5-Minute Tomato Sauce

Need a good tomato sauce to go with those Oven Toasted Ravioli from yesterday?  Try this! 

I know it's the summer, and a plethora of beautiful tomatoes are available.  However, I didn't have time for all that.  I needed this sauce quickly, so I used a can of crushed tomatoes, and it turned into a solid, easy, tasty sauce.  Yum.  (And don't be afraid of the red pepper flakes; it really isn't hot.) 

5-Minute Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
zest of 1 lemon

Combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic in a cold saucepan.  Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat.  Saute about 45 seconds, or until everything is fragrant but before the garlic browns.  Stir in the tomatoes, and heat to a gentle simmer, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, and add more salt if desired.  Stir in lemon zest.

Cilantro Cream Sauce

This is delicious!  We used it as the dipping sauce for these Southwestern Eggrolls, but I loved just dipping chips in it.  It would also be a great sauce for anything--chicken, pork, shrimp, whatever.  It was so quick and easy to put together, and it really is great.  We'll definitely make this again!
Cilantro Cream Sauce

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 (7 oz) jar of tomatilla salsa (salsa verde)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 bunch cilantro
1 Tbsp lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Place in serving bowl.

Homesick Texan Salsa

I was so excited when my sister gave me this Homesick Texan Cookbook for Christmas!  I already like the Homesick Texan blog, so I knew the cookbook was going to be great.  I started marking recipes immediately.

This salsa took just a couple of minutes to throw together, and we really liked it.  We had it on our nachos, with our eggs, and on and on.  It makes 3 1/2 cups though, which is a huge amount of salsa (even for us, and we eat a good bit of it), so you might want to cut the recipe in half.  Her recipe notes that it keeps for a week in the refrigerator. 

Homesick Texan Salsa

1 (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/4 to 1/2 cup pickled jalapeno slices
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt, to taste

Place all ingredients except the salt into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings and add salt to taste.

Chicken Cakes with Creole Sauce

When I found this Southern Living recipe, I couldn't wait to try it.  These were SO good; Buck has already requested them again.  He said he would have been fooled into thinking these were crab cakes if I hadn't told him they were chicken. 

I used my favorite Crock Pot Salsa Chicken for the shredded chicken, and the salsa added extra moisture and flavor.  You could just as easily use leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store as a short cut.  As another short cut, I used the roasted red bell pepper from a jar since I didn't have a fresh one.  The cakes aren't spicy, but the red pepper in the creole sauce does add some heat.  I highly recommend these!

Chicken Cakes with Creole Sauce

1/2 medium size red bell pepper, diced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 cup soft breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Creole mustard
1 tsp Creole seasoning

Saute the bell pepper, green onion, and garlic in a skillet coated with cooking spray for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Wipe skillet clean.  Stir together bell pepper mixture, chicken, and remaining ingredients in a bowl.   Shape chicken into 8 patties.  Cover and chill 15 minutes.

Cook patties, in 2 batches, in skillet coated with cooking psray over medium heat, 3 minutes on each side or until golden.  Serve immediately with Creole Sauce.

Creole Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
3 green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp Creole mustard
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Stir together all ingredients until well blended.

Sun-dried Tomato Aioli

I made this dipping sauce last week for some grilled shrimp, and it was awesome!  It was easy to throw together, and I already had all the ingredients.  I made it the day before I needed and let it sit overnight so that the flavors could blend together.  It was delicious!

The original recipe calls for 4 crushed garlic cloves, but I only used 2, and I always use the minced garlic that I can store in the refrigerator.  I also used reduced-fat mayo and the sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil--YUM.  I love sun-dried tomatoes, so I let some of the oil into the aioli besides just the tomatoes.

Like I said, we used it for shrimp, but you can use it for anything you like.  Enjoy!

Sun-dried Tomato Aioli

1 cup good-quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

In a blender or food processor, process all the ingredients until smooth.  Chill until ready to serve.

Sweet-Hot Pecan Sauce

This will be your new go-to sauce for everything.  This recipe is from a Southern Living cookbook, and it was originally served with fish fillets; however, when I made it over the weekend, it was fantastic over the green beans with goat cheese and bacon.  It was also delicious with the grilled doves we had that night.  You just can't go wrong serving this sauce.  Plus, you can make it ahead of time, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  A new favorite!

Sweet-Hot Pecan Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1/4 chopped red onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup pecan pieces, chopped
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp hot sauce

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, and saute 3 minutes or until tender.  Add garlic, and cook 1 minute.  Stir in pecans and next 4 ingredients.  Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. 

Honey Butter

This was the perfect fit for our cornbread muffins from yesterday.  Delicious!  It would dress up any regular bread.  This is Alton Brown's recipe, but I scaled it down from a pound of butter to a stick.  You can make the amount that works for you, but I promise you that you want to make this.  So quick and easy, and so very tasty. 

Honey Butter

1 stick butter, softened
2 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Cut the butter into chunks, and mix it on low speed with an electric mixer to loosen the butter.  Increase the speed to medium, and add the honey, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Mix until well combined, 3-5 minutes.  Remove butter from bowl and spoon onto parchment paper or plastic wrap.  Roll into a log and refrigerate for 2 hours. 

Zax Sauce

We didn't have Zaxby's where I grew up, but now that I'm in Georgia, it's the place to go for chicken fingers.  (We did have Cane's, though, which is equally delicious.)  The best part about both of those chicken places is the sauce--and they know that, which is why they usually make you pay for extra.  Not any more!  Just make your own.

The recipe says to let it rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving, but the longer, the better.  I read on one website that they won't even think about serving it if it hasn't been in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  It only takes a minute to throw it together, so just do it the day before.

Zax Sauce

1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 - 1 tsp black pepper

Mix together all ingredients, blending well.  Refrigerate for at least two hours prior to use to allow the flavors to mingle.  Serve with chicken fingers. 

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

The honey mustard sauce made this chicken so delicious!  You marinate the chicken in it, baste it with it, and then use it as a dipping sauce.  I made extra of the sauce, and we ended up dipping every part of dinner in that sauce.  It was so good and would be great to have on hand as a condiment everyday.  I'll probably make this chicken again later this week; we liked it that much.  I saved this recipe from AllRecipes a long time ago, and I should have made it sooner. 

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

1/3 cup dijon mustard (I used honey mustard)
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp mayonaisse
1 tsp steak sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place chicken breasts in a ziploc bag.  In a shallow bowl, mix the first four ingredients.  Set aside a small amount in another bowl to use when basting the chicken, and pour enough of the mixed sauce into the ziploc bag to coat the chicken breasts.  Allow them to marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

When ready to grill, preheat grill to medium heat.  Lightly oil the grill grate.  Cook chicken over indirect heat for 20 minutes or until juices run clear, turning occasionally.  Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes, and watch carefully to prevent burning.

Basil Pesto

My basil plants are growing quickly and beautifully, thanks to Bizzuck's attentive eye, so I decided to make some basil pesto.  Pesto is usually made with pinenuts, which are insanely expensive, so it's nice that this recipe uses walnuts, which are much more affordable.  My food processor is broken for some unknown reason, so I made this in a blender; it took some prodding and scooting things around for it to come together, but it was still so fast to make.  If your food processor is working, this thing will be a breeze.  You can eat it with some pasta, like it is here, or just wait for the delicious sandwich recipe that's coming tomorrow.  I adapted this pesto recipe from All Recipes.


Pesto


3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 - 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (of course I used 3/4 cup)
3/4 - 1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


In a food processor, blend together basil, walnuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  Pour in oil slowly while mixing.  Stir in salt and pepper.  

Honey Barbecue Sauce

This barbecue sauce is delicious!  It's so good!  It's a little sweet, which I love, and it also begins with the smell of onions sauteeing in butter, which is one of the best smells in the world.  Bizzuck decided that for the Fourth of July, he'd rather have barbecue than hamburgers--because of this sauce.  It didn't take very long, I already had all of the ingredients, and it can be made up to a week in advance.  What's not to like?  It's from the Southern Living Complete Quick and Easy Cookbook, so there's no surprise that it's so good. 

Honey Barbecue Sauce

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup onion, diced (1/2 large onion for me)
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, and saute 4-5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in ketchup and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.  Stir leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Makes about 2 cups.