Although I totally love soup and think you should use this fabulous mix recipe to make some killer French Onion Soup, you should also know it’s awesome to have on hand to use when seasoning hamburgers or roasts or casseroles. No need to run out to the store and buy the boxed stuff when it’s so easy to make it yourself.
Ingredients
1/2 cup dehydrated onion slices or onion flakes
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon sea salt {can use regular salt}
Directions
Mix all ingredients and store in airtight container. When using, a 1/4 cup of the mix is equal to one packet of soup mix.
When I use it to make the soup itself, I just thinly slice a few onions, add a 1/4 cup of the mix to 2 cups of beef broth and simmer until the onions caramelize. Yumm-E!
coleen says
Hi Mavis, I need your help…..with the high cost of meat, I need some ideas for dinners that use a little meat or none at all. Hubby is diabetic, so I don’t use rice, pasta, bread etc. Any ideas???? Thanks!
Tina B says
Can your husband eat beans or lentils, Coleen? If so, you can do so many things with them, such as salads, soups, stews, or even by themselves. Those tend to be low glycemic foods, if that is still a term that is used lately. (The medical field is a rapidly changing one.)
Mavis says
I second what Tina said about beans. So cheap and filling. Potatoes too, but with a diabetic, obviously in moderation. When we’re trying to go cheap, I like to make soups. They are filling and hearty, and you can do them carb-free! Plus, they last for a number of meals. Do you grow a garden? That would be a great way to get some free produce and you could shift that money towards meat. Not sure if that is an option, but I thought I’d check!
Linda says
My dad’s diabetic and we eat a lot of sweet potatoes. One of our favorites is mushroom and spinach curry over sweet potatoes. I’ve also made a hash with sweet potatoes, onions, and peppers and served it with eggs. Great brunch or dinner. I’d also search for Paleo vegetarian recipes. Most Paleo recipes are low carb or could be very easily adapted. Good luck, Coleen!
Leslie says
More eggs?
Meg says
Do you dehydrate the onions in the american harvest?
Mavis says
I didn’t this time, but you certainly could. It works like a charm for that!
Pauline Petros says
Chick Peas are fantastic meat subs crushed wiith other beans to make burgers – pureed with sesame paste for humous in soups/stews it’s endless – we love them tinned or soak dried overnight and boil for 40ish mins. Hope you enjoy as much as we do
Mavis says
Great idea!
Sara says
I am diabetic. Beans drive up my blood sugars. Everyone is different. I always buy meat mark downs. Chicken is a great lower costing meat. You can make all kinds of fun things with it. We grow all our own veggies. I sub a lot with zucks and squash. Mushrooms also make great grilled burgers. Grill mushrooms with A1 and fresh cracked pepper. Gives you a steak flavor. Yum
Debbie says
Enjoy your vacation to Hershey! Its on my list of places to visit one day/
Christie says
I’ve been trying to find crock pot recipes to make during the summer. So many recipes use Cream of Whatever soup. Do you think this could be used in a crock pot instead of cream soup ?? I have a recipe for a home made dry cream soup that used powdered milk and corn starch. Maybe I could combine them ?
Everyone, feel free to chime in on this one!
Sam says
Can I have your recipe for dry cream soup please
coleen says
Thanks everyone for all the great idea!!!!!!!
Mavis, yes we do have a garden and we also belong to a CSA, so there are lots of yummy veggies. 🙂
tc says
When making meatloaf I often add the cooked and pureed stalks and stems of veggies like broccoli and asparagus. I make vegetable stock and if I have room in freezer I freeze the veggie puree I use for meatloaves or hearty soups otherwise I give the chickens.
Also if I do some juicing I use the pulp to supplement the meat in the meatloaf you can cut the meat in half doing it this way. Also try asking your local produce manager for the throw aways, even if you do that once a week and dehydrate or freeze stuff you can save a ton of money.
Lately I have been given tons of free kale that our co op was throwing away!!! too good for the chickens so I dehydrated it then blended it for super concentrated kale powder which I will add to smoothies, eggs, quiches, soups, meatloaves etc. I am trying the same thing with swiss chard leaves, parsnips, celery and more. The powder takes up a lot less room and a little goes a long way and adds much goodness. I estimate I get about $50 of free produce each week and in turn I take some of what I make back to the staff for their lunches. This week I got 8 heads of lettuce, the chickens got the outer leaves but the hearts I will be making lettuce pea and mint soup with and the only thing I have to buy for it is the peas, it is so delicious
Pamela Thielen says
Thank you for posting this. We live in Arizona and I use my crock pot so often. I have been looking for a good DYI french onion soup mix. I really try to cut down on the chemicals. Plus I like to be able to control what goes in my family”s meals. This will be utilized often.
Ja says
A low cost meat that I use is pork shoulder butt roast used to make pulled or shredded pork. Cook in the crock pot all day with a low sugar barbeque sauce for a great meal.