Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Taco Seasoning - Whatcha' Cookin' Wednesday


Our family motto is “Don’t Panic.”

We adopted this years ago, around the time our now 7-year old twins started talking. (VERY hilarious to hear 2-year olds chanting, “don’t panic” when hilarity/disaster/confusion was ensuing... Ummm…. Sort of…)

I also have a personal motto: Keep it Simple. This applies to my life and also my cooking style. I like less stuff (and ingredients, when it comes to food) and less hassle. Why buy pre-made processed stuff when you have the ingredients to make it homemade already in your own pantry? This especially applies to pantry staples that only takes 5 minutes to make and/or assemble. 

Take taco seasoning. It’s so crazy-easy to make that you’ll kick yourself for not making it sooner. I use it on chicken, beef and pork; sometimes as a rub or maybe just a sprinkle when a little pep is needed in a dish. I also use it when making seasoned taco chicken in the crockpot. And that ingredient list? 8 spices. THAT’S IT.  And… no sugar, milk, flour, citric acid, cocoa or “natural flavors” added.  Yep, that’s what’s in a popular store-bought brand.  

Check it out:














YUCK, right?

Plus, why pay $2. for a small packet of overly-processed, mystery ingredient-laden, store-bought seasoning when you can make your own for pennies on the dollar? Turns out my wallet likes to keep it simple too. 


TACO SEASONING

Here’s what you’ll need:















2 Tbsp Chili powder
¾ tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Onion powder
½ tsp Red pepper flakes
1 tsp. Smoked or Regular Paprika (I like smoked best but regular will do fine)
3 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Sea salt
½  tsp Black pepper

Combine in bowl and mix together with spoon or fork. Store in airtight container for up to 6 months. (You’ll use it up WAY before then…)

















Beautiful. Cheap. SIMPLE.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Anonymous said...

I noticed the garlic powder is "Great Value" which IIRC is one of Wal-mart's house brands. It's been *several* years since I looked, but at least one of their garlic-only products seemed from the label to be made of garlic *FROM CHINA* -- I don't know if you've seen the pictures of the orange-red smog at ground level in China (visibility limited to 40 feet or less, bicyclists wearing surgical-style masks), but have you considered what happens when rain carries those pollutants into the soil where their garlic and other root crops are grown? NOT ORGANIC by a long shot! As an indicator of Red China's integrity with respect to food composition, please search for "honey trans-shipping" where the Chinese honey banned from entry to the U.S. for illegal antibiotics content was eventually mostly consumed by U.S. citizens anyway after being illegally relabeled as originating from India, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, etc. -- we U.S. beekeepers realized some of the smaller countries were suddenly "producing/exporting" TEN (10) times the maximum honey that their land area could possibly produce IN THEORY, -- DOZENS or even 100 times their previous maximum harvests -- yet no corresponding increases in numbers of beekeepers, beehives, or other changes in those countries had occurred -- the honey was really from China. Inspect that garlic powder label CLOSELY, please.
Kenny