I seem to be pretty easy to please on the food front. Usually when someone asks me, "how's your meal," I respond with an enthusiastic head nod, a full-faced smile, and an "it's really great!"

But I have a secret. In most cases the food is great, but I know it would be 10x GREATER with a few shakes of hot sauce.

I consider myself a hot sauce habitué, a fiery fiend and a spicy specialist. I like them all — Frank's Red Hot, Tabasco, Cholula, Pete's, Louisiana, Sriracha, Valentina, even the international ones with names I can't pronounce. Every flavor is unique and I'm always looking for an excuse to try a new sauce, which means I'll splash the spicy stuff on anything.

Though there have been mistakes — brownies drizzled with Frank's was not the Mexican-chocolate-inspired dream dessert that I'd envisioned — I'm a firm believer that adding hot sauce drastically improves any dining experience. Plus, hot sauce has, like, no calories. Sprinkle it on salad and you've got a no-cal dressing that will make you totally forget you're eating rabbit food. It even can improve lesser condiments out there — I'm looking at you, mayo. I normally refuse to allow mayonnaise anywhere near my food , but I'll slather chipotle mayo all over a chicken sandwich.

So join me in my quest to hot sauc-ify every food on the planet, and check out these 18 foods that can definitely be improved with a splash of the good stuff. Spoiler: the buffalo macaroni and cheese is my fave.

preview for 18 Things To Add Hot Sauce To

I'm sure those are tears of joy making your eyes water like that ...

Related links:

Make Your Own Hot Sauce at Home

17 Ways To Spice Up Your Chicken Dinner

The Spiciest Fast Food Menu Items Ranked