Chocolate Syrup

We can buy chocolate syrup here, but it's pretty expensive. Enter cheap, easy, homemade chocolate syrup.

Original recipe credit: allrecipes.com

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cocoa

dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar, water, cocoa and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk constantly, until mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Store in an airtight container.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

   Found this recipe and was excited to make this since cream soups are one thing that you cannot find overseas. This turned out pretty well and wasn't a whole lot of work. If you need a cream of mushroom soup recipe, try this one out!

Original recipe credit: www.passionatehomemaking.com

Yield: 2 10-oz "cans"

18 mushrooms

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (for gluten-free, use potato starch)

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1. Take the stems off of the mushrooms, peel the "skin" off the mushrooms, and finely chop the mushrooms. (Mushroom stems gross me out. If they don't gross you out and you want to use them, you can use just 12-14 mushrooms.)

2. Heat butter and oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When butter melts, add flour or potato starch and salt, stirring to make a roux. Add mushrooms and cook 2-3 minutes or until soft (mixture will be very thick). Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly until mixture thickens (3-4 minutes after it starts to boil).

Apple (Walnut) Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Mmm. These are a great autumn breakfast recipe to add to your repertoire! When my friend Kecia posted on facebook about making these, I was quick to ask for the recipe. Here it is (with a few modifications for those of us living overseas and/or just to my personal taste). Try these NOW...you won't be disappointed!

yield: 14 pancakes and a lot of syrup (enough for 2-3 batches of pancakes)

Original recipe credit: Kecia over at Kecia's Journey

Cider Syrup:

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/8 tsp each of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon)

2 cups apple juice (use cider if you can get it)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

1. Combine sugar, corn starch, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Add apple and lemon juices; stir well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter.

Apple (Walnut) Pancakes:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

1 large apple, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional, but oh-so-yummy)

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in egg and buttermilk until well combined. Stir in grated apple. Pour by 1/3-cupfulls onto a hot griddle, flipping them when the middles begin to have small bubbles.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

For those of us who don't have access to Coffeemate and/or International Delight and their smorgasbord of holiday creamers, here's a decent alternative.

yield: 2 cups creamer

Original recipe credit: my friend Tina over at Girl Meets Globe.

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 Tbsp puréed pumpkin

4 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 3-5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.

2. Pour mixture through a fine sieve; discard remaining pumpkin pulp. Pour into an airtight glass container. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Barbecue Sauce

Ahh, the elusive quest for a good barbecue sauce recipe. We always liked Sweet Baby Ray's in the States, but here when the desire for barbecue hits I have to make my own sauce. It's taken me a few months to meld various recipes together into one that we like that can be made with things bought here. Finally, success.

yield: 3 cups

1 cup ketchup
200 grams (4/5 cup) tomato sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp apple vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp chili powder

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine ketchup, tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, and molasses. Heat until boiling; add remaining ingredients, stirring well to combine. Reduce heat to low; simmer at least 20-30 minutes or until thickened.

Homemade Salsa

I'm not from salsa-eatin' territory, so I'm not sure how good this really is, or if it's more like pico instead of salsa, but we enjoyed it. I'd never made salsa before and many of the "normal" salsa ingredients aren't available on this side of the world, so this is my first attempt. We like it.

yield: about 3 cups

3 cups finely chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine. Let sit for at least an hour to allow flavors to blend.

***If I could, I would add a bit of lime juice and maybe some cilantro. Alas, cilantro is never available in Turkey and I couldn't find any limes this time either.***

Pancake Syrup

Homemade pancake syrup, stored in an old Nutella jar. :-) I got this recipe from AllRecipes.com, and while it's extremely sweet, it's pretty good when you can't buy syrup in the store (or aren't willing to pay the equivilent of $15 for a bottle).

yield: almost 2 cups

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract

1. Combine sugar, brown sugar, and water in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and maple extracts. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Pizza Crust

yield: 1 12(ish)-inch crust

1/4 oz yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup hot (not boiling) water
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Put the yeast and sugar in a glass measuring cup. Add 4 Tbsp of the water and mix. Leave in a warm place for 15 minutes or until frothy.
2. In large bowl, mix the flour with the salt. Make a well in the center. Add the oil, remaining water, and yeast mixture. Mix to form dough. Turn out on floured surface. Knead until smooth. Return to bowl, cover with a damp hand towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30 minutes).
3. When dough is finished rising, knead for a couple of minutes. Stretch it with you hands into the shape of your pizza stone or cookie sheet. Oil the pizza stone or cookie sheet slightly. Place the dough on it, pushing the dough out until large enough. Don't let the dough be too thick: it will rise more while cooking.
4. Top with whatever you desire and bake according to pizza directions.

No-Roll Pie Crust

Superbly easy, even a crust-phobe can manage this one. The edges may not look perfect, but it tastes just great!

yield: 1 9-inch pie crust

1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cold butter
2 Tbsp shortening
4 Tbsp ice water
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400° .
2. Combine flours, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork between each addition.
3. Spray pie plate with cooking spray. Dump flour mixture into plate, pressing up the sides and then into the bottom. Pierce bottom with a fork. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Cool completely.