Jamaican Jerk Seasoning Rub Mix

We spent a LOT of money while I was sick, so we're trying to save up now by using up everything that's in our freezer before we buy more. That includes the GIANT bag of fish from Costco. But to get away with serving the same type of fish several times a week I have to make it taste different every time. So...

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning Rub Mix

1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

What else you'll need

1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Fish or chicken to rub it on

You can either use this mix as a dry rub or mix it with the oil and lemon and spread it on. I prefer a wet rub as I find it makes for moister food. This rub goes very well on salmon, but I used sole as it's what we have and costs a lot less.

I served my fish with homemade fries and mixed veggies (another giant Costco bag in the freezer to use up) and everyone was very happy with the results.

Jumbalaya Seasoning Mix

We recently bought an enormous pack of sausages from Costco and quickly tired of them. I started slicing up cooked sausage and putting them in pasta, but that barely put a dent in them. I needed to find something new and different to put them in. So...

Jumbalaya Seasoning Mix

1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon pepper

What else you'll need

oil for frying
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped (I used red as it was on sale)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 cup uncooked rice
4 cups water or chicken stock
2 cooked sliced sausages
1 cup cooked shrimp (we omitted this as we didn't have any)
hot sauce to taste

Saute the onion, celery and pepper in oil, then add in the tomato once they are tender.

Add the water, mix, rice, sausage, shrimp and as much hot sauce as you can handle (we could only handle a tiny bit!). Simmer until rice is tender.

The result was delicious!! The best part is that we used up even more sausages in a way that tasted totally different! Next time we will just order the small packages from the farm like we usually do.

Herb and Garlic Bread Dipping Oil Mix

I'm trying to use more olive oil and less butter these days. A pastry brush helps, but so does flavor. I love dipping my bread in flavored oils, it's much much better than butter ever could be. This one is my favorite.

Herb and Garlic Bread Dipping Oil Mix

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon parsley

What else you'll need

1/4 cup olive oil
bread for dipping

Combine mix with oil and stir well before serving.

Refrigerate any leftovers. I use them for extra flavor when I make pasta primavera.

I served mine with a sliced baguette. It was seriously delicious. The 3 of us sat around the plate attacking it until all the bread was gone, then my daughter tried to eat the oil with a spoon. No need for butter here.

Steak Marinade Mix

I'm finally on the mend and back in the kitchen after 2 1/2 terrible weeks. It makes me sad that I lost most of August, but also determined to really enjoy that last little bit of summer. Which includes... BBQ!!!

I really dislike fatty meats, but I also can't afford super expensive steaks either. I compromise by buying lean, cheap marinading steaks like sirloin tip and flank and make a marinade to soften them up.

Steak Marinade Mix

1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

What else you'll need

2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon vinegar

Combine mix with wet ingredients and marinade steak in a bag for up to 48 hours before grilling.

I served mine with mixed vegetables and baked sweet potato. The steak was so delicious tender it literally melted in my mouth. If you want a rich man's steak for poor man prices, all you need is the right marinade.

Mix It Up-Date

I apologize for not posting recently, I was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis. This has not been a good summer for us! But I am very lucky I caught it on time so I can stay alive and still walk and hear and all that great stuff. Now I'm at home, but I'm hooked up to IV 24/7 this week and stuck in bed. Meningitis really REALLY hurts! I'm hoping to be back in the kitchen mixing it up in the next week or two, but in the meantime I can dream up new ideas from my bed.

White Cake Mix

I love my little baby, but I miss spending time with my big girl- we used to be together all the time. Recently I've been trying to make the most of the time I do have with her so we can really enjoy it, and one thing I decided to do was teach her to bake. And nothing is more exciting to an almost 3 year old than...

CAKE!

White Cake Mix (single use)

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup powdered milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Excuse the mayhem of mess surrounding the bowl, 3 year olds aren't very neat. Neither am I frankly...

What else you'll need

1 cup water
2 eggs or equivalent
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine mix with wet ingredients and stir. If you like colored cakes add whatever food coloring you want. My daughter asked for 'rainbow cake' and I took the lazy route. I also made it into cupcakes, because they are easier for kids to eat. Pour the batter into greased pans or tins.

Bake at 350 degrees F for the desired amount of time depending on the size of the pan. Another advantage of cupcakes is they are done much faster for excited and impatient children and husbands waiting for cake.

These were very delicious! I didn't use any icing because I wanted to cut down the sugar content (frosting has twice as much sugar as the cake itself!), but I think they would be even more amazing frosted. Maybe when the kids are older....

Fast Food Burger Seasoning Mix

Back when I was pregnant this time I had a period where I constantly craved those little hamburgers from Mcdonalds. We eat organic, free range beef, but those tiny little hamburgers taste like being 8 years old and spending a day off school with your grandpa. They're tricky that way, and there is no time you crave comfort food more than during pregnancy.

I sent my husband so many times that he was embarrassed, and it was getting expensive so eventually I learned how to make them myself. I didn't come up with this recipe, but I did modify it to make it more user friendly without compromising the taste too much.

Fast Food Burger Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

What else you'll need

1 pound lean ground beef
cheap hamburger buns
mustard
ketchup
dehydrated onion flakes, soaked and chilled
dill pickles, sliced

Divide 1 pound of lean ground beef into 10 balls. Flatten each ball onto a square of wax paper and freeze until you're ready to use them.

Cook each hamburger in a frying pan on high heat, flattening with a spatula to cook it faster.

Use the cheap white hamburger buns that come 8-12 in a package. They are smaller than the 'good' buns most people use these days. Top with 1 teaspoon of dehydrated onion flakes soaked in water and chilled, 5 tiny dots of mustard, 5 small blobs of ketchup and 1-2 dill pickle slices.

Serve with shoestring oven fries, they aren't as greasy as McDonald's fries (unless you have a deep fryer) but they are the same size and shape.

This may seem labor intensive, but if you make a big batch of hamburger patties and get the toppings memorized they don't take any longer than any other burgers. They really do taste just like those little burgers at Mcdonald's. The secret is a combination of patty size, cooking method, toppings and seasoning. Now whenever I get a craving for the taste of childhood memories I avoid the questionable beef and make my own.