Frugal Fridays: Eat from the Pantry and Taco Seasoning!

Over at Life as Mom, Jessica has challenged bloggers to write about what we're doing to stretch our dollars a little further.

Both A. and I are committed to cooking and baking as much food as possible for our families. During Eat from the Pantry month, we've ramped up our efforts more than ever. I've learned some things about myself this month, and I'll share more about that later, but I now know that eating from the pantry will be something we do every month.


Out of necessity earlier this week, I looked up a taco seasoning recipe because I was out of the Ortega packets I usually have in our pantry. I usually get those packets for under $.75 when Shoppers does triple coupons, but those days seem to be few & far between anymore. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this seasoning recipe tasted. I like that I can control the amounts of heat and sodium, making it family friendly for us. I quickly made a second round of the seasoning after using it and stored it in a small plastic container in my spice cupboard. I used it again in a tortilla chicken soup I took to a friend yesterday, and we still have more for later!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. I originally found the recipe here but adjusted the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes because the amounts were way too much for our family.

Mel's Taco Seasoning
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients with a fork. For a finer consistency process seasoning in a food processor. Store in an airtight container.