Convenience foods

I think one place I could cut my grocery spending is in convenience foods.  Things like jarred simmer sauces or individually packaged seasoning mixes are so incredibly easy to use - just dump them into a crockpot with a couple cans of beans, some veggies, maybe some canned tomatoes or other liquid if necessary.  Recently I found prepackaged dried split pea soup kits that were awesome when we were sick, and last week I got a package of El Paso tortilla stuffers - rice, beans and meat in a little microwavable packet - that was great.  I try not to buy them because of the cost but when I do have them I just love using them.  I think I could still get to have things like that while maintaining a low budget if I just figure out how to make those types of things myself.

Seasoning mixes I could make in bulk and store in jars in the freezer or portion out into individual ziploc bags.  Simmer sauces I need to find good recipes for, but I could freeze or can in pint sized amounts.  Dried soup mixes look easy and I could store them in jars.  The tortilla stuffing would be very easy to make and could be frozen in individual servings.

Soup mix recipes:  http://allrecipes.com/recipes/soups-stews-and-chili/soup/dry-soup-mixes/