Sometimes patience is it's own reward.

For the past year, I've been looking all over for a coffee scoop because they hold 2 tablespoons or 1/8 cup and my 1/8 cup measuring cup has seen much better days. It was one of a set of very cheap measuring utensils of which I have 2 left.  The others were discarded because they weren't very accurate. 

Anyway, I needed another 1/8 cup measuring cup.  I know I could just use a tablespoon twice, but once you've seen how handy 1/8 cup is, well - you'll never want to go back, will you?  And it's impossible to find a 1/8 cup measuring cup without investing a sizable chunk of change.  So I thought I'd just get a coffee scoop.  How hard could that be, right?

Nobody in this town sells coffee scoops or maybe I, not being a coffee drinker, just didn't know where to look, but I couldn't find one.  I could order one on-line, but they cost $10 or more.  For one little coffee scoop! 

Well, I'm too cheap to pay that so I kept looking and looking and I finally found not one, but two!  This is where the story gets good for all you frugalistics out there.  I paid $1.00 for 2 scoops at the Dollar Tree.  And they accurately measure 2 tablespoon.

So now I have one in my flour tin because flour is what I usually measure out 1/8 cup at a time and a spare for everything else.

Here's a recipe that uses my new measuring scoop.

Basic white sauce:

1.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a heavy saucepan,
2. Stir 2 tablespoons (1 coffee scoop) of flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt into the melted butter.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring, for about 1 minute, or up to 4 or 5 minutes if you have the patience (which I don't). Cooking for this length of time will minimize 'flour' taste.
4. Take the pot off the stove and slowly add 1 cup of cold milk, stirring constantly.  (A little whisk works better than a fork or a spoon but you may need the spoon to get the flour/butter mixture out of the curve at the bottom of the pan, if you know what I mean.  And the milk doesn't have to be refrigerator cold, just not hot.  And you can use broth instead of milk, but your sauce will be thinner.)
5. Put the pan back on the stove and keep stirring while it comes to a simmer. 
6. Then keep stirring while it simmers until smooth and thickened, at least a minute.  (I sometimes put half the milk in the pot and heat the other half in the microwave while I stir the pot on the stove because I measure the milk with a Pyrex measuring cup that goes in the microwave.  Then I add the hot milk to the pan and the milk heats up faster and I don't have to stand and stir as long because I hate that job.)

To make cheese sauce, add about 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese after step 6, stirring until mostly melted. 

Either sauce can be used to make casseroles like scalloped potatoes, or creamed peas, or as gravy over potatoes or rice, or over scrambled eggs, or over creamy enchiladas. 

You can freeze it and re-heat in the microwave.  If you have any left.  Which you won't.