Tip of the Week

Today I was dealing with 20 pounds of beef and preparing it for the freezer. Wanting the put together some meatloaf, but not really wanting to deal with the mess I had a flash of genius. There's nothing worse than having my hands in frigid raw meat and then having to answer the phone or rescue a child in need or answer the door. It happens every time.

I just threw in all the ingredients into a large Ziploc bag, sealed it well and mixed the ingredients without ever even touching the raw meat! When it's time to make these mini meatloaves, I'll just thaw in the fridge and then scoop out the mixture with a large scoop right into the muffin tins. Couldn't be easier or any less messy:)

Buttermilk Salad Dressing

I'm spring cleaning my spice cabinet and making dry mixes. I multiplied this dry mix times 10 and now will have plenty of dressing on hand for those summer vegetables!

Dry Mix (1 serving)

1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix 1 Tbsp dry mix with 1 Tbsp minced garlic, 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 tsp vinegar in the blender. Chill for 30 minutes. Store in sealed container in fridge for up to one week.

Cost comparison (16 oz): Store bought $2.49
Homemade $.75

Banana French Toast

Last weekend I was needing to use up some bananas and decided to incorporate them into our Sunday brunch. I didn't measure ingredients, so these are approximations.

Prep Time: less than 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8-10
Cost: approx. $2.00

1 loaf of bread ($1.00)
6 eggs ($.50)
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas

Place eggs, milk, vanilla and bananas in a blender and blend until smooth. Dip bread into mixture, cook on non stick griddle. Top with syrup or warm vanilla cream sauce.

Find the recipe and many others at The Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap.

Spices

Recently when making my own spice mixes I've just been using what is in the cupboard. Now many of these spices are needing to be replenished and I'm curious as to where to get the best price for quality on bulk spices. I've always just purchased the supermarket variety.

So, please enlighten me. Where do you buy your spices.