What can I use for flavoring in meals besides sauce?

Cajun seasoning mix:

2 T. salt

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

~ Mix well, and store in an empty spice jar. Sprinkle on chicken or veggies.

~ It's great on frozen french fries!

Dry Rub for pulled pork:

2 T. salt

3 T. paprika

1 T. brown sugar

1 T. ground mustard

1 T. garlic powder

~ Mix well, and rub onto a 5 to 7 pound pork butt (or other pork roast), getting into all crevices.

~ Bake the roast in the oven for best results.

Seasoning for burgers:

2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)

~ Mix well, and sprinkle on burgers before cooking.

Seasoning for fish:

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons dill weed

2 tablespoons onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried grated lemon peel

1/8 teaspoon pepper

~ Mix well, and sprinkle on fish before cooking.

I believe that seventy years ago most meals were provided with a gravy boat at the side and condiments such as apple sauce, mint sauce, tartare sauce, horseradish. then there'd be bread sauce and onion sauce, all dependent on what meat was being served. this was when yorkshire pudding was also frequently added to the savory plate instead of reserved for dessert as it was originally intended. however, i didn't like my meals with gravy because it masked the other flavors so basically i've always enjoyed vegetable flavours nude. try different methods of cooking as well as varied combinations all of which affect the final flavor.

What kind of addictive ingredients does pasta sauce have??? Its tomatoes and spices. Which one is the addictive ingredient.

FYI stir fry and pasta sauces, white sauces are well over 70 years old. I make casseroles all the time with homemade sauces. It can be a white sauce, or gravy, or a tomato based sauce. the sauce on stir fry is often a simple sweet and sour sauce. When home made none of preservatives, additives beyond the seasonings.

There are many natural flavorings and sauces you can use for meals. Seventy years ago, people made their own pasta sauces out of fresh or canned tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs and spices, or their own Alfredo type sauce using a basic béchamel (white) sauce to which they added cheese etc. For macaroni and cheese, my mom made her own cheese sauce which started with a béchamel sauce. People made their own bread crumbs from leftover bread and added their own seasonings and used the bread crumbs to bread chicken or fish or other meat.

For the past 50 years I have been making own stocks, sauces and my own spice mixtures. I also try to use fresh herbs when I can get them. Try putting some fresh herbs like parsley or tarragon or whatever you like inside a chicken and under the skin before roasting. Add some garlic cloves and 1/2 lemon also help flavor that chicken.

Chicken Spice Rub

Recipe can be doubled or tripled

2 tablespoon dried fennel or oregano or thyme or a 2 teaspoons of each

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste, you probably will want more salt but we are on low salt diets

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 tablespoons paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet paprika)

I you like spicy you can 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder or to taste

Mix all ingredients and store in a jar or air tight plastic container in a cool dark place. Shake jar between each use. Use 1 - 2 tablespoons on a whole chicken. Rub some olive oil on the chicken first.

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Blackened Seasoning Mix

This seasoning mix can be used to make blackened fish, chicken or steak or use less just to season the fish etc.

:

3 tablespoons smoked paprika (regular sweet paprika works in a pinch)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ancho or chipotle chili powder, add 1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne if you like really spicy.

1 teaspoon dried ground thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in a jar or airtight plastic container in a cool dark place.

To prepare blackened fish, boneless chicken breast or fish fillets. Melt butter in a heavy pan, cast iron is great. Dip the chicken, meat or fish in the butter then in the blackened seasoning mix. Add more butter to the pan if necessary and cook sear both sides over high heat, then lower heat and cook to your desired doneness.

Firstly, learn to cook for yourself and make your own sauce. Then you know exactly what's in it. That's what people did years ago before convenience sauces even existed - they COOKED. My mother is 76 and always cooked for us because she HAD to. She doesn't enjoy it, but if she didn't do it, we didn't eat. And as you did back then, she learned from her mother by being in the kitchen with her. 'Twas always the good old way... don't keep children out of the kitchen, get them doing things and they see and learn.

Secondly, I don't like spicy food so I'm no expert on spices but what I DO know about is herbs. Fresh herbs are best but some work well dried and my kitchen contains a whole row of little jars of these. Basil is "the king of the herbs" and is a good friend to tomatoes. Dill works well with fish. Chives are the leaves of a small relative of the onion so give a slightly oniony flavour. Thyme is great in beef stews, and I know a recipe for linguine with mushrooms - gotta have thyme in that. Parsley seems to work with most things. Tarragon I don't use much but is essential in the classic French chicken dish "poulet a l'estragon". Oregano or marjoram get widely used in many Mediterranean dishes. And for a shortcut, you can buy "mixed herbs".

For an actual recipe, Chicken with Rosemary. This is from one of my books of "cooking for one". Slice up a chicken breast and fry it in a saucepan with a little oil until it is no longer pink. While that is going on, chop half an onion finely and slice up half a bell pepper. Remove the chicken to a plate, add a knob of butter to the pan, let it melt and put the onion and pepper into the pan, to cook and soften for 5 minutes. Add half a teaspoon of dried rosemary and after another minute, tip the chicken back in. Add 2 oz of rice and 6 fl oz of chicken stock, made with a stock cube. Put the lid on the pan and leave to bubble gently on the lowest heat for 20 minutes. Dinner for one is served, all from one pan :)

Half a teaspoon doesn't sound like much but trust me, you don't want any more. The rosemary will add flavour and you'll notice the difference if you leave it out, but you will also notice if you add too much - which I did once, and it wasn't nice. Rosemary is a relative of mint and I found that out! Kind of like mint but not actually minty. Certainly the whole thing tasted strongly of rosemary and you don't want it to.

A good book I can thoroughly recommend is Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course, which I expect you can find on Amazon - like me, it's British, so you probably won't find it anywhere else. This went with three series of TV shows Delia did over 30 years ago so it reflects what ingredients you could buy then. It's also more than a book of recipes - each chapter starts with explanations so you can understand WHY this is the way to do it. Delia is well known in the UK for two reasons - firstly, she isn't a trained chef, so this is food you can make at home not food from someone who runs a restaurant, and secondly, every recipe is thoroughly tested so if you follow it, you know it will WORK. For a taster of her style, see the videos at http://www.deliaonline.com/

Buy yourself a cookery book and learn how to cook your own food

go down the aisle with the baking goods and spices, buy spices and add to your cooking. duh....