Homemade Taco Seasoning & a Lesson on What's in that Packet?!

OK, I admit it, I used prepackaged seasonings and spices to simplify life but over the last few years I have stopped for the most part.  Learning the right combinations for my favorite packets have not only decreased the sodium intake of my family but also the MSG not to mention the added benefit of it being MORE flavorful when used with my favorite recipes.  The one packet I still used until recently was for tacos. Tacos used to be a weekly meal when the girls were younger and now we probably have them once a month.  I wish I would have read the ingredients on the packages of these seasonings long ago.

Now for the real shocker for me!  Did you know that they put in Silica in taco seasoning? I am most sure they put it in other packets too but when I read the list of ingredients on my packet of a popular brand, I was shocked at a few things.  This is the list:

Maltodextrin, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Spice, Monosodium Glutamate, Corn Starch, Yellow Corn Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Silicon Dioxide (Anti-caking agent), Natural Flavor, Ethoxyquin (Preservative).

First thing that stood out to me and made me laugh was, Spice. What?!?! Is this a big secret? 

Of course there's that MSG but do you see the silcon dioxide?  That's sand, folks.  Yep.  Have you purchased a pair of shoes or handbag recently? Did you happen to notice the little white packets marked “Silica Gel! Do not eat! Throw Away!” ? That little packet is extremely harmful if consumed…actually fatal. This is what is in the packets...It’s used in a lot of things as a flow agent and partly because it does a nice job of absorbing a little bit of humidity that would cause clumping in a variety of things.

Ethoxyquin? What the heck is that?  Well, let me tell you, according to Wikipedia,

Ethoxyquin is a quinoline-based antioxidant used as a food preservative (E324) and a pesticide (under commercial names such as “Stop-Scald”). It is commonly used as a preservative in pet foods to prevent the rancidification of fats. Ethoxyquin is also commonly used in spices to prevent color loss due to oxidation of the natural carotenoid pigments.”

Now - I am definitely not using the packaged seasonings/spices anymore. In fact, the ones I have in my pantry now are history, even though I haven't had the urge to use them in quite some time. I realize that the FDA approves the use of ethoxyquin in regulated doses however, why do you want to ingest this or have your pets ingest it???  I totally understand that the use of ethoxyquin is used differently in foods than it is as a pesticide but still there is a concern.  

A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and since then, I have been trying to rid my, and my family's meals (that I prepare) of the high sodium and to make a conscious effort to eat healthier.  It's a struggle but in some ways it's becoming easier.  I have learned to shop the "outer perimeter" of the grocery store with ease and if my budget allows it, to buy organic meats and produce.  

Now that you know all of this, let's get to the recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning! Use it as you would the prepacked kind.  About 3 tablespoons per 1 pound of ground beef (or turkey) and add 3/4 cup of water. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (or use 1 tablespoon minced onion flakes)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup water

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Use as you typically would a packet of taco seasoning.

About 3 Tbsp per 1lb ground beef (adding more or less, depending on your tastes) to the 3/4 cup water, mix well. 

Pour over ground beef and mix.  Simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve with your favorite taco shells and toppings.

Note - Multiply the amounts to make a larger batch to have on hand for future uses.

Honey Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs

While I rarely look forward to the whole grocery shopping adventure, I do like this time of year in the produce aisle.  If you can catch the store I frequent at right when they stock the shelves and bins full of fresh fruits and vegetables, it's a rainbow of goodness. Then to see all those bright colors in my refrigerator just has me thinking all sorts of ways to prepare them.  This chicken kabob recipe is one of those ways and it's so easy to change up the vegetables to your tastes and what's in season that you can have it often enough and not get tired of it.

I made this one night this week for dinner and got a bit carried away with the vegetables that I didn't have enough skewers to grill the vegetables on so I simply roasted those in the oven while the chicken was on the grill.  Came out just as good as if they were grilled! Serve over brown and wild rice or white rice.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic
1 large red onion, cut into 2 inch pieces (yellow onion will work, too)
2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces (or whatever colors you have on hand)
skewers

1 medium-sized zucchini, cut into 1 inch quarters (half the zucchini lengthwise, the half the halves lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces)

2 one gallon Ziploc® bags

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic and pepper. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the marinade and set aside.

In one Ziploc® bag, add all the vegetables and then pour half of the marinade over the vegetables.  Close bag and mix marinade into the vegetables.

In the other Ziploc® bag, add the chicken and the remaining half of the marinade. Close bag and mix marinade into the chicken.  

Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours (the longer the better but not over 24 hours)

Preheat the grill for med-high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers. At this point, you can thread the vegetables separate from the chicken if you prefer that.  It does help prevent the vegetables from getting too burnt or overcooked while the chicken is still cooking.  

Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Note - you can change up the vegetables to suit your tastes and to what's in season.  Add some ginger or red pepper flakes to the marinade to give it different flavors, it's an easy marinade to change up the flavors.  Also, try adding fresh pineapple chunks to the vegetables when marinading and then adding those to the chicken skewers to grill.  

Italian Sausages with Roasted Vegetables

Picture from Tasty Kitchen

Classes are done, exams are finished and I survived this semester (barely.)  Now, the fun begins with home improvement projects, Spring cleaning (OK, early Summer cleaning) and of course, new recipes to try all the while trying to stay cool in Georgia.  It's going to be near 90 degrees today and this weekend.  I don't know that I am ready for that just yet! Hot weather brings out the simpler recipes, ones that can be made with little or no use of the oven.  Grilling is the preferred method for us but from time to time, the oven must be used.  My slow-cooker gets a good workout all year long, too.

One look into my freezer and refrigerator made me realize I needed to be getting back in habit of creating my weekly menus to go with my shopping lists.  It also made me crave Italian sausages with sauteed onions and peppers because staring me in the face was a package of sausages that just beckoned to be grilled.  Instead of sauteing the onions and peppers, I decided to forego all the butter or oil used in that process and roast them with very little olive oil. Oh my! They were divine! So divine that guess what, no picture because we couldn't wait to eat them!!! But I cannot take credit for the idea, that came from Tasty Kitchen's site.  While the cook there, roasted the sausages in the oven with the vegetables, I choose to grill them.  The picture above is from her site.  I think the grease from the sausages and the oil she used was a bit much for my liking so I decreased it.  My version of this recipe is below.

Ingredients:

1 package Italian sausage (mine had 5 links in there) - Brats would be great with this too.
1 large onion (doesn't matter the kind, I used red)
2 bell peppers (whatever colors you prefer or have on hand)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Hoagie rolls (I like to use them for this as they are a bigger than hot dog rolls)

Instructions:

Preheat your grill to medium and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice onions and vegetables, 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices, place on nonstick baking sheet.

Season with salt and pepper, drizzle olive oil over and toss to coat the vegetables.

Place sausages on grill and cook till done. Place onions and peppers into oven and roast till done, leaving them with just a bit of crispness.

Slice your rolls, add sausage and top with onions and peppers. Serve with Macaroni and Cheese.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Yes, I've been MIA for a bit but it won't be for much longer.  Finals are just about over for me...only 3 more exams and this semester will be behind me. Not a moment too soon either as my brain cells are in desperate need of repair and so is my house. Not to mention the cold I have contracted from the depths of hell or so it seems that's where it came from.  I realized last week that no one in my house has been eating very well and while I am really only cooking a few days a week until this semester is finished, I can do better.  I need to! So, I went on a mission at the grocery store and stocked up on nothing but healthy foods, umm...OK I had to get some members of the family their junk food items so that they wouldn't constantly tell me there isn't anything in this house to eat.  But for the most part, we've got the farm in the house.

I am not a fan of sweet potatoes, really I am not.  I know the nutritional value of them but in all honesty, I have never really had them unless they were from a can or made into a casserole with marshmallows on top. Who can resist something covered in melted marshmallows?!?!  The canned variety, that was how my parents made them the few times a year we had them. Granted, my Dad doctored them up well but to me they were still this mushy mess on my plate that I had to eat.  It was like the liver and peas all over again for me.  Both of those, I can't stand, although I am better about the peas if they are in something with other vegetables.  You'll never get me to eat liver again, never.  Back the sweet potatoes - I've had them fresh and baked with some butter and cinnamon, while it was tasty I still am not a fan.  My Mother-in-law makes an out-of-this-world Yummy Sweet Potato Casserole and I will eat seconds on that one!  But if you get right down to it, I like sweet potatoes when they are covered in marshmallows or loaded with a brown sugar-pecan topping and it's not healthy!  So I thought why not roast them as I do their relative, the white or red potato!

This was a great idea, people! Do it today!  You'll thank me for bringing a healthier sweet potato into your lives, really you will.  I'll tell you right now, if you don't already know, sweet potatoes are hard to cut than white ones.  Be warned and be safe while cutting them!  Now, I had to roast white potatoes along with the sweet potatoes because I have a husband and kids who feel like I do, they prefer not to eat them.  Toss them with a bit of olive oil, season them with some salt and pepper and herbs of your choice and roasted them to golden brown perfection.  My husband loved them this way but the daughter that was home to eat at the time, declined to even try them....she will one day and love them too. I do.

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes
2 - 3 large white potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
(really you can use any herbs you like, if I had rosemary on hand, that would have been on here too)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and peel the potatoes, cut them into about one inch cubes and place in large bowl. I only peeled the sweet potatoes.  It's your choice to peel or not the white potatoes.

Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes
.
Add the seasonings and toss to coat all the potatoes.

Spread onto a baking sheet, in a single layer and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 - 45 minutes. The time depends on how big your cubes are so adjust time accordingly.  I will sometimes put the broiler on to crisp up the potatoes if they are fork tender before they are browned thoroughly.

Funfetti Cheesecake Cookies

   
It's that time of the year again for college finals and I've a;ways sent my girls small care packages throughout their college careers and bigger ones when it was time for their final exams.  I only have one in college now as the other graduated and is in the "real" world doing what she loves - working as an RN.  The one in college has two more years so she will benefit from these care packages a bit longer. I try to put all the snacks she loves in there that she won't buy because it's not in "her" budget.  Yea...I laughed too.  "Her" budget is my money but I do appreciate her thriftiness. I also try to buy a few things throughout the year that may fit in with her apartment decor or those little things she tells me she wants but doesn't buy for herself.  The food is a mix between healthy snacks and the favorite junk food craves.

I always, always include homemade cookies in the package.  It's a must, a necessity and a requirement. She loves cheesecake and white chocolate chip cookies so I thought why not combine the two and make it a bit festive.  The Funfetti cake mixes are an easy way to get that festive look and by making a few changes you can turn the cake mix into a cookie dough mix.   The recipe makes the perfect amount to box up and mail too.  I usually can get a little over 2 dozen cookies from it.  Easy! Time-saving! She's going to love them.

Ingredients:

1 box Funfetti cake mix
1 small box instant cheesecake pudding mix

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation)

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 - 1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray sheet lightly with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the white chocolate chips until a dough ball forms.  

Stir in 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets 2 inches apart. 

Use the remaining 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, press a few chips onto the tops of each cookie. This isn't necessary but it does taste good!

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cookies just start to lightly brown. The center of the cookies may appear soft still, this is fine.  

Cool for 2 - 3 minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to wire rack.