sauces

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RANCH DRESSING: An Easy Crowd Pleaser!

Ranch dressing has always been a favorite for my family. Not only is this creamy delight fabulous on salads, but as a dipping sauce for…well, practically everything. So, naturally, in my quest to make everything possible from scratch, I decided to give ranch dressing a go. I picked a recipe then did what most of us do – immediatly amended it to suit my taste. I even got a rare compliment from my picky eater!

NOTE 1: If you want it thicker, decrease the buttermilk.

NOTE 2: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make it by combining 10g (or 2 tsp) apple cider vinegar with enough milk to make a total of 150g (1/3 cup).

NOTE 3: As self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to point out this dressing freezes well.

RANCH DRESSING – makes about 1.5 cups

  • 150g (1/3 cup) buttermilk
  • 107g (1/2 cup) mayonnaise
  • 73g (6 T) sour cream
  • 2 T shallot or red onion, chopped finely
  • 1 T cilantro, fresh, chopped finely
  • 1 T dried dill
  • 1 garlic cloves, pressed or diced finely
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp table salt
  • 1/4 tsp black ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend with spoon or whisk.

Pour into a container with a top and chill. You are now done. Yes, it’s that easy!

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PESTO: Quick & Easy!

We’re big pesto fans in our house, so I make sure we always have it on hand. Our favorite uses are mixed with fettuccine and on top of pizza with Feta cheese and Kalamata olives.

TIP: As self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, when I make pesto, I make plenty and freeze it in 1 cup batches.

The longest step in making this recipe is cleaning the basil – I wash each leaf separately so there are no bits of debris lingering in the crevises. Other than that, it’s just throwing all the ingredients into a blender and pushing the on button.

NOTE: I’ve not tried blending the ingredients in my food processor since I like using the vortex action of a blender. But it would probably be fine to use a food processor.

PESTO – makes 2 cups

  • 170g (6 oz) (4 cups) fresh basil leafs
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped – use less if you’re not a big garlic lover
  • 42g (3 T) lemon juice
  • 88g (1 cup) Pecorino Romano (or any hard cheese of your choice, such as Parmesan)
  • 44g (1/2 cup) pine nuts
  • 114g (2/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp table salt

Place all ingredients in a blender.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don’t have the blender running when you’re scraping down the ingredients.  I’ve done that with a wooden spoon.  More than once I’ve had the spoon get pushed down to the blades, yielding wood chips into my pesto which, of course, I had to throw out.  So please take my advice – just turn the machine off each time you smoosh down!  Throwing out food is heart breaking….and a waste of time and money.

Pulse several times to get desired consistency scraping down sides as needed.

If your machine doesn’t have a pulse button, turn the machine on a low speed.  Turn it off and smoosh the ingredients around.  Turn it on again for a few seconds, then stop. Smoosh it around again.  Keep doing this until it finally starts cycling on it’s own.  

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BARBECUE SAUCE: Fast, Easy, & Delicious!!!

This recipe is not only delicious, but cooks in 5 minutes! You just toss all ingredients in a pot and boil for 5 minutes. Done! (Don’t be daunted by the number of ingredients – half of them are spices.)

Before making a larger batch of this barbecue sauce, I recommend trying it first to be sure you like it. Then, if it pleases you, you can increase the amount. Since I don’t use barbecue sauce all that often, I quadruple the recipe and freeze it in portions.

BARBECUE SAUCE – makes about 250mls / 1 cup

  • 188g (1/2 cup + 2T) ketchup
  • 89g (1/2 cup, packed) dark brown sugar
  • 30g (2T) molasses – I use Grandma’s, unsulphured
  • 25g (2T) pineapple juice
  • 25g (2T) water
  • 8g (1/2T) vegetarian Worchestershire sauce
  • 1.25 tsp ground mustard
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
  • 3/4 tsp Kosher salt (or, 1/4 tsp table salt)
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

Into a saucepan, put all the above ingredients.

Bring to a boil. Maintain a low boil, stirring often, for 5 minutes. That’s it!

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ENCHILADA SAUCE: Fast, Easy, and Delicious!

I’ve been making burritos with homemade tortillas for years. And they were good. But one day I thought I’d make enchiladas (which I hadn’t made in years), and decided to make the enchilada sauce from scratch. Afterwards, I had some leftover sauce and, as a woman who hates waste, decided to make burritos, covering them with said sauce. Wow! Game changer! Those burritos went from good to “I could eat these everyday” great!!!

This fast and easy recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce. As Queen of Freeze, I would be remiss if I didn’t suggest you double the recipe (try it first, to be sure you like it), then freeze it in portion sized containers for future use. At this point I haven’t tripled or more the recipe. Note: this sauce can be doubled well, but some recipes don’t fare well made in bulk.

ENCHILADA SAUCE: makes about 2 cups

  • 21g / 3T all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I use AP flour)
  • 4g / 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1g / 1 tsp cumin
  • 1g / 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • 3T olive oil
  • 27g / 2T tomato paste
  • 475 ml / 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Into a small bowl, combine the flour, chili powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, oregano, and salt.

Into a saucepan, heat the oil over medium flame. Add in the flour mixture, stirring for 1 minute. This will heighten the spice flavor.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute to deepen the flavor of the paste.

VERY SLOWLY add the vegetable stock, smashing the lumps as you go, until well blended. (I like to use a flat-headed spatula.) Bring to simmer over medium/high flame.

Maintain the simmer by adjusting the flame as needed until the sauce is thickened somewhat – about 5-7 minutes. (The sauce will NOT be thick like a cream sauce – just a little thickened.) Remove from heat.

Stir in the vinegar and ground pepper. Serve.