DIY Spice Mixes to Help the Budget and Eliminate Preservatives

With the increased availability of bulk foods and spices at much less than packaged prices, it makes sense to take advantage of as many as possible.  One great way to use the spices is to create your own spice mixes. This way, you can modify the salt and eliminate many preservatives.
Here are 3 of my favorites:

Taco Seasoning Mix:

The recipe makes about one ounce. I usually multiply the recipe by 8 and keep it in a jar so that I always have some ready for tacos, taco salad or other Mexican dises.

1 T chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

Mix everything in a small bowl and store in an airtight container.  Use 3 tablespoons per pound of meat.

Emeril’s Essence

This is a good spice mix for chicken marsala and you’ll find it used in other Emeril recipes. This recipe makes 2 1/4 cups of spice mix.

8 tablespoons paprika

3 tablespoons cayenne

5 tablespoons ground black pepper,

6 tablespoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons onion powder

6 tablespoons salt (or can use 1 T of Kosher salt)

2 ¹⁄₂tablespoons dried oregano

2 ¹⁄₂tablespoons dried thyme

Mix all together and store in an airtight container

I’ll post more later but if you have any favorite spice mixes that you wouldn’t mind sharing, I’d love to hear!