Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce

So right about now I am swimming in tomatoes, which is a blessing of course, but also has me trying to come up with creative ways to use the summer's bounty. After canning 20 pints of salsa, 20 cups of diced tomatoes, and making numerous Caprese Salads, Tomato Soups, and Marinara Sauces, I decided to give BBQ sauce a try. The result was fantastic! My husband smokes briskets and ribs nearly all year long so we definitely use a lot of BBQ sauce.

Vanilla Extract

I use a lot of vanilla and so it was only prudent to start making it myself, considering the price of the organic version I was buying. It is very easy to make, but there is actually a lot to consider during the process. I believe I've covered many of the questions you might have below. By the way, this is SUPER EASY! You definitely want to start making this yourself too!

Mint Extract

My great grandma grew a row of mint along a fence which separated her property from the neighbor's. When I was little, I remember seeing that mint growing there every summer and when my parents purchased their first home, my mom transplanted some of that mint from New Jersey all the way to our new home in Kansas.

Garlic Chile Sauce

My husband enjoys all things spicy and will use this garlic chile sauce on everything.

Caramel Sauce

You can use this sauce for so many things--drizzle on pancakes or waffles or use as a dipping sauce for apples or other fruit. Try it in these AMAZING cooking bars from Taylor Made It Paleo - Triple Layer Cookie Bars with Chocolate Caramel Topping - or drizzle over popcorn for an easy and quick snack.

Grape Jelly (No Added Pectin)

My husband planted a purple grape vine the year before we were married and we harvested a ton of grapes this year. It was a lot of work, but really great to get all these delicious grapes from our own yard. I believe it is a Concord grape vine, but not positive about that. The plant yields small, round, dark purple grapes with one or two seeds. The grapes themselves are sweet although the skins are a bit tart.

Amaretto Pears

I was so lucky to receive a gift of Amaretto Pears from a friend of mine last fall. I think she gave me five or six jars and I went through them really quickly, they were so good! In this recipe, I've tried to re-create the flavors of that delicious gift from my friend.

Homemade Hot Sauce (Tabasco Style)

My husband is so wonderful--he shares my time with work and this blog and happily tests out all the things I make. I am not sure he is the best test subject, because he mostly says everything is delicious, but it's certainly good for my self-esteem.

This past weekend he made a hot sauce in the style of Tabasco Sauce, which we had always purchased and kept in the house (prior to making this recipe) and which does not appear to have weird ingredients. But we grow a lot of peppers every year and even husband appreciates the value of foods with ingredients we can follow directly to the source. So this year, he made this sauce and it is even better than the store-bought kind.

Ranchero Sauce

You can make this in advance for the Enchilada casserole and suddenly this recipe is very easy to make since the hardest part is the ranchero sauce.

Ingredients
2 dried Ancho chili peppers, stems removed and seeded
1 medium onion, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, rough chopped
2 cups broth (vegetable, chicken, beef, etc.)
1 1/2 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. cumin
Oil (olive or coconut) or butter - enough to sauté onions

How To:
1. Prep Peppers: Bring four cups water with chili peppers to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer about five minutes and then let sit about five more minutes. You will use about two cups of the liquid you've cooked them in and you can freeze the remainder for future uses (chilis, soups, etc.).

2. Cook Onion & Garlic: In the meantime, saute onion in another medium saucepan over medium heat in a little olive oil. When soft, about 5-10 minutes, add garlic and cook about 5 minutes more.

3. Combine & Blend: Add the following to a blender - the cooked chili peppers and two cups of the liquid you cooked them in, cooked onions and garlic, all seasonings, tomato paste, and the broth. Blend well and you're done!

Comments: I made two batches and divided them into three containers for three servings. Each batch made about 5 cups so it is about 3 1/3 cups per container and I thought I could get three servings out of this instead of two. The picture shows a little over four cups although the recipe makes five total.

Simple Mascarpone Icing

This is a really simple and quick frosting. Add a little cacao powder to make a chocolate version or add a little mint extract for a mint version, but it is fabulous on its own too!

 



Mexican Style Dipping Sauce

1 small container plain, no-fat Greek yogurt
Mexican seasonings, such as....
2-3 tsp Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp honey

Mix all together and serve immediately, or refrigerate. Picture below shows dip on the side.  Recipe for the corn fritters shown in the picture is found at this link.

 

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