Something to Think About...Why Buy Packets of Taco Seasoning?

I've used store bought packets of taco seasoning for years, whether it's McCormick's or Ortega's, it was cheap and easy...no comments from the peanut gallery please. Usually I always have an extra packet sitting around and I went to grab it for the Mexican Lasagna recipe I was making and CRAP!! No taco seasoning. <-- insert frowning face here. I'm a couple beverages into my evening, so going out was not an option. That and the fact I was in PJs. No judging, they're comfy and after a long week I said bleep it and put them on early. And let's face it, the day of running to your neighbor's to borrow a cup of sugar, well, we just don't seem to do that anymore. Don't get me wrong, if I asked any or my neighbors for sugar or just plain help, they would be there for me, but honestly, the thought of asking them for taco seasoning didn't even cross my mind. Ok what was plan B going to be? Well, duh...I'll just ask Google, Google has the answers for everything. What I found was a taco seasoning recipe and I already had ALL the ingredients on my spice rack. WIN!! Mixed them up, tasted just like a packet, put them in with my ground beef and voila, Mexican Lasagna recipe was saved.

Then I got to thinking about what other "stuff" might be in those packets. A very similar situation happened to me years ago when I ran out of Bisquick pancake mix. I read Bisquick's ingredients online to see if I could make it at home. Ugh. I saw all the not so good stuff that was in that mix so I found a homemade pancake recipe that had just a few ingredients and the results were yummy, fluffy pancakes and have never gone back to using Bisquick. I've decided to take a look at the ingredients in the packets of taco seasoning and compare them with the homemade version. The results are below.

Homemade	McCormick	Ortega
Cayenne pepper	Chili pepper	Autolyzed yeast extract
Chili powder	Dried oregano	Carmel color
Dried oregano	Garlic powder	Citric acid
Garlic powder	Natural flavor	Garlic powder
Ground cumin	Onion powder	Maltodextrin
Onion powder	Paprika	Modified corn starch
Paprika	Potato starch	Paprika
Sea salt	Salt	Salt
	Sugar	Spices
		Sugar
		Sulfites
		Yellow corn flour

With that being said, Ortega is off my list permanently. McCormick, not bad but when compared to homemade, it loses. Plus with homemade, you get to tweak the ratio of ingredients depending on what flavors you like more, if you want it hotter, etc. And, you can mix up as much as you want, so you'll always have it on hand. Simply store in an airtight container and it'll stay fresh for months. Just something to think about.

Are there other store bought packets you've eliminated because you now make them at home? We'd love to hear about them.