Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

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When we lived in Roosevelt, one of the only decent places to eat was Cafe Rio which was about 30 minutes away but worth the drive and we made it often.  There were times we just couldn't make the drive and were dying for some deliciousness.  I found a couple of copycat recipes online and tweaked them to make my favorite meal.  The Cafe Rio Style Chicken and Cafe Rio Style Rice.  And I realized as I opened tomatillos in my Winder Farms order, that I've never posted the dressing.  That just won't do.
I found the recipe HERE from The Girl Who Ate Everything.  And other than adding a little bit more tomatillos and jalapenos and making poor man's buttermilk, I pretty much left it alone.  She did a great job!

Find the PDF for the recipe HERE

I made this dressing the night before the chicken because I like to let the flavors get all combined and spicy.

I started by making poor man's buttermilk.  One Tbsp of vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and then enough whole milk to make 1 c.
I chopped up my ingredients, just so they'd blend easier.

I poured my "buttermilk" into my blender and then added
1 oz ranch dressing mix (or 3 Tbsp. if you buy in bulk)
1 c. mayo
2-3 tomatillos (they are green, near the tomatoes)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 small jalapeno, seeds removed

I just blended that all up

and then poured into my jars.

Please note in these pictures the recipe is DOUBLED!  You will only need one jar for the recipe listed.

I ALWAYS make double of this, but one batch will make more than enough to feed everyone for a meal.  My hubby likes to put this on most everything including baked potatoes!  If kept sealed in the fridge this will last at least 2 weeks.  (I doubt it will last that long!)  Remember to stir before pouring.

**This recipe is gluten free. Verify all your ingredients are gluten free (especially soy sauce!!).**

ENJOY!!!

Cheese Sauce for Veggies

 Cheese Sauce for Veggies

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My kids are sticklers when it comes to veggies.  They are not the easiest to please.  I have found if I put this cheese sauce on them my kids eat ALMOST any veggie I put in front of them.  I found this recipe in the Taste of Home Cookbook.  Our favorite is to put it on cauliflower or the broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix.  You can use frozen.  We usually steam fresh and then put on the cheese sauce when serving.  This recipe does make a lot, but I've tried halving the recipe and it's harder to work with, although do-able.  When reheating from fridge I add a little milk since it loses some of the creaminess upon cooling.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (when serving to kids I usually do less)
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I've used mexican blend before with still successful results)
paprika (I omit this for kids)
veggies to top

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook veggies until crisp-tender.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour and thyme until blended.  (I remove from heat and whisk in flour.)
3. Gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min. or until thickened.  (I whisk frequently and watch carefully to avoid scalding.)

4. Reduce heat; add cheese, stirring until melted.
5.  Drain veggies dry and pour on cheese sauce.

ENJOY YOUR VEGGIES!!!

**If making gluten-free you can use cornstarch, but it's half the amount of flour to substitute.  In this recipe, that would be 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch in place of flour.**

Blueberry Syrup

Blueberry Syrup

*****

This is our FAVORITE to go with blueberry sour cream pancakes. It's also great on ice cream, pound cake, anything that needs a sweet blueberry topping! :)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. cold water

4 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water until smooth.

2. Add blueberries.

3. Bring a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 min or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cover and keep warm.

That's IT! Super easy and delicious!

This keeps well in the refrigerator in a sealed container. We've kept it for at least a week and a half and it tastes just as great, just warm and serve.

NATURALLY GLUTEN-FREE! :)

ENJOY!

Homemade Maple Syrup

Homemade Maple Syrup

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After running out of syrup on a morning we were having waffles I found this quick recipe using just 4 ingredients and only takes 10 minutes to make! We don't buy syrup from the store anymore!

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. water

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar (2 c. if you like a thicker syrup)

1 Tbsp. maple flavored extract (the maple flavor is strong, you can use less if you don't like it)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring the water, and both sugars to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the maple extract; simmer 3 min longer.

**1 c. of brown makes a pretty thin syrup, make it thicker by adding more brown, I use between 1 1/2 - 2 cups**

**The maple flavor is strong, I use a little less than a Tbsp of flavoring but we don't add very much syrup. If you like a lot of syrup, I'd cut back on the maple**

**As in all syrups, this gets STICKY! Make sure you store in a glass container**

Top on your waffles, pancakes or hootenanny!

ENJOY!

**This recipe was found on allrecipes.com submitted by "Lucynda"

Big Al's BBQ Sauce

BIG AL'S BBQ Sauce

*****

This is the BEST BBQ Sauce I have ever found, hands down! It's sweet with a spicy kick! Reminds me of Stonefire's for all my "Awesometown" friends. This is the best for making BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad (Salad, chicken, bbq sauce and ranch). We've also slow cooked ribs in it all day. It makes a ton but you can use it for so much!

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. ketchup

2 c. tomato sauce

1 1/4 c. brown sugar

1 1/4 c red wine vinegar

1/2 c unsulfured molasses

4 tsp. hickory-flavored liquid smoke (I only found mesquite)

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke and butter. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.

2. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary. Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking, or use as slow cooker sauce (might need to add liquid depending on how long you cook for) or use as a dipping sauce.

YUMMY!

ENJOY!!!

Honey Mustard Dressing

Honey Mustard Dressing

*****

Our FAVORITE Honey Mustard Dressing

Way better than the bottled stuff you find in the grocery store and SOOO easy!

As written probably about 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 c. mayo

1 Tbsp. mustard

1 Tbsp. honey

1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Store covered.

I always make a double batch and store in a dressing container so I never run out!*

Pour over salad, or use as dipping sauce!

Enjoy!