DIY Seasonings and Mixes

Here is a sampling of seasonings and mixes to get anyone started on their creative  DIY Seasoning journey!

This list is compiled from all over the internet and out of print books.

Cream of "something" soup recipe

1 cup non-fat dried milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup bouillon (if you have cubes you have to smash them up)
  You can use whatever kind you like (ie, beef, veggie)

4 Tablespoons freeze dried minced onions (I used the minced onions from Sam's Club)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme (I couldn't find the thyme so I used dried parsley instead)

1 teaspoon pepper

(For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup, mix 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water. Cook until thick)

Homemade Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Makes about 1/3 of a cup

2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons Greek oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (minced)
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Cooking Instructions

This is a delicious seasoning for all meats, eggs, fish and this is a secret recipe to a lot of high end chefs. Mix all ingredients and store in an air tight container.

Greek Seasoning Blend Mix 2

2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon groundcinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Combine spices and seal in ziploc or vacuum seal bag (or jar). Measure all into a ziploc bag, seal & shake to combine. Pour into a spice jar or bottle. Makes a Lovely Gift.

TACO SEASONING MIX

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix together all ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
2. When you are ready to use use your Homemade Taco Seasoning, use about 2 tablespoons per 1 pound of meat. Feel free to add more or use less, I just found that to be the sweet spot 
3. Brown your beef and drain off fat. Sprinkle seasoning evenly over meat and add ⅓ cup of water. Simmer until water is adsorbed.

TACO SEASONING MIX- NO CHILI POWDER OR SALT

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup sweet paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin 

Put all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar.

SEASONING SALT

3 Tablespoons salt

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Tablespoon celery salt

2 Teaspoons garlic powder

1 Teaspoon onion powder

1/2 Teaspoon cayenne powder

1/2 Teaspoon turmeric powder

Mix together and keep in a sealed jar. Makes 1/3 cup.

House Seasoning

1 cup salt

1/2 cup pepper

1/2 cup garlic powder

1/2 cup onion powder

1/2 cup dry parsley

Mix it up in a container and put in a shaker jar and enjoy!

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning

INGREDIENTS:

5+ large lemons
1/3 cup {scant} of crushed pepper corns {black and/or medley}
1/4 cup kosher salt
DIRECTIONS:

Zest all the lemons and mix with crushed peppercorns.

Spread out on parchment lined baking sheet and bake on lowest setting until the zest is completely dried.

Add the lemon-pepper to a spice grinder and grind until desired texture.

Mix with the kosher salt if desired and store in a airtight container for up to a few months.






Ranch Dressing
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Yogurt or Buttermilk
1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon onion powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

Mix all in a pint jar and shake well. Refrigerate for 2 hours and enjoy!

Nacho Seasoning Mix

1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast

2 Tablespoons dried minced onion

2 Tablespoons garlic powder

2 Tablespoons paprika

1/2 - 1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 Teaspoons salt

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper

1/2 Teaspoon turmeric -optional

 Grind all ingredient in a blender or good processor until a fine powder.  

Great to sprinkled on popcorn.


Copy Cat Zatarain's

Ingredients

For the spice mix (makes 3 batches!)

• 3 cups uncooked long-grain rice
• 3 tablespoons dried onion flake
• 3 tablespoons dried parsley flake
• 4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon minced dried chives
• 1 tablespoon dried celery flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

For the jambalaya (makes 1 batch!)

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jar spice mix, from above
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into rounds
• 1 pound 22-24 count shrimp, peeled and deveined

Instructions

For the spice mix

1. Combine all ingredients and divide into 3 jars.
2. Seal and add printed instructions if giving as a gift.
3. Store up to 6 months.

For the jambalya

1. Bring the water to boil in a large sauce pan.
2. Add the bell pepper and the spice mix and stir.
3. Return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15-25 minutes or until the rice is tender.
4. In another saucepan,combine the tomato sauce and sausage. Stir in the shrimp and cook until they turn pink.
5. Combine both pans and mix well. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of water and stir.

Shrimp Curry

When my fiance and I planned to marry my Dearest Mother decided to host the rehearsal dinner since my future in-laws had passed on. Well Mom prepared a wonderful dish that my fiance and his family had never had and it went over fabulously! I wish I had a picture but let me tell you it is worth making.

Shrimp Curry

1. Ahead of time; prepare rice for 6

2. 1 lg tomato chopped fine
   2 med onions chopped fine
   1 garlic clove chopped fine

Saute in 2 tbs butter

Add: 2 tbs curry powder

1 tbs paprika

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 sm stick cinnamon crumbled or a little cinnamon powder

1 tbs salt

½ lemon(juice)

Saute 10 minutes

Add: 2 lbs of raw shrimp or a combination of seafood = 2lbs*

Cook 3 minutes, cover with water and cook until shrimp turns pink

Add: 1/2c sour or sweet cream ( make a paste of flour and water to add if thicker sauce is desired)

Serve with:

Rice, coconut, nuts, bananas, FF onions, raisins and hard boiled eggs.

Set the condiments aside in dishes so everyone can use a little of each.

*You can substitute = amounts of meat, chicken or fish 

Homemade Potato Chips

I Love potato chips!! I like mine fried in home rendered lard from our own pigs and our own potatoes!  To make the Very Best Potato Chips start with fresh (homegrown is best) potatoes, no soft or sprouting ones. Wash/scrub well getting all the dirt off. .

 

Start peeling strips of potato, using a standard potato peeler(like Mom or Grandma used!). 

No need to peel the skin off and add to a bowl of cold water. This step gets all the excess starch

 off the potatoes and makes them crispy.

Soak for 20 minutes or more.

.

Lay out your slices on a towel to get rid of excess moisture( water and oil= splatter!)

You will need about 1/2" depth of lard in your pan (I need about 1 1/2 cups for my pan). Heat your lard up on low to med low, you don't want it smoking. To test add a potato slice and if it sizzles and floats the oil is ready. Add your potato slices to the oil leaving plenty of room for them to fry without getting crowded. Fry about 2 minutes or until crisp and remove to a paper towel lined plate or cake rake over a plate to cool. 

Salt or season to your own taste. I like plain sea salt. 

These will stay crisp for a day if they last that long!

Homemade elderberry syrup

How to Make Elderberry Syrup for Flu Prevention

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

A simple natural remedy with a big nutritional punch. We keep this on hand during cold and flu season to ward off illness.

Author: Wellness Mama

Recipe type: Remedy

Serves: 8+

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup black elderberries
• 3.5 cups of water
• 2 T fresh or dried ginger root
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp cloves or clove powder
• 1 cup raw honey (we get from our farmer's market)

Instructions

1. Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey!)
2. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
3. Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well.
4. When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a pint sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.
5. Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
6. Standard dose is ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.
7. wellnessmama.com

No 2 can, No 300 can What does that mean????

We all love to cook right?! We all have cookbooks old and new with measurements in cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, pinch of that- oh not so much that measurement! Well what do you do when a recipe says a No 2 can of peas? Huh, when did cans go by numbers instead of Lbs(pounds) and Ounces? Well a long time ago if you were born before 1960 or thereabout cans were numbered according to the amount in cups and weight of the contents. I guess before that cooks used scales to measure their ingredients, oh yes in the early days of our forefathers( mothers) they really did weigh the ingredients, how do you figure Pound Cake got it's name? One pound of sugar, one pound of butter and so forth.
I digress, so I found a handy dandy chart online that tells you exactly what those numbers mean!Yea!

Here is the chart-

How to Interpret Can Sizes

Some favorite older recipes may call for can sizes such as a Number 2 or a Number 303 can.

Here's a chart to help you determine how these correspond to current can

measurements.

Can Size Number -Approximate Volume of Food-(Approximate Weight of Food)

No. 1 picnic           1 ¼ cups                                  (10 ½ to 12 ounces)

No. 300                  1 ¾ cups                                  (14 to 16 ounces )

No. 303                  2 cups                                      (16 to 17 ounces)

No. 2                      2 ½ cups                                  (20 ounces)

No. 2 ½                  3 ½ cups                                  (27 to 29 ounces)

No. 3                      5 ¾ cups                                  (51 ounces )

No. 10                    3 quarts                                   (6 ½ pounds to 7 pounds and 5 ounces)

 The original sight link:

http://food.unl.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=98177e4c-8753-44ec-b27c-63f94de4516f&groupId=4089458

 

Pecan Pie Muffins- No pie shell!!!

PecanPieMuffins   Difficulty Easy Prep Time 10 Minutes Cook Time 20 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• ½ cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans
• ⅔ cups Softened Butter
• 2 whole Eggs Beaten
  

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven 350 F.
Grease your muffin pan (or use a demarle mini pie silform for no stick baking)
In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. I like to use a cookie scoop for even filling. Cups should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes if using mini muffin check at 18-19min. Cool on wire racks when done.

This is how easy it is using demarle silforms, no sticking!!!

Make extra these go really fast.

I found this recipe on Pinterest.

The "sign" I made using my Cricut cutter.

Home Made Oreo (tm) Cookies

Homemade Oreo Cookies(Makes approximately 3 dozen)
For the cookies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
  

For the filling:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons half and half
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 3 – 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, whisked to remove any lumps
  

Begin by preparing the cookies.  Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well incorporated.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, beating on the lowest speed.  Continue to mix on the lowest setting until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Divide the dough in half, and shape into two discs.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.  Set aside.
Taking only one portion of dough out of the refrigerator at a time, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough to 1/8 – 1/4-inch thickness.*see note below.  Use a cookie cutter (approximately 2 inches in diameter) to cut out cookies and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cooled, prepare the filling.  Combine the softened butter, half and half, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined.  The mixture may be a bit lumpy, but will come together.  Add the powdered sugar gradually, approximately 1/2 cup at a time, until the filling comes together.  It will be slightly stiffer than a cupcake frosting.
Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.  Pipe the filling onto half of the cookies, and top with the remaining cookies to form cookie sandwiches.

Hints: Use any type frosting for the filling

Fill with peanut butter

Use just the baked cookies for pie crust: cheese cake or ice cream

I found this on the web, can't remember where. 

*I found the dough to soft to use a cookie cutter so I just rolled into little balls and flattened out, makes for a more homemade look. 

If you have little ones (or slightly bigger ones!) around you may need to hide these! I know of three boys who found the stash at the Grandparents home-nuff said!