Pesto Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1 C Half and Half

1/4 C Basil Pesto (store-bought or homemade)

2 T Butter

1/4 t Garlic Powder

2 T Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

Water

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine half and half, pesto, butter and garlic powder over low-medium heat. 

In a small bowl, combine flour with enough water to form a paste. 

Stir paste into pesto mixture. Stir and allow to thicken. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

Serve over noodles or spaghetti squash. Very good with shrimp!

Easy Homemade Gravy

Ingredients:

2 C Broth

1/3 C Flour

2 T Butter

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk constantly over high heat until desired thickness is reached. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add other herbs like parsley or poultry seasoning if desired. 

Notes: 

Make broth using boullion if no fresh or canned broth is available. Broth with drippings is best!

Use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend for gluten-free gravy!

Nut-Free Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

2 Garlic cloves

1 C Packed Fresh Basil leaves

1 T Lemon juice

1/2 C Grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 C Quality Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a food processor, mince garlic. Add basil leaves, lemon juice, and cheese. Pulse to combine. 

Drizzle Olive oil in and pulse. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Store in an air-tight container for up to one week in the refrigerator. 

* Adapted from http://www.tworecipesblog.com/2013/10/nut-free-basil-pesto.html

Rocky Mountain Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

3 T Brown Sugar

14 oz Ketchup

1/2 C Water

2 T Liquid Smoke

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 T Worcestershire Sauce

3 t Dry Mustard

2 t Celery Seed

6 T Butter

1/4 t Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. 

Bring to a boil, stirring occassionally. 

Reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

* Recipe from my mom

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

2 T Vegetable or Canola oil
2 T Flour
4 T Chili powder
1/2 t Garlic powder
1/2 t Salt
1/4 t Cumin
1/4 t Oregano
2 C Chicken broth

Directions:

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir together for one minute. Stir in the remaining seasonings. Gradually add chicken broth, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until thick.

Use immediately or store refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

* Adapted from http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/red-enchilada-sauce/

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

15 oz Can Tomato sauce

1/8 t Black pepper

1/4 t Salt

1/8 t Crushed red pepper

1/8 t Onion powder

1/8 t Garlic powder

1/4 t Parsley flakes

1/2 t Italian seasoning

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for at least one hour. 

 

* My recipe

Jalapeño Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
20 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup minced onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan over high heat, combine oil, peppers, garlic, onion and salt; saute for 4 minutes. Add the water and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. With the processor running, slowly add the vinegar.

Pour into a sterilized jar with a tight lid. This sauce will keep for 6 months when stored in the refrigerator.

* Adapted from http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/20896/recipejalapeno-hot-sauce

Succulent Spare Ribs!

Ingredients:

BBQ Sauce:

1 cup ketchup
1 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 limes, zest of
1 limes, juice of
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes
1 dash cayenne
salt and pepper
1/4 cup minced onions
1 clove garlic, minced

Spice Rub:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons salt ( I prefer kosher)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder
1 -2 teaspoon cayenne
3 pork spare rib racks ( 3 pounds or less each)

Directions:

At least the night before you make the ribs, if not earlier, combine the BBQ sauce ingredients in a saucepan.

Simmer over medium-low heat for 1/2 an hour.

Chill overnight.

The night before you make the ribs, combine the spice rub ingredients in a bowl, and mix together well.

Pat about 1/3 of the total spice rub on the top and bottom of the rib slabs.

Allow to sit, refrigerated, overnight.

The next day, about 5 hours before dinner, take the ribs out of the fridge, sprinkle top and bottom with about half of the remaining spice rub.

Let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Take BBQ sauce out of refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

Heat oven to 215 degrees Fahrenheit.

After the ribs sit at room temperature, put them in the oven on a large sheet tray.

Bake 4 hours.

About halfway through cooking time, sprinkle ribs with the rest of the spice rub.

About 45 minutes before ribs are done, brush with the BBQ sauce.

Let ribs sit 10 minutes before cutting into individual ribs.

* Adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/jims-dont-spare-the-spareribs-ribs-83678#

Super Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

1 pound breakfast sausage
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned. Stir in flour until dissolved. Gradually stir in milk. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot over biscuits.

* Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/super-sausage-gravy/detail.aspx

Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce

This is a time-consuming but great way to use all those tomatoes from the garden!

First, you're going to need quite a few tomatoes. It takes A LOT of tomatoes to turn into very much sauce. I would estimate that you need about 5-7 tomatoes (depending on their size) per person you're going to serve.

Ingredients:

25 Fresh tomatoes
2 Fresh garlic cloves
Your favorite italian seasoning, to taste (I like Sam's Club's Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning)

Directions:

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Fill a second large pot with ice cubes and water. Wash tomatoes and then place as many as will fit into the boiling water. Wait for 45-60 seconds and then transfer them to the ice water. After about 20-30 seconds in the ice water remove the tomatoes and peel the skins off. The skins should come off VERY easily. Repeat until all tomatoes have been skinned.

Next, cut the tomatoes into quarters. Remove seeds, rough parts, and any bruises. Squeeze the excess water out of the tomatoes and place into a colander to drain. Once drained then dice all of the tomatoes.

Place diced tomatoes into a pot, cover, and start cooking them low and slow. They will break down and turn into a sauce after a few hours. Once it's looking more like a sauce add the garlic and seasoning. Keep cooking until at desired consistency! If the sauce is too watery then take the lid off and let some of the water evaporate.

Serves 4

* Adapted from http://www.pickyourown.org/canning_tomatosauce.htm