I do love me some mold - er, on my cheese that is. As long as it's not in my husbands dirty socks - or found behind my child's bed, I'm good.

Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, the list goes on - I could be happy with any of these. I ran across this container of Gorgonzola cheese at the store the other day, and I knew I had to grab it. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I finally decided on whipping it up into a creamy salad dressing.

Fresh, crunchy greens can only get better under a creamy layer of Gorgonzola deliciousness, right? I experimented on amounts, adding a little of this and a little of that, and finally ended up with this dressing. It's pretty tasty if I do say so myself. 



In a small bowl mash the gorgonzola cheese with the back of a spoon. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Whisk until well combined. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Now pop it in the fridge overnight for the flavors to marry together. Serve over your favorite salad or have a veggie dipping palooza. Enjoy!

When I was a girl I used to love listening to my grandma tell me stories of her childhood. Being one of a dozen children and raised on a farm, you can imagine the stories she had to tell. Certain recipes go hand in hand with memories of my grandma. Fried mushrooms, grape sorbet, and red hot cinnamon applesauce.

Yep, putting red hot candies in a bowl full of fresh, delicious applesauce is something that will always remind me of my grandma. When I visited my in-laws this past Christmas, my mother-in-law had a jar of homemade apple butter that one of her friends had made. I love a nice big glob of apple butter the same as anyone, but this apple butter was special.

Why? I could tell this apple butter had red hots in it. There was a hint of a little something extra that the average person might miss, but my red-hot trained taste buds picked up the trail like a red-hot loving blood-hound.

So with Valentines Day approaching, I decided to start experimenting in the kitchen and see if I couldn't come up with a delicious red-hot inspired apple butter. I love how this turned out.  I used a combination of apples to boost the flavor, and a little cider vinegar to give it a great kick. The red hots really do make it just a tad more drool-worthy. This apple butter is great slathered on a piece of toast and even better whipped up in a batch of this Apple Butter Bread with Cinnamon Glaze. Mmmm.

I poured some into mini mason jars and packaged them up all purdy for V-day. Who wouldn't want a jar of this red-hot deliciousness for Valentines Day? I plan to give some away as gifts - that's the plan anyway - and if a few jars happen to find their way hidden in the back of my pantry, you won't tell...will you?


Red Hot Apple Butter
Yield: 4 jars   Printable Recipe

5 lbs sweet red cooking apples (peeled and cored)
2 1/2 cups water or apple juice
2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup red hot candies
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 (1/2 pint) canning jars

Peel and core your apples. Place the apples, water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and red hots in your slow cooker or a large heavy bottom pot.

Cook on high for 2 hours, until
apples soften. Puree the apples until smooth. I like to use my immersion blender for easy, mess free blending. Add the 2 tbsp of cider vinegar and cook on low for another 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally until mixture becomes thick and turns dark brown.


Depending on how sweet your apples are, you may need to use more or less sugar. The general rule is 1/2 cup sugar for every 1 cup of apple sauce. If your apple butter becomes thicker than you'd like, add a little water or apple juice to thin it out as desired.

Yesterday I decided to throw some things together and see how a homemade enchilada sauce would turn out. Let me tell you - I will never buy the canned sauce again! This is so easy to get started in the morning, and when it's done you have a delicious smoky and spicy enchilada sauce that will give you the best enchiladas ever. I love using it in my Cheesy Chipotle Chicken Enchildas. Yum!

This recipe makes quite a bit, so you can get two meals out of it or freeze the leftovers for dinner another night.

Homemade Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
Yield: 5 cups   Printable Recipes

16-oz chicken broth
32-oz fire roasted tomatoes
2 onions, diced
5 cloves garlic
4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (seeds removed)
2 tbsp adobo sauce (from the the can of peppers)
1 1/2 tbs cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
pinch of sugar

Slice open the chipotle peppers and remove the seeds. Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, chilli powder, salt, sugar and chicken broth in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. Remove the chipotle peppers, then  using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. You can also use your blender to puree the sauce.  Now get ready for the best enchiladas ever! Store the sauce in glass mason jars in the fridge. Can be kept in the fridge up to 2 weeks, or will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Recipe Note: This sauce is a little spicy, so if you want to tame it down for little mouths, reduce the amount of chipotle peppers and adobo sauce you use. 




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There is nothing better, in my humble opinion, than a plate full of creamy pasta. Marinara is a great sauce, but there’s something so deliciously sinful about Alfredo that I gleefully shove my guilt down deep. When I eat Alfredo, I tell myself I’ll worry about my hips tomorrow.

While I sit here and wax poetic about Alfredo sauce, I have a confession to make. I never make it at home. Maybe because, until now, I’ve never found a recipe that was as simple and delicious as this one from Tasty Kitchen. When I came across this recipe for Garlic Alfredo Sauce, I was immediately intrigued. With cream cheese, garlic and just a few other simple ingredients, this was definitely my kind of recipe.

This sauce is so creamy and rich, you’ll be eating spoonfuls before you even get to slather your pasta with it. I’m glad to say this Alfredo sauce will be a staple at my house from now on.

For the recipe, see my Tasty Kitchen guest post here.

Have you ever had a recipe that makes you do things. Weird things – like finding excuses to wander into the kitchen, just so you can sneak into the fridge and quickly dip your finger in some barbeque sauce.

I don’t usually make a habit of sticking my appendages into condiments, but this barbeque sauce is creating bad habits in me. Its smokey, sweet goodness keeps  calling to me, making me wonder at the possibilities it creates.

Grilled barbeque chicken, ribs, pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, the possibilities are endless. This sauce will make you wish summer was already here, just so you can
whip out the charcoal and grill up something to slather this stuff on.

Or you could just eat it off your fingers – like me.

Amazing Barbeque Sauce
(prep: 10 min; cook: 20 min; yield: 2 cups)

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
• 2 tsp. hickory-flavored liquid smoke
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. celery seed
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke, and butter. 

2. Add the garlic powder, fresh garlic, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

3. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  For a thicker sauce simmer the full time, and if you prefer a thinner sauce, less time is needed.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Tip: This sauce tastes very vinegary while cooking, don't worry though, make sure you allow the sauce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes, and it will mellow out and develop a really great depth of flavor. Of course, if you like your sauce tangy, then simmer for less time to suit your own tastes:)

This barbeque sauce is great as a final glaze to grilled meat. For pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches, just add a little water to thin the sauce out a bit. Enjoy!