PiCKLEBERRYPOP

Today is Herbs & Spices day, and in honor of the occasion, I’m going to tell you a little secret: until a couple of years ago, I pretty much only used salt & pepper in my cooking… and sometimes, Tony Chachere’s.

I KNOW!

That’s like, sacrilege, or something!

Then the man was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Oops.

So, things have changed on the spice rack in my kitchen. One, I actually HAVE a spice rack now, hahaha. I cut out a LOT of salt from my cooking and a lot of fried foods – we even got a fancy schmancy air fryer (we love french fries too much to give them up completely… and yes I salt them 😛 … we just don’t eat them as often). I found other uses for that air fryer, don’t worry. Marinade a couple of chicken breasts in some Italian dressing and slap those babies in an air fryer for like 20 minutes – BAM – dinner!

The biggest thing I had to stop buying, besides salt, was pre-packaged rubs and seasonings. McCormick was my go-to for pretty much any kind of rub/seasoning I ever used, but they are all so full of salt. I scoured the internet for things like taco seasoning and dry rubs for chicken and pork so I could make my own – without all the salt! Sea salt is a nice substitute for regular iodized table salt, but I pretty much cut that most of that out, too.

Here are a few I’ve tried that I use on a regular basis…

Copycat Tony Chachere’s:

• 4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 Tbsp salt (I leave this out)

Taco seasoning:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (I leave this out)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Dry rub for ribs:

• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup American paprika (or smoked paprika, chili powder or even ancho if you can find/make it)
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons rosemary powder

Rotisserie Chicken Rub:

• ³⁄₄ cup kosher salt (I leave this out)
• ¹⁄₄ cup paprika (smoked is better)
• ¹⁄₄ cup onion powder
• ¹⁄₄ cup garlic powder
• ¹⁄₄ cup italian seasoning
• ¹⁄₄ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons black pepper

If you have a well stocked spice rack in your kitchen, you won’t have any trouble with these recipes, and they can all be stored for a months in air tight containers. I make big batches and store them in jars 🙂 If you look hard enough, you can find a recipe for just about any rub or seasoning that you can purchase in a store – then tweak it to meet your needs! And it’s cheaper to make your own, too!

Happy spicing!