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Absolutely Awesome BBQ Sauce

Recipe Source: Joel Manthei / allrecipes.com

Prep/Cooking Time: 55 Min

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chile sauce
1/2 cup rum
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a saucepan over low heat, mix the brown sugar, chile sauce, rum, soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dry mustard, and pepper. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Alfredo Sauce

Recipe Source: copykat.com

Alfredo sauce is one of the most popular Italian sauces.

Many people rate Italian restaurants by their Alfredo sauce. Now you should know that Alfredo sauce isn’t hard to make. You can easily make a very tasty plate of pasta at home. They key is good quality ingredients. Don’t skip on the butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. While this dish may not be the healthiest choice in dining, it is a nice treat.

Do use good quality butter, and cream. I have found that buying them relatively close to before you make the dish is a good idea. Sometimes butter and cream can pick up flavors from your fridge. When it comes to the Parmesan cheese, be sure to use good quality cheese. If the cheese comes in a can, please use some fresh Parmesan cheese. You will be rewarded with a flavorful sauce if you do.

Ingredients:

1/2 C. Butter
2 C. grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 C. Heavy Cream plus 2 Tbsp.
1 lb. dried pasta

Directions:

Prepare pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter, heavy cream, and half of the Parmesan cheese, cook over low to medium heat. When the pasta is done drain and pour into a bowl. Then add the melted cheese mixture to the pasta. Combine and then add the remaining Parmesan cheese. If you like you can add some salt, and white pepper to season.

Mixing the sauce with the pasta is an Italian way to serve up this particular dish. It coats the pasta well, and gives you a delicious bit of sauce in every bite. You do not need to rinse your pasta. Following these directions you can make delicious Alfredo sauce at home.

Amaretto

Recipe Source: Marjory / allrecipes.com

Prep/Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups vodka
2 tablespoons almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine water and sugars in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the mixture is boiling, and all of the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.

Stir vodka, almond extract and vanilla extract into the mixture. Store in a sealed bottle.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Recipe Source: Franklin Biggs, Franklin’s Homewood Gourmet

Ingredients:

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup Honey
2 TB Garlic, chopped, browned or roasted
2 tsp Fresh Shallots, chopped (optional)
2 cups Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Whisk vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, garlic and shallots until thick. Slowly add olive oil as dressing emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes enough for 12 salads.

Chocolate Gravy

Recipe Source: Weird Alabama magazine

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon self-rising flour
1 tablespoon cocoa
1-1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine dry ingredients. Add water and stir. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally — remember to stir down the side and bottom of the saucepan.

The gravy will become thick, at this point remove from heat and add the butter.

Serve warm over biscuits.

Tip if not serving right away: As with any gravy, place plastic wrap over the top of gravy. Make sure that it makes contact and you won’t find the skin that will appear if air touches it.

Cocktail Sauce

Recipe Source: Hunts.com

Prep/Cooking Time: Up to 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups Hunt’s Ketchup
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Directions:

Combine ketchup, vinegar and horseradish in medium bowl. Mix well. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for later use.

Makes: 14 servings (2 tablespoons each)

Cranberry Chutney

Historical background: years ago (like in the late 70s-early 80s) I had a subscription to Sunset Magazine. One month there was an article about a lady who lived near the ocean in SoCal, and her love of canning all the wonderful produce available from the farmers’ markets. One of the recipes that was included was for the most yummy-sounding Cranberry Chutney - it was just mouth-watering thinking about it, seemed as if it would be better than any cranberry relish dish ever invented for Thanksgiving. So I cooked up a batch.

I WAS better than any relish dish ever. For the next umpty years I made at least one batch a year. Then somehow I lost the recipe, and for the last almost 10 years, I’ve been chutney-less. Since the advent of the ‘net and search engines, I’ve searched for it desultorily with no results; I even at one point called Sunset - but they couldn’t find it either.

Well, a couple of weeks back, I was doing my once or twice a year search for it - AND I FOUND IT! Bless Google…. so now I’m one happy camper - I made a batch of my chutney just the other day, and it tastes just as good as I remember.

I’d printed the recipe…. and it’s a good thing I did, because since then my boot drive crashed resoundingly, and anything in my documents newer than June is gone (because my last archive CD has disappeared as well, and I really can’t blame the cat….)

So without further ado, here’s the recipe for the best Cranberry ANYTHING you’ll ever have with turkey!

Recipe Source: Sunset Magazine (date unknown)

Prep/Cooking Time: about 1 hour, plus boiling water bath canning time at your altitude

Ingredients:

4 c fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over and stemmed
2 c sugar
1 c water
1 tsp whole cloves
2 3 inch pieces cinnamon stick
1 tsp whole allspice
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt
2 Granny Smith apples (about 6 oz each), cored, chopped
2 firm pears (any variety, about 6 oz each), cored, chopped
1 small red onion (about 5 oz), chopped
1 c golden raisins
1 c diced celery
1 c pecans, rough chopped

Directions:

In a large stockpot, combine cranberries, sugar, water, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop, about 10 to 12 minutes. Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers.

Stir in apples, pears, onion, raisins, and celery. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thick, 15 to 20 minutes longer, remove from heat, and stir in pecans. Remove the cinnamon sticks and any of the cloves or allspice easily found.

Pack into sterilized half-pint jars, and follow your favorite directions to process in boiling water bath canner. Makes 11-12 half pints.

Enjoy!

Diabetic Lowfat Texas Bean Dip

Recipe Source: thatsmyhome.com

Ingredients:

15 1/2 ounces black beans, canned - drained
15 1/2 ounces red beans - canned, drained
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 cup onion - chopped
1/2 cup tomato - diced
1/2 cup mild picante sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper - diced
1/4 cup reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese - coarsely grated
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions:

Place beans in a bowl; partially mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon until chunky. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion and garlic; saute for 4 minutes over medium heat. Add beans, tomato, picante sauce, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and lime juice. Stir until well blended and cheese has melted. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Makes 40 (1-tablespoon) servings.

Garlic Butter

Recipe Source: herbs2000.com

Ingredients:

6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup soft butter
2 Tbs. fresh parsley, finely minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Set the unpeeled cloves in the boiling water. Bring to a boil, and boil 5 minutes. Drain, peel, and rinse the cloves under cold water. Return to the boiling water, and allow the water to boil up once more. Drain the garlic again, and with the salt and pepper, pound it to a smooth paste in the bottom of a small bowl. Beat the butter into the garlic.

Suggestions:

Use 1 teaspoon with broiled or boiled fish, with hamburgers, steaks, boiled potatoes, or to enrich sauces made with drippings from roasts.

Garlic Wellness Elixir

Recipe Source: nevertrustanyonewhodoesntlikegarlic.net

Ingredients:

3 medium cloves of garlic
Juice from 1 medium grapefruit
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Mix and drink for a “wake up” when you’re feeling under the weather!

Interesting note:

Raw uncooked garlic will destroy any ill bacteria in your intestines. It has a natural antibiotic affect in the digestive tract and intestines.

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