Simple Vanilla Syrup

My friend Catzia sent me a neat link to Craftzine’s Simple Vanilla Syrup recipe.
It is just as easy as making a simple syrup, with the bennie of vanilla flavor added in. Do you love vanilla lattes? Well here you go!
Simple syrup is easy to make and very inexpensive so get crafting in the kitchen [...]

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Frugal Gifts: Soup In A Jar

This is a pretty soup mix to give. If you do a couple of them at once it can be very affordable to whip up. Decorate the bag with pretty ribbons and consider giving it in a basket with the canned tomatoes and maybe a quick bread or biscuit mix as well. A ‘meal for [...]

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More Mixes To Have On Hand

A couple more dry recipes – I use these in backpacking meals but work for at home as well if you need something in a pinch. They also work well as gifts in pretty containers (refer to the recent Frugal Gifts set of posts).
Parmesan Cheese Mix
Ingredients:
1 cup  nonfat dry milk
4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese or Romano [...]

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Frugal Gifts For The Holidays: Part 4 – Seasoning Blends

A few of my favorite no salt added (sodium free!) seasoning blends that you can mix up at home. Check out the bulk spice and herb bins at any well stocked grocery or natural foods store. Many of them will also sell pretty empty bottles as well.
Consider making a couple types up and presenting in [...]

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Frugal Gifts For The Holidays – Part 3 – Toppers

A trio of ideas for gifts.
Parmesan Cheese Herb Seasoning
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp shelf stable Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp diced dried onion
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
Place ingredients in a small bowl and blend with whisk. Put into a decorative cheese [...]

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Frugal Gifts For The Holidays: Part 2 – Rice Mixes

More dry mixes for gifts. One is for a quick cooking version, the other is traditional cooking. The quick cooking one would work well for hikers. I have also included gift ideas for making it a complete gift.
Quick Rice Pilaf Mix
Ingredients:
4 cups instant rice
1 (1 1/2 ounce) package vegetable soup mix (Lipton or Knorr type)
2 [...]

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Frugal Gifts For The Holidays: Part 1 – Rosemary Garlic Biscuits In A Bag

It is almost November so I know a lot of us are thinking about gifts. Add in the fragile economy and you really might start to sweat a bit bout how you are going to do it all.
So consider food gifts. Not only are they from the heart, they can be economical, easy to make [...]

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