I couldn't do without Tarragon for any kind of stew with beef or grilled pork tenderloin. Also Rosemary and dill. Rosemary for chicken dishes and dill for anything with fish or eggs.

Have to have lemon pepper for fish and sometimes chicken. Love red pepper flakes on just about anything.

We're a lot like Margie, albeit we also eat out a lot, but we have a whole drawer of spices in the kitchen. Never can tell what will be called for in a recipe. We also travel with at least 30 - 40 cookbooks. We had a huge collection in the S/B. It was tough to cull it down.

A spice I just found and have started using that I like a lot is Mexican Oregano. It's a little strong so be careful. --Rod

I only carry a few cookbooks because it is so easy to get recipes on the internet. If it is something we really like, I just make a copy of it to keep in a folder. Works for us !!!

I, too, get recipes from the internet. www.allrecipes.com is a good one. I went through my recipes and put favorites in a binder and made my own cookbook. When I try something different and like it, it goes in there too. As far as spices - hey Leonard is from Louisiana. So - Tony Chachere's - need I say more???

We have quite a few of those mentioned, but the one we like that hasn't been mentioned is Cavender's Greek Seasoning, and we're not even greek. It's great stuff on meats and eggs.

I use garlic, pepper, and onion in just about everything.  I rarely use salt anymore and don't miss it at all (except for on the rim of a margarita glass :)

I also like an Italian Seasoning blend.
I use cumin and chili powder if I'm in the mood for Mexican food.
I use curry powder and fresh ginger when I'm craving Indian food.
I use a little dill in left over salmon to make salmon quesadillas.

I'm making myself hungry - time to start dinner!

Colleen

In addition to many already mentioned I take my herb garden on the road. I perfer fresh spices so I grow Garlic chives, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, oregano, and I grow dill twice a year and dry it for use throughout the year. I haven't grown that on the road yet as it gets pretty big but I'm looking forward to it. I hope to get some tomato plants going in So. Texas this winter, it should be interresting!

another variation to all the above is using 'rubs' that can usually be found in the spices section of a store. they have them for chicken, meats and fish and are very good. they are basically a combination (based on the flavoring they are advertising) of a mixture of spices but in a more powdery form. i sometimes add a little bit of olive oil (enough to moisten the entree), add the rub, sometimes add real, crushed garlic, then it is off to the oven or bbq.

This was a battle for me because my husband believes salt and pepper is all anything needs and I'm more adventureous. Like everything else I put in the rv, I decided to pare down the spices and baking items. I no longer stock that "once in a while" spice or extract. (I mean really, how often am I going to use sesame seeds or black walnut extract???????? LOL!) Most of what I have has already been mentioned, I also use Everglades Seasoning, celery salt and celery seed, as well as a couple different rubs (that chipotle cinnamon rub is wonderful rofl!).

It darn near killed me but I got rid of several hundred cookbooks, years and years of Cooks Illustrated (and Cook's Country) and many other magazines and special issues. I kept less than a dozen cookbooks and only the ones that had special meaning or were irreplacable (like the one my neice made the family for Christmas one year). I also have a Betty Crocker Make Your Own Cookbook with special or frequently used recipes in it that I've put together over the years.

I solved the "storing my addiction" problem by putting everything on the computer. I have a program called The Living Cookbook and recipes I've saved from the internet or scanned from magazines or cookbooks are stored in it. Complete with pictures. It's the best program I've found, (and I've tried most of them lol), much easier to use than Master Cook or Meal Master, and has more features than a lot the others. I don't even waste the ink printing a recipe. I just pull it up on the computer and read it from the screen. I knew the whole purpose of getting rid of all my cookbooks, magazines and accumulated printed recipes was so I didn't have to worry about storage or weight, and if I were to print and keep everything I find online or use, I'd only end up right back where I started from lol. *Shrug* It works for me lol!

Footsiebear, that's a great idea! Did you buy The Living Cookbook or can it be downloaded from the internet? Never mind, I can Google it. Super idea!

Some great suggestions. Some of these I already have, but I'm adding a few new ones to my shopping list.


RodnReal> I am an oregeno junky. Sounds like the Mexican variety is gonna be even better.

I wondered what to do with that 6 month old dill in the back of the spice rack. Now I know it's for fish and eggs.

Roz> Now if you can tell me what my 6 month old mustard is used for, I might keep it too. 

tell me what my 6 month old mustard is used


I use mustard in homemade mac and cheese.

Here ya go janeen: http://www.livingcookbook.com/

I originally downloaded the free trial and liked it so much I bought the program and had them send me a cd (just in case lol). Thanks for the link jagco!

Question about the living cookbook.

If I d/l it to my laptop...put all my recipes into it,  If I get a new computer will I lose all those recipes, or is there a way to put them on a new computer?

TIA

Posted this too soon, found the answer under FAQ.  :o)

-- Edited by JLitton65 on Thursday 5th of November 2009 06:44:53 AM

I decided to purchase it, when I try to d/l it is says service unavailable.  I am getting frustrated..there is no answer as to why this is happening and no phone numbers for help.




I went back, and now it let me d/l it.
Sorry for the rant....

-- Edited by JLitton65 on Thursday 5th of November 2009 09:04:53 AM

Thanks to who ever posted the link to the living cookbook.  I am busy entering my recipes.  I love love love it.  

I haven't left the s/b yet and stopped using my cookbooks already!  I just use my "Bookmarks" feature on the browser(I use Mozilla Firefox).  Made new folder for recipes and then new folders under that, like; chicken, beef, pork, breakfasts, soups, appetizers, desserts, etc., and then if any of those folders need further splitting, i just make a new folder under it. 

Then anything I find on the internet I just bookmark to the right folder..sometimes i might bookmark a recipe to more than one folder, such as a casserole under "casseroles" AND "chicken" if it is a chicken dish.

Works great!  If I have hamburger out, I look in the "hamburger" folder and see what looks good.  Or maybe the casserole folder.