A severe case of over-seasoning: I've got to find a balance!

In the time I've not been blogging, I've kept trying new things in the kitchen, consistent with my goal to learn to cook. While I used to have a severe case of under-seasoning, which I thought I had fixed, I'm now fighting with too much seasoning.

Mostly, everything's ending up much too salty.


It may be because I've taken to using Herb's seasoning mixture, from Herb's Meats in Broomfield, CO (previously in Boulder). It's a fantastic all-purpose seasoning mix (read about it here) when used on its own, but I always feel like I need to add additional salt and pepper, or use additional seasoning mixes - but that's when things start to go wrong.

Case in point: I made turkey meatballs the other day. Pretty straightforward, and in the end they were edible. But definitely salty. I used Betty Crocker's meatball recipe with some additional spices (hence the over-seasoning).

A few days before my turkey meatballs, I made white chicken chili, courtesy Cha Cha (See: Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili Recipe). I was on a roll making this fairly simple recipe until I got to the garlic. I decided to use the tube of garlic instead of fresh cloves - (See: Gourmet Garden Garlic) - and in the translation from cloves to teaspoons, I used tablespoons. Needless to say, our home smelled like garlic for days. And yet, my husband still ate two bowls, and I managed to eat one by eating the chicken and beans, and avoiding the garlicky broth. Never again will I make that mistake.

Way too much garlic made this soup nearly inedible ...

Two steps forward, one step back. I still feel like I've made dramatic progress with my cooking. I'll prove it when I share some successes I have had in recent weeks in a coming blog ...