Spring and Spices

Missy Tippens

First, I wanted to share a little more spring with y'all. As I took a walk in our neighborhood yesterday, I snapped several photos. Hope none of the neighbors thought I was being weird photographing their houses!

Pansies are fall flowers around here, but they're still going strong this spring.

And here was my favorite.

I hope you enjoyed your walk through my neighborhood!

And a quick recipe to share. I decided to make hamburgers the other night and went looking for ways to perk them up. I found a website that shares a copycat Fuddruckers secret seasoning and decided to go for it.

I didn't exactly follow the amounts. I mixed together mostly paprika with salt, pepper, dark brown sugar, garlic powder and onion powder. (I skipped the cayenne pepper.) I made the patties first, then sprinkled this mix on both sides.

It gave the burgers great flavor! Hope you'll give it a try!

www.missytippens.com

Seasonings for the Win

Mindy here and guess what hubby found at the grocery store last week?

I could tell by the look in his eyes when I rounded the corner that these were going into the cart.

They did and we could hardly wait to give them a try. You know what? They were pretty good. Of course, we’re used to cheese flavor on chips, and it was definitely there, but you could taste a hint of heat from the jalapenos and then it ended with a slight bacon flavor. I wouldn’t want them all the time, but I’d still give them a thumbs-up.

Here at the café, we love flavor and seasonings, yet our choices will change with our regions. In Texas, we tend to add a little more heat, while Ruthy the Yank keeps things tasty without anything chipotle or jalapeno.

So needless to say, when I was at the grocery one day and saw the McCormick Grill Mates seasonings on sale for a dollar, I was ready to try something new.

 

As soon as I got home, I popped the tops off of those babies and took a whiff.

Yep, each smelled just like their name, although I’m not a hundred percent certain what bourbon smells like.

When it came time to fix dinner, we were off to the races. Grilled pork chops with the Bacon Chipotle seasoning received high marks from my guys. Both the Smokehouse Maple and the Brown Sugar Bourbon were tasty on grilled chicken thighs, though the Smokehouse Maple had a slightly stronger flavor.

In the end, they were all good enough that I picked up another jar of each one on my next trip to the market. I mean, how can you go wrong with bacon flavor?

Things are still creeping along with renovations at the big house. Last week was filled with exciting things like digging out and replacing a bad sewer pipe and finalizing the last bit of electrical. However, there was one change I could see.

Our new front door was finally installed.

 

Now all it needs is some paint.

This week, sheetrock will be delivered and it looks like the new back doors might be installed. Assuming they arrive on time.

 Whatever the case, I'll just keep enjoying the sunsets.

Now it’s your turn. Are you adventurous when it comes to seasonings or do you tend take a more conservative approach? What are some of your favorites?

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband and the last of her five children. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Simply Saturday Bread Dip Seasoning

Yes, easy-peasy.

Not rocket science.

And you're sayin' to yourself, "Ruthy, why are you making this a post? It's so easy anyone can do it, right???"

Well, here's why:

If you make seasoned breads and seasoned dipping oils as often as we do, it gets price, so for a few pennies, I can put together my own seasoned mix and everybody's happy!

I usually keep a few small empty spice jars around to put my mix in. If I don't have any, jelly jars do well! And I got these teensy tinsy ones as favors at a wedding, filled with homemade jam... Oh my stars, I think that's my favorite wedding favor yet! Because these tiny jars are da' bomb!!!!

So here you go:

Rosemary/Garlic Bread Dipping mix:

4 teaspoons salt (I use sea salt because it's fun, but all salt is NaCl and Mr. Dowd would be insulted if I didn't remember that from high school, and I'd never insult Mr. Dowd because he rocks. We just love that man around here... So use sea salt if you have it, but table salt works fine.)
3 teaspoons freshly ground (or restaurant grind, coarser) black pepper
6 teaspoons rosemary garlic seasoning

Mix together.

Put in jar.

Use.

SIMPLE.

I buy the ginormous Rosemary Garlic seasoning at Sam's Club because it's enough for a year.... We grill with it, use it on chicken, use it in soups, etc. It's a great seasoning and the huge plastic jar of it is less than the cost of a bottle of bread dip mix:  Add some salt and pepper, and the world is happy.

For Italian style bread dip mix (with or without the black pepper, your choice)

4 teaspoons sea salt
3 teaspoons coarse black pepper (if desired, Dave loves peppery breads. He's weird)
6 teaspoons Italian seasoning OR: use two teaspoons granulated garlic, one teaspoon oregano, two teaspoons basil and one teaspoon parsley.

Mix and store in airtight container.

I like sun-dried tomato in my mixes, but Dave isn't a fan, so I add it into the mix if it's just for us girls... Or if I'm doing two dips, I'll use minced up sun-dried tomatoes to throw into the mix.

LOVE IT!!!!

Do you have blends you use? Feel free to share them! I used to be a bread-and-butter New England kind of gal, but now... I'm totally loving these bread dips in olive oil.

And then I CONVINCE MYSELF THAT IT'S BETTER FOR ME!!!!

:)