This is Herbs and Spices week in the Build a Frugal Pantry series. This family of ingredients is a great addition to your cupboards. Herbs and spices take up little room and can add quite a punch to your recipes, both savory and sweet. A small bottle of something can be quite pricey, but if you buy small quantities from the bulk section of your health food store or split an economy jar with some friends, you can get quite a bang for your buck.
One of our favorite meals of late has been Grilled Shrimp Tacos, drizzled with Yogurt-Dill Dressing. So yummy. I mixed up a spice rub that we’ve enjoyed on fish steaks as well as shrimp. This is a great way for your friends in your spice cupboard to mingle.
Recipe: Spicy Seafood Rub
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Store in an airtight container.
- To use: Brush shrimp or fish with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning. Grill until cooked through.
Whole Grain Shortcakes with Berries & Cream
We are not a super-spicey kind of family, I have a very sensitive stomach and so do several of the children. HOWEVER, I absolutely love using fresh herbs and spices in my cooking! Fresh herbs can completely change how a dish tastes, it’s just amazing.
What a great time to start one or two herbs in a window pot or just outside your kitchen door. You will get comfortable with using them and want to grow more!
Kelly
@Kelly Morris, love fresh herbs!
i was blessed with a gift of fresh herbs for my birthday. when the oregano started getting sad looking i whizzed it into a sort of pesto. added fresh cilantro to my smoothie today, it was tasty!
@jenna Food WIth Kid Appeal, cilantro in a smoothie is not something I would have ever thought of! What else was in there?
@Jessica Fisher, yogurt, banana, frozen strawberries and a half handful of fresh cilantro. i toss other leafy greens in sometimes so why not herbs?? fresh herbs have so many health benefits why not eat them for lunch!
I added my absolute fave recipe Curried Sprouted Mung Beans! I hope maybe someone will try it and let me know what they think! I had to go shopping to buy some spices that I never used before for this recipe…but it was well worth it!
I’m not a herb girl—I would like to know what to use them in (what herb would be good in what dish), so I am excited to see all the recipes that everyone links 🙂
Mine’s a salad dressing recipe that is DIVINE….I absolutely adore it, and have posted it on other recipe swaps as well, I love it that much.
Ooo, I finally get to share MY dressing recipe. If you like garlic, you’ll LOVE this. I used to eat it spread on foccacia when I was pregnant – a nice snack. 😉 I got this recipe from a restaurant I used to work at, and still love eating there!
Up North Dressing
1 c mayo
1/4 c sugar (granulated)
1 1/4 tbsp tarragon vinegar
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1/8 bunch chopped fresh parsley (or 1/4 tsp dried)
2 cloves garlic
Blend in food processor or blender till smooth.
Warning: As I discovered one day when craving this, Miracle Whip DOES NOT work well with this dressing recipe if you plan on using the sugar – it is far too sweet. If you’re only Miracle Whip fans, use about 1 Tbsp sugar, and the Miracle Whip. But honestly, I just suggest buying a small jar of mayo and using the sugar as recommended – it tastes best this way. 🙂
This is excellent with bitter mixed greens, and a bit of grilled chicken or steak. 🙂
@Andrea, I might omit the sugar, but it sounds yummy!
@Jessica Fisher,
Jessica – definitely cut down on the sugar, but I’ll warn you…I made it once without, and it was just not *right*. The sugar cuts the garlic a bit, so it isn’t quite so pungent. I suppose another thing you could do is use roasted garlic – then it wouldn’t be quite so strong.
The dressing is a really pretty green – like green goddess dressing. I don’t know what a piece of brown garlic would do, but I don’t think it would be a huge deal.
I forgot to mention, I like to use this for a veggie dip as well. 🙂 And it works nice as a chicken marinade too.
@Andrea, sounds yummy!
I am an herb and spice fanatic! Tons of flavor minus all of the calories! Herb garden in the summer is an absolute MUST in our house. My girls are becoming quite the herb connoisseur’s! I love cutting them and keeping them in water next to the sink…the perfect bouquet!
@Janine, I do that too! I also put mint “bouquets” in my bathroom. It smells nice when the shower is on.
Love that one! Brilliant! Thanks for the tip!
So excited to see some new recipe inspirations! Thanks for hosting!
This sounds like a yummy recipe for grilling season. I think I’ll add it to my list for the next menu rotation.
I use spices daily. I can’t imagine cooking without them.
Now this sounds good – my husband loves spicy stuff (I do too, but a lesser spice-level than he). We don’t own a grill (yet) – can this be done under the broiler?
On a slightly different note: I always notice that the spices in the international grocers are cheaper – for example I bought some things from a local Middle Eastern grocer & paid very little:
mustard (1/4 lb) 88 cents
rosemary (1/4 lb) 1.08
turmeric (7 oz.) 99 cents
curry powder (3.5 oz.) 99 cents
@Ellen, yes, I think you could broil them. But, I don’t know how to use a broiler. lol!
And, yes, spices from ethnic stores or even the ethnic aisle are cheaper. In my stores, they usually come in plastic bags, so I think the packaging is part of the savings.
Taco Night is my favorite use of spices:-)
Last Night I made BBQ shrimp with the Neelys BB Dry Rub. I adapted the recepie from the Neelys BBQ Shrimp recepie (I used was less ingredients). Here it is:
Sprinkle Shrimp with some rub and toss in a bowl. Add BBQ sauce (I used store bought) and mix.
Put Shrimp on skewers that have marinated in water for 30 minutes and grill. Delish!
Neelys BBQ Seasoning:
1 1/2 cups paprika
3/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder
Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Neelys BBQ Sauce:
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Yield: 3 1/2 cups
thanks for the awesome link-up!
fish taco’s mmmmmmm
I have to say that the thought of a fish taco has always made me nauseaous but those look absolutely delicious! I’ve been looking for a new way to make shrimp other than shrimp scampi that my whole family would enjoy and this looks great. Thank you for the inspiration!
Sounds really good!
I think that this fits the herb and spice category…
We love this recipe as a new take on roast beef sandwiches. My hubby likes to add horseradish to his sandwich, I like either horseradish or mayonnaise as a condiment. But the meat will have wonderful flavor even without any condiments!
Italian Beef
(for sandwiches)
1 4-5 lb rump roast
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1 t garlic powder
1 t garlic salt
1 t crushed red pepper
1 t parsley
2 bay leaves
1/3 C water
Put all ingredients in a crock pot with 2-3 cups of water and cook on low for 8-10 hours. (Use heaping teaspoons of all spices.) After cooking, pour all liquid through a fat separater and then return to the crock pot. Flake meat with a fork. Serve on rolls with provolone cheese (a must!).
My two-year-old and I started an herb garden in a pot on the back porch this week–hopefully we didn’t plant too early for northern Indiana! We should have fresh basil this summer, which means that my wonderful hubby can make one of his specialty feta-tomato-basil omelets for me every Saturday morning, if all goes well!:)
Just as I’m heading off to bed, I’m hungry all over again. Thanks for the introduction to some new blogs!
Have I mentioned that my now 3 yo still does not sleep through the night? And that sleep deprivation makes me stupid? I looked at my analytics for yesterday and there were no visitors from your site, so I clicked on the link and I put a link to your site instead of mine. Just re-entered the link.
No worries. I will try to edit those links later today or this weekend.