Italian Herb Mix

Italian Herb Mix

What you need:

• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary. Rosemary is very pungent so adjust as necessary

One Tablespoon each:

• Dried basil
• Dried oregano
• Dried sage
• Dried thyme
• Dried parsley
• Granulated garlic, optional

What to do:

• Thoroughly mix all ingredients
• Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place

Breakfast Sausage Spice Mix

I have been using this sausage spice blend for several years now.  It all started when the brand of breakfast sausage that I bought for E that was MSG free, all natural, blah blah blah increased in price to $7 a roll! A. ROLL.

Um. No.

I knew I could create a blend that was TRULY all natural, with no chemicals and full of delicious flavor in addition to being inexpensive!  The really great thing about these, as with all of my spice mixes, is that you can adjust and experiment to find a flavor combination that fits your family's tastes.

Sausage Spice Blend

What you need:

• T Tbs each sage and granulated garlic
• 1 tsp each granulated onion, fennel seed, salt and pepper
• 1 pound fresh ground pork
• 1 egg white
• 2-3 Tbs oil, plus enough oil to fry the sausage

What to do:

• In a small bowl mix the spices
• Add the pork to a medium bowl 
• Sprinkle about 2 Tbs of the spice mixture over the pork
• Add the egg white and oil to the pork and mix well*
• Form the pork into patties, you should be able to form about 6 patties
• In a pan with about 2 Tbs of oil over medium heat, add the patties and cook until done. About 5-7 minutes per side depending on thickness

*Wet your hands with water to prevent the pork from sticking to your hands

You may also like:

Taco/Chili Seasoning Mix

Homemade Seasoning Salt

Tandoori Spice Mix

I Made Brown Sugar!

Normally when I'm cooking or baking I'll pull out all of my ingredients to make sure I have everything I need.  Since I bake so often and I am constantly replenishing my goods I take for granted that I always have what I need.

So imagine my utter surprise while in the middle of baking a cake and not only was my brown sugar jar empty but I didn't even have a bag of brown sugar in my overflow stash!

Luckily I had what I needed to make homemade brown sugar.  It is so easy to make when you are in a pinch and being lazy about going to the store! 

What you need:

• Two cups of granulated sugar
• 2-3 Tbs of molasses

What to do:

• Place the sugar and molasses in a medium bowl
• Thoroughly mix with a fork. You will definitely need to use a little elbow grease while mixing
• Brown sugar can be used immediately
• Store in an airtight container 

Taco/Chili Seasoning

The more I read labels, the more I want to eat cleaner. While this may not be a true clean recipe, it doesnt have artificial anything. Plus you can adjust it to your tastes! 

If you want to make a hot taco/chili seasoning add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Taco/Chili Seasoning
Makes about 2/3 cup

What you need:

• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons black pepper

What to do:

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

I usually add about two tablespoons of seasoning per pound of turkey/ground beef and adjust from there.

Originally posted July 18, 2011 on my old blog!

Homemade Seasoning Salt

The salt reduction struggle is real at 18082. Both E and I have high blood pressure so any chance I get to lower or eliminate sodium in our diet I take it. A couple of years ago E had a scare that sent him to the hospital.  Seven days and one surgery later, I knew I was going to make some drastic food changes to our diet.

I started with purchasing those salt free seasonings. At the time the selection was limited and they were running about $3.00 for a 2.4 ounce container. I cook nearly everyday there is no way I could afford that on an ongoing basis; plus we like curry spices, garam masala, BBQ seasonings, etc and I just couldn't find low or no sodium versions of the seasonings we liked.

So I started experimenting with my own. I started with a taco/chili seasoning, moved on to a tandoori mix and now a seasoning salt mix. Homemade mixes use better ingredients and waaaaaaaay less sodium than the store purchased brands. You can adjust the spices to your liking and you will definitely taste the difference.


Homemade Seasoning Salt
Adapted from http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/search?q=seasoning+salt&x=0&y=0

What you need: 

• 3/4 cups chili powder
• 1/2 cup each, ground black pepper, onion powder
• 1/4 cup each, garlic powder, paprika, salt, dried parsley, cayenne pepper, allspice, ground cumin, celery seed
• 1 heaping Tbs turmeric

What to do:

• Mix all of the spices together in a medium bowl until well combined
• Store in an airtight container

Original post date 3/12/12 on my old blog!

Dry Rib Rub

Rubs are easy.  You just take some of your favorite spices, mix them together and slather it on your favorite cut of meat and slow cook it in the oven or grill it over coals!

Easy.

The measurements for my rubs are not exact because it is really adjustable according to the flavor I want to achieve.  I use this rub for the ribs we had for Memorial Day but it can be used on steak or chicken also.

What You Need:

Start with tablespoon increments of these spices and adjust.

• Black pepper
• Brown sugar
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Ground cumin

Start with teaspoon increments of these spices and adjust

• Cayenne pepper
• Dry mustard
• Ground allspice
• Ground coriander
• Paprika
• Salt

What to do:

• Combine all ingredients
• Mix well
• Store in an airtight container

Cook. Eat. Repeat.
Originally posted February 2012

Tandoori Spice Mix

I love a well seasoned turkey burger so when I ran out of my favorite tandoori mix (and it was raining out) I had to think of something else...fast? The troops were restless!

When I was researching 'tandoori spices' several variations of the spices came up.  I made this mix based completely on smell and what I knew about the ingredients! LOL I thought it was going to be too spicy but it didn't cook spicy.  Since it is a spice mix you can adjust the amounts to your tastes.

Tandoori Spice Mix

What You Need:

Start with 2 tablespoons each of:
Onion powder
Dried basil
Coriander
Cumin
Ginger

Then with 1 tablespoon each of:

Paprika

Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Salt

Finally 1-2 tsp each of:
Cinnamon
Clove

What to do:
Mix well.
Store in an airtight container.
Good on poultry or vegetables.

Cook. Eat. Repeat.


Originally posted July, 27, 2010