Category: Recipes

This is an amazing recipe for a multi-purpose Italian seasoning. We mainly use it for Pizza and Sausage but it fits nicely just about anywhere. I started doubling the recipe because I use it in so many dishes. I’ll powder some up in the food processor and leave some in course form to use fresh from a grinder.

Pizza is one of our go to meals. I always think to myself, ugh, pizza again? However, it never disappoints and yet I am somehow always surprised by this. I have to give most of the credit to the seasoning that we use. At some point several years ago, we were purchasing a pizza seasoning that came in its own grinder. Then, all of a sudden I couldn’t find it anymore. So I used the very last of it as a guide to making my own. I never did quite manage to make it taste exactly the same as the one I purchased, but this one holds it’s own none the less. The nice thing is you can probably make it with spices you already have in your pantry. It’s an excellent multi purpose Italian seasoning. As always, feel free to tweak the recipe to suit your own taste. Many of you will want to put more pepper flakes in the recipe. I’m super sensitive to the heat and this is about as hot as I can go. The boys usually just shake hot pepper flakes right onto the pizza slices as they eat them. Before I get to far, here is a link to the pizza recipe Simple Pizza From Scratch.

For this recipe (and all recipes really) here is a quick little list of conversions that might make things quicker for you, especially if you’re doubling the recipe.

• 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup
• 4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup

This is an amazing multi-purpose Italian seasoning. It goes great on pizza or into ground meat.

I get almost all of the ingredients from the dollar store with the exception of the fennel seed. I had to order that from Amazon. It came in the ‘raw’ form so I just toast it real quick in a pan on the stove before I add it. 

So I guess this would also be a good spot to drop in a little info on the ground sausage we make. I’m going to try to do a short article in the near future about grinding pork and beef so I’ll keep this short. We started grinding all our meat at home several years ago when I found out there was more than one cow in those packages. We make hamburger and Italian sausage. I use the seasoning in this article to make the sausage. Unfortunately I don’t have a guide for the pork:spice ratio that I can give you. I can tell you this though; it always takes way more seasoning than you think it will! Sometimes I’ll start grinding and cook up a tiny patty to get an idea where I’m at and adjust accordingly.

I used to put the ground meat in a flattened gallon zipper bag and press it into quarters with a chopstick. Now I make balls out of it and store those balls in a zipper bag. Each ball is a third of a pound and three pounds fits in a bag. A third of a pound is about one serving so it’s easier to just take pull out what we need for that meal. I’ve included some older pics here so you can see what I mean.

As always, feel free to leave comments or questions. Some of you who are as immature as I am like minded will want to comment on some of the things we touched on like; grinding your meat, pulling your meat out, balls and one pound balls. Believe that none of that was lost on me.

I’m hoping to start writing again, so fingers crossed that you’ll be reading more from us soon.

Until then…Take it simple, Sam and Stacey

Beef jerky is not a meal, and for that matter neither is Chex mix. I must constantly reinforce this idea in our house when such delectables are on hand. Seriously, they would sit down and eat an entire bag (of either) until it was gone if I didn’t dole it out over a reasonable amount of time. The deal is, the more you help out with the process, the bigger cut of the goods you get. Seems fair right? Last time Wes did a third of the work. When it was done I gave him a third of the jerky, which he promptly mowed down and ate in its entirety….in one sitting. This is why we can’t have nice things.

All you need to make this recipe is a dehydrator. It’s very simple to make your own beef jerky at home. The following is kind of a loose recipe. I’m not very good at measuring the ingredients but I can give you a jumping off point and you can adjust from there. I usually do a little taste test of the marinade before I put the meat in and see if it’s what I’m looking for. The various brands of ingredients can give you different flavors. Some more salty or more smoky. This is the same ‘ol recipe I have used forever.

I have been getting London broil on sale for $2.99 a pound. This is a perfect cut of meat for jerky. It’s nice and lean and usually a consistent thickness. I cut it into strips between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Cut off any strips of fat. Try to be consistent so all the jerky is done about the same time. I was so focused on this project I forgot to take photos. Most of these are from the second batch I just did.

I use about 2 cups of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a cap full of liquid smoke and a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Be careful with the liquid smoke! I learned the hard way that just a little too much can ruin the marinade. Put all this in a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Adjust the flavors if you need to and add the meat as you slice it. The meat does not have to sit in the marinade very long! It usually ends up in there for about 15 to 20 min. As soon as I’m done slicing I start to load the dehydrator. I let it sit in the marinade for a couple hours one time and woooo doggy that was some strong jerky.

Here it is in a bag. I forgot to take photos of it in the bowl marinading so you will just have to take my word on it. This is extra meat that didn’t fit on the dehydrator.

Load up your dehydrator with the strips of meat. I usually put a piece of wax paper under the dehydrator to catch drips. I can be a sticky mess. While they are still wet, sprinkle them with the seasoning of your choice. I usually just go with the tried and true black pepper. Red chili flakes are also popular around here. Make sure the pieces are not touching each other. We want to have lots of room for the air to circulate and do its job. Jerky is usually done fairly quickly. I start it in the afternoon and by the next morning it is done. I rotate the trays and give them a half turn a couple times during the process so that all the pieces are finished about the same time.

Once all the moisture is gone, seal them in an air tight container and hide them from your family. Just kidding, do with them as you please.

• So here are the numbers, you know I love me some stats!
• I had 5 pounds of beef that cost $15.
• 5 pounds = 80 ounces
• This batch of jerky dehydrated to approximately 23.5 ounces which is an almost 75% reduction in product. So in other words you will only end up with about (by weight) 1/4 of the meat you start with.
• $15 divided by 23.5 ounces gives you a cost of about .64 cents an ounce
• Jerky from the store is about $1 an ounce and has lots of unpronounceable ingredients

Hope you enjoyed the article. Sorry they have been few and far between but we are busy busy here on our urban homestead.

Take it simple   –Sam and Stacey–