SANDRA'S HOMEMADE SWEET THAI CHILI SAUCE

A delightful sweet chili sauce I created today in under 20 minutes,
and at the rate we go through this decadent condiment ~
it's bound to be quite the '$$ saver' as well...

Yield: 1 cup

Prep: 5 Mins.

Cook: Appx. 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons quality white wine

3 teaspoons garlic granules (or powder)

1/2 to 1 tablespoon dried red chili flakes (1/2 TB mild, or 3/4 TB spicy, or 1 TB hot)

--1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons cool water

--2 drops red all-natural organic food coloring

METHOD

Place all ingredients (except cornstarch-water slurry mixture, and food coloring) in a small, heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium and let boil for 10 minutes to reduced sauce by half. (The vinegar odor will be quite pungent as it burns off.)

In a small bowl, combine 4 TB water with 1-1/2 TB cornstarch to form a slurry.

Reduce heat to low and add cornstarch-water slurry mixture, and the red food coloring. Stir to incorporate, then continue stirring until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat and carefully taste-test (I do so by spooning some sauce on a plate to let cool slightly). You should first taste sweet, followed by sour, then spicy and salty hints. If sauce isn't sweet enough, add a little more sugar. If not spicy enough, add more chili flakes.

Pour finished sauce into a 1/2-pint Mason jar, cover, and store in refrigerator (will last up to 6 months).  Serve as a condiment, dip, or marinade. ~ Enjoy!

SANDRA'S TERIYAKI SAUCE (Homemade)

An easy and tasty option to make your own Teriyaki Sauce.

I always have some of this Asian sauce on hand for those last-minute stir-fry recipes
for quick meal options on those busy nights...

Prep: 5 Mins.
Yields: 1 Pint (2 Cups)

1-½ cups dark brown sugar

½ cup low-sodium soy sauce

½ cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (An Asian-style barbecue sauce)

1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated (or 1 teaspoon ground)

2 garlic cloves, grated

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

METHOD

Add all ingredients to a nonreactive (glass/ceramic) bowl, and whisk to combine. Use in your favorite teriyaki recipe or as a marinade, including basting grilled meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish.

Store in an airtight jar in refrigerator~ Enjoy!

SANDRA’S UNIVERSAL HONEY-DIJON DIPPING SAUCE, DRESSING, SPREAD, or MARINADE

This is a terrific spread

to use in place of traditional mayonnaise,

including all sorts of 

other imaginative applications...

Yields: 1/2 Cup

Prep: 3 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons creamy dijon

4 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

METHOD

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, just until slightly golden and fragrant.

Whisk together dijon, honey, toasted sesame seeds, and freshly grated ginger, then use to finish your creations by applying it to an assortment of meats or seafood. ~ Enjoy!

Here's a recipe using this honey-dijon as a condiment, which you might like:

Sandra's Terrific Toasted 
BLT Bagel Surprise

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Tip: This honey-dijon pairs impeccably well with pork, turkey, ham, venison, beef, moose, buffalo, salmon, or seafood.

SANDRA’S CREAMY HONEY POPPY SEED DRESSING

A sweeter version of another one of my
favorite 'go to’ salad dressings.
It's so delicious I simply crave it at times...

Yields: (1 cup)

Prep: 5 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup fireweed honey

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

¾ cup mayonnaise
Pinch of fine-grain sea salt

METHOD

Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl, and store covered in a glass or ceramic non-reactive container for up to two weeks in refrigerator.

A fantastic salad dressing, or to marinate chicken, halibut, or pork in prior to grilling. ~ Enjoy!

I made Sandra's Crazy-Delicious Grilled Chicken Cranberry Salad using this fabulous dressing:

Crazy-Delicious Grilled Chicken Cranberry Salad

SANDRA’S WORLD-CLASS ITALIAN SALAD

My husband and I adore
this impeccable salad ~
I created this after being inspired 
by a version I had at a local eatery...

Servings: (4)
Prep: 5 Min.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

***Vinaigrette:

1-1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon

***Salad:

6 cups mixed dark salad greens and herbs

1/8 of a red onion, julienned

8 pitted kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise

1 (6.5 oz. jar) marinated and quartered artichoke hearts, drained

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

METHOD

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, and dijon, until the honey is incorporated.  Gently drizzle the olive oil in a steady stream while whisking, until vinaigrette is emulsified.

For the salad, in a medium bowl, toss together the mixed greens and herbs, red onion, and kalamata olives.  Drizzle salad with vinaigrette, and toss.  Serve prepared salad among 4 plates, place the quartered artichokes around parameter of each, and sprinkle with feta crumbles. – Enjoy!

SANDRA'S ALASKA GRILLED SALMON STEAKS with a CREAMY LIME MARINADE

A perfect way to barbecue fresh salmon
on a summer day...

Servings: (4)

Prep: 5 Mins. |
Marinade 15 Mins. |
Grill: 10 mins.


Posted by: Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, sliced
½ teaspoon dry rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 (1”) thick salmon steaks (if thicker, allow more cooking time)
1 lime, cut into wedges

METHOD:

Whisk together oil, lime juice, honey, yogurt, ginger, garlic, green onion, rosemary, salt and pepper in a shallow non-reactive dish. Add fish steaks and turn to coat with marinade. Cover and marinate for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, (turning once after 7 minutes).

Preheat indoor grill to medium-high heat, or an outdoor grill. Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack, or grill pan.

Coarsely grind pepper onto steaks. Place the steaks onto hot oiled grill rack, turning once at 5 minutes; continue cooking until the fish is opaque, and flakes easily with a fork, about 10 minutes total (discarding marinade). Serve immediately with lime wedges. - Enjoy all!

SANDRA'S TASTY TANGERINE BBQ BONELESS PORK RIBS

What a treat these tasty boneless ribs are,
they have a great moistness inside 
and a perfect texture outside...

Servings: (4)
Prep: 10 Mins. |
Cook: 3 Hrs.

Posted by Sandra 

INGREDIENTS:

***Boneless Country-Style Pork Ribs:
3 lbs. bonless country-style ribs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

***Marinade:
1 cup tangerine juice
1 (1.06-oz.) pkg. dry teriyaki marinade mix
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

***Sauce:
1 cup tangerine juice
1 cup barbecue sauce (recommend Bull’s-Eye Original)

METHOD:

Place ribs in a large pot of water, just enough to cover ribs, and sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and ground pepper.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine marinade ingredients. When ribs are done par-cooking, remove ribs with tongs and place them in a 9"x"9 baking dish, and pour marinade mixture over the top.  Cover, and let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove ribs from marinade mixture, and discard marinade. Place ribs on rack of shallow broiling pan lined with foil, and sprayed with oil. Cover tightly with foil, and bake for 45 minutes.

While ribs are cooking, make sauce by adding 1 cup tangerine juice, and 1 cup barbecue sauce to a small sauce pan; stir, and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes to reduce sauce, and remove from heat.

Remove ribs from oven after 45 minutes, uncover (reserving foil), and carefully baste with the sauce, and continue baking, uncovered, for 15 minutes longer; turning and brushing midway with the sauce. Remove from oven, and let rest, lightly tented with reserved foil for 10 minutes.  Serve, and enjoy!


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Tips: Serve with coleslaw, or potato salad, and baked beans! Also, at time we BBQ grill the ribs over indirect heat in the same method as for the oven (while still boiling, and marinating the ribs for the same amount of time as listed above). Further, it will cut your time immensely if you boil and marinate the ribs the morning or night before you anticipate cooking them!

SANDRA'S ORIGINAL ORANGE-PINEAPPLE BABY BACK RIBS

My husband and I agree that these are the absolute best ribs we've ever made...

Servings: (4 to 6)
Prep: 10 Mins. |
3 hrs. 45 Mins.

INGREDIENTS:

***Baby Back Ribs:
3 racks pork baby back ribs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

***Marinade:
2 cups orange/pineapple juice -- (I use Tropicana)
2 (1.06-oz.) pkts. dry teriyaki marinade mix
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons smoked paprika

***Sauce:
1-1/2 cups pineapple/orange juice
1-1/2 cups prepared barbecue sauce (I used Bull’s-Eye Original)

METHOD:

Remove thin silver membrane from the back of ribs (I use clean pliers). Place ribs in a large pot of water just enough to cover ribs, and sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cover to simmer for 1 hour.  Remove ribs, and let cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine 2 cups orange/pineapple juice, both packets of teriyaki mix, 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, and smoked paprika. Pour marinade mixture over ribs in a non-reactive shallow pan. Cover and let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or with grill you'll be using in-direct heat).

Remove ribs from marinade mixture, but do not discard marinade. Place ribs on rack of shallow broiling pan lined with foil (meat side up). Cover tightly with foil, and bake for 1 hour (or do so over in-direct heat on a covered grill).

While ribs are baking/grilling, make the sauce by first adding the rib marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add 1-1/2 cups orange/pineapple juice, and 1-1/2 cups barbecue sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes to reduce sauce; remove from heat. Pour half of the sauce into small bowl for basting ribs while cooking.  Reserve the other half separately for serving in the covered sauce pan.

Remove ribs from oven, uncover, and carefully baste with the designated sauce in the bowl, and continue baking/grilling, uncovered, for 30 minutes longer; turning and brushing half way with the designated sauce. Cut ribs into serving portions and place on a platter, along with other designated sauce from saucepan that has been reheated and poured into a small bowl for dipping. ~ Enjoy!

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Tips: Serve with grilled corn on the cob, coleslaw, or potato salad, baked beans, and warm and crusty bread. Also, at times we use the BBQ grill over indirect heat in the same method as for the oven (while still boiling, and then marinating the ribs for the same amount of time listed). Further, it will cut your prep time immensely if you boil and marinate the ribs the morning or night before you anticipate baking/grilling them.

SANDRA'S HOMEMADE YOSHIDA SAUCE

A very tasty Asian flavored
sauce that I use in many, many of my recipes...

Yields: (Appx. 4 cups)
Prep: 10 mins. |
Cook: 20 mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups low-sodium soy sauce
¾ cup dark brown sugar, divided
¾ cup white sugar, divided
½ onion, grated
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
1 cup honey (for homemade recipe click here:  Alaska Fireweed-Clover Honey)

METHOD:

Combine soy sauce, ½ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, grated onion, ginger, and garlic to a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the remaining dark brown sugar and white sugar, and honey into the saucepan. Bring to a boil (the mixture will rise and foam), when it doubles in size, remove the pan from heat, and cool.


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Tip: You can use this as a marinade for most types of meat, poultry, or seafood; as a sauce addition, or where I incorporate this in many of my recipes. – Enjoy!

SANDRA'S SUPERB GRILLED SALMON KABOBS

What a blast to prepare,
and they surely provide for a
spectacular and
scrumptious presentation...

Servings: (4 = 2 skewers ea.)
Prep: 10 mins. |
Grill: 10 mins.

You will need 8 (10”) skewers.  Pre-soak wooden skewers for 30 minutes in water beforehand, or use metal skewers.

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons fresh dill, minced (or ½ teaspoon dry)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 lb. salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1”x2” pieces

--Prepared pita bread, cut into triangles (for serving)

METHOD

Preheat indoor/outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs, and rub it over the rack or grill pan.

Combine dill, oil, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper in a medium bowl. Add salmon; toss to coat. Cover and marinate for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, turning once.

Divide salmon pieces among 8 skewers (discard the marinade). Grill the skewers, carefully turning once after 5 minutes (if using metal skewers, use oven mitts because they’ll be ‘hot’), continue cooking salmon until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes total (do not disturb them otherwise). Serve immediately with pita triangles - Enjoy!


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Tip: You can also make vegetable kabobs at the same time using red onion, red bell pepper, and tomato chunks drizzled with olive oil, kosher salt and ground pepper on alternate skewers, just as I did (only put them on 10 mins. earlier, as they take a bit longer to cook.)

SANDRA'S GRILLED PEPPERED SALMON with a CREAMY LIME MARINADE

A very, very good method to grill fresh salmon steaks,
which are guaranteed to be flavorful and moist...

Servings: (4)
Prep: 10 Mins. |
Marinate 15 Mins|
Grill: 10 Mins.

Posted by: Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, sliced
½ teaspoon dry rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 (1”) thick salmon steaks (if thicker, allow more cooking time)
1 lime, cut into wedges

METHOD:

Whisk together oil, lime juice, honey, yogurt, ginger, garlic, green onion, rosemary, salt and pepper in a shallow non-reactive dish. Add fish steaks and turn to coat with marinade. Cover and marinate for at least 15 minutes, turning once.

Preheat indoor grill to medium-high heat, or an outdoor grill. Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack or grill pan.

Coarsely grind pepper onto steaks. Place the steaks onto hot oiled grill rack, turning once at 5 minutes; continue cooking until the fish is opaque, about 10 minutes total (discarding marinade). Serve immediately with lime wedges. - Enjoy!

SANDRA'S GRILLED HALIBUT over WILTED GREENS

Wow, a fabulous way to perk
up grilled halibut is with to use
this marinade and dressing...

Serves: (4)
Prep Time: 10 min
+ Marinade time: 1 hour |
Cook Time: 10 min.

Posted: by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

4 cups of mixed salad greens
1 fresh lemon, sliced & deseeded

***Marinade:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or ½ teaspoon ground)
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tablespoon honey
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 halibut fillets, skin and bones removed


***Dressing:
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil


METHOD

Prepare marinade by combining all ingredients, except halibut, in 10” glass pie plate. Place halibut in marinade, turn to coat fillets well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning fillets in marinade halfway through one time.

Prepare dressing by whisking together all ingredients, except olive oil, in small glass bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking briskly to emulsify. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Spray 10-inch ridged cast iron grill pan with nonstick cooking spray, set over medium-high heat until almost smoking - about 2 minutes.

Pour marinade into small non-reactive saucepan heat to boiling, and then reduce heat and to low.

Arrange halibut stakes, not touching, on smoking-hot grill pan and grill 10 to 12 minutes, basting with hot marinade and giving steaks a gentle flip halfway through (turn 1/4-way for X grill marks); cook until no longer translucent in the center.

To serve, place salad greens on serving plates, whisk dressing until creamy, then drizzle evenly over greens. Arrange halibut on greens and spoon remaining hot marinade over all.  Serve with lemon slices. ~ Enjoy!