Make your own spice mixes.

Since my sewing projects were stalled due to taking care of my sick baby, I thought I would post a couple of my favorite spice mix recipes.  Spice mixes are awesome because they allow you to make several meals with little ingredients that always come out tasting great.  Best of all, you can avoid msg, food colorings, preservatives and other unspecified additives that the companies are not required to list, eeeek!  This will also give you a chance to use some of those glass or used spice jars you couldn't get rid of because it hadn't yet served more then one purpose..... no? That must be just me. 




First off, Adobo.  It can be used on any kind of meat, fish or vegetarian dish, I especially love it with stewed beans or lentils.  It is hands down, my go to spice mix.  Best of all, you can make this with spices you probably already have in your pantry.  Here is what you will need.




3 table spoons of salt
3 table spoons of garlic powder or granules
2 table spoons of oregano
1 table spoon of onion powder
1 table spoon of turmeric
1 table spoon of black pepper

Put all the ingredients in a little container, shake well and enjoy!  This can be stored for a good 6 months.  I make it in this size batch and it is gone.  If you love it and use it a lot just double or triple the amounts and you are good to go.

I was first introduced to Adobo because I married into a Puerto Rican family.  From the recipes I learned, Adobo, Sazon and Sofrito were key spice mixtures used in a bevy of delicious dishes.  If you specifically want to substitute these mixtures for the store bought ones, just keep in mind that you will have to use more Adobo and more Sazon then you normal would to achieve the flavor you are used to.  These mixes will be more subtle because they do not have any flavor enhancing additives.  :-)

Secondly, Sazon.  This spice mixture is known for the red color that it gives to the dishes that it is used in.  With the home made mixture the color is also more subtle so yellow rice is actually yellow, instead of red like it is with the store brought packets.  The only ingredient in this recipe that might not be readily available in your pantry is ground annatto.  I have been able to find it at a Mexican market here in my city. 

1 table spoon of ground coriander
1 table spoon of ground cumin
1 table spoon of ground annatto or paprika
1 table spoon of garlic powder
1 table spoon of salt

Put all together in a container, shake well and enjoy!

I make this is a much larger batch because I use about 3 table spoons minimum whenever I make a dish with sazon. 

Sofrito! I love sofrito.  I saute with the above mentioned spice mixtures as base for alot of soups, and rice dishes.  I even use it as a marinade!  I throw it in my eggs and sometimes use it as a spread on sandwiches.  If you love cilantro, this one is for you.  Now I know there are several different recipes out there for sazon depending on who you ask, but this one I learned from my lovely mother in law so I am partial to it.

Besides the ingredients you will need a blender or food processor.  The ingredients are:

2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 whole bulb of garlic, peeled  *I use THIS method.  It's like magic!
1 large bunch of cilantro
1/4 - 1/2 a cup of olive oil. 

First add 1/4 of a cup of olive oil with the bell peppers and blend.  You want to try to blend softer items first so the blending goes more smoothly.  Then add the onion and blend until smooth.  Add the garlic and cilantro.  If the blending is not going so well, go ahead and add that other 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Sometimes the extra liquid will help things move along quicker. 
Put it in an air tight container and store refrigerated until used up.  I don't have a best used by date because I use mine until it is gone, giving it a quick sniff first.  Some how, it always smells fresh!

Fajita mix.  For this, I basically use my pre made sazon and add:

2 tablespoons of Sazon
1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste

Last one!
Super easy Stir Fry mix.
I always try to have fresh ginger around but I have also used ground powdered ginger and it worked okay as well.  If you have ginger garlic paste this also works well.

1 teaspoon of ginger, grated or powder
1 teaspoon of garlic, fresh minced preferred or powder
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar, I use organic cane sugar
OR tablespoon of ginger garlic paste instead of ginger and garlic listed above

separately mix 1 teaspoon of corn start in 1/4 of water for thickener.

Whisk ingredients together and set aside while cooking meat and veg so the flavors can come together.  Add when meat and veg are cooked to desired consistency and stir around to coat.  Then I add the cornstarch mixture after the veg and meat have been coated and cook for just a minute or 2 before serving. 

You can also make this just to marinade meat in as well.

For the dry spice mixes mentioned earlier I reused my sons old baby food jars that I could not bring myself to just simple recycle.  I saved up about 20 before I realized I had to do something with them so I completely reorganized my spice pantry.  I also buy spices in bulk bags so I was able to finally organize from the shoe box they were in. :-O  Since I kept collecting baby food jars I ended up offering the rest up on freecycle.  Some went to a crafter and the majority went to a pre-school where they used them for making butter! It's so awesome to know that these little, seemingly insignificant jars can go on and have another life then what they were destined for and bring little preschoolers some joy to boot.  :-D