Add a little zing . . .

To your homemade chicken wings, pecan crusted grouper, or grilled veggie medley with this savory blend of salt, zesty lemon peel and freshly cracked black pepper. It’s incredibly versatile, a thrifty to make use of leftover lemon peels, and super easy to make!

Note from Cara: This is a guest post from Heather who blogs at Mommypotamus! I love lemon pepper seasoning, though I never even considered that I could make it myself!  Two of the houses I’ve lived in have had lemon trees nearby, what a wonderful way to use the local abundance.  It figures that Heather would know how to make this herself – she’s the DIY queen, I’m sure you’ve seen her beautiful and simple-for-the-busy-mama DIY projects (like delicious sounding solid perfume) on her blog.

Speaking of DIY – to help health-ify all of our spring cleaning frenzy, she has put her DIY Nontoxic Cleaning Recipes e-book on sale for the rest of the month!

Use code SPRING25 for 25% off the e-book!  Click here to check it out.

Need more ideas for using it in your kitchen?

Well, it’s absolutely fabulous . . .

• As a whole chicken rub
• Wrapped up in salmon avocado rolls
• Sprinkled over salads, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers
• Stirred into dips
• Tossed with green beans or cauliflower

But don’t let me limit you – there are so many ways enjoy it. Except not on ice cream. Or chocolate. Or pie. Yeah, not pie.

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning Recipe

Ingredients:

• The zest from 4 large or 6 small organic lemons (about 5-6 loosely packed tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup ground black pepper (or whole peppercorns if you are using fresh lemon)
• 1/4 cup sea salt, optional

Equipment:

• Microplane zester/grater
• Coffee grinder/ spice grinder or a mortar and pestle

Step 1: Preheat your oven on the lowest possible setting (about 170-200F)

Step 2: Using a zesting tool or a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow zest from the outside of the lemon.

Take care not to grate into the bitter white pith.

Step 3: Pour peppercorns into a clean coffee grinder/spice grinder and pulse until the pepper should be coarsely ground.

If you’re using a mortar and pestle, crush the peppercorns as you normally would.

Step 4: In a small bowl, combine crushed peppercorns and lemon zest.

Step 5: Use a utensil to mash the cracked pepper and zest together.

This will release oils from the lemon that infuse the pepper with flavor.

Step 6: Spread mixture evenly on a baking sheet and bake on low until the mixture is dry.

Turn every 20-30 minutes to ensure even drying. My mixture took about one hour to dry completely.

Step 7: Place dried mixture in a coffee grinder and pulse until you reach the level of coarseness you prefer.

Step 8: Add Salt

Some cooks prefer to skip this step so that they have more control over the amount of salt used in each dish. Whatever works for you!

Step 9: Place blend in an airtight container and store for up to 6 months.

Enjoy!