HOMEMADE SEASONINGS

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Crystal Godfrey

Save some money, make your food taste about a billion times better, and have some creative fun in the kitchen!

HOMEMADE SEASONINGS

This post is based on a LIVE meet up on Instagram, if you missed it, you can rewatch it in our Facebook Group HERE. Homemade seasonings are awesome for two reasons, 1) they can be a lot cheaper and 2) they can taste a ton better! But before we go on, let’s make sure you do this right and save some serious dough before we get going.

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR DRY SPICES AND HERBS

The spice aisles are a little bare right now, I’m sure you’ve noticed.  But did you know there is another aisle you should be looking down for spices?  If your store has a Latin American aisle, you get get spices for seriously cheap!  The brand is Tampico and they come in bags that you can refill your spice bottles with (or check out this awesome IKEA hack I did for my spice rack in the Facebook group for Outsmart Dinner).  When I did a check a small spice bottle was 2-3x the price of the bagged amount (I chose those sizes because they were the same weights). You can also check at the Dollar Tree or the bulk bins at Winco (when they come back) to save big.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT’S WORTH IT TO MAKE MY OWN SEASONINGS?

This is a great question with so many seasonings at Costco or otherwise, how do you know if it’s worth it to make your own mixes or just to buy it.  Well I’d ask yourself the following questions

  1. do I have the ingredients to make it at home? For example, I fell in love with Everything Bagel Seasoning at my sister’s house but when I got home I had none.  I decided I could make my own, but when I checked the recipes online I didn’t have a few of the key ingredients, nor did I want to go find them. I decided buying it at Costco or in the bulk section of Winco was good enough for me.
  2. Does it taste better to make it at home?  Case and point: taco seasoning.  The first time I made the taco seasoning I was AMAZED at how much better it tasted than the store bought stuff.  I vowed then that I’d never go back.
  3. Will it save you money? If you say yes, then you may want to consider trying a knock off version at home.  For example, the Good Seasons Italian Seasoning is SUPER expensive like $2-3 a packet.  No way, not going to pay that.  It’s way cheaper to make it at home.

Now to get you started I asked on Instagram and Facebook for suggestions of seasoning mixes and blends you wanted to see and it turns out there were a ton!  So we will be visiting this subject again, but in the meantime here’s four recipes for you try and love! Some of them you’ll also find in the Outsmart Dinner Meal Planner attached to the recipes I use them in (it’s easier that way you know?!) and some are brand new.

Au Jus Mix

This seasoning blend is based on my French Dip Sandwich recipe from the Outsmart Dinner Meal Planner. It's great for a turning leftover roast into french dip sandwiches, or for using canned beef on a busy night. Use it as a rub on a roast or to make that famous Au Jus sauce.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup dry minced onion (or dry onion flakes)
  • 2 Tbsp beef bouillon

Instructions
 

  • Mix ingredients together. Store in an airtight container. (If you're using it for Au Jus sauce, add in 3cups of waters.)

Good Seasons Italian Seasoning Mix

This recipe is in the Outsmart Dinner Planner with the chicken noodle soup because it's my secret ingredient for an amazing chicken noodle soup, but also because it's so much cheaper to make at home with ingredients you've got in your pantry.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp onion powder
  • 1 Tbsp parsley
  • 2 Tbsp oregano
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp ground pepper

Instructions
 

  • Mix ingredients together and use as one envelope of Good Seasons Italian Seasoning

Best-Ever Taco Seasoning Mix

This recipe is also in the Outsmart Dinner Meal Planner. I love this recipe because it's a ton cheaper than buying store-bought but its also SO MUCH BETTER. Like, I'll never go back to buying it because of how much better this simple recipe makes tacos or taco soup taste.
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 Tbsp dry onion flakes
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder (I like California chili powder)
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

Instructions
 

  • Combine ingredients and store in air-tight container. One recipe is about one envelope of taco seasoning, but it runs spicy, so if you don't like it so spicy, you should decrease the amount you add to your meat.

Outback Steak Rub

Another great reason to make your own seasonings and rubs is when you want to make some restaurant copy cat food at home, like this Outback steak rub. It makes it so much cheaper to eat at home than taking the family out...and I'm talking like you can feed your family for the price of one plate at the restaurant.
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Ingredients
  

  • 4-6 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric

Instructions
 

  • Combine ingredients and use to rub on 4-6 steaks. Adjust the salt to your own taste.

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