If you would have asked me a couple of years ago if I would ever prepare powdered milk, the answer would have been no. My mom tried to get us to drink this when we would run out of milk, as children, and I thought it tasted horrible. I can remember thinking that I would NEVER serve powdered milk to my children. I would NEVER shop at Aldi. I would NEVER be one of those moms…Guess what kind of mom I am? Guess which mother likes to remind me of what kind of mom I said I would not be and then became?

I have discovered the joys of powdered milk through one of my favorite resources…the great Hillbilly Housewife website. Miss Maggie offers a great tutorial explaining how to prepare powdered milk and the things that you can make from it.

The price of powdered milk is so much better than its fresh alternative. I can purchase a large four pound box for a mere $6.99 from Aldi Supermarket and it makes twenty quarts of milk. If I get fresh milk on sale, a real deal would be $1.50-2.50. The dry milk is a steady $1.40 per gallon, all year long, so dry milk is much friendlier on the wallet.

In the beginning, I bought the powdered milk to use when making my hot cocoa mixes. Then it sat there taking up space in my cupboards for a long time. Then this summer we discovered Magic Milkshakes and I found a new way to use up the milk.

As I was preparing dinner one night, I figured why not use powdered milk in my recipes? I mean, who could taste if the milk was powdered or not in my mashed potatoes or my waffle batter mix? The taste was essentially the same thing and so I thought it might be worth using for that. Sure enough, no one in my family suspected.

Since that worked out so well, I thought we could try it on our cereal (we were taking baby steps here!) and so I suggested this to my husband. The look I got from him was as if I had grown three heads, but he said he would try it, for the sake of my milk experiment. He found the taste to be “different” and said it had a bit of an aftertaste to it. He said he would be willing to drink this if he HAD to, but would rather not drink it. To me, it tasted similar to skim milk although I would still prefer the fresh alternative over the powdered stuff. It is more a mental thing than the fact that it tastes different. When mixed in my cocoa or in my food though, it performs just as the fresh milk would.

For the sake of your grocery budget, give powdered milk a try and see what your family thinks of it. Even if you end up just using it for cooking, the savings is worth it!

If you are looking for hot drink mixes to give away as Christmas gifts, many will include the infamous powdered milk. Here are a few recipes to get you started for the holidays!

Good Night Cafe

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and whir until finely ground. Store in an airtight container.2/3 cup powdered nondairy creamer1/3 cup instant coffee granules1/3 cup sugar1 tsp. ground cardamom1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/8 tsp. nutmegAttach to jar:Mix 1 tbs. into 8oz. boiling water.

Café Mocha

1 1/2 cups instant coffee granules1/4 cup each unsweetened cocoa, and powdered nondairy creamer6 tbs. confectionary sugarPlace all ingredients into a blender or food processor and whir until finely ground. Store in an airtight container.Attach to jar:Mix 1-2 tbs. into 3/4 cup boiling water.

Cinn-Mocha-Sation

1 cup powdered nondairy creamer3/4 cup sugar2/3 cup powdered dry milk1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa1/3 cup instant coffee granules1/4 cup brown sugar1 tsp. cinnamon1/4 tsp. each salt, and nutmegPlace all ingredients into a blender or food processor and whir until finely ground. Store in an airtight container.Attach to jar:Mix 1/4 cup into 3/4 cup boiling water.

Gourmet Hot Chocolate Mix

11 Cups powdered dry milk1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer2 1/2 cups confectionary sugar1 pound container of instant chocolate drink mixSimply mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container! Attach to jar:For a great cup of gourmet hot chocolate, measure out 3 heaping tablespoons of mix into your favorite mug, and add 6-8oz. boiling water! This recipe makes about 250 servings, and can be cut in half.

Malted Hot Chocolate

3 1/2 ounces of malted milk powder5 1/2 ounces of powdered non-dairy creamer1 pound of powdered dry milk1 pound of confectionary sugar14 ounces of instant chocolate drink mix8 ounces of mini marshmallowsStir and store! Attach to jar:Use 3 heaping tablespoons of mix to one mug of boiling water.