Life without ... store bought taco seasoning mix

In my wanderings around the internet I came across what sounded like a wonderful recipe for homemade taco seasoning. I was intrigued & went to read more. I had given up buying the packets (for tacos & many other things) long ago, after reading some of the "stuff" that's in there. I'm happy to have found this nice alternative.

Here are the ingredients …

    1/2 cup chili pepper powder

    1/2 cup corn starch

    1/4 cup salt (reduce to 1/8 cup for low-sodium version)

    2 tablespoon ground black pepper

    3 tablespoons paprika

    1 tablespoon smoked paprika

    1 tablespoon onion powder

    2 tablespoons garlic powder

    2 tablespoons dried leaf oregano

    2 tablespoons ground cumin

    1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

    2 teaspoons ground coriander

    1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

All you need to do is combine them either with a whisk (as I did) or in a food processor. Very simple. I used a pint mason jar with plastic storage lid to keep mine in. Any airtight container will do.

I used the low sodium amount on the salt & just 1 teaspoon on the cayenne pepper. It came out amazing. I also used ground chicken for my meat.

Cooking directions are very much like what you would follow from those packets you (wont ever again)buy from the store.

Cook your meat in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain off fat. Add 1/4 cup seasoning mix & toss/mix to coat the meat. Add 3/4 cup water & stir to combine it all. Now just bring it to a boil. Lower heat to simmer & cook, uncovered for about 5-10 minutes or until the water is absorbed & the mixture is as thick as you like.

If you are using ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef, add 2 tablespoons cooking oil when cooking the meat. Still drain the extra tho, after its cooked.

 

So how simple is that? The mix makes about 2 1/2 cups so you’ll have plenty to use for later. I was skeptical but a real believer after tasting.

Check out The Yummy Life blog for Monica’s full blog post on her making this. 

 

For our dinner we made taco/tortilla shell bowls which came out so good covered with fresh stuff, shredded cheese & a little sour cream. Yum!

In my pantry we have organic corn starch & cocoa powder. I do not however have shelves full of organic spices.  A few here & there, but most are now bought in bulk from my store's Frontier brand spice area.

   

Another granola bar recipe

This one came out fantastic. And … no falling apart like the previous recipe.

I found this one on Cooks.com & it was submitted by CM

I hope that if you try it, you enjoy it as much as we are.

(  ) is what we used

 

Ingredients:

3- 1/2 cup oats

2- 1/4 cup add-ins (mentioned below)

1/3 to 1/2 cup honey or molasses

1/2 cup brown sugar (organic, light brown)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten (farm raised free range from a friend)

2/3 cup butter, softened (organic unsalted used)

1 tsp vanilla (pure, organic)

The recipe states to toast the oats for 15-20 minutes at 350 before starting. I skipped that part.

Toss all ingredients together & mix well.

Press firmly into a 15x10 jellyroll pan (sprayed, oiled or papered)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Cool.

Cut into bars

forgot to take pix along the way. this is part of what was left when I remembered!

My add-ins were 1 cup dried cherries (cut up some), 1 cup chocolate chips & 1/4 cup organic raisins.

I used organic molasses instead of honey.

The cinnamon we have here is a ground Saigon Cinnamon… a bit more robust than everyday cinnamon.

They came out wonderful. I am not a huge fan of molasses, or so I thought, so I was skeptical that I would enjoy these. I knew hubby would love it so I made them. To my surprise, I liked them too! One of these days I will begin to experiment with some other add-in stuff like maybe flax or something. Hubby does not really like nuts but I’d like to see about getting some of those in there too, just chopped small. 

When I asked hubby which he liked better when comparing this recipe to the first one, he said ... either one is great, just dont make me eat those store bought ones anymore! LOL I love him!!!

Life Without ... store bought granola bars!

compacted & pressed

Several weeks ago, or maybe longer now, I saw conversation about making your own granola bars. It has been on my list of new stuff to try for some time so I perked up when reading about it again. Presented in the conversation was a simple recipe to try. I copied it into a document & saved it. So there it sat, on my desktop, quietly waiting for me to open it back up & have a go at it.

ready for the oven

That day finally came over the weekend. I had to either go buy more or make some, as our stock pile was … gone. Hubby takes one to work every day as part of his lunch. I enjoy one on occasion & we always take a few with us when we go walking/hiking or for long rides.

fresh out the oven!

Let me say right now that I will not again buy any from the store. Not when homemade tastes this good & is so easy.

There are more varieties/recipes out there for granola bars than I know I’ll ever have time to try… and that is way cool to me. The varieties are now truly endless. No more limits by brand or price from the store. I love that.

Here is the recipe I used …

1/2 c pure cane sugar (I use organic sugar)

1/2 c softened butter (organic unsalted is what I used)

1/2 c real maple syrup (organic pure maple/agave blend I used)

1 egg  (farm fresh!)

1 tsp real vanilla extract (we have some organic on hand)

3 1/2 c oats

1 c optional add-ins (dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips)

 (I used 1/3 cup each of chips, fig pieces & organic raisins)

Cream sugar and butter; add other ingredients one at a time in order of appearance. Mix well (using your hands is a treat :). Press onto cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. You can stir it about halfway through baking if you want "granola" or let it bake through and then cut into bars.

fully cooled & cut

Sounds simple enough right? It was. I used my jelly roll pan, lined with parchment paper. To get the thickness of what we’re used to in a granola bar, I pushed everything together more which is why the pan was not full. When it came out of the oven, it was obviously hot, & soft still, in the center. I put the whole thing on a cooling rack for maybe an hour. Then I pulled it out of the pan to let it finish cooling completely before I cut into it.

wrapped & ready!

My only issue right now is how to store them & make them portable as individual servings. I opted for plastic wrap but I really don’t like that. You know … that whole plastic thing. I’d be happier if it were wrapped in something else. Just not sure what.

I know one thing tho … with this new granola bar I could easily eat one every day as well. That means I’d be making more once a week!  This might not be a bad thing … And I am certainly looking forward to experimenting with all kinds of recipes & varieties!

Life Without ... store ketchup, try 3

Wow. Who would have thought making such a simple thing could be so much fun. The last recipe I tried came out pretty good & hubby loved it. The only thing I found kinda odd about it, to me, was the cinnamon in it. So, here it is time again to make more. This time I made just a few small changes to that recipe.

I added:

1 Tbsp of Vinegar

¼ tsp of mustard powder

¼ tsp of onion powder

I left out:

Cinnamon

Results? Not bad at all.

I’m not sure what else it is that makes it taste a little “off” to me. Maybe it’s the difference between store bought & homemade. But maybe it’s the all spice & clove. Something else funny … we went out to eat recently. Hubby used some of their ketchup for his fries. To see his face was funny. He could not believe how he used to think that stuff was good. We laughed & commented that maybe next time we need to bring our own.

After seeing & tasting the result of a mish-mash recipe of mayo, I think I am very inclined to try my hand at that next. The kids had tried to make some, but had no blender. Without the blender (or mixer perhaps?), it doesn’t mix very well… no matter how hard you try to whip it by hand. We brought their attempt to our place & poured it into the Ninja. Added a few bits of ingredients & had mayo. Pretty cool. Not quite how I want it to taste, but hubby liked it so its being used. Certainly good enough to make me wanna try. Of course I’ll share the results.

Life without ... store bought Ketchup

 It was time again to make more ketchup on Monday. I had maybe enough left to make one more sandwich for hubby for work on Tuesday. Yeah, he likes mayo on one side & ketchup on the other. Not to mention he enjoys ketchup on many other things as well.

So Monday I tried another recipe. I found this one online somewhere …

This one was so simple. Directions stated to simply mix together & let chill overnight for flavors to meld together. Seriously? That simple? We’ll see.

6 oz tomato paste

1/4 cup water (used ¾ c total, great consistency)

2 tbsp vinegar

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt         

1 pinch clove

1 pinch allspice

1 pinch cayenne pepper (didn’t use, I had none at home)

1/4 cup brown sugar

This time, I made no alterations other than the amount of water used. Using the quarter cup just made it way too thick for us. And I had no cayenne pepper at home (can you believe that?). I mixed everything together with a wire whisk, as the recipe said. Had a small taste & was impressed. So I stuck the whole bowl & whisk in the fridge. Hubby would be home in an hour & I’d let him taste. He too was impressed, letting me know he liked this one much better than the last one.

This time, I got 2 very full half pint jars out of it. I went & bought some lids for refrigerator use so I was not always using the lid & seal deal … save those for actual canning use!

So yes … seriously that simple.And I do believe I can now say we have a life without ... store bought ketchup!

Life without… as many processed foods

Earlier this year I kind of did a few posts about what it’s like to live without some basic things I used to take for granted. Off theshelf soda, store bought rolls, a microwave…

Another thing we (hubby & I) have been living without is an over-abundance of processed foods & ready-made stuff. You know... things like Hamburger (or any of the others) Helper, frozen meals, frozen hash browns, snack cakes, etc.

Not all that many years ago, we used to buy Hamburger Helper on a regular basis. It was cheap & made a decent tasting meal for two. It was among the first things to go when we began reading labels. Wow, what a list that crap had! Several varieties even had the dreaded HFCS, although I have no idea why. All of them have MSG. And lots of other questionable ingredients.

homemade Sweet & Sour shrimp dish

It’s actually been kinda fun making our own homemade versions. And for the amounts you get, it really is cheaper this way. One of the best things was learning that I could make my own sweet & sour sauce! Yes! For real! And, it tastes way better than anything out of a store bottle or jar or packet.

Oh, another BIG thing we used to buy was frozen hash brown potatoes. Or frozen O’Brian potatoes. Another thing that changed when we looked at the label. All that stuff, just to make it last on the shelf.

So, one weekend morning, we took a couple real potatoes & shredded them. Put a little oil in the pan, added the potatoes, a little no salt seasoning & paprika, plop the lid on & cook. Amazing. All it took was once. We have never bought frozen potatoes again. 

Another fun thing we tried (& I need to try a few more recipes for) was from scratch cinnamon rolls. They didn’t come out prefect, but we knew (& could pronounce) what every ingredient in them was!

I just wanted you to see that its not incredibly hard to eat better… It’s fun & pretty easy.

Life Without ... soda

Wow... soda... I am not ready to let go of this treat from my life completely, yet. Awhile back I did a post about Mountain Dew Throwback. I have not had any, probably since I wrote that. Well, maybe one or two since its been a year. But still, after one, I feel like crap inside. My body definitely lets me know nowadays when it doesn't like what I'm giving it.


I still drink soda. Almost everyday. Never more than approximately 12 ounces. But, I drink it.

My soda of choice these days is mostly Blue Sky. And of the ones they offer that we can find here, the Jamaican Ginger Ale is my favorite. Mostly that is because my body tolerates it just fine.
Room temperature... and sometimes even flat! Mostly the flat part is because it takes me awhile to drink it. 

I loved Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale, but my body didn't like as much as I did, so I switched. I also tried Hansens, but they only offered the ginger ale in diet. Yuck. I gave up diet sodas a long long time ago!

I remember when I used to drink 2 or 3 regular sodas a day & thought nothing of it. All that HFCS in my system & no clue. I now know soda is not really good for me at all. Not even this stuff. There is tons of info out there on the why's. Why not to drink it. How bad it is. How bad the containers even are. So why can't I let go?

I'll tell you why. I love the fizz. Yup, the carbonation. Sometimes I can go days without one. Even weeks. But then I get this ... need for the taste of the sweetness & the fizz. Just one can. Or one bottle.

As I continue to learn more about commercial sodas, I kind of want them less but I still want the fizz. Perhaps, just as people who love beer, & wine, learn to make their own, I too can learn to make my own ... soda?

Are you like me? Do you love soda even tho you know how bad it is? Have you given up soda? How do you cope? I'd love to hear from you....

Life without ... store bought rolls & biscuits

Today I want to talk about making your own biscuits. And I don't mean anything fancy. I'm talking simple drop biscuits.

Before the label reading began, I used to buy all kinds of rolls & biscuits from the stores. Pillsbury & store brands could almost always be found in our fridge. Another thing we always had in house was Bisquick. So between those tubes & that box, we always had the ability to have some bread with dinner, handy. how could one ever give that up? Easy....

First to go were those tubes of rolls. While not that expensive really, they had extra ingredients in them that we didn't need. I moved first to using the fresh baked rolls from Costco & drop biscuits with Bisquick. Then I left the rolls behind altogether for just the biscuits. Then I left Bisquick behind.

So what do I do now? I use a simple recipe from my old trusty cook book. Very simple drop biscuits that taste better than any roll from a tube or store & even better than the ones made with Bisquick.

Here is the recipe I use now:

Baking Powder Biscuits (drop biscuit variation used)
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
For drop biscuits increase milk to 1 cup

heat oven to 450
cut butter into flour, sugar, baking powder & salt in medium bowl, using a pastry blender (my fav) or criss-crossing knives until mixture looks like fine crumbs.
Stir in milk until dough leaves sides of bowl. (next was the actual biscuit rolling out stuff)
Drop dough by 12 spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove immediately from baking sheet.

Now ... I have a non stick sheet & I have not used anything on it & they come off fine. I also use real butter (organic if I have it), non aluminum baking powder, sea salt, organic sugar & organic milk.

They come out so light, & so good....

... that I have no real reason to ever buy them from a store again or waste my money with a box of Bisquick. I now know exactly what is in my food. It doesn't take long when you have a decent pastry cutter & the taste is so worth it!!!

I must note that with the Bisquick I used to make cheesy garlic drop biscuits which were heavenly. I have not yet made those without the Bisquick. I will find a good recipe tho, & try them soon. For now, hubby & I are enjoying the taste of these.

Life without ... a microwave

I've not had a microwave now since mid October of last year. Amid the downsizing we did last year one of the many things that went was our microwave. I just figured once we were settled, we'd look at getting a new one.

Our kitchen here is rather small with limited counter space. I looked around for a small microwave for awhile. But the money we had was going quick & I could not decide on whether to spend the money or not, so I didn't. The more I thought about it & the more I talked with my hubby, the more we decided that we really could do without one.

I have heard & read about micro waves & what they can do. They are not exactly good for us to be exposed to. They cant be all that good for the food either. Besides, we lived without them before...

So here we are, living happily without one. People wonder how do we heat up leftovers? Well, either in a skillet or in the oven. Simple. And I have to say, everything tastes so much better than when it was just reheated in the microwave. And once you get used to it, it really doesn't take that long. What about popcorn? We bought a hot air popper. I love the taste. Melt a little butter to drizzle over it with some sea salt & you have a fabulous dessert or snack. Yes, real butter. And salt. It's all about moderation!

I used to eat Kashi frozen meals for lunches. Well, without a microwave, that would take forever to heat in the oven so ... I just don't eat that anymore. And I don't buy things anymore that are meant to be heated in the microwave. Simple as that.

Now, there have been a few occasions where we have said it would have been nice to have one. I heat water in a kettle on the stove for hot drinks. We don't have leftover coffee to reheat so that is a none issue. If there was any left, I would just turn the coffee maker back on & let it reheat that way. Or, I could put it in a pot on the stove & heat it. I know, coffee connoisseurs are gagging at those thoughts. But I'm not one of them. Mostly we just don't have coffee left over!

There ya go .. you can live life without a microwave. And you can enjoy it! Honestly. In certain aspects of daily life you have to make adjustments for this. But, it's not a big deal. It all comes down to a choice we make. Will we ever have one again? Maybe. But I honestly think all it would get used for is a clock, maybe a timer & to have a way to heat up heat packs.

Can you live without one?