Homemade Spice Blends

We all love our seasoning blends, but the ones you buy in the store sometimes contain ingredients we don't want in our food. Here are some easy spice blends you can make yourself from spices you probably already have in your pantry.

TACO SEASONING
Real Food Dietitians
8 tablespoons chili powder
8 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
4 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
4 teaspoons sea salt
1-2 teaspoons cayenne (optional)
Use 1/4 cup of seasoning and ¾ cups water to simmer meat.

RANCH DRESSING SEASONING AND DIP
The Pinning Mama
4 teaspoons pepper
4 teaspoons sea salt
8 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons dill
4 teaspoons chives
8 teaspoons garlic powder
8 teaspoons onion powder
8 teaspoons dried onion
When ready to mix, in a jar put....
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons dr...

Caramel Apple Bar

Everybody likes caramel apples – at least for the first 4 or 5 bites. With Halloween coming up very soon, I thought it would be fun to put together a caramel apple bar. Slices of apple that you can dip into sauce and toppings. Perfect amounts of apple and toppings!

EASY CARAMEL SAUCE
1 bag (10.8 oz) caramels
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of fine sea salt
dash of vanilla
In a medium saucepan, combine unwrapped caramels, water, and cream. Heat on medium-low until caramels start to melt. Stir frequently until the mixture is smooth with no lumps. Remove from heat and mix in the salt and vanilla.
DIPPING SAUCES
1 cup good quality chocolate chips – any kind
2 teaspoons avocado oil
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the chosen type of chocolate chips with oil. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until...

Apple Crostata

When the calendar says it's fall (we live in Houston so the weather doesn't usually feel like fall), I begin to want apple recipes. I am not a huge pumpkin fan, but I love apples.
The following recipe is from Barefoot Contessa and I have made it many, many times. It is like an apple pie, but so much easier. It can be made with any stone fruit – peaches, plums, etc. Don't forget the vanilla ice cream!
So today, we are going to learn how to make a pie crust from scratch.

RUTH ANN'S PIE CRUST
Makes: Three 8-9” single crust pies

NOTE – THIS MAKES 3 CRUSTS, SO DIVIDE IN THIRDS FOR ONE!!!!!

Mix together with a fork:
3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Cut in:
1 cup cold lard, cold tallow or shortening (lard is my favorite, tallow is best for
savory pies)

Mix with a pastry cutter or with a fork until your mixture is fine crumbs.
add:
1 cup wa...

Meals for Kamie

One of the ladies in our class, Kamie, has been going through cancer treatment and another one of our ladies, Lauren, suggested we use our class time to prepare meals for Kamie that can be frozen and then thawed and just thrown in the crock pot or Instant Pot or on a sheet pan.
Here are some of the tried-and-true recipes our class has sent in. We will make 5 of these in class and send them home to Kamie.

SHEET PAN BALSAMIC CHICKEN AND VEGGIES
from realfooddietitians.com
serves 10

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup avocado or olive oil
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon brown or Dijon mustard (optional)
6 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped + additional for topping (could also use a mix of fresh thyme and basil)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, tenders or thighs (if large, cut in ha...