Fried Fish Coating Mix

My husband really likes when I cook fish, but recently told me that it's just not filling enough. How do you make something more filling? Bread it and fry it!!!

Fried Fish Coating Mix (Single Use)

1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon paprika
/14 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon oregano

What else you'll need

4 pieces of fish (I used sole)
I egg, beaten (optional)
oil for frying

Combine the mix in a large bowl, stirring well. Coat each piece of fish in egg (if desired. I skipped this to avoid eggs) and then dip in the mix until fish is well coated. Pan fry each piece until both sides are brown and fish is properly cooked.

I served mine with a seasoned wild rice mix I created the same day (coming soon) and some salad. Delicious! (Filling too!)

Chocolate Cranberry Muesli Mix

We've been on a big muesli and granola kick in our house lately, but it bothers me that those tiny little boxes cost so much money when most of the ingredients are so inexpensive. I also don't like how much added sugar some of them have, so I decided to have a go at making my own using my favorite ingredients!

Chocolate Cranberry Muesli Mix (single use)

1/4 cup bran flakes
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup corn flakes
1/4 cup rice crispees
2 tablespoons almond slivers or bits
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons semi sweet chocolate chips

Big Batch (makes about 8 good sized bowls)

2 cups bran flakes
2 cups oats
2 cups corn flakes
2 cups rice crispees
1 cup almond slivers or slices
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix it well

Serve with milk. I used almond milk for mine!

I created this mix by copying the main ingredients listed on the box of my favorite store bought kind but even though some costly (or unhealthy) ingredients were left out my version still tasted far better! It only took moments to make but the money saved and improved taste were certainly worth it!

Burger Seasoning Mix

We totally love the meat we've been ordering for the past year and find it very delicious, but somehow the burgers don't taste very good. It's probably because the meat is so lean and we're used to fatty burgers, but it really defeats the purpose of eating organic free range meat if every time we're craving a burger we run out for fast food instead. The whole point of ordering this food was to avoid factory farmed, chemical laden meats!

In this beautiful warm fall I took on the challenge of coming up with a burger mix that would make the ground beef we order taste like fast food... and here is the result:

Burger Seasoning Mix Single Use

1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

What else you'll need

1 pound ground beef
4 hamburger buns or rolls
various toppings

Combine the mix with the ground beef and form into patties, then cook them on a grill pan or BBQ.

We served ours with salad and lots of yummy toppings!

I found the biggest challenge in making a burger mix was making burgers that didn't taste like meatloaf! But we didn't mind doing a few test runs until we got a fast food tasting burger that was still made at home with organic meat.

Dill Cream Cheese Seasoning Mix

I used to think I hated cream cheese, but then they came out with those flavored ones and suddenly I was in love. Is there anything better than a toasted bagel slathered with a savory flavored cream cheese?

Recently only the plain kind of cream cheese was on sale. It was an outrage, I mean what am I going to do with THAT? It turns out, season it myself!!!

Dill Cream Cheese Seasoning Mix (single use)

1 tablespoon dried dill
2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried mustard powder

What else you'll need

1 250 gram tub or brick of plain cream cheese

Combine mix with cream cheese and stir well.

I had mine on crackers because we had no bagels or bread in the house that day.

Delicious!

This would be a good recipe for the times those double sized tubs go on sale and you wanted different kinds, or if you have some plain cream cheese left over from baking cheesecake.

Ramen Noodle Seasoning Mix

Ok admit it. We all eat ramen noodles sometimes. They are cheap, they are tasty and they are fast. I love those tasty noodles, but that little seasoning packet is loaded with MSG, so much that it gives me the shakes. I tried a few other options- topping the noodles with a bottled sauce like plum or hoisen, but it just doesn't satisfy the ramen noodle craving. So I knew I had to create something that would taste the same!

Ramen Noodle Seasoning Mix (Single Use)

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried chives
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon dried onion flakes

Big Batch (makes 6 uses)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons dried chives
1 tablespoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons dried onion flakes

What else you’ll need

1 packet ramen noodles
2 cups boiling water

Remove the noodles from the package and place them in a large bowl, discarding the seasoning package. Add 1 tablespoon of mix to the noodles and pour in water.

Let it sit covered for 3-5 minutes before eating.

They tasted like real Mr. Noodles only better, because they didn't have that metallic aftertaste. Now I can enjoy Ramen noodles whenever I like with less sodium and no twitching limbs!

Nut Free Trail Mix

I went back to work recently as a supply teacher and the biggest problem seems to be what to pack for snacks. I'm used to packing things like Larabars or dry roasted almonds to snack on when I'm out, but these days almost every classroom has at least one child with a deathly allergy and all schools are now peanut and tree nut free. Gone are the carefree lunches of peanut butter sandwhiches and nutty granola bars. Now kids eat Cheez whiz on their bread instead.

But......

It's a little known fact that SEEDS are neither nut nor legume and therefore very few people are allergic to them. Knowing this you can make delicious trail mix using pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. This is great because seeds are also a lot cheaper! Especially with all those Halloween pumpkins people are about to carve next month!

Nut Free Trail Mix

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Dump each ingredient into a bowl and then stir.

The other ingredients were picked based on what was on sale at Bulk Barn this week, but the combination tasted exceptionally good. You could easily substitute any other dried fruit of your choice, or use M&M's, butterscotch chips, or whatever sweetie treat in place of the chocolate chips, but I suggest you try this exact mix as it's GOOD.

This tasted even better than regular trail mix, yet it has the added bonus that it won't kill any of my students. And even though my husband can eat whatever deadly foods he wants in HIS lunch, I can send it with him anyway because it's an inexpensive and healthy way to fill him up.

I have to teach all day tomorrow but that's ok. I've already got my recess treat packed!

Meatball Seasoning Mix

My husband has been asking for spaghetti and meatballs for a while now and while I've never actually made meatballs I figured they would make a good mix.

My first test run included pepper and WAY TOO MUCH garlic. This overpowered the rest of the meatball and even though my husband said they were really good I wasn't satisfied. A second test run made for much better results (he said they were both equally good).

Meatball Mix (single use)

1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
2 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt

What else you'll need

oil for frying
1 pound ground meat
1 jar of pasta sauce
1 pound of spaghetti noodles, cooked

Combine mix with ground meat and mix well. I used ground turkey because we had some in the freezer. Finish mixing it with your hands and form it into golf ball sized balls.

Fry the meatballs in a frying pan until they looked fully cooked.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and let it simmer for a bit while your noodles are cooking. If you don't have spaghetti sauce you can make some easily by adding spaghetti seasoning mix to a can or jar of crushed tomatoes.

Add the cooked spaghetti noodles to the sauce and toss it, then let it cook for another couple minutes. This will infuse the noodle with sauce and make it taste like it's from a really good restaurant.

Enjoy your meal! If there is any left over (and there might be, because it makes a lot) it tastes great for lunch the next day.