31 Pins: Day 17

I know what's in it, it is Gluten Free, and seems extremely versatile!  

My daughter loves soup.  She asks for it more than anything else.  But, for some reason, we don't eat a lot of it, and I rarely have more than a couple of cans on hand.  Her top two picks are tomato and cream of potato.  We used to use a ton of cream of mushroom soup in different dishes, but got out of that habit for some reason.  However, in the last week or two, I have found many uses for cream of mushroom soup again.  

I came across a pin for "cream soup base" recently, and thought it sounded interesting.  I bought some powdered base at the local butcher shop at the beginning of the year, and it was quite expensive (for clam chowder... yum!).  I kept coming back to this pin and just had to get it done.

Original pin:

(well, of course I couldn't find the first one, so I had to find another)

The ingredients are pretty simple:

powdered milk

corn starch

dried minced onions

bullion powder

pepper

spices (basil/thyme/parsley - whatever you want)

That's it!! (click the original pin image for exact amounts)

I picked up what I did not have at the grocery store this morning and whipped up a batch as soon as I got a chance.  One recipe yields exactly 16 oz. of dry mix.  That is 6 servings.

To use this base, add 1 1/4 cups of water to 1/3 cup of the dry mixture.  You can add potatoes, bacon, cheese, veggies, whatever you want for a wonderful soup!   They also boast this as a wonderful thickener for macaroni and cheese.  I know I can't wait to see how that tastes!

I put a little sticker on the jar to remind me of the dry mix/water ratio.

In order to make cream of mushroom soup, I also dehydrated some mushrooms to chop up and use when needed.  We are all set for soups and casseroles this fall. :)

Expense rating: The dry milk was more expensive than I expected, but everything else was reasonable.  I picked up the cheapest bag possible, and I think I will be able to make 3 batches with it (it was 4.50 ish).  Doing some very raw math, I would value one batch (6 portions... equal to 6 cans of soup?) to be a little over $2.  You would pay a lot more for 6 cans of soup, so I believe it will be worth it if it tastes good!

Difficulty rating: EASY

31 Pins: Day 4

Welcome to day 4!!  I finished this one very early this morning (or late last night) as a birthday gift to my mom.  We saw something similar at the arts festival this summer (for $100!!!) made from bamboo yarn.  I said that I could make something similar, and mom put in her order. :)

I had to do a little research on yarn and stitches since I am very inexperienced in crocheting.  My Gram taught me way back when, and I never moved past a single stitch.  Thanks to Youtube, Amazon, and Pinterest, I found what I needed.

Original pin:

This is one that I found - needle in a haystack - and used as an inspiration.

For the yarn, I used Paton's Lace Yarn in Patina .  And here is the link to the stitch I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUpzGnj2eH8 .  It took me several weeks, only being able to work in the evenings after the kids were in bed.  I started out a little rocky on the ends, but then got my act together, haha.  It is very versatile and can be worn at least 6 different ways that I can think of.

I had always wanted to be a model of some sort.  And now I am an aspiring photographer.  However, I did not want to be both at the same time.  But when you have no choice, you do what you have to!

The results:

the shawl

the double wrap

the vest

the twist

the reverse shawl

the hood

Success!  She likes it!  Now I need to make one for myself and a little one for E. :)

Expense rating: less than $10

Difficulty rating: easy if you know how to crochet, moderate if you don't