When I wanted to know what might be in a discontinued dry salad dressing mix, I checked this book, Make-a-Mix, from 1993, out of the library. A few months later, I checked it out again for a similar reason. Both times I found what I wanted. When I saw it on the book sale table there, I bought it at a 3-books-for-$1 price!
It’s certainly a worthy reference…they cover dry mixes, semi-dry mixes (that contain shortening, butter or margarine), and freezer mixes, like cream cheese pastry mix and beef or chicken mixes. They even have low fat and low salt suggestions.
I don’t like to keep packets of mixes on the shelf, and truthfully, I don’t have much trouble taking 5 minutes more to measure out ingredients when I want them, but when I want to use recipes calling for commercial mixes, I can sometimes find a recipe for the mix in this book that I can make at home and use with good results. If you are spending a lot on bread machine mixes, salad dressing mixes, hot roll mixes, etc., this book is for you.
There are newer versions of this book out there – and reviews indicate there hasn’t been much updating, so I think any version after 1993 would be useful.
The 60 mix recipes are in the front of the book, with the remaining chapters containing 306 recipes using the mixes. Each mix lists the page for recipes using it; very helpful.
Here are a sample of mix recipes from this book.
Slice and Bake Chocolate Wafer Cookies
Buttermilk Waffle and Pancake Mix
Chicken Gravy Mix
Onion Soup Mix
Freezer Cheese Sauce
Here are a sample of mix recipes from this book.
Slice and Bake Chocolate Wafer Cookies
Buttermilk Waffle and Pancake Mix
Chicken Gravy Mix
Onion Soup Mix
Freezer Cheese Sauce
I have used this book and it's sister, More Make A Mix and another I found in the 70's, Make Your Own Groceries for many years and have found them invaluable. When I was a working mother I made and used the building block recipes to store in the freezer using them to make some very good meals which were good and quick to prepare using the prepared mixes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the Make Your Own Groceries book...but I certainly use the Make a Mix book, even today! I like just making what I may need instead of buying a mix I might not use all of.
DeleteBeen using it for many years. I always kept the Meat Mix on hand when I had a crazier life than now.
ReplyDeleteYes, I keep Canned or Frozen Hamburger Mix from an old Farm Journal coobook on hand even now...I like the idea of making a mess just once for several meals. It's very similar to the one in this book.
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