A thick homemade pizza sauce bursting with flavor! This pizza sauce uses ingredients from the pantry and is perfectly delicious!
Yield: 

4 cups
Ingredients: 

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped onion (or 1 tablespoon dried onion)
1 teaspoon dried basil
8 rosemary leaves, crushed (or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary)
12 fennel seeds, optional
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions: 

1. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Heat over medium-low heat, covered, until boiling.

2. Simmer covered, but with lid vented, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes, until sauce is thickened.

Use on homemade pizza or in any recipe calling for pizza sauce! Freeze leftover sauce, or keep in the fridge for several days.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Rich semi-sweet tomato sauce seasoned with oregano and basil, with chunks of peppers, onions, and garlic
Yield: 

5 pints or 1 pint
Ingredients: 

5 pints tomato sauce (see directions)
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped sweet peppers or bell peppers
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons salt
5 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons basil
2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
a little tomato juice (set some aside when draining)
Instructions: 

1.To
make 5 pints of tomato sauce, you will need about 20 pounds of tomatoes
(1.5 pecks, approximately). You can, however, make sauce out of
whatever tomatoes you have on hand and adjust the seasonings according
to how much sauce you have.

Prepare tomatoes as follows: wash and core tomatoes and put into a large pan(s) and cook until soft and mushy (at least one hour). Be careful to stir every now and then and keep the heat reasonable so they don’t scorch… scorched tomatoes taste awful!

2. Using a small pan or large scoop, put hot tomatoes into a strainer
to drain off the watery juice. (We use a mesh wire strainer.) When
tomatoes have drained somewhat (10-20 minutes), run them through a
colander, which will remove the seeds and skins. (Another way is to
drain the tomatoes and then run through a blender or food processor.)
While you process one batch, have another batch in the strainer to
drain.

3. Put sauce into a clean pan, and continue until all tomatoes are
processed. You should now have a tomato sauce, which could be canned as
is, or you can season for pizza/spaghetti, etc. Usually once you have
the tomatoes processed, then you know how much sauce you will end up
with. The above measurements were per 5 pints of processed sauce.

4. Cook onions, garlic, and peppers in a pan on the stove with a little tomato juice until tender before adding to sauce.

5. While you are cooking the onions, peppers, and garlic, add the
white sugar, salt, oregano, black pepper, basil, and arrowroot or
cornstarch, mixed with a little tomato juice (set some aside when
draining). Stir sauce to mix thoroughly and bring to a boil so it
thickens. You may need more thickener depending on how well-drained your
tomatoes were and your own preference.

6. If preserving, put into jars and process for 25 minutes (for
pints; 35 minutes for quarts). (You can open-kettle this, like salsa,
but it gets kind of messy because the sauce is thick and splashes when
it boils.)
Additional Notes: 

So,
you don’t have enough tomatoes to make a huge batch of sauce, but you
want some yummy home made pizza sauce to use on tonight’s pizza? Here
you go:

1. Wash and dice your tomatoes (You will probably need about 6 c
after they are diced), so there are no large pieces of peeling.
(Alternately, wash tomatoes and put into a large bowl. Pour boiling
water over, let set for a few minutes, and remove peeling. Then dice.)

2. Put tomatoes into a pan on the stovetop, and start cooking. Add
some sugar (1.5 T), salt (1/2 t), oregano (1/2 t), black pepper, and
basil (1/4 t). Those measurements are all approximate… just taste and
alter as you wish.

3. Simmer until sauce thickens (this will take at least an hour, so
make sure you have plenty of time!). You can hurry the process a little
by thickening with cornstarch (mix 1-2 T cornstarch with cold water or
reserved tomato juice, then add to boiling tomatoes, stirring
immediately to prevent lumps).

4. When sauce is to desired thickness, you’re done! Enjoy! 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A creamy homemade honey mustard dressing — sweet and tangy!
Yield: 

About 1 1/2 cups of dressing
Ingredients: 

1/2 cup olive oil or flax seed oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard (Dijon or other*)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
Instructions: 

1.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well-mixed. Or, place
ingredients into dressing bottle/jar, seal with tight-fitting lid, and
shake to combine. A glass pint jar with a screw-on lid works well for
this recipe!

2. Serve with your favorite lettuce greens, or use as a dipping sauce for chicken.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

An easy thick cranberry sauce using whole cranberries
Yield: 

5 cups
Ingredients: 

6 cups cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 cup sugar*
1 1/2 cups water
Instructions: 

1. In large sauce pan, combine water and sugar and stir. Add cranberries.

2. Cover and cook at medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture boils. Reduce heat (so that mixture is simmering and not boiling) and stir (uncovered) as berries pop and mixture thickens.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A festive homemade applesauce spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, with a handful of cranberries and lightly sweetened
Yield: 

6 cups (12 servings)
Ingredients: 

5 large cooking apples (not Red Delicious), peeled, cored, and diced (~1-inch chunks)
1 cup fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice*
2 tablespoons water
~1/2 cup sugar
Instructions: 

1.
In a large stock pot, combine the apples, cranberries, cinnamon,
cloves, allspice, and water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Stir and continue simmering over low heat, covered, until apples are
soft and mushy, and cranberries are all popped (about 20-30 minutes,
depending on the kind of apples you used).

2. Remove from heat and stir in sugar to taste. We like at least 1/4
cup of sugar, which makes a tart applesauce, but you can add up to a
half cup or even more, depending on your tastes and the kind of apples
you used.

3. You now have a chunky homemade applesauce, which you can serve hot/warm or chilled.

To make a smooth applesauce, blend the hot applesauce until smooth and then press through a colander or sieve to remove any remaining bits of cranberry peeling.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Easy and delicious fresh tomato salsa with onions, jalapenos, and cilantro
Yield: 

8-10 servings
Ingredients: 

6 medium-large ripe tomatoes
1 large sweet onion
a handful of fresh cilantro
juice of 1 fresh lime OR 1/2 fresh lemon
2-3 fresh jalapeno peppers
salt to taste, optional
Instructions: 

1. Wash, core, and dice tomatoes. Chop onion and cilantro.

2. Finely chop the fresh jalapeno peppers. For less heat, you can
remove the seeds and ribs of the jalapenos. Jalapenos vary in heat so I
like to add smaller amounts and taste, to avoid making salsa that is too
hot for my tastes. 🙂

3. Combine the tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and lemon or lime juice. Allow to rest for 30-60 minutes for flavors to combine. Add salt if desired. Serve with corn tortilla chips or with your favorite Mexican foods (tacos, burritos, nachos, pinto beans, etc.).

A light creamy guacamole that even picky eaters will love!
Yield: 

4-6 servings
Ingredients: 

2 large ripe avocados*
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several shakes of Tapatio or your favorite hot sauce
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions: 

1. Slice open avocados, remove pits, and scoop out the meat with a large spoon.

2. In a small-medium mixing bowl, mash avocados with lime/lemon juice. Then, stir in remaining ingredients.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
fabulous all-purpose spice mixture using ingredients from the pantry.
Try it on ground beef or turkey, salad dressing, french fries, or even
pizza!
Yield: 

2/3 cup
Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons onion powder or granulated onion
2 tablespoons garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika*
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions: 

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Store in an air-tight container or shaker bottle in your spice cupboard.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Yield: 

7-8 cups of salsa
Ingredients: 

1 large ripe peach
1 large ripe mango
3 medium-size tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion
1/2 green, red, or yellow bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons (or more) minced fresh Jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup (or more) freshly chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions: 

1.
Peel the mango (and peach, if desired) and chop both into small chunks
(remove pits). Dice the tomato, sweet onion, and bell pepper into small
chunks.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the peach, mango, tomato, onion,
bell pepper, garlic, Jalapeno pepper, and cilantro. Add the lemon juice,
salt, and sugar and stir well to coat. Let rest at room temperature for
15 minutes for flavors to combine, or refrigerate until needed.

This salsa keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge, or can be frozen for later use!

Serve with your favorite chips, grilled chicken, grilled fish, or taco fixings! 🙂

A creamy soft cheese made from kefir or yogurt. Easy to make and a perfect substitute for sour cream, cream cheese, and more!
Yield: 

Varies
Ingredients: 

8 cups (or more) homemade kefir or homemade yogurt

Supplies needed:

Strainer
Bowl
Cheesecloth or thin dish towel
Instructions: 

1.
Place your strainer in the bowl. (Ideally the bottom of the strainer
should rest at least a few inches above the bottom of your bowl.) Line
with the cheesecloth (2 layers of 90-count cheesecloth works perfectly!)
or clean thin dish towel.

2. Pour your kefir or yogurt into the cheesecloth or towel. Allow to
grain for 15-20 minutes. Carefully and gently tie the towel ends
together to cover the kefir (or yogurt). Allow kefir to drain for an
additional 8-24 hours (can be kept out on the counter or in the fridge
while draining), until the cheese is the consistency desired.

For a sour cream consistency, I like to drain for about 8 hours. This
makes a creamy spreadable texture, perfect on tacos, beans and rice, or
spread on crackers!

For a thicker cream cheese consistency, drain for 18 hours (approximately). This is great for cheese balls or cheese spread.

Drain for 24 hours or so for a thick soft cheese copnsistency.

Add herbs if desired! Store cheese in fridge until used (keeps for several weeks).