The Legendary Apple Cider Grilling Sauce

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If you are a salmon lover and are looking for a new way to serve it to your family, I have an amazing recipe for you today. Are you familiar with American Spoon Foods? It is sort of a foodie lovers dream. They have all sorts of jams, preservers and grilling sauces available. The only downside is the price. Our favorite item to buy was the Apple Cider Grilling Sauce, but at almost $10 a jar, the price was just not reasonable.

My mom has been perfecting her own Apple Cider Grilling Sauce copycat recipe for some time now and she has finally done it. Compared to the packaged sauce that we had bought in the past, we think our version has much more flavor and tastes amazing.

The main flavors we have are apple, spices and onions.  You may wonder why we didn't use an actual apple cider in the recipe. This is because the concentrate and the old bay seasoning provide the spices you would normally have in an apple cider, plus a little bit extra like celery seed.

One ingredient that some cooks may not have on hand is the Fox Point Seasoning made by Penzeys. If you are wondering what to sub for this, it is a mixture of freeze dried shallots, chives and scallions.

Secret Recipe Club - Orange Vinaigrette from The Tasty Cheapskate

Orange Vinaigrette over Romaine lettuce with orange slices and fresh mozzarella

It is time for my favorite foodie event, the Secret Recipe Club! The idea of it is you are assigned a fellow food blogger each month, it is kept a secret of course, and you go to their food blog and pick a recipe (or more) to make. On the assigned date, everyone posts their creations and you go and visit and see all the goodies that were made. Sort of like a secret Santa, right?

My host who is organizing my group is Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. Thank you Tina for hosting!

My assignment for this month was The Tasty Cheapskate where Jeanie blogs about frugal food recipes. While I was sorely tempted to make her recipe for Chocolate Chip Brownies, I decided to go with a delicious citrus vinaigrette instead. (I'm still making the brownies, though!)

 Here is Jeanie's recipe:

Orange Vinaigrette
Makes several servings

1/2 C sugar
1/3 C orange juice
1/2 C rice wine vinegar
1 C canola oil (olive would work too, but will add a distinct taste to your dressing; I liked the canola because it didn't get in the way of the orange)
2 Tbsp dry Italian dressing

1. Shake it up in a glass jar and let it stand for 30 minutes.

While I would have liked to add a few more veggies to my salad, I was out of stock so I kept it simple. The flavors in the vinaigrette are delicious and refreshing. Thank you Jeanie for a great recipe and a great alternative to the same ol' ranch dressing for this salad eater!

Source: Recipe from The Tasty Cheapskate

Chocolate Fry Sauce (AKA Chocolate Ketchup)

Unless you live in Hershey, PA, you probably haven't heard of Chocolate Ketchup, or as I call it, Chocolate Fry Sauce. Believe it or not, this concoction is actually a condiment that is served at the Hershey Lodge at Lebbie Lebkicher's restaurant.

I came across this oddity while browsing the archives of A'lil Country Sugar, who wrote that this ketchup is served at most restaurants in PA. I am a sucker for odd food combinations, especially when they don't require a bunch of hard to find ingredients. I like to keep it simple, the fewer ingredients the better. The only special note is that it must be Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Syrup, the regular stuff won't be as tasty.

According to the The Hershey PA Cookbook, they use a ration of 4:1 for ketchup to chocolate, but the recipe I used a 1:1 ratio that I really enjoyed. It is a a hard flavor combination to describe, but I really enjoyed a twist on the same ol' boring ketchup. Ready for the recipe?

Chai & Chocolate Chai Concentrate

I'm stressed out. Super stressed. Stressed to the max. Stress can take a serious toll on your energy, and while I am a big fan of the morning and afternoon cup of coffee, it is nice to change the routine. A delicious alternative is to take a mug of black tea and add a spoonful (or two) of this chai concentrate.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter

Brace yourself. This is some seriously good eating. White Chocolate Peanut Butter and homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam. Easily the best PB&J I've ever had, and I'm willing to bed the best you've ever had too.

I mean, just look at the deliciousness. Are you ready to make some? Good because it is super simple.

Homemade Maple Syrup

At my place there are a lot of nights where breakfast becomes dinner. Between having breakfast for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner, we tend to go through a lot of maple syrup. I wanted to try out a homemade syrup recipe, just a basic Maple to start. It turned out great and it was very simple to make.

No candy thermometers necessary, just stir continuously and pay attention to how it looks while it is boiling and it is as simple as that. It is cheap to make and you know exactly what ingredients are going into it. It is thinner than commercial syrups because it doesn't have corn syrup, but that is a good thing.

This recipe lends itself well to adding other flavorings, like raspberry or orange extracts. Onto the recipe!

Cranberry Butter

Cranberry Butter

Take 1 stick of softened butter and 1/2 cup cranberry sauce. Combine and store in the fridge for up to a week or so. Serve with crusty french bread or English muffins.

Recipe from Martha Stewart