It’s only one small step toward an organized home. Tiny really.
Here’s the thing. I absolutely love the bulk spice section at my local Sprout’s Market. I could stay there indefinitely, mixing spice blends in my head, wondering what recipe I could use them for. The spice section is heaven for me. It is not heaven for my marriage, however, if I have “just popped in for 1 thing babe” while babe is in the car. With the kids.
Thus.. I usually go to Sprout’s after the kiddos have been dropped off at school. When I am shopping alone, I never fail to pick up a spice or two. Thus the reason for more organization in my life. The Drawer of Amazing Spice has gotten a bit out of control. Just a bit.
Here’s a peek.
I have had extra jars for my spices from IKEA, but just haven’t gotten around to getting the spices put away in the proper jars. The problem?? My everytimeIgotoSproutsandgetanewspicepacket addiction means, I have multiple bags of cumin.
And chili powder.
And dill.
And mustard powder. Because obviously, that should be in every cook’s main spice supply.
I haven’t used the mustard powder in 2 years. I believe I bought it for a mac and cheese recipe for the slow cooker (which I LOVED) but the family didn’t.
Mr. Mustard needs to go. He needs to go. (Please read that in the voice Bon Qui Qui.. please. And if you don’t know who that is.. youtube it!) And much more obvious is my need for a 12 Step program to help wean me off the spice section, and possibly YouTube.. but that will be saved for another post.
I spent about 30 minutes tossing old spices, cleaning the jars, labeling, combining the multiple bags of cumin.. you know. Organizing. It was delightful. And here’s the finished result.
All the greens and burnt oranges and rusts and yellows enticing me once more to mix it up… I don’t need to go to Sprouts bulk spice section yo.. I have one here. 😉
And I thought I would leave you with my recipe for the Tolson’s Taco Seasoning Mix. I use it on everything from tacos to chili to fajiitas. No MSG. No Sulfites. No Preservatives.. just flavor. I want my family to enjoy spiced and flavorful food.. just not the un-needed chemicals.
Tolson’s Taco Mix –
1/4 cup dried chopped garlic
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
1/4 cup mild chili powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
2 Tablespoons Mexican oregano
2 Tablespoons Himilayan Pink Salt (my family’s preference)
1/2 Tablespoon cracked Black pepper
Mix together and store in an airtight container. I like my spice mix to be chunky, but if you have picky eaters and need to hide the textures, feel free to grind up the mix in a coffee grinder or blender.
This will make about 1 cup of spice for pennies on the dollar of what a little packet of spice mix costs at the store. Unless we are on a huge Mexican food kick (but really.. when isn’t a good time to be on a huge Mexican food kick?) this mixture will last us a month or two.
Happy Organizing and Spice-ing!!
PS.. Sorry for the tiny photos. I was so busy organizing, that I couldn’t be bothered to get out the big camera. You get an iPhone photo today. 🙂