Dry Mixes Take The Work Out Of Home Cooked Meals
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Billie Erdman is a stay-at-home mom who makes saving other moms time and effort her business. She mixes dehydrated and freeze-dried ingredients and seasonings and markets them locally under her Billie’s Kitchen brand. It all started in early 2021 when she suggested a friend, who sold farm-raised meat, offer customers “dry meals in a bag stuff” and be a one-stop shop.
“Yeah, you should do that,” said Erdman’s friend. “Then she told me she was going to a show 3 weeks later, and I should have some to display at her booth.”
Erdman moved into high gear and began developing recipes and locating ingredient suppliers.
“It was difficult looking for larger quantities,” she recalls.
She found a reliable distributor of the bulk dehydrated ingredients she needed. She also used two dehydrators in her kitchen to process mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. For beans, she soaked them overnight, cooked them and then dehydrated them.
Through it all, she relied on her family to taste-test her products. By the day of the show, she had a variety of products ready to go. The show was a success, and Billie’s Kitchen was up and running.
Today, Erdman has 10 soup mixes, half a dozen skillet recipes, and several cookie mixes. Erdman’s $8 and $10 soup and skillet mixes are a quick fix for busy families. Add water, cover, and cook while preparing the meat of choice; the food will be ready to serve in no time.
One thing that helped was Erdman’s already having a Minnesota cottage food license. For many years, she made and sold the Norwegian potato-based specialty lefse. “I put a post on Facebook that I have it for sale, and it’s gone,” she says. “Last year, I used 220 lbs. of potatoes for lefse between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
While the cottage food license helped, it’s also a limiting factor. All sales must be direct between her and her customer; no shipping or remote sales are allowed. Erdman takes her mixes to local farmers markets and makers markets when she can.
Their store is self-serve and operates on the honor system. In addition to her mixes, Erdman carries products from other local businesses. She admits she does have security cameras in place but reports no problems with visitors.
“There are so many talented people locally,” she says. “It’s really awesome to see the support people give small businesses like ours.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Billie’s Kitchen, 39688 County Rd. 12, Dakota, Minn. 55925 (ph 507-458-4378; soups@billies-kitchen.com; www.billies-kitchen.com).
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Dry Mixes Take The Work Out Of Home Cooked Meals FARM HOME Food Billie Erdman is a stay-at-home mom who makes saving other moms time and effort her business She mixes dehydrated and freeze-dried ingredients and seasonings and markets them locally under her Billie’s Kitchen brand It all started in early 2021 when she suggested a friend who sold farm-raised meat offer customers “dry meals in a bag stuff” and be a one-stop shop “Yeah you should do that ” said Erdman’s friend “Then she told me she was going to a show 3 weeks later and I should have some to display at her booth ” Erdman moved into high gear and began developing recipes and locating ingredient suppliers “It was difficult looking for larger quantities ” she recalls She found a reliable distributor of the bulk dehydrated ingredients she needed She also used two dehydrators in her kitchen to process mushrooms spinach and tomatoes For beans she soaked them overnight cooked them and then dehydrated them Through it all she relied on her family to taste-test her products By the day of the show she had a variety of products ready to go The show was a success and Billie’s Kitchen was up and running Today Erdman has 10 soup mixes half a dozen skillet recipes and several cookie mixes Erdman’s $8 and $10 soup and skillet mixes are a quick fix for busy families Add water cover and cook while preparing the meat of choice; the food will be ready to serve in no time One thing that helped was Erdman’s already having a Minnesota cottage food license For many years she made and sold the Norwegian potato-based specialty lefse “I put a post on Facebook that I have it for sale and it’s gone ” she says “Last year I used 220 lbs of potatoes for lefse between Thanksgiving and Christmas ” While the cottage food license helped it’s also a limiting factor All sales must be direct between her and her customer; no shipping or remote sales are allowed Erdman takes her mixes to local farmers markets and makers markets when she can Their store is self-serve and operates on the honor system In addition to her mixes Erdman carries products from other local businesses She admits she does have security cameras in place but reports no problems with visitors “There are so many talented people locally ” she says “It’s really awesome to see the support people give small businesses like ours ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Billie’s Kitchen 39688 County Rd 12 Dakota Minn 55925 ph 507-458-4378; soups@billies-kitchen com; www billies-kitchen com
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