Thursday bullets :Five things

Five things you can make ahead that save time and money .  Its no secret that if there is labor involved its going to cost money.  

• Bread crumbs.   I never understood why someone would throw their bread heels away an then pay upwards of 2.40 a pound for someone else's dry bread.   I used to go out to the deck and grate the dry bread on a box grater on top of a sheet pan.  No mess to clean up.    Now I use a food processor.   No mess, no money, no preservatives.   
• Spice mixes.   You can tailor the spices to fit your families taste and its a lot cheaper than paying up to a dollar a packet for a few minutes of work.   Sometimes spice mixes and sauces for meats can cost more than the meat they go on or in.  
• Drinks:   Cold drinks are expensive.   Iced tea can be well over a dollar for something that can cost as little as a nickel.   The savings are remarkable, and the time it takes to make the tea is minimal.  
• Taco crumbles or sausage crumbles. I saw a little ( like 4-6 ounces ) bag of crumbles at the tore.   It cost more for that bag than making an entire pan full of meat.   Its not rocket science to  put meat in a pan and stir it every so often.   Break it up with a potato masher.    There's a tool for that, but the one I saw was 22.00.    A bit pricey in my book. 
• Muffins :   You can make muffins from just about anything.   Muffin mix is easy to make and take minutes.   That makes muffins literally minutes hands on time.  The cost of some muffins can be up to a dollar EACH.   The cost of making them--about fifty cents a DOZEN.