Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms! Ready for this week’s MH? This is a good one! Our topic this week is “Healthy (and Yummy!) Seasonings”
Your Assignment This Week…
The other day we were blessed to have Scott York cook a FABULOUS meal for us. I love, love, love watching others cook. It was a treat to watch Scott loose with his garlic and olive oil. 🙂 I came home with several new dishes that are HITS with our crew. Soooo….I got to thinking about how fun it would be for us to share our old standbys and how we use them. Just imagine how fun it will be! That brings me to our Mommy Homework today. Yep! Let’s share our favorite seasoning and how we use it. That is all. Just describe it to us and give any special pointers for how you use it. I can’t wait! Share away! Have fun! This should be a super assignment to read. I can’t wait! 
DIG IN! I can’t wait! Love ya! Cindy PS! Please remember to use your real name if you want credit for your Mommy Homework Credit. 
PPS! You CAN just share and not participate in Mommy Homework, BUT I would LOVE for you to get some goodies along the way! PPSS! Want to check your credit? Here is the newest update: http://www.talk-a-latte.com/ebooks/MommyHomeworkCredits.pdf PPPSS! If you are new, all you do to share your MH is first register (see the link on the bottom of the page–scroll all the way to the very bottom), then log in with your name and password that you select. Share away! PPPSSS! Want to redeem your credit? Read our instructions here: http://www.cindysdesktop.com/?cat=81 Deadline–Friday at midnight CST.
One of my favorite seasonings is garlic powder. I have used it on buttered bread and bake in the oven for a quick garlic bread. One of our family favorites is making chicken nuggets. I cut up 1 pound of raw chicken tenders in a bowl. Then I mix an egg, 1 tablespoon of corn starch, garlic powder, and soy sauce to make a marinade. I pour this over the chicken and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes. Then pour oil in a pan and wait for it to get hot. Put some all-purpose flour, pepper, and more garlic powder in a large ziploc bag. Drop the chicken in the bag a little at a time to coat with the flour mixture and fry in a pan. Our family loves this!
Katrina Boatwright
My favorite seasoning is GARLIC. Whether chopped, minced, whole or powdered garlic is the seasoning I reach fo rthe most. Garlic is really good for you too. It is a natural antibiotic and tastes yummy too. My favorite way to eat it is to roast the whole garlic bulb in the oven drizzeled with olive oil until the whole thing is soft and then spread the yummy goodness on fresh homemade bread….mmmm now I have to make some!. I put garlic in everything from eggs to roasts to chicken to potatoes. We even eat fresh garlic cloves when we have a cold or the flu, it seems to help! I use lots of other seasonings but I always come back to garlic!
Mary Damask
I LOVE “Iggy Piggy”. Does anyone remember the commercial for Worchestershire sauce back in the ’80s with the two English gents shaking a bottle of the good stuff saying, “Iggy Piggy chiggy wiggy?”
It’s been dubbed Iggy Piggy in our house since then! It’s good on everything! Meat, soup, roasts, steaks, marinades, in your homemade hamburger patties, and I even splash a bit raw into most anything that needs a bit of zip! It’s rich, tangy and oh so good! MMmmmm! I had some in my chicken stew for lunch as a matter of fact. It’s easy, just dash it on…iggy piggy chiggy wiggy!
This mommy homework is fun! Can’t wait to read all the comments!
My favorite seasoning is fresh garlic! Yummy! I use it in many dishes!
Three of our favorite ways of using fresh garlic are marinades that I use to marinade tofu and mushrooms (and other veggies) and a homemade salad dressing.
For tofu (no set amounts, just to taste): Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (bought at the health food store – like soy sauce, just no other ingredients and not fermented), lemon juice and lots of pressed garlic (maybe 4-8 cloves)
For mushrooms and other veggies (especially for roasting or grilling) – Balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Bragg’s liquid aminos, water, a little extra virgin olive oil and lots of freshly pressed garlic (anywhere from 4-10 cloves depending on amount of marinade made)
And lastly, salad dressing:
Italian Olive Oil Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (we prefer lemon)
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup Bragg’s liquid aminos or tamari sauce (some use soy sauce)
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar (optional)
4 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp chopped onion (any kind)
1-2 tsp (or more) garlic and herb seasoning or garlic powder
1-2 tsp (or more) basil, dried (adjust if using fresh)
1-2 tsp (or more) oregano, dried (adjust if using fresh)
Can add parsley also to curb garlic and onion effects….
Blend all the ingredients. Refrigerate. (This is a strong tasting dressing; the longer that it sits, the more relaxed and mild the dressing becomes. We love the strong taste though, so it doesn’t sit longer than a couple of minutes of making it!) We really like dipping bread (especially homemade) in this dressing! (We quadruple this recipe and it still disappears within a day or two if we’re eating lots of salads or have lots of bread on hand!)
🙂
Thank you, Cindy, for all the wonderful ideas you have! Thank you to all else for sharing your ideas as well! 🙂
Cindy Richards
This is a new to me seasoning that I’m really loving – lemon pepper. It is so good on chicken or turkey. Since it’s not a strong pepper, you sprinkle it on generously (like 1/2 tsp. for 1 lb of meat). It adds a wonderful, subtle lemon flavor. I also like to boil up some pasta, stir fry some veggies, along with cut up ham or chicken and add lemon pepper. It’s light and makes me think of summer!
Kim Ehlers
I am not sure I have one favorite seasoning, but here is an incomplete list of my standard spices….
fresh ground pepper (variety of peppers actually) – this one I use in everything that calls for pepper. We find that it is full of flavor and smells wonderful!
cinnamon – this is a must when I am baking. I love the smell of freshly baked ANYTHING with cinnamon
I enjoy mixing my own bbq sauce, so that means garlic powder and such
Oh, and I can’t forget ginger. I do a bit of cooking with ginger, but also have taken “ginger baths” for energy – or so they say. I can’t get enough of a soy sauce, ginger, dry mustard and coke mixture for marinating steaks, especially deer steaks. Also makes a good kabob marinate for most any meat.
I have used spices in the past to teach my boys about different types of taste and smell. They loved some, cinnamon, apple pie spice for example…and HATED others, onion salt, garlic anything. Either way it was a fun experiment.
When I cook I usually just dump something together and it usually comes out tasting good. My usual method of madness means opening the spice cupboard and smelling…if it smells like it should go in there; in it goes!! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Talk about trial and error and poor kids as guinea pigs!! 🙂
Karen Gebes
My mom and I both struggle with high blood pressure and needed to find an alternative to salt… so we created our own blends known as “herbie”. Currently we have 5 different blends with 3 more in the works.
Basically we start with garlic powder, onion powder, oragano, rosemary, thyme, black and white pepper, and celery seed… then we add to it depending on the blend… My favorites are Deli and Steakhouse… Deli includes Horseradish, which I use on potato salad or to grill chicken and fish. Steakhouse is similar to a grilling seasoning just without the heavy salt… we started with our base and added corriander, chili peppers, lemon zest, and citric acid powder. I use it for meatloaf,burgers, steaks, anything beef or lamb and /or grilled.
Herbie Etc… has become a small business for my mom, she grows 3 types of garlic, harvests herbs, and creates seasonings as well as jams, jellies, and relishes each year… We set up at a local Garlic Festival as well as my little church bazaar each year. It is a lot of fun as well as life learning for my boys.
Cariann
I use lots of different herbs and spices to season food, but plain old fresh ground black pepper (or a mixture of coloured peppercorns) is a winner every time.
Also one of our favourite comfort food dishes is sausage stew – made with square sliced scotch sausage and the gravy is made extra tasty by adding about a third of a bottle of plain old cheap brown sauce – and a big old dollop of worchester sauce! Not very exotic I know but a real taste of childhood.
Love and Blessings
Angela Marchington
I am really big on onion, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. I love to use these in many, many dishes. I love onion and garlic in my green beans. I also love all three in my hamburgers. They are all three great additions to so many dishes.
I look forward to hearing about more seasonings.
Thanks,
Shannon Depew
Hey this is a fun question, but my answer is seems to be a stand by – garlic & onion. I buy the huge jars of garlic chopped from Sams and chop onion into gallon ziplocks and freeze them so it is always convenient because we use a LOT of them.
The holy trinity of cajun food is a favorite around here – cayenne pepper, green pepper, onion.
Personally, I love, love, love curry!
But, my famiy – no so much. With my third pregnancy, I couldn’t get enough. I ate curry chicken & rice every single day for months. Our house reeked of it!
Trish Bevill
One of my favorite seasonings is Paula Deen’s House Seasoning. I found this when searching for her Chicken and Dumplings recipe and it is listed on the Food Network website. It is quite simple, but I have found I use constantly!
House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
I love pepper, onion flakes/salt, crushed garlic or garlic salt, we also like celery seed. We add these to many of our foods and miss them when we eat out. I use them all when I make soups of all kinds. I also use them in our main meats for our Sunday meals, etc.
Orilla Crider
Since I have been a little girl my parents put just a little bit of seasoning salt on almost everything rather then salt and pepper and other such things. It’s the only way they got us to eat most of our veggies. I am finding that just a little helps with my own little guy to each his veggies too. Unfortunatly I am a sodium junky and have never had a problem with BP so garlic and onion salts are used often in our house too. Just for taste for the boys, a little more just for me.
Hope you all enjoy everyone’s thoughts.
God Bless and enjoy your Sabbath
Gretchen Morrison
I’m a little late, but I couldn’t resist answering this one.
My favorite is homemade taco seasoning. It’s easy, inexpensive, and there is no MSG (a.k.a. “natural flavors”).
I don’t measure this, but basically, mix:
dried oregano
dried cumin
chili powder
and voila! it tastes like taco seasoning! I usually brown ground beef with onions and garlic, then add those spices with a tad bit of water. Done!
~Anne
I love garlic as mentioned. I also love using basil (fresh if possible) in many of my recipes.
-Fresh basil, a bit of garlic, diced fresh tomatoes from the garden, and some olive oil make a great simple and healthy spaghetti sauce.
-Mix basil, pine nuts, freshly ground pepper and a little dash of olive oil in a food processor for a wonderful pesto to be enjoyed on bread or pasta.
-Favorite easy recipe: Chicken coated with crackers or breadcrumbs, spread the pesto on top. Top with mozzarella and feta cheeses. Cook in a 350 oven for 30-40 minutes for a easy meditterranean dish.
Julia Reffner
I’m late on this but wanted to mention “Old Bay Seasoning”….I just mix it in my dry ingredients when making fried or baked chicken. Usually about 2 tsp mixed with flour, salt/pepper does the trick!