Sauce

From Garden to InstantPot: My Two-Day Pepper Dehydrating Journey

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I picked a batch of jalapeño, habanero, and cayenne peppers from my garden and decided to dehydrate them in my Instant Pot so they wouldn’t go to waste. 🌶️ It was my first time trying it with whole peppers, and I was curious to see how it would turn out.

The Instant Pot automatically sets the dehydrator to 125º for 7 hours, so I loaded all the peppers in together and let it run. When the timer finally beeped, the cayenne peppers were perfectly dried — crisp and ready to store. But the jalapeños and habaneros were still soft and far from done.

So, I reset the dehydrator and ran another cycle. And then another. It ended up taking two long days before the jalapeños and habaneros finally reached that perfect dry snap. The whole house smelled amazing — smoky, spicy, and earthy all at once.

It was definitely a slow process, but totally worth the patience. Now I’ve got a container of homegrown heat ready to crush or grind whenever I want to add some fire to my cooking. Nothing beats preserving your own peppers straight from the garden. 🔥

From Garden to Table: Fresh Basil Pesto

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Back in June, I planted basil, not realizing just how well it would thrive over the summer here in Maryland. Between the warm days and all the summer rain we get, my basil practically took off on its own. Before long, I had a lush, green supply ready for harvesting. There’s something special about stepping outside, picking fresh herbs, and bringing them straight into the kitchen.

This week, I decided to put that abundance of basil to good use by making a classic Pesto alla Genovese. It’s fresh, vibrant, and simple to make, with ingredients that blend together beautifully. Perfect for pasta, sandwiches, or even as a dip.

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Fresh Basil Pesto

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My husband grew an abundance of basil (in our greenhouse) this year. I had to harvest the last of the basil before it turned to seed. Not wanting to waste the beautiful basil leaves, I made Pesto of course!!

Now I am being on the cheap because Olive Oil and Pine Nuts are ridiculously expensive, and even at Costco. So I bought almonds and a Kirkland brand Mediterranean Blend Oil (a blend of Canola, Olive and Grape Seed Oil).

It tasted wonderful with the modifications and would so use them again!

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Gluten Free Beer Batter Fish with Tartar Sauce

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Since I fried up the yams the other night I didn’t want to waste the oil so I decided to make Beer battered Fish AND onion rings! And boy were they oh to yummy!! So glad I did!
But if you have fried fish you totally want something to dip and Tartar sauce is a great dipper for your fried fish. My husband isn’t into Tartar sauce but her tried it nevertheless and said he really liked what I made and actually dipped his fish with every bite!
 Gluten Free Beer Batter Fish with Tartar Sauce

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Mild Curry Seasoning Rub

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I wanted a nice salad for dinner last night. Basically I wanted something light and not so heavy for a meal and a salad sounded great for what I wanted. Of course I added shrimp and wanted a nice kick so I made a curry rub to season the shrimp with. Yep, my salad was perfect and the kids said they LOVED it as well!

Curry Shrimp Salad

Anyhow, all you want to do is sprinkle this rub onto shrimp, chicken or pork five minutes before grilling or sauteing to maximize your flavors and then go from there!!

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Gluten Free Fusilli with seasoned beef and alfredo sauce

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Tonight I wanted to keep it simple and pasta seemed an easy bet. I was at the Grocery Outlet awhile back and they were selling Gluten Free pasta that I decided to try.

They had Explore Asian’s Organic Thai Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli. I couldn’t resist and grabbed a bag to eventually try. Tonight was the night! It is simply made from Organic Thai Brown Rice, Organic Tapioca Flour and water.

It was very tasty to say the least and went well with the seasoned beef and alfredo sauce!

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Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

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When I was making my Gluten Free No-bake Peanut Butter Oreo Pie I wanted to make my own homemade fudge sauce to use in the recipe instead of buying a jar at the store.

So I got out a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk to get started.

This recipe is wonderful in recipes, drizzled over ice cream, fruit, pie whatever you want it for!

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Gluten Free Homemade Beef Gravy

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Here is a very simple recipe to make a great tasting beef gravy. You can use it over Steaks & mashed potatoes, Loco Mocos OR whatever you love gravy on!!

And if you want to jazz it up… you can sautée fresh mushrooms and add to the gravy and serve over breaded cube steaks or even a juicy ribeye… there are endless ways to use this wonderful gravy!!

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Gluten Free Homemade Beef Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons Beef Base (I like Better Than Bouillon)
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 Cup Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot or Cornstarch

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl dissolve Beef Base into Water. Set aside.
  2. Next melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add Arrowroot and whisk together, making sure to get all visible lumps out.
  3. Turn heat to low and SLOWLY add broth, stirring constantly.
  4. Turn heat back up to medium and continue stirring until gravy boils and thickens.

Gluten Free Alfredo Sauce

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My family isn’t really into traditional tomato pasta sauce… we love Alfredo Sauce. Tonight I threw together what I had in the fridge and every person at my table raved and my youngest even had 2 helpings of pasta… this is a kid who HATES pasta night. So I will take that as I did really well.

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Steak seasoning

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I have been on a kick of making my own rubs lately. I think the reason being is that my husband is so sensitive to MSG and Sodium Nitrates. But many people don’t realize that when they read the ingredients list and see Celery salt or Celery Juice or anything celery for that matter that in HIGH concentrations Celery acts exactly the same as MSG. And that unfortunately is how companies can market their products MSG free.

Anyhow, we learned the hard way and now it is easier to make my own rubs and seasonings than it is to buy packets at the store.

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