DIY Dried Onion Soup Mix

Make It Yourself Dried Onion Soup Mix

Okay, true story--not the most inspiring picture in the world.  Kind of an ugly duckling, but we all know how that story ended.  The ugly duckling was actually a swan and looks can be deceiving.

It's the same with this DIY dried onion soup mix.  I haven't had the packaged stuff in a very long time.  I mean, two pouches for over $2.00, wow!  I suppose $2.00 in a world of billions is laughable chump change, but my world isn't made up of billions, millions, or even hundreds.  There have been times when I had to shake out my handbag or couch dive to find loose change.  So yeah, $2.00 does matter.  You need $2.00 before you can have a million.

Some years back I used to ride the bus to work, and there were a couple of young people who were having a loud conversation for the benefit of their bus buddies, being snarky about people trying to save nickles and dimes at a local gas station. Waiting in line at a gas station to save five cents a gallon at the gas pump was incomprehensible.  Well, I said to them, if you found fifty cents on the ground in a parking lot, would you pick it up or would you walk over it. They quite smugly assured me they'd walk over it, that fifty cents was "nothing" but I think most people would pick it up and pocket it. When I find money like that I tend to donate it to charity but okay, whatever.  Bless your heart.

Anyway, saving money is as close as your spice cabinet or pantry and I kid you not when I say this is superior to the packaged mix. Big beefy and onion flavor, just what you'd expect. How many spices do you have in your cabinet that go stale from years of not being used.  Many of us are guilty of that.  We buy a spice for a recipe and then don't use that spice or herb for another year or so.  Like celery seed.  Just how often do you use that?  I use it in my potato salad that I make several times a year but other than than it's pretty neglected.

So, with making your own spice mix or bulk food mix, not only do you save money and have equal to or better quality and flavor, but also in the long run save money because you are using ingredients that you have on hand at their optimal freshness and not tossing them out.

I repurposed a spaghetti sauce jar (it was a jar of Classico spaghetti sauce); I love these jars.  They have markings for ounces on the side, which I don't use, but it gives a bit of pizzazz to the jar, and I feel green re-using it.  I appreciate that it has a wide mouth so I fit a tablespoon in it. No fighting to get the spoon in and out. Just as an aside I'm keeping more of the jars to store other pantry items in it, like brown sugar and flaked coconut, dried beans and the like.  It looks nice, takes up less space on my pantry shelves, and is a great way to store food if you're not one who happens to like a lot of plastic.

To fill the jar, I double the recipe.

MAKE-IT-YOURSELF DRIED ONION SOUP MIX

3/4 cup dried, minced onion
1/3 cup beef-flavored bouillon (I use Knorr)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed celery seed
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients.  Shake to combine.  Makes 1 cup mix.

5 tablespoons is equal to one store-bought packet.

COOK'S NOTES:  I wrote the recipe on a 3x5 card and taped it with clear packing tape to the side of the jar so that way I always have the recipe on hand and I don't have to do a search to remember how much to use to equal one packet.  I suppose I could've posted a picture of the jar but how many ugly brown pictures do we want to look at?  LOL