Caramel Sauce

This caramel sauce is perfect! For ice cream, for dipping, pretzels, whatever! It sets up really nice and reheats to a beautiful drizzle.  Just 3 ingredients and about five minutes tops to make!

What you will need:

• 1 stick (1/2 c) butter
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/3 c heavy cream

Directions:

• Melt the butter
• Whisk in brown sugar and heavy cream
• Bring to a boil and boil for exactly 3 minutes
• Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature (I dropped a little vanilla in at this point, too)
• Store in the fridge and microwave for 60 seconds if you want it back to being drizzly

French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus

1. This was very cost effective
2. This was extremely easy
3. Every single person in my family ate and loved all of this

There really isn't much "gourmet" about this. It's kind of a dump recipe. Somehow it made incredible results with amazing flavor. With how easy and cheap it was (aside from the meat..heh heh..) and the fact that no one could stop eating it, it's going back on the menu often.

Definitely fill your sandwiches more than I filled this one :). 4 kids and 4 dogs running around ya know, I was not being incredibly attentive here haha!

What you will need:

• 2 cans french onion soup
• 1 can beef consmme (you can just use beef broth like me)
• 2-2 1/2 lbs. chuck roast
• Provolone cheese slices
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Sear the outsides of your meat (you can cut it into chunks to sear and cook it)
• Pour cans of soup and consomme (or broth) into crock pot.
• Add the meat into the crock pot
• Cook on high for 6 hours
• Shred the meat and set aside
• Slice your preferred sandwich bread in half and place on a cookie sheet.
• Spread softened butter on each of the slice
• Pre-toast the bread at 400* for about 4 minutes. You don't need it darkened, but when you touch it, it's rough and a bit crispy
• While your bread is pre-toasting, place a strainer over a bowl and pour the broth into the strainer. It will catch all the extras, allowing just the jus to pass through into the bowl

• Pull out your pre-toasted bread and add the shredded meat and provolone cheese to the bottom slices
• Put them back into the oven until the cheese is nice and melted
• Serve with the au jus !

Rock Fish Taco & Not Gross Slaw

I guess one cool thing about having a recipe blog as my "job" is that I get to decide when I do it. So, here I am months and months after my last post (which wasn't even a recipe). We were blessed with our 4th child at the end of August and I decided to focus on that! Things have settled and I am good to go now. Wahoo!

My father in law took a fishing trip to Alaska and caught some amaaazing Rock fish. He had it filleted there and fresh frozen to bring back for us! Ooooh it was a beauty. Since it's more a mild fish, we were trying to think of what to do with it and how to season it. We decided we'd take the fish taco route. We were SHOCKED at the amazing flavor the fish had on its own! Somehow the seasonings were paired really well with it to where you could taste the seasoning and the fish both separately while having the flavors compliment each other as well.

Now, about the slaw. My husband and I are not slaw people. We can't even figure out how there are so many people who are. It makes zero sense to us. But, we couldn't just not have slaw with it. It's a fish taco. So this is a slaw that works without being the gross slaw ;). I actually just drizzled the dressing made for the slaw on my taco by itself without the slaw at all. My husband did both. We taste tested the dressing for the slaw and it was really good, but we were a little baffled that there was no garlic in it. "Should we add garlic? We never skip garlic. Should we? It's good without it....but we love garlic so much. Yes? No?" We didn't add any! Who are we?! It just had this magic flavor that seemed so right with a fish taco, we left it as is.

So, here's the deal. My husband knows a guy named George. He's our food guy. Everyone should have a food guy. He recommended Sazon Goya seasoning, claiming that, "if you don't want to spend the money on saffron, but want incredible taste, go with Sazon Goya." Yes, sir. Correct, sir.

(For the record, with the going price of a lb. of saffron being anywhere from $500-$5000, I don't buy saffron. I have tried it exactly one time at a brunch at The Grand America and I didn't like it. So I was nervous at his recommendation for this in place of saffron. Like I said, though, he was correct. Trust the process.)

What you will need:

Fish-

• Rock Fish fillets (I mean, if you don't have Rock Fish freshly caught in Alaska...cod will do ;) )
• 1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 T oil 

Slaw-

• Green cabbage, julienne
• Red onion, sliced
• Cilantro, chopped
• jalapeno, diced

Dressing for the slaw-

• 1/2 C salsa verde
• 1/4 C mayo
• 1 T lime
• Hot sauce to taste
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Fish-

• Bring a large saute pan to medium-high heat and add the T of oil
• Rinse your fillets and pat dry
• Rub Sazon Goya and salt/pepper on each side of the fillets
• Lay each fillet in the pan and cook each side 2-3 minutes

Slaw-

• Slice, chop and dice ingredients and add to a bowl.
• I don't have any measurements, just go with "some of each" and see where it gets you. Live on the edge.

Dressing for the slaw-

• Add each ingredient into a blender and blend until it's all mixed until smooth and saucy.
• Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well
• Maybe reserve some on its own in case you just want to drizzle the goodness by itself. Like me. Be like me.

Raspberry Sauce

Well, this stuff was a goldmine to find at The Gunny Sack! I made it a few months ago for my daughters birthday because she wanted cake waffles? So I had to think up a few toppings to use for those. This was one of them and everyone loved it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I tried to make a layered cake for my sons birthday. I made this sauce to layer between the cakes. The cake fell apart and I was left to just go buy a little cake for my son instead. I picked up a cheesecake for everyone else and....tuh duh! Still had some raspberry sauce I could use with it.

So, this stuff is basically a staple. Use it on ice cream! Cake! Cheesecake. Waffles. Pancakes. Whatever you want! It's so incredibly easy and just so darn delicious. My husband goes nuts over it.

What you will need:

• 12 oz. raspberries
• 1/4 C water
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 T cold water
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt

Directions:

• On medium heat, cook the raspberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan until the raspberries start to break down (about 5-7 minutes) 
• Combine the cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add to the raspberry sauce
• cook for about 30-60 seconds until the mixture is thickened
• Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt
• Let the sauce cool and then store in a container in the fridge

Caramelized Almond French Toast

I had French toast on the dinner menu tonight, but I wasn't feeling very thrilled about it by the time dinner time rolled around. I remembered this caramel sauce I use with my cinnamon rolls and thought it might be yummy to incorporate into the french toast somehow!

I wasn't positive how it was going to turn out with the almond flavoring and the caramel but OOOOO it turned out GOOD! No syrup necessary! It has such an amazing deep flavor. Aah.

What you will need:

French Toast

• 8 slices bread
• 4 eggs
• 1 C milk
• 2 tsp Almond extract

Caramel sauce 

• 1/2 C packed brown sugar
• 5 T butter
• 1 tsp water

Directions:

French toast

• Whisk together eggs, milk and almond extract in a baking dish
• On medium high heat, butter a pan or griddle 
• Dip each side of each slice of bread into the egg mixture
• Cook each side until golden brown and cooked through

Caramel Sauce

• Stir all ingredients together and heat until creamy and smooth
• Dip one side of each bread piece into the caramel sauce
• Place that same side back onto the pan/griddle and cook for about one minute

Spaghetti Sauce

So this sauce was looking a little elaborate for my taste, but only because Pioneer Woman's recipe makes a TON so you can freeze some! Her post about it was so funny to read because she adds a jar of store bought marinara sauce and she was totally mortified by the whole thing but swears by it! I tried it all out and good heavens...can this lady do anything wrong?!

This served my family plenty of sauce for spaghetti (I served it with Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks), plus 2 large ziploc bags full of leftovers to freeze. She recommends lasagna and sloppy joes! At first I thought the sloppy joes idea was kind of weird until I could smell and taste the sauce and it totally fits. This recipe can be halved for a regular amount of sauce (it will still leave you leftovers but you'll want them anyway!)

What you will need:

• 5 lbs. ground beef
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 1 green pepper, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 C white wine (or low sodium beef broth....or neither...since I spaced this step. Heehee)
• 1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste (or none since I didn't have any. Whoops)
• 1 jar marinara sauce (I ended up just using prego traditional pasta sauce)
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 2 T sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/4 C minced parsley
• 1/2 C grated parmesan
• Rind from Parmesan wedge (optional)

Directions:

• Brown the beef in a large pot
• Remove beef from pot, and drain the grease
• In the same large pot, add olive oil and let it heat up a bit
• Add minced onions and green peppers to the oil
• Saute' for a couple of minutes
• Add the minced garlic
• Pour the white win over the vegetables and let it cook for a minute
• Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and marinara sauce
• Add the seasonings 
• Let it simmer for about an hour
• Add in the parsley
• Add in the parmesan and wedge if you so desire
• Let is simmer for another 30 minutes
• Serve with fresh parsley and parmesan

Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Sauce

This pasta sauce is suuuuper good. If you like roasted red peppers and you like basil, boom. Here you go. The sauce itself is gluten-free, but you'd need to find a replacement for the pasta.

What you will need:

• 1 lb. penne pasta
• 1 C roasted red peppers (jarred or fresh)
• 1/3 C pine nuts
• 1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 C fresh basil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/3 C Olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 C heavy cream (optional)

Directions:

• Saute' the garlic in the olive oil for about 2 minutes
• Blend oil and garlic together in a blender or food processor with the pine nuts
• Add in the roasted red peppers
• Add in the Parmesan cheese
• Add in the basil
• Add in olive oil and salt and pepper
• Heat sauce on medium and add in the heavy cream until well combined and hot
• Pour sauce over preferred pasta
• Add in chicken, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts...etc. etc..whatever your little heart desires!

Meatball Sauce

How the heck does anyone even get an appetizing picture of meatballs? It didn't help that I took this after about 10 of the meatballs were already eaten. But you get the idea, right? You'll looove this meatball sauce. Promise!

Typically, I don't make my own meatballs, but I will add a simple recipe you can use to make some easy ones you can elaborate on.

Meatballs
What you will need:

• 2 lbs. beef
• 1 c. seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• Salt and Pepper

Sauce
What you will need:

• 1 C. Kraft Original BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 C. Grape Jelly
• 1/2 C. Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (use Kikkoman brand if you're nervsou about gluten. They are "technically" gluten free but have come out with a gluten free version)
• 1/2 C. Heinz Chili Sauce

Meatballs
Directions:

• Shape into balls
• Roll in the palm of your hand
• Cook in Olive Oil until browned
• Mix with Meatball sauce

OR

Directions:

• Use one bag frozen meatballs
• Put meatballs into crockpot while you make your sauce

Meatball Sauce
Directions:

• Mix BBQ Sauce, Dijon Mustard, Soy Sauce, Chili Sauce and Grape Jelly into bowl
• Pour over meatballs in crockpot
• Let cook for about 2 hours