Daily Archives: February 28, 2012

I LOOOOOOOOOVE spice drawers. I mean, that’s my Pinterest porn flavor if you know what I mean. A well organized, well stocked spiced drawer makes my heart go pitter-pat.

My spice drawer, while well stocked, had gotten to epic levels of DIS-organization and it was making me want to pull my hair out. Wanna see it? I thought you would so I took a picture.

This is like THE OPPOSITE of pinterest porn. Now imagine having to find something with which to cook? ARGH. Such a mess! By the way, Garrett walked in on me taking a picture of my spice drawer and just mumbled, “I’m not even going to ask…”

I had reached my wits end last weekend and left the house to find a solution. I ended up finding it at World Market in the form of adorable little 99 cent jars. Can’t beat a deal like that with a stick! Now my drawer looks like this:

It sings to me when I walk by now, actually.

I repackaged all of my spices and slapped a handwritten label on them except for the ones from Penzey’s since those have recipes on the side and already come in pretty nice, non hideous containers. No need to print out anything fancy!

Anyway, this got me thinking that I should share 4 of my favorite herb blends/spice rubs with you. The ones that I use ALL THE TIME and are so easy to mix up yourself. So the next time you want to spice up your life a little, perhaps try one of these?

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I make this all the time because it is delicious, the recipe is for a huge batch and it works for a million different things. I brown meat for salads and mix it in. I add it to vegetables as a side dish with spicy food. I sprinkle it on taco salads when I want it a little extra flavor. So versatile!

Original Source: Food Renegade

Mix all of the following:
1/4 C. plus 1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 1/4 tsp. Dried Oregano
2 1/2 tsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Black Pepper

Herbs de Provence

This is such a delicious mix and my absolute secret ingredient for the best tasting caramelized onions on the planet. Remember this recipe? Herbs de Provence is a MUST! It’s also really delicious and in eggs a fancy way to zshush up chicken. The lavender makes it interesting without being weird!

Original Source: The Herb Gardener

Mix all of the following:
5 tablespoons dried thyme
3 tablespoons dried savory
2 tablespoon dried marjoram
5 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 ½ tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Paleo Friendly Mesquite Seasoning

I love the smokey sweet combo of mesquite but most blends have lots of added sugar. This one has great flavor, but only incorporates a bit of palm sugar. Truth be told, I have made it without and it’s completely delicious!

Original Source: Cooking with Cory
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp. dried, crushed rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp. dried sage leaves
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground dry mustard
1 tsp. palm sugar (optional)

And last but not least,

The Best Chicken Rub Ever.

I am totally obsessed with this recipe. It’s such an interesting combination of warmth and flavor and it makes grilled chicken breasts seem like the most interesting dish in the world. And if you know me at all, you know I am much more partial to the chicken thigh…so if I’m saying that, you know it’s a must try!

Original Source: The Clothes Make the Girl

Mix all of the following:
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mel’s cookbook Well Fed is actually a pretty awesome repository of great spice blends. It’s one of my favorite things about it!

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So do you have any MUST-TRY spice recipes that you use regularly in your kitchen? Leave them in the comments, I’d love to try them out!