Lately, I have been experimenting with making different seasonings, sauces and condiments from scratch rather than buying them from the store. We go through these types of items from the pantry so quickly, it doesn’t make sense to me to buy them at the store when I can make them at home in larger quantities.

The latest homemade seasoning is a Dry Onion Soup Mix. The great thing about making it at home is you can have control over the ingredients. What I love about this seasoning mix is that it’s a versatile dry mix that can be added to soups, potatoes, chili, or sour cream or mayonnaise with spinach for a dip.

 I use the dry onion soup mix to add flavor to my hamburgers all the time.

Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup dried minced onion
• 2 Tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon powder
• 2 teaspoons onion  powder
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

What recipes do you make with Onion Soup Mix??

A versatile and nutritious Corn Salsa that goes great with any Mexican dish or transformed into a great tasting salad.

Corn Salsa

I don’t know why I like this salsa a lot, maybe because it is so good,  or because it has so many versatile uses and it is really nutritious and good for you.  You can decide why you like it.

I like to make a big batch of this, which is the recipe below, so you might want to half it if you are only going to use it for one meal. Here are a few ways to eat this:

• Chicken Tostadas with Corn Salsa
• Add black beans for a Black Bean Corn Salad and serve as a side dish
• Use as a salsa and serve with pita or tortilla chips. Black beans would be great in this for salsa too. (That recipe coming later)

Corn Salsa

 

 Makes: 3 cups corn salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Serve corn salsa with grilled meat or poultry.

 

As fast as our kids go through ketchup, I don’t know why I’ve never attempted to make it at home until now. I guess I’ve been afraid that it wouldn’t taste ketchupy enough for the kids and it would simply go to waste. But I found a simple way of making it that taste just as good as store bought and maybe even a little healthier.

Since this is my first trial at making it, I’m sure in my next batch, I may tweak it a bit to get it exactly how I want it to taste. I was actually a little concerned about using strictly tomato paste vs. actually tomatoes because of the bitterness tomato paste can have, but I’m happy to say it’s very easy to make and great when you’re in a pinch and have run out of ketchup it works well. Even better after the flavors blend in the fridge overnight.

 

Homemade Ketchup

Makes: 20 ounces

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces tomato paste
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 Tablespoon distilled vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of cloves
• pinch of allspice
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• pinch of pepper
• 1/8 cup pure cane sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk ingredients together in a medium bowl until mixed well and smooth. (add additional water to thin if desired)
2. Using a funnel, transfer ketchup to a squeeze bottle or reuse a ketchup container that has been rinsed.
3. That’s it! You can use this easy, delicious ketchup immediately or refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend.
4. Should keep in fridge for about a month.

I don’t think I’ll want to go back to store bought again.