Stocking my seasoning pantry..homemade mixes!

I love to find ways to make things I regularly use from scratch instead of having to buy premixed. I like being able to adjust flavors for my family's taste, control sodium content, and save some money/go green in the process. Two of the seasonings I regularly use are ranch and taco, and I've come to love my homemade seasonings. When I went to make a southwest sauce this morning, I realized I was out of taco seasoning, so I took the morning to put together some of my favorites, stocking my pantry for the coming weeks.

None of these seasoning "recipes" are secrets. And honestly, mine have been transformed over the years. I started with base recipes I found - either online, or from friends - and adapted them to our tastes. These kind of mixes are always changing, as our family changes!

Today's job was refilling my ranch and taco seasoning containers. So simple.
Assemble the ingredients. Mix.

I like to use old creamer containers for the mixes in my pantry. They are a great size, and being uniform means using the entire shelf space, and it's another way to recycle and reuse, something very important to me.

Making homemade mixes isn't for everyone. But it's something I do a lot. I love being able to control the flavor more, and the convenience of making them once a month, and having them on hand, is a huge savings.

Here are my current recipes, a place to start! Then, adjust them, for your own family's use! Enjoy~

Homemade Taco Seasoning

4 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. paprika

6 tsp. cumin

4 tsp. salt

4 tsp. black pepper

Homemade Dry Ranch Seasoning

1 cup dry buttermilk powder

2 Tbsp. dried parsley

2 tsp. dried dill weed

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Both of these seasonings can be used instead of packaged, pre-purchased alternatives. As far as a quantity to use, it really is to taste. In my household, I use approximately 2 Tbsp. of mix to equal one packet. But start low, you can always add more! The ranch can be made into ranch dressing - using a little mayo and milk! It's fun to use and experiment.. I'll include some recipes to use these down the road. I use them all the time!