Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Spaghetti Herb Mix

I'm interested in making more mixes from the spices I already have in the cabinet. I came across the book, "Miserly Moms", on our bookshelf. After dusting it off, I found a chapter on mix recipes. I'll be trying them out in smaller portions just to make sure they pass the test. If they work out well, I plan on making jars of mixes to use regularly.

Spaghetti Herb Mix

1/2 cup Garlic Powder
1/2 cup Onion Powder
1/2 Cup Dried Oregano
3 T. Dried Basil
3 T. Dried Thyme
3 T. Salt
2 T. Sugar

Place 16 oz of tomatoes in a blender with 4 T. of the mix. Liquify. Add additional ingredients such as mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, green peppers as desired. Warm and serve.

Cost Comparison:

Jar of generic spaghetti sauce: $1.25
Package of store bought mix with 16 oz of tomatoes: $2.00
Homemade spaghetti mix with bulk canned tomatoes and spices on hand: $.36


Okay, this one's a keeper. Sean said it is the best sauce we've ever had at home. I think I'll need to take into account the amount of salt in the mix if I'm using canned tomatoes. Maybe I'll leave the salt out altogether and add it to taste when the sauce is heating. I can't imagine how this would taste with fresh vegetables from our garden this summer!

You can find this recipe along with many others at The Grocery Cart Challenge's Friday Recipe Swap and at Life As a Mom's Frugal Friday.

10 comments:

Monica said...

I've been making sauce from the big cans of tomatoes from Sam's. My spices look about the same as yours with the exception of thyme. I'll add that next time. I also add some black pepper. I just used a ziploc bag of my sauce today for dinner. I wondered if you keep your ziplocs. Do you wash and reuse them from the freezer? And Do you use the freezer bags or the regular bags?

Monica said...

Monica, this is the first time I made this sauce so I haven't frozen it yet. I plan to, though. I prefer to use freezer bags, but use regular ones in a pinch. My food usually doesn't stay frozen for more than a month before it is used. I've never washed and reused bags. Do you?

Dawn V said...

I have that book- I keep thinking I should get it out as well. there is some good stuff in there

Monica said...

I do plan to wash and reuse them. They just seem too nice to throw away after one use. I even washed the one from the spagetti sauce the other day and it is in great shape still. I just washed with the regular dishes in warm soapy water and let it dry out completely by propping it on a glass upside down.
I bought the gallon size regular ziplocs from Sam's and they seem plenty thick enough for short term freezer use.
I hope to use them at least twice before tossing them.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Webster's said...

Add a pinch (20-25 seeds) of fennel seed to this! It adds a depth of flavor that is fabulous!

The P in PJs til Noon said...

This sounds great! I'm definitely going to try this. I bought the big can of tomato sauce from Sam's, but didn't even think of purchasing the tomatos and blending them..thanks!

Frugal Sara said...

This is great. Thank you.

Mom on the Go said...

This looks like a good recipe. Can wait to try it. BTW I use old jars instead of freezer bags...that way I can use them over and over. You just have to leave head room so you don't have a mess in the freezer. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Don't reuse the bags that held meat or poultry. It just isn't work the risk of cross contamination

Dawn V said...

Where do you buy your spices