A make-ahead pantry system

Do the measuring once. Cook faster every night after.

A spiral-bound guide to batching your own baking, dinner and seasoning mixes — so the jar is ready before the hungry part of the day arrives.

$39.99 Free U.S. shipping on 2 or more copies

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The Dry Mix Pantry, a spiral-bound cookbook by Mel Matthews

Pancake & waffle mixesMuffin & quick-bread mixesCookie & brownie mixesBoxed-dinner-style mainsCream soup & gravy basesSeasoning blendsBiscuit & cornbread mixesHot cocoa & drink mixesBaking staples

Most people don't reach for the box because they prefer it. They reach for it because at the end of a long day, pulling out six containers, a scale and a set of measuring spoons is one job too many.

The fix isn't more willpower or a longer recipe list. It's moving the tedious part of cooking — the measuring — to a quiet hour on a Sunday, and leaving nothing but the fast part for the night you're actually hungry.

A dry mix is just a recipe with the boring half already done.

That's the whole book. 50+ mixes you batch ahead into jars, each with a short list of fresh ingredients to add when you cook, plus the storage notes that keep them worth having.

Three steps, then it repeats

Batch. Label. Finish.

Nothing here needs special equipment or a walk-in pantry. A bowl, a scoop and whatever jars you already own.

Batch the dry half

Measure the shelf-stable ingredients — flour, leaveners, sugar, milk powder, spices — into a clean, dry jar. Make one, or make six of the same thing.

Label the jar

Mix name, the date you made it, and what gets added later. The label is what turns a jar of beige powder back into dinner three weeks from now.

Finish on the night

Tip the jar into a bowl, add the eggs, milk, butter or meat the recipe calls for, and cook it through as directed. That's the whole evening job.

What a recipe looks like

Two columns:
today, and the night you cook.

Every mix in the book is written this way — a dry base you can make in bulk, and the short finishing list you'll want later. Here's the shape of it, using four mixes almost everyone already knows.

Shown to explain the method. The book gives you the tested ingredient amounts, yields, finishing steps and storage notes for every mix.

Built for the counter, not the shelf

It lies flat while your hands are full.

Spiral binding, a heavy cover and large, unfussy type — because a mix book gets opened with floury fingers and left open for ten minutes at a time.

Format: Spiral-bound softcover cookbook. Opens flat on the counter and stays open.
Recipes: 50+ make-ahead dry mixes, each written as a jar recipe plus a short finishing list.
Categories: Breakfast mixes, baking and dessert mixes, boxed-dinner-style mains, soup and gravy bases, biscuits and cornbread, seasoning blends and drink mixes.
Every recipe includes: The dry ingredients to batch, what to add when you cook, and notes on storing and using the mix.
Written by: Mel Matthews of The Homestead Fam, author of Cook Like a Homesteader (Page Street Publishing, 2025).
Also available: Matching printable jar labels, sold separately in the shop.
Shipping: Orders are processed and shipped within 3–4 business days, then typically arrive 3–5 days after shipping. Free U.S. shipping on 2 or more copies.
Returns: Return requests accepted within 30 days on unused books in original packaging. A $6 return fee is deducted from accepted refunds. Sale items are final.

What changes

Five jars, and the week gets easier.

You don't need a bigger kitchen or more free time. You need the measuring already done before the day gets away from you.

Dinner in the time it takes to boil water

The jar is already measured. Tip it in, add the milk and butter, and the from-scratch version lands on the table about as fast as the box would have.

You pick every ingredient

You chose the flour, the salt level and the cocoa. Nothing goes in the jar that you didn't put there, and you can read the whole list because you wrote it.

One shelf, finally organised

Labelled, dated jars in a row instead of eleven half-open boxes. You can see what you have from the doorway, which is most of what "organised" actually means.

The 5 p.m. decision disappears

No standing in front of the cupboard wondering what's quick enough. Pancakes, brownies, mac and cheese, taco night — the answer is already on the shelf.

Buy the big bag, use the big bag

Bulk flour, oats and spices stop going stale in the back of the cupboard once you have a standing reason to work through them.

A gift that gets used

A labelled jar with the finishing steps on the tag is the rare homemade present people actually cook. New homes, new cooks, holidays.

The offer

Start your pantry today.

One copy for your kitchen. Two if someone in your family is about to ask where you got it. Three if it's nearly the holidays.

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Real reviews only

Mel Matthews has been sharing homestead cooking from two acres in Michigan since 2023, and is the author of Cook Like a Homesteader, published by Page Street Publishing in 2025.

The Dry Mix Pantry came out of her own kitchen habit: keeping the bases for the meals her family repeats already measured and labelled, so a from-scratch dinner is a ten-minute decision instead of an hour-long one. She is a home cook, not a chef, dietitian or food scientist — which is exactly who this book is written for.

Storage & safety, plainly

The parts most mix books skip.

Dry does not mean ready to eat. A few rules apply to every jar you'll make, and they're worth reading before you buy.

Flour is a raw ingredient. The FDA advises against eating or tasting raw flour, dough or batter. Every flour-based mix is finished by baking or cooking it through.
Use clean, fully dry, food-safe jars. Moisture is what ruins a mix — keep a dry scoop and close the lid.
Date every jar and rotate. How long a mix stays good depends on its shortest-lived ingredient, how fresh it was, and where you store it. Make what you'll actually use.
Allergens. Mixes commonly contain wheat, milk and soy. A home kitchen can't guarantee an allergen-free result, so read your own ingredient labels and don't rely on this book for medical diets.
A shelf-stable mix isn't a shelf-stable meal. Once cooked, the finished food is handled and stored like any other cooked food.

In their kitchens

Already in their kitchens

★★★★★

I finally made a few of the mixes this weekend and I'm already wondering why I didn't do this sooner. The stroganoff was a hit, and having everything measured ahead of time made dinner so much easier.
Samantha R. · Verified purchase · August 12, 2026

★★★★★

Honestly, I bought this because my pantry was a mess and I kept reaching for boxed mixes. I started with the brownies and pancake mix, and both turned out great. Now I want to make everything in the book.
Melissa T. · Verified purchase · August 7, 2026

★★★★★

I wasn't sure if I would actually use this or if it would become another cookbook sitting on the shelf. So far, I've reached for it several times. The recipes are simple, practical, and use ingredients I normally keep at home.
Rachel M. · Verified purchase · July 29, 2026

Two copies, one obvious reason

The second copy always leaves the house.

It goes to a daughter setting up her first kitchen, or a friend who watched you fill six jars and asked where you got the book. That's why the two- and three-copy sets cost less per book.

See the sets

How is this different from looking recipes up online?

Free recipes are everywhere — what they don't give you is one consistent system. Every mix here is written the same way, scaled for batching into jars, organised so you can find it with flour on your hands, and paired with the storage notes that decide whether a jar is still worth using in six weeks. You are paying for the curation and the format, not for secret ingredients.

Will this actually save me money?

It can, on the mixes you make often and buy ingredients for in bulk — but we won't promise a number. Savings depend on what you already keep, what you pay locally, and how much you use before it goes stale. Buy it for the convenience and the ingredient control; treat any savings as a bonus.

How long do the mixes keep?

There is no single answer, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. A mix lasts as long as its shortest-lived ingredient — baking powder loses lift, fats go rancid, spices fade — and that depends on how fresh those ingredients were, how dry your jar is, and how warm the room gets. The book gives you conservative guidance per recipe, and the habit that matters most: date the jar and rotate it.

Do I need special jars or equipment?

No. Any clean, completely dry, food-safe container with a good lid works — mason jars, old pasta jars, airtight canisters. You'll want measuring cups, a bowl and a permanent marker. That's it.

I have a small kitchen. Is this still worth it?

Start with one shelf and five mixes rather than trying to build the whole pantry at once. Most people find a handful of mixes get used constantly and the rest are occasional. Five jars fits in a cupboard.

Can I make the recipes gluten-free or dairy-free?

Some ingredients can be swapped, but a swap changes how a mix behaves and how long it keeps, so test it before you batch six jars. This book is not written for medical diets and a home kitchen can't guarantee an allergen-free result. If someone you cook for has an allergy, read every ingredient label yourself and follow the advice of their care team.

Is it safe to taste the mix?

Not the flour-based ones. The FDA treats flour as a raw ingredient, and raw dough or batter should not be eaten or tasted. Every flour-based recipe in the book is finished by cooking or baking it through.

Is there a digital version?

This listing is for the physical spiral-bound book. If a digital edition is available it will be listed separately in the shop, with its own terms — digital purchases can't be returned once delivered.

When will it arrive?

Orders are processed and shipped within 3–4 business days, and usually arrive 3–5 days after that. You'll get tracking by email as soon as the label is scanned. Around holidays, order early — carrier timelines are outside our control.

What if it isn't for me?

Request a return within 30 days. The book needs to be unused and in its original packaging; a $6 return fee comes out of the refund. Email us and we'll send the return address.

One hour, then a stocked shelf

Start with five jars.

Pick the five mixes you'd reach for most, batch them this weekend, and see whether the shelf earns its space. If it doesn't, you have 30 days to send the book back.

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Do the measuring once. Cook faster every night after.

This is the fix for 5 p.m.