Dried mixes

I like to think of myself as somewhat healthy.  I have recently quit smoking.  Seemed kind of hypocritical to run and eat healthy yet still smoke lol.  I also try to eat as 'clean' as possible, for health reasons and now for practical reasons.  It's an hour drive to the nearest fast food chain that starts with Mc and ends with donalds.  Eating clean means to eat things as close to their natural state as possible.  Obviously fruits and veggies are a big part of that, as well as eating stuff with as few additives as possible. A lot of what we buy has fewer than 5 ingredients and as few things as we can't pronounce as possible - i.e. organic peanut butter that contains peanuts... and only peanuts.  However, I still like convenience.  Just because I have all day doesn't mean I want to spend it churning my own butter.  To that extent, today I made these.

Homemade dried mixes for taco's, ranch dressing or dip and onion soup mix. All of these I use as they were intended, but I also use them a lot in cooking other things.  So now I have them on hand, without all the crappy chemicals added to the packaged products and at a fraction of the cost.  Here's how to make yours ( from the blog Self-Reliance by Jamie)

TACO SEASONING

1/2 cup chili powder

1/4 cup onion powder

1/8 cup ground cumin

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp sea salt

Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake

DRY ONION SOUP MIX

2/3 cup dried minced onion

3 tsp parsley flakes

2 tsp onion powder 

2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake. Give the jar a good shake each time you use it

Use 4 Tbsp in a recipe in place of 1 packet of Onion Soup Mix

Store in cool dry place

Ranch Mix

5 Tbsp dried minced onions

7 tsp parsley flakes

4 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake.

For dressing: Mix 2 Tbsp dry mix with 1 cup mayo and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream

For dip: Mix 2 Tbsp dry mix with 2 cups sour cream (I use greek yogurt for a healthier dip)

 

I used small mason jars to store my mixes because I had them on hand.  (I didn't have enough of the ingredients for the ranch to make a full batch which is why is looks a little sparse.) However, I've gotten into the habit of saving jars.  Any jar.  I save the jars from jam (will try making my own this year!), salsa (ditto), spaghetti sauce, pickles, olive oil and anything else. Just be sure your jars are clean and dry.  Try not to use plastic containers like Ziploc or Rubbermaid as they emit chemicals that can seep into your mixes.

Enjoy and Bon Appetit :)