I stopped by the grocery store earlier this week to pick up a few things and was surprised to see that food prices are already rising.

I’ve already been preparing for food price hikes, but I hadn’t realized that the price increases would start so soon.  With less high-value coupons available, I’m on a quest to find new ways to save on food for my family.

One of the ways I plan to save money is by eating less processed food.  But we are a busy family, and while I love the thought of knowing exactly what’s in our food, I’ve been reluctant to give up a lot of the convenience items I’ve grown to rely on in my pantry.

Enter the newest e-book written by Life. Your Way editor and founder Mandi Ehman.   Easy. Homemade: Homemade Pantry Staples for the Busy Modern Family is chock full of recipes to help you make your very own mixes for a fraction of the price of those in stores.  The 60+ recipes are simple to follow and rely on basic ingredients you’ll find in your pantry.

This e-book includes some fabulous recipes for basic things every frugal cook should know how to make – things like pancakes, cakes, frosting, and salad dressings from scratch.  It also includes a few “I didn’t know I could make that” types of recipes – like the ones for ketchup, cream cheese, chocolate syrup, cream of something soup, and homemade frappuccino.

In addition, you’ll find some very helpful kitchen organization and cooking tips scattered throughout the book.

I found this e-book to be a very useful addition to my frugal living collection.  The recipes don’t take much time at all to put together, and the results are more flavorful and more affordable than the preservative-laden junk you pay for at the grocery store.

Disclosure: I am a regular contributor to author Mandi Ehman’s site, Life.Your Way, and I consider her a friend (although I’ve never met her in person!).  I want you to know that while I did receive a free copy to review,  the opinions are entirely by own, and I wouldn’t recommend this book if I didn’t think it was worth every penny.  This post also contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Please read our full disclosure policy for more info.