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!!!

Orange / Chocolate mint Fruit Water

I’ve shared how we tried a few flavor combinations of the newly discovered fruit / herb water …

Today we tried Orange with Chocolate mint.

Not too bad.

I used about half of an average sized orange, cut into about half inch thick slices, then cut in quarters.

I added a handful of mint leaves.

Kinda mushed the stuff in the jar & added 2 trays of ice cubes & filtered water.

I really enjoyed how mild this one tasted. 

I’m sure with more fruit and/or mint the flavor would be more robust. 

But that’s the beauty of making this water… you are in complete control & there is no right or wrong amount.

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.