Ketchup

It all started with avoiding ketchup with HFCS and now we have progressed to this...

Not to toot my own horn, but it's pretty delicious. And totally sugar free.

Ketchup
4oz tomato paste
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 T dijon mustard
2 T water
1/8 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
a pinch of ground clove
1/8 t garlic powder

Optional: 1T maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a pint mason jar. Mix well. put the jar in the fridge so the flavors will marry (they like to get frisky). use on everything, hotdogs, hamburgers, meatloaf, fries, eggs, mac and cheese... (i think that last one is weird but my husband sure likes it)

This should last up to about 7 months in the fridge.

Three bean salad

I made this one day for a picnic with the fam and my husband loved it so much he requested that i make it again to bring to our friends luau the next weekend. Thankfully it was well received there too. I'm pretty sure that makes this one a keeper.

3 Bean Salad
1/2 can great northern beans (just freeze the other half of the beans)
1/2 can kidney beans
2 handfuls of green beans snapped into bite size pieces*
2 green onions (or a slice of red onion finely diced)
1/4 c cider vinegar
2 T olive oil
1T honey
1/4 t ground mustard
1/4 t garlic
salt and pepper
other spices you may like to add: a pinch of cayenne OR chopped fresh basil OR chopped fresh parsley

First saute the green bean pieces with a spritz of olive oil and some salt until they have a little color on them, about 5-8 minutes. Then in a bowl stir together all your dressing/spice ingredients. top with all three kinds of beans and toss to coat.

*I guess if it's not green bean season you could use canned and skip the saute...but canned green beans taste rubbery to me so i'll only be making this with fresh beans.

Easy scratch Mac &Cheese

I can't remember the last time I had box Mac and cheese. Growing up my mom always made a big batch from scratch and with the exception of maybe having it at a friend's house I never ate the kraft kind until my hubby and I started living together and he thought it was a staple for the pantry. We ate it for a while but I'm not sure I ever really acquired a taste for it. The best way to make real Mac and cheese is to make the cheese sauce and add it to cooked noodles, but that requires one of two things, either you use two pans or you cook the noodles then put it in a dish so you can use the same pan to make your cheese sauce to dump on top of your noodles. Since I'm working with one hand most of the time I'm getting food ready I opt for the one pot easy way.

2cups noodles (1/2lb)
2cups milk
1Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt and pepper (each)
1 tsp ground mustard (or sweet paprika)
1-1/2 to 2 cups fresh grated cheese

Mix all but the cheese in a pot and bring to a soft boil. Reduce heat to simmer and let it cook till the pasta is al dente (like 8 minutes). Stir occasionally so the noodles don't stick together. When the pasta is done turn off the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Cover and let the cheese melt.

Don't get to stuck on only using cheddar adding just a bit of other cheeses really amps up the flavor.