Without exception, all of our children have wanted to help in the kitchen.
We even have one that has always loved to do dishes. When she was younger, I would pick her up from birthday parties and inevitably find her elbow-deep in soapy water, helping a puzzled mom clean up after the cake was served. Can’t tell you how many times I had to reassure another mother that, no, I truly didn’t think she forced my daughter to wash dishes instead of playing with the other girls.
She was pretty popular with her friends’ moms, needless to say.
Our youngest is now 8 years old, and seems to have escaped her older sister’s obsession with cleaning flatware. But she is no exception to the wannabe helper rule. She will enthusiastically embrace just about any cooking-and-kitchen-related work assigned to her.
I love when she helps, but sometimes it’s just not feasible—or safe—to have her standing at my elbow. On those occasions when cooking is a one-person job, I like to give her something that allows her to be in the kitchen but away from whatever’s boiling or spattering on the stove. These days, my go-to task for her is mixing spice blends. She measures out the herbs one at a time into a small glass bowl, then calls me to check what she’s done (because we don’t want to confuse tablespoons and teaspoons when we’re adding the cayenne pepper, do we?) before emptying that ingredient into a bigger bowl and going on to the next one on the list.
The blends we make most often are TACO and CHILI spice mixes. We use those a lot and prefer making our own because there are no mystery flavor-or-freshness-enhancing ingredients, we can tailor them to our family’s tastes, and it’s easy to make them with no gluten.
Have you looked at the prices of gluten-free spice mixes in the grocery store? Many are around $1 per ounce, some significantly higher. Yikes. That’s more than my favorite cheese or chocolate … and I can’t make those, so I’ll just save my pennies for the Ghiradelli, thank you. These are tasty, inexpensive alternatives to store-bought seasoning mixes, especially when you purchase the ingredients in bulk at a warehouse club or online. (Obviously, you will need to check the labels before buying spices to confirm that they are gluten-free. Any type of anti-
Note that both of these blends do not contain salt. Over several years of refining them, I arrived at the decision to leave out salt because I prefer to season the meat while browning it before adding the spice blend. In a happy coincidence, it also makes these blends suitable for people on a sodium-restricted diet.
Why not squeeze in some good old-fashioned schoolin’ when the kids least expect it?!? These recipes are great for practicing math skills by having your child double, triple or quadruple the amount of each ingredient to make large batches. (You can read about my preference for taking math out of the classroom here, and be sure not to miss the printable Measurement Conversion Charts while you’re there!)
Taco Spice Mix (gluten-free, sodium free)
- 3/4 c. chili powder
- 1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. cumin
- 2 Tbsp. paprika
- 2 Tbsp. minced onion
- 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp. oregano
- 1 Tbsp. ground black or white pepper
Mix spices together and store in a sealed container in your pantry or cabinet. Add 2 ½ Tbsp. per uncooked pound of ground beef, turkey, chicken or the meat of your choice. Brown the meat first, seasoning it with salt and pepper while it cooks. After the meat is well-browned, add the spice mix and distribute it throughout the meat. Add diced tomatoes or canned RoTel to taste, if desired. You can also add tomato juice or water. Simmer for at least 15-20 minutes, adding liquid as needed until you achieve the desired consistency for tacos.
Chili Spice Mix (gluten-free, sodium free)
- 1 c. chili powder
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/3 c. cumin
- 1/2 c. dried parsley
- 6 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
- 6 Tbsp. minced onion
- 6 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp. dried basil
- 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper, ground
- 1 tsp. celery seed
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (reduce or omit this ingredient if you do not like spicier foods, especially when making large batches)
Mix spices together and stored in a sealed container in your pantry or cabinet. Add 2 Tbsp. per uncooked pound of ground beef, turkey, chicken, sausage or other meat of your choice. Brown the meat first, seasoning it with salt and pepper while it cooks. After the meat is well-browned, add the spice mix and distribute it throughout the meat. Add diced tomatoes or canned RoTel (tomato juice or water will work, as well) and beans, if desired. Simmer for at least 20-30 minutes, adding liquid as needed until you achieve the desired consistency for chili.
For your convenience, you can download a copy of our Homemade Chili and Taco Spice Mixes printable .
