You’ve probably noticed that just about every recipe in this cookbook calls for House Seasoning, and for good reason—it enhances savory recipes with a neutral enough flavor to complement just about any cuisine, it saves time as opposed to measuring out four different common spices every time you cook, and you know exactly what’s in it because—hey!—you made it yourself. As a bonus, it only takes a minute to mix up a big batch and it will last indefinitely in your spice cabinet.
But in addition to House Seasoning, the recipes in this cookbook include a few other homemade blends that can be found in this chapter, namely Italian Seasoning, Poultry Seasoning and Taco Seasoning. I use these blends so often that I house them in reusable spice shakers. They have a front-row spot in my spice cabinet, as I reach for them frequently and refill them as soon as they run out.
If you already have a comparable store-bought seasoning blend in your kitchen—Italian seasoning, for example—you can certainly still use it when a recipe in this cookbook calls for it. But once you run out, I highly recommend mixing up your own fresh, homemade blend! If you want to start out with a smaller batch of these seasoning blends, feel free to cut any of the recipes in half.
Just two words of caution: First, be sure that you buy high-quality, all-natural base herbs and spices for mixing up your blends. And second, if your comparable store-bought herb blend looks like it’s been ground into a fine powder, it’s not going to be equivalent to the herb blends in this chapter, in which the dried herbs have not been ground. So if a recipe in this cookbook calls for Poultry Seasoning and you plan on using a store-bought ground poultry seasoning, you will need to use less than the amount called for in the recipe, or the flavor will end up too strong.
Another common ingredient in many slow cooker recipes is broth or stock. So to turn leftover bones and vegetable scraps into a nourishing base for your favorite soups and stews, this chapter closes with recipes for Homemade Chicken or Turkey Stock, Homemade Beef Stock and Homemade Vegetable Broth. Get ready to feel domestic, y’all.