I have been building up my repertoire of mixes lately. (Check out my Basic Low Carb Flour Mix, All Purpose Seasoning Mix, and BBQ Base mixes!)

If you are low carbing, you will want to be careful of seasoning mixes and packets. Many have thickening agents (i.e. arrowroot or cornstarch); others have anti-clumping properties, which can add carbohydrates to the total. Of course, many of us home cooks have been doing many homemade things for years and years—including sauces, seasoning mixes, and more—in an effort to either save money or be able to put into our foods exactly what we want (and know what that is!).

Regardless of your reason for using homemade mixes and seasonings, I think you will agree that every home cook needs an Italian Dressing Mix in her cupboards!

I “developed” this recipe by combining some ingredients from the “Make a Mix Cookery” cookbook (though it doesn’t have the seasoning mix itself), a knock off “Good Season” dressing mix, and a couple of other from Pinterest. I knew it needed some red pepper flakes for some kick—and I can never use too much basil in my cooking! Also, some do not have any sweetener in them at all, which I think is a mistake in such a “spicy” dressing and mix.

If you want to become a “make-a-mix” cook, then this is the the book for you! You can see how worn out mine is—and this is my third copy! See that little sticky note? That is from a dozen years ago! It makes me smile…

Of course, this mix can be used to make salad dressing (Olive Garden knock off recipe here!). But there are so many other uses for this!

Homemade croutons!

Just like my all purpose and BBQ sauce base, I constantly use it as a seasoning mix blend (another step or two I can eliminate when cooking—not having to get out ten spices at one time). Oh, and of course, for marinades. I love to marinate—or even marinate and then stick the entire bag in the freezer for a quick freezer entrée later.
I will be posting many recipes with this mix—including Philly Cheesesteak Casserole, Homemade Croutons (oh my word!), Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenderloins, steak salad, kielbasa stir fry, and Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Breasts. And some marinades. So stay tuned!

Roasted vegetables are simple: mix olive oil, broth, and one of my seasoning mixes. Drizzle over veggies on a large roasting pan and roast! Try this Italian Dressing Mix or All Purpose Seasoning Mix or BBQ Base Mix!!!

Oh, for those just sticking their toes into the whole mix cookery, I have the half measurements in parentheses following each ingredient. You will wish you had doubled or tripled it—not halved it. But baby steps, right? 🙂

Mixes make dinners for family and friends a cinch to put together!

Let me know what you think—or if you tweak it, please share your tweaks with me and why you like it better. I’m always into learning!

Italian Dressing Mix

2015-08-03 08:06:11

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Ingredients

1. 2 TBSP dried basil (half 1 TBSP)
2. 2 TBSP dried parsley (half 1 TBSP)
3. 4 TBSP dried oregano (half 2 TBSP)
4. 2 TBSP garlic powder (half 1 TBSP)
5. 2 tsp dried rosemary (half 1 tsp)
6. 1 tsp dried thyme (half ½ tsp)
7. 2 TBSP onion powder (half 1 TBSP)
8. 2 tsp black pepper (half 1 tsp)
9. ½ tsp crushed red pepper (half ¼ tsp)
10. 2 TBSP bulk sweetener* (half 1 TBSP)
11. ½ tsp celery salt (half ¼ tsp)
12. 1 TBSP salt (half ½ TBSP)

Instructions

1. Combine all thoroughly.
2. Store in airtight container.
3. Use liberally!
4. Yields 1 cup.

Notes

1. Note: Amounts for half a recipe are listed after each ingredient.
2. Also, for uses in recipes that call for Italian Salad Dressing packets, 2 TBSP of this recipe is equivalent to one store-bought packet.

By Donna Reish

Character Ink https://characterinkblog.com/

*Any sugar-free bulk sweetener (granulated) that measures cup-for-cup like sugar will work this recipe. These include (but are not limited to) Swerve, Splenda, Erythritol, and Xylitol. You will have to convert the measurements if you use a Trim Healthy Mama sweetener, Pyure, Truvia, or granulated stevia. For more information about sweeteners, see this post.

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe with no added carbs—assuming you use a zero net carb bulk sweetener like erythritol, xylitol, Truvia, Pyure, Splenda, etc.

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): The sweetener in this is minute, and nobody can tell this is a “low carb food”—for those trying to persuade their family to enjoy foods with few carbohydrates/lower on glycemic index.

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): While there are many seasoning combinations out there for SBS’s, be sure that if you are concerned about carbs (and you don’t’ choose to make this one!) that you read the labels carefully. If you want to use the packets of Italian Dressing mix for the convenience, you may use it in all recipes on my blog that call for Italian Seasoning Mix!

Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this completely whole-foods as written above—or make it even more homemade by using your own dried herbs.

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): These could be used in an S setting or an E setting—no real carbs and no fat as it is given (the mix)! Use it on all of that protein in both meal types! If you use it as part of a rub or as part of a marinade without fat, you may have an E or a FP. If you use it as it is traditionally used (with olive oil), it is an S.

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy option!

Gluten Free (GF): No fillers so no concern about hidden gluten.

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This is one of over two dozen of my low carb mixes that I will be bringing to the blog this summer (after eighteen months of testing them!). While the mixes say low carb, they have family-friendly options, gluten-free options, and just “regular” options. Mixes fit all cooking styles—I’ve been using mixes for twenty-five years this month!

Please note: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

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