A Magic Solution

I stumbled upon a solution to two separate food problems I've encountered.

Problem #1: I have kids who love milk (and milk is also an ingredient in a LOT of recipes). I wanted to store some dried milk, but its shelf-life is very short (unless you buy it canned, in which case it's very expensive). And I knew I'd never rotate it into my daily use if regular milk is available. So although I wanted and needed to store dried milk, it didn't make sense to store something that expired quickly and that I would never use except in a shit+fan situation.

Problem #2: Casseroles are a fairly common meal in my home for a variety of reasons. First, they allow me to use up leftovers in a way that most of my family will eat. Second, they're easy for me to make ahead of time. I can throw one together and then keep it in the fridge (or even freezer) until I want to bake it. This makes it the perfect dish for busy nights. Unfortunately, most casserole recipes call for cream-of-something soup, which is expensive, loaded with chemicals/preservatives, and kind of gross.

Solution: Magic Mix!

Magic Mix is a mix made with dried powdered milk, butter and flour. You basically mix this together until it reaches the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Stored in the refrigerator, this stuff will last a very long time.

It can easily be turned into cream-of-whatever soup with the addition of liquid. I simply scoop out the Magic Mix from the container I keep in the fridge, put it on the stove in a pot with some liquid and seasonings, and in just a few minutes I have condensed cream soup! (For example, Magic Mix + chicken broth + parsley = cream of chicken soup.)

I LOVE the fact that I can now store some powdered milk and actually use it in my regular meals. I also love the healthier version of cream soup that this mix magically makes for me. It's only one step more than simply opening a can of soup, and avoiding preservatives in canned soup makes it well worth the effort.

Magic Mix can also be used to make alfredo sauce, a white sauce, mac n cheese, pudding, fudgesicles, and a variety of other dishes.

Click here for a link to EverydayFoodStorage.net that shows how to make condensed soup from Magic Mix. And click here for their Magic Mix recipe.