy to have everything pre measured etc. Just a matter of measure out a little bit, add wet ingredients and mix or bake.

    Freezing fresh meat and spices or herbs, veg and liquids together is a bit of a revelation to me! Cath from Cheapskates club had a good article this month about freezing a weeks worth of freezer meals in one hour for $30. I'm doing this with my daughter as it will help her to get a meal in the slow cooker easily. Once these mixes, whether dry or freezer ready etc are assembled, its heat and eat. All the finding of this and that ingredients taken care of and becomes a no-brainer! Apart from lasagne, quiche pies etc I'm not a lover of precooked freezer meals. I prefer the taste of fresh cooked food.

    Pre packed breakfast ideas or snacks were always popular here when my girls were growing up. I'd pre pack and freeze or store in a tub all sorts of portioned snacks either for lunch or after school. Frozen muesli bars or muffins etc were great breakfast on the run options and pre made oatmeal sachets (like the commercial overpriced ones) just add liquid and microwave.

    Home made convenience food! I love it! Keep the ideas coming ladies. Isn't it funny how something that might seem obvious to one of us is a revelation to another? I'm learning so much from these wonderful posts and comments Annabel. Xo

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    1. I love your freezer meal plans Kaye especially doing it together with your daughter. It is the same production line principal of how we can get heaps done in a shorter time by multiplying.
      I have downloaded the SOS booklet and it is great. So simple! So many meals made easy.
      Yes it is funny I feel like I was slow to catch on how I could use this idea... silly me. But now Ive got it well it can be used for many things I am always making! I LOVE that I can keep finding new good things. Its kind of encouraging. This will keep me busy filling jars!
      Hope your week is going well! xxx

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  3. Such a good idea to have jars filled with ingredients just ready to add liquid and cook. I remember reading about Bisquick years ago as I had never heard of it before.

    By the way Annabel, did I tell you my buckles arrived so now I can take some up to my daughter for her card making? They are very cute I must say. Can't wait to see my grandchildren and give that little baby boy a big Nanna hug. Not long till you will be doing the same thing. :-)

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    1. You were waiting on the buckles to arrive... Im glad you are pleased with them and hope you love the results.
      I am going to do a post on bisquick/baking mix I think... it has so many uses.
      Have a wonderful trip and take lots of photos! xxx

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  4. Dear Annabel

    I am so with you on this. I have never made up jar mixes so this is a great opportunity. I note that some people make up jars with dehydrated meats and chicken in them, if any of your readers have more information on this I would be so interested. I will certainly be looking into this further.

    Thank you for sharing and hoping you have a great week

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    1. Im glad you like this Mel! It has great potential for gifts! Think hot chocolate mix or fancy coffee mixes, choc chip cookies, fancy breakfast muffins... mmm many things! But for at home the things we are always mixing up I think is the big time saver.
      I hope you are having a good week too...xxxx

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  5. Annabel, I love this idea, especially as gifts. I'm a bit of an experimental cook (like you didn't know this!) and having mixes doesn't help me that much as I'm always trying something new. I do have a white sauce premix though and that's really useful. Like the Bisquick, it's basically having the butter cut through the flour, salt and pepper added, and powdered milk stirred through. Then to make a traditional béchamel sauce, you just add hot water, whisk, and microwave, whisking every 30 seconds. Works like a charm. I know you do a cornflour and milk one, but sometimes there's nothing like a 'real' béchamel :) I too, am finding this series really helpful in stretching my brain on this issue of preparedness. Thankyou. Mimi xxx

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    1. Mimi I think Bechamel Sauce is a luxury and beautiful thing and poured over ANYTHING it becomes gorgeous! Your method is fantastic. What a help.
      I see the way you make it up is just the same as custard or microwave lemon butter... this is where the microwave is a great thing... so easy.
      The potential maybe for you as you say is gifts... like luxury hot chocolate mix or choc chip cookies or something like a breakfast muffin... lots of possibilities.
      Thank you, we all are thinking outside of our usual things and I am loving it!xxx

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  6. Thank you so much for this information Annabel. The SOS recipe is terrific and as I had never heard of Bisquick I looked it up and also some recipes to use it with. Thanks again!

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    1. Thanks Sherri, I am happy to hear good reports on the SOS mix. My Mum called Bisquick minx "baking mix" so I think it is a US/ Australian difference but much the same thing. Cath just posted in CHeapskates the recipe and some uses http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2015/04/moo-bisquick-and-convenience-of-moo.html
      This is the handiest thing. It makes everything from scones to cobblers, dumplings, you name it. I think we are on to a winner!
      Thank you for encouraging feed back on SOS mix to get us all going with it! xxx

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  7. Thank you for this wonderful post, Annabel. I really like the Soup or Sauce mix recipe.

    I try to keep homemade Ranch Dressing mix, Taco seasoning mix, and Pizza seasoning mix made up in jars. Some time ago we purchased the Fido jars with the clamp lids, so I use whatever size is needed for the mixes. I found some cute black chalk labels and use those for the front. We have the mixes displayed, along with other dried and dehydrated foods in Fido jars, on a Baker's Rack, next to the wood burning cook stove in the dining area.

    I love old jars and it's wonderful that you collect them. Jars can be so beautiful and intriguing to look at. They hold all kinds of potential for filling :). I remember going down to the cellar of an old stone house, shortly after we moved to this state, and a very kind elder lady had rows and rows of beautiful old glass canning jars lined up down there in all shapes and sizes. She told me to take a couple. I still cherish those jars and display them. Some of the old jars were such unique and pretty shapes.

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    1. Glenda I love meeting people that understand about jars! I read Jes' blog and saw she loves jars... and Wendy LOVES jars. I know there is a lot in common with us all!
      My best jars are old, the glass is really thick and uneven with little bubbles in it. Each on is slightly different. This are Agee jars. Most have a slightly green tinge. Well I love these jars!
      I am very fond of chalk board labels but then I love labels too!
      I might have to ask for you mix recipes. Especially I am intrigued by the Pizza seasoning mix...
      I just love the sound of your bakers rack and wood burning cook stove. Would you like a visitor? xxx

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    2. You are welcome anytime. Just give me a heads up to get the guest room filled with flowers and my Golden Retrievers corralled.😃

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  8. Love mixes in jars too! So far we have only recipes for our cornbread ~

    http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2013/10/cornbread-mix-in-jar-hostess-gift.html

    but we also do ranch and am currently experimenting with others. I can't wait to see what other recipes you come up with. This is a fun topic :)

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    1. Dear Jes, I love that you gave two size options in your mix. And this is a great and sweet gift. I hope I come up with some more that work for my kitchen too.
      I am constantly on the hunt for jars, now I need even more. Snap lock bags are quite good but not as good as lovely jars. Many thanks, Annabel.xxx

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  9. I do that with the SOS mix that you mentioned. I love it! I have used it for years in any recipe that called for "Cream of.... (whatever--celery, chicken, mushroom) soup" in the recipe. It's so much cheaper than the cream of ... soups and doesn't use any items that have to be tossed or recycled. It stores on the shelf forever. I just love it.

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    1. Thank you Cristy! I am thinking apart from less chemicals, less money... that the dry mix saves a lot of pantry space, being less space than cans... which is good when space is a valuable thing too.
      I am so pleased to hear you love it... this is encouraging!
      Thank you so much! xxx

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  10. I have been meaning to do this. It never makes it to the top of the list! I would like to stock my pantry with homemade mixes for pancakes, cornbread, brownies and pizza crust. It would certainly save some time. Thanks for inspiring me to get this to the top of the list!

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  11. Hi Annabel,
    My favourites are
    "Jarrah" Vienna coffee mix
    Bulk Chocolate cupcake mix
    Bulk Pancake mix and
    Microwave chocolate pudding mix.
    Keep the great ideas and encouragement coming. Julie

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    1. Oh my goodness Julie...if you gave the time I would love any of these recipes. Im sure I wouldnt be the only one!
      These all sound fantastic.
      My news is I heard from my Mum and she is bringing me big jars with lids! So this will be a help. Many thanks for these ideas.xxx

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  12. I am seeing ideas for gifts all over these mixes!!! Love this Annabel! Since my husband and I eat low-carb I'm going to look into making mixes that are low carb that we use. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. Dear Patsi Im hoping you might find rubs, soup mixes, seasonings etc that are useful to you. Also maybe seasonings for nut mixes... Im thinking...
      Good news. Mum has big jars with lids for me!
      Hope you are having a good week! Love Annabel.xxx

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  13. I got a good bisquick type recipe off the Martha Stewart site and it works well for us! d

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    1. Thank you! I will go have a look and see if I can find it. I used to get aMartha Stewart Living magazine (via my Mum) and loved all the recipes and ideas, thank you! xx

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  14. Pancake and Waffle Mix-12 cups unbleached flour, 3 cups powdered milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup baking powder and 2 tablespoons salt. Mix well and store in a sealed container in the pantry.

    To use-1 1/2 cups mix, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons oil and 1 1/4 cups water. Don't over mix, leave some lumps. I drop 1/3 cup batter for pancakes.

    I have used this recipe for 20 years and it has saved us a lot of money.

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    1. Thank you so much Lana! We will just say it has been sufficiently tried and tested as I think 20 years should do!
      I will mix this up in my next jars (Mum bringing me some on the weekend) I am thinking this would be. Nice gift... With a jar of jam even...
      Thank you so much for this. Xxx

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  15. Annabel, Your jars look fantastic!! Great gifts with beautiful tags! :) Here's the Quick mix recipe I use:

    Utah Ready-Quick Mix: (Makes 29 cups or 13 cups)

    Just a note: since I put different amounts for the 29 cups or 13 cups when I previewed this it looks like they all ran together. Annabel, you might have to edit it a big or else I can email. This could also be on that same site as SOS??

    Flour 5 pounds (about 20 cups) 9 cups
    Baking Powder 3/4 cup 1/3 cup
    Salt 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon 4 teaspoons
    Shortening (like Crisco) 4 cups 1 3/4 cups
    Non-fat dry milk 2 3/4 cups 1 3/4 cups

    Stir flour, baking powder and salt (in a very big bowl). Cut shortening throughout until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

    To Use: Stir slightly before measuring ( do not sift). Lift lightly into cup and level with straight edge.

    Storage: Store in a tightly covered container, at room temp for up to 6 weeks or put in refrig for longer storage. (I add a bay leaf to all my dry flour mixes. It doesn't effect taste and keeps bugs out).

    Use this mix like Bisquick. In this recipe, it needs to have a shortening that is shelf stable. I use this for biscuits (sweet or savory) all the time but there are many possibilities.

    I love using this and saves time and money. Love all the comments I'm learning so much! Teri

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    1. Annabel, the measurements got all messed up. It should read:
      For 29 cups - Flour 5 pounds (20 cups), baking powder 3/4 cup, salt 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon, shortening 4 cups and non-fat dry milk 2 3/4 cups.

      For 13 cups - Flour 9 cups, baking powder 1/3 cup, salt 4 teaspoons, shortening 1 3/4 cups and non-fat milk 1 3/4 cups.

      I'm sorry about the way this looks above. Teri

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    2. Dear Teri,
      Thank you so much for this. Thank you for being such a help.
      I also add the bay leaf to all my flours, beans etc and it works! I once had pantry moths and it drove me crazy. This is the cure! Mum has a huge bay leaf tree so I have an endless supply.
      THank you so much. I hope you are having a wonderful week. I am making soup, it is quite cool here. With love, Annabel.xxx

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  16. You are such a motivator! Thank you for your blog. : )

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    1. Thank you so much Mary! The thing is for me that writing motivates me and pushes me to do more and try new things. So I get so much more done and going along together helps me too. I call it the buddy system. It is fun to have company in things and we all help each other out. Thank you so much! xxx

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  17. I have a snack cake mix that I make up whenever necessary. The main things I use it for are gingerbread and a double chocolate snack cake. One "recipe" of the mix makes enough for about 6 cakes that I cook in a 9X9 square pan.

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    1. Nancy that sounds wonderful. Please feel free to post this recipe as it sounds different to any we have. Plus the recipes you make up with it. They sound beautiful!
      This is so handy. And tried and true recipes are the best! Thank you Nancy.xxx

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  18. I'm new to your site and am hooked! I recently finished reading everything in your blog archive and look forward to your weekly posts.
    I too love mixes. Have you ever read the book, Make-A-Mix? That's what got me started on mixes. I bought a deep, rectangular dishpan to mix the ingredients in (they recommend a dishpan in the book). It keeps me from slinging flour and so forth all over the counter when I start mixing.

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    1. Thank you so much and welcome! I cant believe you read everything!
      No I havent had Make a Mix so I will look it up. I could try to see if our library has it too.
      It is a great tip about how to mix the ingredients once your pour them out thank you.
      Thanks you so much for commenting I really appreciate that, Love Annabel.xxx

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  19. Annabel pair a gift in a jar with one of your tags and what a wonderful gift for someone. You could put together a box or basket with some in for Lucy for after the baby arrives - it would make life so much easier for her in those forst couple of months.

    Now that I have some more time I am going to have to investigate this idea further - that is after I test out some recipes to see if they are going to be suitable for us.

    With just the two of us and limited storage space I need to be careful with what I store, no different to when I go grocery shopping.

    Thankyou everyone


    Lynette
    XXXXX

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    1. Dear Lynette,
      The jars are a great addition to a gift basket. So many possibilities!
      Aly mentioned that she makes up gluten free flour mix. So gluten free mixes I think would be a big money saver, once perfected. If your testing is successful please share the recipes as there are so many families that need to be gluten free that circulating the best recipes would be so helpful.
      Lucy has two weeks to go, we are counting down now!
      Also I see some serious weather on the coast again... I hope nothing bad heading your way.
      Lots of love, Annabel.xxx

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  20. Hi Annabel, great ideas on the jars. I can share one you might not have thought of. Years ago when the boys were teens, they used to love making pizzas on the weekend. I'd regularly come out to find a whole 500g packed of mozzarella gone and the whole lot of meat gone etc etc. Kids had no idea on the cost and suddenly we had extremely expensive pizzas. Watched the pennies very carefully then and so I went to Aldi and bought six packets of turkish bread, that was our fave pizza base then. It was the long one, about 45 cm long, cut in half lengthways made great long pizzas. Then I bought the ingredients such as tin pineapple, olives, ham, cheese, capsicum etc, and I cut and measured and put the ingredients into little containers i.e. pineapple olives etc. Zip lock bags for the cheese and meat etc, then closed up the plastic bread bag and slid into the freezer. The kids were rapt, and there was never any complaints that i had been 'light' with the ingredients, they just used what they had, which proved my point to myself first time around, that they will use up ALL of what they have, they aren't necessarily greedy. I didn't tell them it was to stop them using a weeks worth of things in one go, I simply let them know it was there to make it easy. I followed this for several years and even now I like to have a couple tucked away in the freezer. Turkish bread makes yummy pizzas. Hope your week is great. My daughter in law is 30 tomorrow and she has organised (she is such an organised girl) that we all go out for dinner to a really nice chinese restaurant tomorrow night and woohoo of course grand baby is coming. So that is something to look forward to. There's another way I save too, and that is by having our dinner ready already for tonight. Yesterday I cooked a roast, I find the pieces are too big for just the man and I and so I cook extra roast veggies and gravy and plate up four meals at once. Two get eaten immediately and two glad wrapped into the frig. Because the flavour infuses through even more the second day, we don't mind eating the same thing two nights in a row. Great saving on cooking and oven use. ciao bella, Fiona xx

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    1. Fiona I love your "bag it up pizza toppings" this is a great tip. Actually portion controlling things is clever and as you say the boys just thought it was great and handy and unaware it saved money!
      I think feeding teenage boys makes you an expert at food management! You have to be. Imagine the cost currently.
      We also adore turkish bread as pizza base. Monday I got a whole heap of the long ones for under $1 each. And round ones 50c for 4! They are in the freezer for pizzas!
      Also doing the extra vegies and plating up extra roast dinners is wonderful. Yes they taste perfect ... Mum does this often for Dad. She puts the whole dinner in the oven on an oven proof plate. I do it too. Roast dinners are so good and you get a night off also. What a good tip.
      Yes Lucy has just two weeks to go, oh my goodness! You can imagine...
      Have a wonderful time tomorrow night! It sounds great.
      Thank you for awesome tips. xxx

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    2. i've just realised that i probably should have said that all the ingredients that i pre prepare for the turkish pizzas goes inside the bag the turkish bread came in, that way you just get out one parcel and voila all there.

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    3. Im glad you added that Fiona. Now you said that it makes sense... its a whole meal kit. All they have to do is assemble. Genius! Thank you.xxx

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  21. Such a great gift idea Annabel. Your jars look so pretty.

    I have never made cornbread, but yours looks so tempting that I might just give it a try.

    I have never made mixes either, so will keep this in mind for the future.

    Sorry to be absent yet again, my days have been so full of cooking, travelling and gardening. My sourdough experiment is going really well. I will post about it soon. Today on my blog I am posting my apple roly poly recipe.

    xTania

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    1. Dear Tania,
      I am just happy to hear you are busy with good things! I look forward to learning how you are making the sour dough. Also I will link to your Apple Roly Poly recipe either Friday or somewhere in my use it up series. I am looking forward to this recipe!
      Hope rain is coming, I think so! Lots of love, Annabel. xxx ps yes two weeks to go...xxx

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  22. Dear Annabel,
    I LOVE THIS POST!!!! Yes I'm yelling it lol! I have my notebook and I'm writing it down for my recipe book. I love every smart thrifty frugal resourceful woman here! These ideas are real money savers and the SOS??? Love the fact it's gluten-free and no chemicals. I'm not saying I'll never use a canned soup again but after I try this, maybe I won't. I already have plans for SOS mix for some Christmas presents in jars with the little booklet printed. Im going to try Lana's pancake and waffle mix for my kids and if it's a hit, im going to do that in a really big glass jar for my sister for Christmas. She'll be over the moon for something like that. I know I've shared with you that our mom didn't train us in the kitchen so we've been learning as we go and playing lots of catch-up. I so value the time you spend on your blog, thinking of the posts and all of the ideas everyone brings along. Thank you Fiona I'm going to take that pizza topping advice...Hugs to Teri for sharing and as always, a big thanks Annabel for this post. You're ALL making a positive difference in my home with your great ideas and encouragement. Xxx Colette

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    1. Thanks Colette! The recipes everyone has been sharing are fantastic. This concept is just jar mixes instead of packet mixes and so handy. And big savings in money and time. Good hey!?
      The SOS mix plus the recipe plus how to use it and uses... this is a really good gift for a cook, someone trying to budget better... someone trying to cut back on additives...
      You are teaching your kids well, I know that. This will be a huge help to them. But we can learn at any age and keep learning. I am learning so much especially lately! And it is really exciting. I love it.
      Oh I was going to say also... the SOS mix potentially saves a lot of space in the pantry as it means we dont need all those cans. Space is valuable.
      I hope you are having a good week... Lots of love, Annabel.xxx

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  23. Hi Annabel

    What wonderful ideas people are coming up with and sharing with others. I think making up these in jars and having on the pantry shelf are a wonderful idea and also make fantastic gifts for someone who happens to be struggling.

    I will send you through some of the recipes for the gluten free flours but they may need to be amended as they are for a Bellini (themomix type machine) but I am sure they could be done in an ordinary food processor.

    How exciting that Lucy only has 2 weeks to go. I am sure that you are bursting out of your skin with excitement. Sending our best wishes to the "parents to be"

    Aly xxx

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    1. Thank you Aly for sending the recipes. I am going through them now and will include in a post soon.
      Yes this is an exciting time. The latest scan of the baby shows chubby cheeks and a curl on top! I have been making soup and trying to be organized so I can help and cope!
      Thank you for this. Love Annabel.xxx

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  24. Great post Annabel! I was just talking to my husband about this very topic the other day. I am thinking about recruiting my mom to help me with a marathon mix making session. I figure if we each had a few recipes to mix up we would get it done in no time! Melissa L.

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    1. Melissa I think it would be really fun to have a helper and do a whole heap of these. I think most family favourite recipes can be made up this way. Plus it would be a nice time with your Mom. You need a long line of jars!
      Have a lovely weekend! Love Annabel.xxx

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