Seasoned Salt = Favorite Dinner

I am not a big fan of making dinner.  Luckily, I have found that the change of removing sugar from our diet has actually made it easier to fix dinner.  Yay!  Now, dinner is pretty specific:  some type of lean meat (fish, chicken, or beef) along with a large amount of vegetables.  All I have to do is select a meat and some veggies and away we go.  I have been amazed at how well my children are doing with this change.  Because the younger two are picky eaters, they are glad to find a plain piece of fish or chicken on their plate.  They still complain (a lot) about the vegetables, but I provide them in the hope that they will give up and eat them some day.

I really like using Lawry's Seasoned Salt.  It is great on hamburgers, chicken, and vegetables just to name a few.  Unfortunately, when I was cleaning out my cupboards to remove anything that contained sugar, I discovered that my favorite Lawry's Seasoned Salt contains sugar.  I toyed with the idea of using it anyway - how much sugar could possibly be in there?  And then, just for fun, I googled recipes for a copy-cat seasoned salt.  To my surprise (and relief) there was an easy replacement.  After a little tweaking, here is the recipe that I am now using.  I am sure that it would be fine without the dextrose.  

Seasoned Salt:

4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dextrose powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Wisk together and store in a tightly sealed container (I use an old spice container with a shaker top).


My favorite dinner right now is:

Chicken tenderloins, cooked in a skillet with seasoned salt and a tiny drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil (I keep a bag of frozen Tyson chicken tenderloins in the freezer for quick dinners.  I have tried to buy the store brand of frozen chicken but the chicken was often dry and tough.  I like the tenderloins because they cook quickly and evenly.)

Veggies (zucchini, summer squash, onion, mushrooms, and asparagus) cut into bite size pieces, spread onto a baking sheet then sprinkled with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned salt.  Stir around (I use my clean hands) to mix and then bake in a 400 degree oven until done (approximately 8-10 minutes)

Sometimes I will add a baked potato for my kids.  For a speedy baked potato, scrub your potato, cut two slits through the skin on both sides, place on a microwave proof plate (like Corelle) with a microwave proof bowl on top.  Cook on high for 3 1/2 minutes on each side.