The best item to ever get at the $1 store when it comes to cooking

I've been a chef for over 10 years and have been cooking on a budget for most of it. Back in the day $1 stores didn't have great items but these days they have everything.<br><br>I've been living with my elderly aunt for the past year and thought it would be fun to take her to the dollar store and get some baking decorating stuff for the cookies we were planning on making.<br><br>As we were walking down the aisle I picked up a small item that was unfamiliar to me and asked my aunt what it was. It was a spice packet that says "chili powder". Now I know what you're thinking "I don't use chili powder in my cooking". My aunt uses it a lot in her cooking so I figured I'd get her a pack of them. <br><br>That night I did the oddest thing, I unpacked all of her kitchen and found out she had 5 opened packets of chili powder that she never finished. I looked at the expiration date on all of them and found out they all expired in 2008. I thought "wow, why does chili powder go bad".<br><br>A year later we moved into a different house and had to get rid of all of the cooking ingredients since my aunt never used them. I thought "I'd better finish some of that chili powder" and that is when I realized I never used it either.<br><br>I looked up chili powder and found out that it is a staple in many cuisines and it is the best ever product to get at the dollar store. It never goes bad and it is never used up by the average cook. <br><br>I still have that entire pack of chili powder that I bought and I have used it in a few recipes like my chili recipe and burrito recipe. But since there are so many packets in that pack that I figured I should share it with some of my friends. <br><br>Those spice packets have become so popular that I've had to buy more of them and people are still looking for more. So if you ever go to the dollar store and you have no idea what to get, go for the chili powder.<br><br>*Edit: If you want to donate to me I have a PayPal at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])<br><br>*Edit #2: it's fun to read the comments but there are over 3,000 so I might not be able to read them all. Thank you for sharing your spice packet recipes, you guys are awesome!<br><br>*Edit #3: there are 20 packets in each pack. I'll never be able to donate all of them but I'm trying.<br><br>*Edit #4: for those of you that have attempted to donate to my PayPal, thank you so much! I didn't realize I had that much money in my PayPal account so I didn't need all of the money. But thank you for the generosity. <br><br>*Edit #5: for those of you that have attempted to send me your spice packets, thank you so much for your generosity but I need to use up the 6 packs I have before I can use up the 30 you're sending me lol.<br><br>*Edit #6: I didn't mean to make anyone not want to buy chili powder ever again. Please continue to buy chili powder at your local dollar stores as the money you spend is going to your community.<br><br>*Edit #7: I am not going to send spice packets to everyone who has commented and sent me their address. If I was going to send out spice packets it was going to be a random drawing from the people who commented. But I have to admit that I've been overwhelmed by the amount of interest and I don't think I'm going to be able to fulfill my promise