Making Your Butter Last; Homemade Buttery Spread

Frugal tip for the day:

Make your butter go twice as far!

Let two sticks (1 cup) of butter sit at room temp. until soft but not melted. Put in mixing bowl and beat with mixer. Add 1/2 cup water. Beat into butter. (Be sure you are using a DEEP bowl, or you will have water splattering everywhere!) When well combined, add 1/2 cup oil. I use virgin olive oil and non-hydrogenated canola oil - a little olive oil in the bottom of the measuring cup, and then the rest of the cup is filled with canola oil. I find that all canola oil gives the butter a flat taste, while all olive oil is too strong for our tastes, so I combine them.

This recipe makes 2 cups of butter, and will need to chill for a few hours after you make it - it will be very soupy at first. It is the perfect spreading consistency straight from the refrigerator, and tastes especially great on veggies.

I have been using this for our family for several weeks. This week the store raised the price on the health spread we had also used, so I'm glad we can make this.

I like the taste of real butter, and I believe it is healthier than margarine. This recipe gives us the taste of butter, the "spreadability" of margarine, and a cost less than both. :)

Try it!