Punch up your winter chili with your own fresh-tasting homemade chili powder.

The quickest way to add some zing to your cooking is with spices and seasonings. The problem? Most spices like chili, garlic, and onion powders, come in jars containing much more than you can use before the seasonings begin to lose their flavor.

The solution? Make your own. All you need is a few hours and some spare glass jars. Your taste buds (and your wallet) will thank you. Making your own homemade chili powder, garlic powder, or onion powder allows you to make just as much as you'll need for a month or so, maximizing the flavor and nutritional values before they go bad. If you are using fresh ingredients, they'll cost you about a $1 to create a tablespoon of seasoning, compared to the $3 to $4 you'll spend on a jar, half of which you might have to throw out because it's hung around for too long. But it's also a great way to use up wrinkly peppers, onions or garlic that are staring to sprout or go soft, and the leaves and heart of celery.

Homemade Chili Powder (or Paprika)
Yield: 2 to 3 teaspoons

Both chili powder (not to be confused with chili seasoning, which is a combination of different herbs and spices) and paprika are simply ripe peppers that have been dried and ground. Paprika is generally made from milder ripe red peppers, while chili pepper is made from spicier red peppers. But there is no firm dividing line. A hot paprika is pretty much the same as a mild chili powder, and any sweet red bell pepper will make good mild paprika. Look for really, really ripe peppers for maximum flavor and sweetness.

Chili powder is usually made from Anaheim-type peppers. You can control the hotness of your final product by removing some or all of the seeds and the strips of membrane they are attached to (the more you leave, the hotter the end result will be). Got other kinds of peppers? Mix and match to get just the flavor and heat you want in your final product.

You'll Need:
2 medium peppers

Directions:
If using hot peppers, pull on a pair of clean rubber kitchen gloves. Trim off the stems and, if you want to moderate the heat, cut each in half and remove some or all of the seeds and membranes. Slice thinly.

Dry at 130 to 150 degrees (or as low as your oven goes) until crisp; the pepper slices should snap rather than bend. This will take a few hours.

Crush the dried slices using a mortar and pestle or grind them in a spice grinder to as fine a texture as you like. If you want a more uniform powder, sift the result through a fine sieve to separate out the larger bits that need to be ground some more.

Store the final product in a small, airtight jar at room temperature in a dark place. Be sure to label the jar with the contents and the date.

Garlic Powder
Yield: 2 to 3 teaspoons

You'll Need:
1 bulb garlic

Directions:
Peel the cloves, slice thinly, and spread the slices in a single layer on a silicone pan liner in a cookie sheet or a mesh food dryer tray. Proceed as for homemade chili powder.

Onion Powder
Yield: 2 to 3 teaspoons

You'll Need:
1 medium onion

Directions:
Peel, slice thinly, separate into rings or strands, and proceed as for homemade chili powder.

Celery Powder
Yield: 2 to 3 teaspoons

You'll Need:
The leaves and small stalks from 1 bunch celery

Directions:
Trim off any discolored bits, slice stalks thinly, and proceed as for homemade chili powder.

To make celery salt, measure the ground celery, add an equal amount of sea salt, and grind a little longer to blend.

Farm gal, library worker, and all-around money-pincher Jean Nick shares advice for green thrifty living every week on Rodale News.