Homemade Garlic Powder

I love trying new things. Especially when it involves eliminating waste or saving money!

A more recent experiment was attempting to make garlic powder. 

Last summer I bought a bunch of fresh garlic bulbs from the produce auction. We like to use garlic for all kinds of things, from making salsas, sauces, and garlic bread to get-well remedies and poultices. (It is our number one household healer for sickness!) Since it generally stores pretty well, I knew I wouldn't have to worry about trying to use up a half-peck of garlic right away. 

My goal with most of the fresh garlic was to mince it and keep it on hand in the refrigerator to use instead of garlic powder. I find the powdered form to be pretty pricey, and haven't seen it under $11/lb. Because fresh garlic is more potent, I don't have to use as much when I'm cooking. I adjusted my cooking habits to use fresh for everything except salad dressing and veggie dips. 

A few weeks ago, Aaron noticed a bunch of cloves were starting to dry out. I sorted what was left, minced the cloves that were still good and moist, and decided to make garlic powder with the rest. 

Here's how I did it. 

First, I took the skin off the garlic cloves and placed them on a sheet pan. For quicker dry time, I sliced/chopped the garlic into smaller pieces. 

I don't have a dehydrator, so I used my gas oven instead. Since it doesn't have a standing pilot light, I heated it up just enough to get it warm inside. Then I just let it set in there and I waited, checked on them, and waited some more. It took more time to completely dry out than I expected, but it was nice that I didn't have to keep an eye on it. I truly forgot about it a few times but it didn't matter because it wasn't going to spoil! I reheated the oven no more than 1-2x per day. Within a couple days, it was all dry to my satisfaction. I wanted to make sure they were dried out enough that it didn't get gummy when I went to blend it into a powder.

To blend it, I used my Magic Bullet. That thing is a workhorse! It has been used sooo much in the 6 or so years since I bought it. It's perfect for working with smaller quantities or heavy-duty use. Making salad dressing is probably the most mild thing I've ever use it for. Usually it's frozen fruit for smoothies, or other harder items like dried out garlic, which pretty much resembles rocks.

The Magic Bullet ground it up in a jiffy! We ended up with exactly 4 ounces of garlic powder. I wish I remembered how much I paid for the garlic so I could compare cost with store-bought powder. (I paid somewhere between 35-55 cents per giant bulb.) Whether making my own garlic powder is cost effective or not, these cloves were destined for the garbage, so "repurposing" them was a money-saving endeavor!

A Peek Inside My Grocery Budget

At the beginning of the year, we implemented something new...

A real-deal, honest-to-goodness grocery budget. 

We had talked about budgets numerous times, and have attempted trying to figure one more than once, but we literally didn't feel like it was right for us. We are savers and penny-pinchers as it is, and have been keeping track of where our money has gone ever since we got married. We've looked back and made mental notes and changed habits along the way. (Maybe that is a form of budget? I dunno.)

Being a money/numbers nerd, I decided I wanted the challenge of a budget to see if there were more ways I could cut my spending. Plus I like using cash, so this was a great way to make sure I had cash on hand. It has already eliminated my need to ask Aaron for his wallet! 

Looking back on last year's average monthly grocery bill, I figured $200 sounded reasonable. It was enough less than our 2017 average that I would have to be a little more conscious of where my money was going, but not a huge enough difference that it would feel stressful. I am feeding two adults and two toddlers, and serve a meal to 50 people once a month (I allot $50/mo. for the crowd meal). This budget does not include beef for our family, which we buy by the partial cow every couple years.

After giving it a try for a few months now, I am excited to report that I have successfully made it through the first quarter under budget!

January.

I did not do a full crowd meal (only dessert), but did make several meals for large families with new babies. 

My larger bulk purchases consisted of a 2.5 liter container of olive oil and a couple pounds of onion powder. The oil will last me until September. Total cost of bulk items was $46.15.

At the end of the month, I had $4.13 left.

February.

I made a full crowd meal and dessert, but already had about 1/3 of my ingredients covered, since I made turkey noodle soup using a turkey I had in my freezer.

Bulk purchases included vanilla beans and vodka so I could make my own vanilla. While it was a small investment up front, it will save me a LOT of money, since I only use real vanilla. To buy another quart of what I had been using previously would've cost me a whopping $80. I also bought a 50 lb. bag of wheat berries so I can continue grinding my own flour for bread and such. Total cost between the vanilla making supplies and wheat berries was roughly $46.

At the end of the month, I had $2.29 left. 

March.

I made another full crowd meal and dessert, and my cost into that was around $39.00. I have had a blog post typed up for a couple weeks now, but never got around finishing one last money figure so I could post it for you! 

As far as bulk purchases, I had bought a 10 lb. block of cheddar for this month's crowd meal, and ended up with 7 lbs. left for personal use. My goal was to chop it up and freeze most of it so it would last us awhile, but something happened ... and it got eaten before it made it into the freezer. Instead of mourning the loss of 7 lbs. of cheese, I was glad for the extra treat and the delight I saw on my husband's face every time he grabbed the block for a quick snack or sandwich. He loves cheese, and it made me happy to see him happy. Not to mention the kids excitement over a slice for them, too! And my baby learned to say the word "cheese" over all this. Cost into her education... I mean, the 7 lbs. cheddar, was $20.23.

I had quite a bit left over when I reached the end of the month, which allowed me to buy several pounds of butter at $2/lb. I happened upon the sale (and needed more butter anyway), so it was nice to have the money in my wallet so I could take advantage of it! Stocking up on butter cost me $12. 

Rather excited about the numbers this time! We had $23.62 left at the end of the month!

~

Interesting fact: I made a meal plan for January and February, but did not put one together in March. I'm curious if this had anything to do with how much we had left over at the end of the month? I find if I don't have a new selection of groceries I'm forced to get creative with what I do have. 

Other random interesting fact: We had beans with rice no more than once per month, and each time they included more expensive ingredients to dress them up ... like meat, cheese, and sour cream. By the way, I think I've created the most delicious form of beans and rice. Problem is, I hardly measure things so I'm not really sure how to share the recipe with you.