I truly love the simplicity that comes from making things for myself.  Once you have basic ingredients on hand, you can create a lot of similar items.  Just like my homemade cleaner recipes, these three seasoning mixes use common ingredients and some are used in more than one of the recipes.

Taco Seasoning, Chili Seasoning and Onion Soup Mix – these are three types of seasonings that usually come in an overpriced packet.  All they really require are some pretty standard pantry spices.

I tend to buy my spices either in bulk from Costco (dried onions, seasoned salt, powdered garlic) or from Cub Foods (these are in bags between the produce and meat departments).  The Cub spices are fresher than the tiny jars and they cost much less per ounce.

To store my everyday spices, I use a spice carousel from Tupperware.  Larger containers fit on the sides of the carousel.

When I make the spice mixes, I store them in glass jars from Ikea.

More than once, I have been about to make a recipe and realized I am out of one of these three mixes.  It is such a life saver to be able to just mix my own right on the spot and not have to stop to run to the store or find another recipe to make at the last minute.

I also love that I can use as much or as little of the seasoning as I want, and not have to worry about a packet being half full or losing packets in the back of the cupboard.  Cooking for six people usually ends up in bigger than normal meals, now that the kids are growing older (and we love leftovers for lunches or teenagers who need to pack dinner while working).

Make your own seasoning mixes – they are easier to store than packets, cost much less than packets and you control the ingredients!

Taco Seasoning Recipe

• 5 tablespoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 4 tablespoons cumin
  
• 4 teaspoons oregano
  
• 2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons onion flakes (minced dried onion)
  
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper {adjust as per your taste}
• 2 teaspoon salt {helps keep the mixture fresh}
  

Stir all ingredients together and store in an air tight container.  I usually mix up a double batch of this recipe. 7 teaspoons of the mix is equal to one packet.

Adapted from www.food.com.

Onion Soup Mix Recipe

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

Stir all ingredients together and store in an air tight container.  Again, I usually mix up a double batch of this recipe.  If a recipe calls for 1 packet of onion soup mix, I use about 2 tablespoons of mix.

Adapted from www.food.com.

Chili Seasoning Recipe

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 2 tablespoon dried minded garlic (or garlic powder)
  
• 4 teaspoons white sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons dried parsley
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Stir all ingredients together and store in an air tight container.  This recipe is interesting because the flour makes it so light in color – but I love the flavor and get lots of compliments on my chili.  I just dump enough in to my taste depending on the size of my pot of chili, so I don’t have an exact measurement.  Start with a few tablespoons, stir it into your dish, taste and adjust from there.  I like to use a lot, but it is more spicy when more is added.

Adapted from www.allrecipes.com.