Recipes for you

You know me...I'm a bit of a health nut. I make most everything from scratch, not only because it's more economical, but because we can avoid all those yucky ingredients like soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup. I wanted to share 3 recipes with you. They are so easy to make and super yummy too.

BBQ Sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan:
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. celery seed
1/4 c. brown sugar (I use honey)
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. ketchup (I use Trader Joe's organic ketchup)
2 c. water
Stir and bring to a boil.
Voila - use as a baste on your steak, chicken or anything you plan to grill this summer.

Creamy Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. lemon juice (I use fresh lemons from Costco and juice them)
1/4 c. mayonnaise (I use Trader Joe's mayonnaise - there is NO soy in it!)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. olive oil (Trader Joe's extra virgin cold pressed)
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined. Store in a glass bottle in the frig.
This is a wonderful dressing on top of spinach leaves with sliced strawberries and slivered almonds.

Caesar Dressing
4 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese (either fresh grated from a brick or just from the can)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Whisk all together until smooth.
My foodie friend from California gave me this fabulous salad dressing recipe!
Often when I have to make a Costco run (which for me is a 3 hour errand, since we live close to nothing!) I pick up their rotisserie chicken, their romaine lettuce heads, and seasoned croutons.
Use this Caesar dressing on top and you have a winning chicken Caesar salad. Be sure to save the chicken bones in a Ziploc bag and boil them at a later time - makes an awesome chicken broth! - and then you are 1 step ahead on another meal.)