Homemade Onion Soup Mix

Don't get caught in the rut of buying things boxed! Making things like this Onion Soup Mix helps you stay healthier while helping you rotate your food storage supply. Ingredients like powdered butter, dehydrated onions and an array of herbs helps you feel good about using your food storage.Here's the recipe:

Onion Soup Mix

2/3 cup dehydrated chopped onions
1/2 cup beef bouillon soup base
1/2 cup dehydrated butter
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. parsley flakes

Mix well and store in quart jar. Use in any dry onion soup recipe

Be sure to watch our other videos on homemade pantry recipes like this one.

Looking for more ways to make your own pantry mixes? Check out our MIX a MEAL book!
With 46 tasty pantry mixes to choose from, you'll find this a great resource!

Clever Just Works (and looks) Better!

Keeping an organized system in your pantry helps mornings just run smoother, and here's a tip that will help you get a handle on all of those cereal boxes.

Remember, you can always browse our online store for great food-grade Containers.

Making Bulgur Wheat

One of the sneakiest ways to use wheat in your everyday cooking is to make “bulgur”. This is simply cooked, baked, cracked, then reconstituted wheat. It sounds much more complex than it really is. Here are the steps...

TO MAKE BULGUR...

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Lay a thin layer of cooked wheat across a cookie sheet or two. Bake for 2-3 hours until very dry.
3. Place dry wheat in blender, and crack into bread-crumb-size pieces. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container, preferably glass in the refrigerator.
4. When ready to use, place 1 part cracked wheat and 2 parts water in a container, and allow to soak 20 minutes. This will fluff up the wheat, and give it the texture of ground beef.
5. Drain well in a dish towel, squeezing out any excess water, and add to soups, casseroles, salads, meat patties, sandwiches, and more! Bulgur wheat takes on the flavor of anything it’s added to so it’s the perfect meat extender, or added to salads, it boosts nutrition while offering a great texture.

See the recipes below for some creative ways to use bulgur wheat.

TABOULLEH SALAD

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 cup diced fresh cucumbers
1⁄2 cup fresh minced parseley
1⁄2 cup fresh minced mint
1 cup prepared bulgur wheat
Brianna’s vinaigrette with strawberry on the cover
4 cups each romaine and iceberg lettuce
1⁄4 cup green onions, sliced thin

Toss all ingredients in a bowl, and serve! 1 cup prepared bulgur wheat

DELICIOUS BULGUR WHEAT STEW

2 cans kidney beans—drained
1 lb. ground beef
1⁄2 cup finely diced green pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese Tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1⁄2 cup onion, chopped
1 can whole corn, undrained
1⁄2 tsp. taco seasoning
1⁄2 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups water

In a skillet, cook ground beef, chopped onion, and green pepper until meat is browned. Drain off fat. Add meat mixture to corn, tomatoes, beans and wheat berries. Add taco seasoning, and salt to taste. Simmer 20 minutes, adding the bulgur wheat to soften. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese, and sour cream. Serves 8.

Find the Yoga in You!

When I first heard this advice from my yoga instructor, “stay on your own mat,” I wasn’t sure what she meant. Now I have come to love and put into practice that advice. To me it means, don’t compare to, compete with or judge others. Just listen to your body and work on you. This is one of the many mental benefits I have found with yoga.

Yoga is a hidden secret to mental awareness, great physical challenges, injury prevention. I continue to discover new reasons that I am a yogi. I decided to try yoga because I am also a runner and was getting injured and always felt sore. I went to yoga to help my tight, fatigued muscles. In the six years I have practiced, I have had only one injury (plantar fasciitis) and my balance, flexibility and self acceptance has improved. I love it.

As we grow older we loose our flexibility and balance. I admire the seniors in every class I have attended that make an effort to keep their bodies moving. I have learned to breathe through sensation (code for difficult poses), taking my mental focus to a new level. I have used that mental focus in my running, parenting, and life. I have learned to calm down by listening to my breath.

There are many types of yoga and which one do I like the best? All of them. I have my favorite teachers, but I always try something new to learn and challenge myself. Two great sites to educate yourself about different types of yoga are Womens Health magazine and Yoga Journal. Yoga Journal also offers on free online yoga class per week. You can also search on your cable network for yoga classes on the TV. I suggest you just start somewhere. Really all that you need is comfortable clothes and a small space to practice. A yoga mat helps because it prevents slipping. A great place to get an affordable mat is TJ Maxx. Do yoga in bare feet.

Sometimes I will watch an online practice or TV yoga class to see what the instructor is doing before I do the yoga myself. This helps me to focus on the pose we are doing and improve my posture and breathe during the practice.

Yoga is referred to as the “practice” of yoga. This is because you are never done learning or perfect in your pose. We are all practicing. Every yoga class ends with everyone in the class saying the word, “Namaste”. This means “the light in me bows to the light in you” or we are all equal and we all have goodness within. I challenge you to try yoga in any form and appreciate the mental benefits as well as the physical. I would love your questions and feedback. I am not a certified instructor, all of my experience comes from practice. I love to learn and try new things, so please share. Thanks!!

Namaste – Jeanette Hamilton

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