Fruit Salsa

Charise shared a yummy recipe with us at the reunion for fruit salsa....using only fruit and no other sweeteners. Loved it!

1 pound strawberries finely diced
1 medium Apple peeled, cored, and finely diced
half a can of drained crushed pineapple

Mix everything together (best to use a food processor for the Apple and strawberries).
Mix together well and put it in a jar in the fridge. Use within a few days. 


*Great with Stacy's cinnamon chips, vanilla wafers or homemade cinnamon chips!

Tzatziki Sauce

This is a basic Greek sauce used for gyro/pita sandwiches. It also tastes great on fish or for a salad dressing.

1. Peel and cut cucumbers in half and de-seed (unless using long skinny English cucumbers which are fine with peel and don't have big seeds). 
2. Then shred and squeeze out excess water. Add salt and let sit for at least a half hour to keep getting the excess water out. Frequently squeeze and drain--or it will be runny.
3. Then add sour cream/yogurt and a dash of garlic powder. I usually do about about 1 cucumber per cup (so 2 total). But more or less if fine. Add a dash or olive oil if desired.
4. Optional to add dill at the end.

Easy Guacamole

If you want guacamole without all the other "stuff" in it...it tastes really good just plain, with some salt and water...for a more spreadable, fluffy dip-type texture. This is all I do to make a dip or a salad dressing.

If you want more complex, add some salsa and other ingredients. But simple is good.

Hummus

Here is a basic hummus recipe that tastes just as good as store-bought hummus. Or better. I really liked it. And I've tried to make homemade hummus lots of times. The key ingredient is cumin!

1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. Cumin powder
1/2 t. Salt
1-2 T olive oil
1 t. Lemon juice (or as desired)

Just process everything together into the yummy spread and eat with pita chips or crackers. Try our homemade artisan crackers.

Once you have this basic recipe down its easy to just add other things in, like cooked carrots or something else you may want to hide in a yummy dip.

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Here's another version that mom likes...
2 cans garbanzo beans, one can drained.
Blend in blender with olive oil (maybe 2 T), I also have
avocado oil so put some of that in, with seasonings:
Garlic, onion, basil, salt, lemon pepper, etc.
You can add fresh herbs, or dry.

Cranberry Sauce

1 bag fresh cranberries (approx. 4 cups)
1 orange (peeled, segmented)
1 sm. apple (cored, sliced
3/4-1 cup sugar

Blend in a food processor or heavy duty blender until smooth.  Adjust amount of sugar to your liking.
Serve with your turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!

Chili Verde/Salsa

1 lb tomatillos, husks removed
2 garlic cloves

1-3 jalapeno peppers (according to spicy-ness level desired)

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1/4 c water, or as needed

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange the whole cloves of garlic, tomatillos, and jalapenos on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler, and cook for a few minutes. Remove garlic cloves first, as soon as they are toasted, to avoid developing a bitter flavor. Continue to roast jalapenos and tomatillos until evenly charred, turning occasionally. Set aside to cool. Don't remove the charred parts of the tomatillos or the peppers (unless desired). They add a really nice flavor.                
2. Place peppers and tomatillos in a blender with the garlic and cilantro. Add a little water to the mixture if necessary to facilitate blending. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until serving.

*We use this as a salsa for chips/nachos, or as an enchilada mothering sauce. :) I used more than one jalepeno and thought it was too spicy, so I added some lemon/lime juice. My husband didn't think it too spicy, but just right. (he likes spicy! I don't care for it, but this recipe worked well)

*allrecipes.com

Tasty Twists on White Sauce

Once you've mastered making a basic white sauce, there's no limit to the flavorful variations you can create. Here are a few suggestions compiled by the Taste of Home test kitchen, combined with some of our's:  

Cheese Sauce

Stir 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheese into 1 cup of white sauce. Heat just until cheese is melted.  Use this to make your own macaroni or as a great incentive for kids to eat their broccoli or cauliflower.

Curry Sauce

Stir 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and a pinch of ground ginger into 1 cup of white sauce. This tastes good with sauteed greens, onion, garlic, etc.

Mornay Sauce

Stir 1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese or a combination of both and a pinch of ground nutmeg into 1 cup of white sauce.

Mustard Sauce

Stir 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard into 1 cup of white sauce.

Brown Sauce

Follow recipe for a white sauce except substitute beef broth for the milk. For richer color, add a dash of browning sauce.

Velouté Sauce

French for velvety, this sauce substitutes a light-colored stock such as chicken, turkey or fish broth for the milk.

Combo Sauces: Great over pastas or for pizzas
-Pesto White Sauce
-Tomato White Sauce
-Nutritional Yeast White Sauce

7 Easy Homemade Salad Dressings

Is your fridge burdened with store bought salad dressings?

Have you ever made your own, or wanted to know how?

Did you know how simple and how much healthier it is?

Well, we've written a post on the basics that make up a salad dressing (click here to see post), but here are 7 of Wellness Mama's (wellnessmama.com) favorites that capture a good variety. Say good bye to just plain old Ranch from the store.

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 -1- Creamy Homemade Caesar 

• One egg yolk at room temperature (very important it is not cold!)
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard or mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, finely crushed
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper and spices to taste.

How to Make It:

1. Whisk egg yolk with whisk or blender on low speed.
2. Once creamy, add vinegar and other ingredients and blend until creamy.
3. Slowly add oil, stirring constantly until incorporated.
4. If it doesn’t incorporate well, your egg might still have been too cold!

Great with: Dark lettuces, chicken dishes, or on asparagus.

-2- Zesty Italian

• 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 small squirt of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1-2 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp each of thyme, basil and oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

Pull all ingredients in small jar and shake vigorously.

Great with: any salad or as a marinade.

-3- Tangy Greek

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• small squirt dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp each of oregano and marjoram
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

How to Make It:

Put all ingredients in small jar with lid and shake until well mixed.

Great with: dark lettuces, feta cheese, olives, and cucumbers. Also a good marinade for a cucumber and onion salad.

-4- Sweet Asian

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• pinch of dried ginger or 1/2 tsp fresh zested ginger root (preferable)
• spices to taste

How to Make It:

Put all ingredients in small jar with lid and shake vigorously. You can also mix in blender or small food processor.

Great with: Sesame chicken (as a marinade and dipping sauce), on a spinach salad with cashews, on cauliflower fried rice.

-5- Raspberry Vinaigrette 

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2 teaspoons honey

How to Make It:
Put all ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Great with: salad with feta and cashews, grilled chicken salad, marinade on pork.

-6- Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• one clove of garlic, finely minced
• small squirt of dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon honey (optional)
• salt, pepper and basil to taste

How to Make It:

Mix all ingredients in small jar or blender.

Great with: any type of salad or as a marinade on beef, chicken or pork.

 -7- French

• 1 squirt of mustard
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste (organic)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon of honey (optional)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder or small chunk of fresh onion

How to Make It:

Put all ingredients in a small blender and blend until smooth.

Great with: any type of salad (I like it on chef salads), kids like to dip things in this dressing.

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Other great things to throw on a salad:

• nuts: especially pecans, walnuts and macadamias
• olives
• chopped veggies
• chopped apples
• sliced strawberries or blueberries
• grilled or baked chicken
• sliced steak
• shrimp
• all of the above!

Homemade Mayo

1 Whole Egg
2 T. Vinegar or Lemon Juice (I used vinegar because I was out of lemons)
1/2 t. Dry Mustard
1/2 t. Salt
1 c Oil (I use avocado or olive oil--combinations work well. Coconut oil was too strong.)

Place egg, vinegar or lemon juice, seasonings, and 1/4 cup of the oil in the blender in the order indicated. Put on cover. Run blender until contents are thoroughly blended, about 5 seconds. Remove cover. Add remaining oil gradually and run for a few seconds after last oil is added. YIELD: About 1-1/4 cups.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT add all of the oil at once. Do not do this unless you want to waste a whole cup of oil. Remember how I said this recipe is easy? It’s super easy if you read the instructions and follow them. (Anyone have an idea for how I can use my first failed batch?) The second batch came out perfectly.

*submitted by Cheryl Sanger, "no need to buy store-bought mayo...tastes good!"
originally from www.fakeplasticfish.com

Homemade Cream of Chicken

This is a basic white sauce that is a perfect substitute for canned cream of chicken.
I like making it with fresh chicken juices from my crockpot whole chicken, in place of the butter (without seasonings, except the salt and pepper are needed) and using it as a gravy over potatoes and then the next day for creamed eggs on toast. We use it for Hawaiian haystacks and it passes with flying colors....no body misses the canned stuff.

3 T butter

1/2 c. flour

3 c chicken broth (substitute 2cups with milk for creamier)

1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. black pepper
1/4 t. salt

1. In medium-sized saucepan melt butter, then add flour and seasonings.
2. Add the liquid and Continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens. About ten minutes or more.

Enchilada Sauce

2 T vegetable oil
2 T flour
2 T chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1 can tmato sauce (8oz)
2 c. water
1/4 t. garlic
1 t. salt

Cook first three ingredients for 1-2 mins, then add the remaining and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 mins.

Homemade Pesto

*pesto used for chicken pesto pasta

1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley or spinach leaves (or cooked peas)
handful almonds or walnuts, ground
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup parmesan
2 T olive oil

1. Blend up all ingredients except oil
2. add the oil

*This only lasts for a week, so a good idea is to freeze them in ice cube trays and then put them in a bag, so you can just pull out one or two whenever you need them (I date them by month and year and use within 6 months).

Ideas:
a) serve with pasta noodles (add more oil as needed)
b) spread on pizza cust instead of pizza sauce
c) use inside grilled cheese sandwich (ham & swiss = delightful)

Homemade Ceasar Dressing

This is a version that doesn't require egg or any difficult prep.

1 T dried lemon peel
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t pepper
1 t oregano, dried
1 t thyme, dried
6 T parmesan, grated
1/2 t salt

Mix all and store tightly in fridge.
To prepare: Add 1/4 mix with 1/2 c oil and 1/4 c lemon juice.

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

You can just make this mix ahead of time and keep until needed. No more needing to buy a packet of this from the store.

2/3 c parsley, dried
1/3 c onion, dried
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T dill, dried
1/4 t pepper

To prepare: combine 1 cup of this mix with 1 cup mayo and 1 cup buttermilk (you can try just using plain yogurt or milk with 1 T lemon juice that sits in it for 5 minutes before mixing with other ingredients.)