Cranberry Apple Sauce

4 large apples (recommend Gala or Fuji apples)
1 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup water
2-4 tbsp sugar, depending how sweet you want it
1 tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 tsp cinnamon

Peel, core, and chop the apples into cubes, roughly the same size. Place in a pot and pour in the cranberry juice, lemon juice and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for about 15-30 minutes until the apples are soft and beginning to break down. Drain off any excess water and add the sugar to taste. Mash the apples with a potato masher, or in a food mill. Mix in the cinnamon. Allow to cool and serve.

*There are few things more delicious than homemade applesauce. This is so easy and so cheap, you will never want to buy the bottled kind again. You can leave the apples kind of chunky depending on how you like your applesauce. This is a great addition to any meal!

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8

Honey Mustard Dressing/Sauce/Marinade

3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp honey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp marjoram
Pinch salt & pepper
About 1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk together ingredients in the order given, being sure to whisk in the olive oil slowly to form an emulsion. (What's an emulsion?)
Pour over salad greens, use as a dipping sauce for chicken (or turkey!), or as a marinade for almost any type of meat.

*This was one of those recipes that "just came to me." I'm sure there's hundreds, if not thousands of homemade honey mustard sauces out there, but this one hit me as I was yet again trying to figure out what to make with chicken. I decided to whip up this sauce and marinate the chicken in it, and then use the leftover sauce for dipping. NOTE: If you do this, don't forget to boil the sauce to ward off any bacteria from the raw chicken. This sauce is sweet and tangy, and I really liked it. I hope you will too!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

Basic White Sauce

(aka: Bechamel Sauce)
Makes about 2 cups
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
Salt & pepper
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg (fresh is best!)

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour to the butter and whisk quickly to coat the flour with butter, and get out any lumps. Cook for about 1 minute to cook out the raw flour taste.
Slowly pour in the milk, still whisking to ensure you don't get any lumps. Keep whisking until all the milk is in the pan. Heat the sauce until it starts to thicken and just starts to bubble up. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir. Sauce should be smooth and creamy.

*This is a really easy sauce that is good on lots of things like pasta, fish and chicken. It doesn't have much flavor, so the flavor really comes in the salt pepper and nutmeg. The nutmeg gives it a warmth and depth that is really good. I usually use this as the base to my lasagnas. This is also grate to mix with other sauces. Mix it with tomato sauce to make a creamy pink sauce. Mix it with pesto to make a creamy pesto. The possibilities are endless for this basic, delicious sauce.

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Psalm 71:17

Chargrilled Chicken with Balsamic Ginger Glaze

4 to 6 chicken breasts, pounded relatively thin
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger (if you have fresh, use that!)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
Salt & pepper

Combine the glaze ingredients (except the salt) in a small pot and stir. Heat the glaze over medium heat until it comes to a boil and sugar has dissolved. Boil for about 15 minutes until the glaze is thick and syrupy.
Season the chicken with salt & pepper. On a stovetop grill, or on an outdoor grill, cook the chicken for about 5 minutes per side, brushing with the glaze on both sides. Chicken should be cooked through and have nice charred grill marks.
Serve hot with the extra glaze to pour over the top.

*This glaze is similar to our Easy Marinade, but doesn't have as many elements, and is a simple delicious glaze for chicken, beef or pork. The glaze gets wonderfully thick and syrup-like, and will keep in the fridge if you have extra. This also goes great over roasted vegetables. If you can find fresh ginger, absolutely use that in place of the ground ginger. It will really ramp up the flavor and give the glaze a nice kick. Try it...you'll love it!

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7

Bolognese Sauce

4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 large shallot, diced
2 lbs ground beef
About 8 thick-cut bacon strips, diced fine
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, heat the oil and the butter over medium high heat. Add the carrots, celery, shallot and garlic, season with salt, and sweat until soft - about 5 minutes. Add in the ground beef and bacon and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the tomato paste, milk and wine and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat to low, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until sauce has thickened and the liquid has reduced. Season with salt & pepper to taste at the very end.
Serve immediately over your favorite pasta.
If the sauce is too thick once it has finished cooking, stir in about 1/2 cup of hot vegetable broth to thin it out a little more.

*You will not believe the aroma that fills the house when this sauce is simmering on the stove. It smells so rich and yummy, it will be hard to wait until it is done cooking. This makes for a really hearty meal, that's really not that hard to make. The most effort is in the prep work. But let me tell you, it is so worth it. And of course, the fresher your ingredients are, the better it will taste. This dish will make you feel like a real Italian chef, even if you're just a Jersey girl!

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:9 & 10

Tomato Basil Marinara

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped fine

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Add tomatoes, bay leaves and basil, and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove the bay leaves and with a stick blender, or in a regular blender, blend the sauce until smooth. (Add 3 tbsp red pepper flakes after blending for a spicy sauce!)
Freeze leftovers up to 6 months.

*This is a really simple recipe that is really tasty. I prefer this to buying sauce from a jar because you add depth of flavor with all the fresh ingredients. You could also add more fresh herbs if you like to give it a more earthy feel and taste. I store this sauce in mason jars in the fridge, and whatever I don't use, I store in freezer bags in the freezer. The only problem with making it fresh is that it goes bad faster than the kind from a jar, so use it quick!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Pea Pesto

1 cup frozen peas, thawed completely
1 small bunch basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (depending how "garlicky" you like it)
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
About 1 cup good olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss everything except the olive oil and salt & pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse 3 or 4 times to combine.
With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil through until it reaches the consistency of a sauce, but not too thin or too thick (like a paste). Scrape down the sides of the bowl to assure every little bit was combined and pulse a few more times.
Pour sauce directly onto pasta or anything else you are serving this with, or pour into air-tight container and store in the fridge for up to a week.

*I love making pesto! The great thing about it is that while basil is the traditional way to make pesto, you can use just about anything you want in place of basil: spinach, peas, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant...you name it (within reason of course)! Remember, too, that pesto is an uncooked sauce, so it's best to use the best and freshest ingredients you can find. Pesto goes great with just about anything, but it doesn't keep for every long, so use it as soon as you can! Play around with the ingredients, and as always, have fun with this recipe!

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12

Homemade Salsa

SPICY!!
1/2 spanish onion
1 whole jalepeno pepper
1/2 jar stewed tomatoes, juice and all
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp lime juice
1 small bunch of cilantro (optional)
Salt and pepper

Roughly chop all the vegetables and cilantro and throw in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pour in the lime juice. Pulse the food processor until salsa is desired "chunkiness." Leave the processor running if you like everything finely minced.
Season with salt and pepper, pulse 2 more times. Pour out of food processor and serve with tortilla chips, tacos, burritos, anything you like!
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

*I love making homemade salsa because it just tastes fresher than store-bought. It's great to make in the summer when all the veggies are nice and crisp. I usually skip the cilantro, only because I don't like the taste. But you could absolutely substitute parsley if you wanted to. If you like your salsa on the milder side, remove the seeds from the jalepeno before tossing in the food pro. Or, just skip the jalepeno altogether, and just put in regular bell peppers. But who doesn't like a little spice every now and again?!

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Sweet & Sour Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine or champagne vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
Zest & juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp honey
1 cup good olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all of the above ingredients in a medium bowl except the olive oil. Stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until combined. (You can also do this in a blender, but why dirty up the whole blender?)
Pour into a resealable container, or a dressing bottle. If oil and vinegar separate, shake or whisk to combine again.
Serve over fresh salad greens, or anything you like!
Keeps in the fridge, properly stored, up to 2 weeks.

*Why spend the money to buy salad dressing when you can make it fresh at home? Vinaigrette is so simple to make, and it's better for you than store-bought stuff! In the summertime, I like to add fresh parsley to this vinaigrette to give it that extra punch of fresh flavor. You could also use lime juice to give it more tang. My favorite way to serve this is over a bed of fresh greens, goat cheese crumbles and dried cranberries. I hope you love it as much as I do!

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103