Baker's Theory

Hot Turkey Sandwiches

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The other day, my husband was describing one of his college volunteer trips and dropped the phrase “hot turkey sandwich,” and I don’t think I could tell you what he said after that. I was fixated. 

Hot turkey sandwiches. Doesn’t that just sound amazing? It evokes memories of the State Fair, the Kentucky Derby, family barbecues, and lunch by the beach. So juicy and delicious.

Where to buy just turkey breast

Trader Joe’s. I don’t know anywhere else that sells regular ol’ turkey breast that doesn’t also include (a) an entire bird, (b) lunchmeat, or (c) meatballs. I bet you could find it at Whole Foods, but you’d probably have to fork over your Whole Paycheck for it. 

You can of course use chicken breast, too, though you’ll need more filets of it. Turkey breasts are BIG. We used about 2 pounds of turkey breast (8-9 servings), and they’re about a pound each. 

By the way, Dutch Crunch Bistro Blend chips are the bee’s knees. And these red grapes were so ripe they were ready to burst.

I thought about making this turkey sammy next level by making gravy to go on top, but that was more work than I was willing to perform. I settled for adding a bit of cream to the shredded turkey and wowweee. 

On a whim, raspberry jam and mustard made up the condiments and it was SO yummy!

Hope you enjoy the heck out of these hot turkey sandwiches. Jim has already requested the recipe be placed in The Arsenal. 

Hot Turkey Sandwiches

Like the State Fair or the Kentucky Derby. Hot, shredded turkey breast with a little touch of cream. It's basically the lunch of your dreams. It's also super simple. One of those throw-it-in-the-pot-and-walk-away recipes.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 315 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs Turkey breast
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tsp 21 Salute Seasoning Trader Joe's
  • 1 tsp Sea salt
  • ¼ tsp Black pepper
  • 1 tsp Better than Bullion chicken base
  • 1 cup Water
  • ½ Onion
  • 3 tbsp Heavy cream
  • 8 Hamburger buns
  • Mustard, cranberry jelly, Muenster cheese or other toppings

Instructions
 

  • Add oil to a medium pot on medium flame. Add to it the turkey breasts, then sprinkle the 21 Salute seasoning, salt, and pepper over the turkey. Place the onion half on top of the spices. Last, add the chicken base and water and cover. Bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmering for 3-4 hours.
  • Shred the turkey with two forks. Stir in cream.
  • Place oven rack 3-4" under broiler and then turn on the broiler. Butter buns and place face-side up on a pan. Place under the broiler for 3 minutes until golden. Use tongs to serve turkey on the buns. Top with mustard, cranberry jelly, and cheese, if desired.

Comforting Chicken & Rice

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Sometimes I just don’t want to make a huge fuss about cooking. Of course, I love to be in the kitchen, but some days I’d rather throw something together and quickly get back to reading my book. And to make myself even more particular, I care strongly that the low maintenance meal I throw together be delicious. And probably nutritious. 

It can be a challenge to locate foods that combine fast, yummy, and healthy. Usually one of the three have to give. That’s when I go back to the classics. 

This chicken and rice with broccoli isn’t fancy and it doesn’t photograph as prettily as fresh ravioli! But gosh, it hits the spot. 

It takes a little foresight, so I suppose that’s where the fast has to give, but it really is as simple as throwing stuff in a pot and leaving it for an hour so you can get back to your page turner. 

If you’re a calorie counter (yes, I have become one… *sigh*) this makes enough for six and each serving is under 350 calories. AND you’re getting 30 grams of protein! Don’t be fooled by the low-cal content, either. This stuff is filling. Rib sticking comfort food, people. 

We’ve been on a big cauliflower and broccoli kick lately, but really, any vegetable you like will work. Peas would probably be good and really up the protein game. 

This makes for such a great lunch, and I love that it all comes together in ONE POT. Those recipes are always the best because Jim doesn’t have to do as many dishes 😉 

Chicken and Rice for the Soul

Alex
It's one pot of delicious 'n' nutritious. It's also exceptionally comforting and HEALTHY. Really low maintenance and only requires about 10 minutes of active attention.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 345 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb Chicken Breast
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1½ tsp Kosher salt divided
  • ¼ tsp Black pepper
  • ½ tsp Garlic powder
  • ½ tsp Onion powder
  • 1 tsp Dried parsley
  • 1 cup Jasmine rice uncooked
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 4 cups Broccoli
  • 1 cup Milk
  • ¼ cup Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Drizzle olive oil in. a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add chicken, 1 cup of water, and 1 tsp of kosher salt, the black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and cover. Cook for 1 hour.
  • Remove chicken from pot, leaving remaining liquid in the pot. Pour in rice and another cup of water. Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, or until fully cooked. While rice is cooking, shred chicken in a bowl.
  • Add shredded chicken back to pot with the rice. Add in broccoli, milk, and cheese. Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until broccoli is fully cooked. Enjoy!

5 Favorite Things

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#5: Food, glorious food

Yesterday was a high point for me cooking-wise. We ate like kings and queens. I think I significantly went over my allotted calories for the day but I really could not care less. Jim and Joe like to playfully kid that they are victims of too much good food, but I think they were just content to sit back and enjoy it yesterday.

The morning started with vanilla french toast, which we are healthfully obsessed with these days. Texas toast, a whole tablespoon of vanilla, and lots of whipped cream…oof. It’s a crispy, syrupy, sticky mess and it’s my new favorite thing.

Honestly, I was never huge on the idea of french toast growing up, but when I had a strange and sudden urge to whip some up the other day, I could not have been more pleased with the result. 

I bought an entire loaf of challah bread and plan on making a lot more this week until I’ve exhausted the recipes.

My husband, Jim, used to serve in an organization called STLF. It’s a group of college kids that drives around the country performing volunteer work for places in need. He often regales stories from these trips, and as he was doing so recently, he brought up that they had hot turkey sandwiches. Oh, those got me thinking.

And thus it became our Saturday lunch. Gosh, they were good. And those orange-y looking chips? Those are Dutch Crunch Bistro Blend and they are actually my #6 favorite thing. 

We buttered and toasted the buns, slathered them with Düsseldorf mustard, and just inhaled these. I’ll post the recipe for them soon, but rest assured it’s extremely easy.

Dinner was also very special. I picked up a few CHOICE filet mignon steaks at Trader Joe’s and grilled them on my cast iron skillet with butter and McCormick’s Montreal steak seasoning. It seems so fancy, with the French name and the snobby air of lean, coveted red meat, but nothing could be easier than making filet mignon. I’ll post how I made it later this week and you’ll laugh at how easy it is. 

Of course, what day is complete without dessert? My husband Jim loves all things Oreo-peanut butter-chocolate-whipped cream. So I thought I’d whip something up to that tune. After all, the day was a no-hitter game and I had to close with my last good pitcher. 

I went back to my chocolate cream pie recipe that I picked up from the New York Times, but then I changed a few things to make it more Reeses cup-like. 

This ended our evening and sent us into peaceful food comas while we watched the new Disney+ Mighty Ducks season (which we highly recommend). 

#4: Books! Books! Books!

I had a rather silly spell of book depression for a month or two. I was getting worried I’d never find a great book ever again after reading Little Bee. Every book I picked up, I’d put down after a few pages in, annoyed with the plot or writing style. 

But then! Jane lent me The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. A week after starting it, I found myself sobbing at 11:30 p.m., eagerly turning the pages for more tear jerking. Jane seriously reads the best books. They’re they kind that rip your heart out of your chest and leave you with a terrible case of ennui afterwards, but wow, they’re good.

To get over the heartbreak, I started another book right after The Things We Cannot Say at the recommendation of my lovely friend, Morgan, who is extremely cool and owns a guacamole T-shirt. Clearly, the girl has good taste. It was a Jodi Picoult novel called Plain Truth, and it’s a murder mystery that takes place on an Amish farm. 

I started Plain Truth on Tuesday this week and finished it Friday night. Holy bananas. The book wouldn’t allow itself to be put it down. It is seriously impressive how much research Jodi Picoult puts in for her books. There was so much information about Amish life she wove in there that is absolutely fascinating. 

So yesterday, Jim and I headed to the library for more. I went with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Had to switch to non-fiction or my blog would start to suffer. There is no better distraction than a delicious fiction novel. 

#3: Pedicures and Cocktails

My mom has a phrase that makes its annual debut around this time of year. “Open toe shoe season.” It’s a classic Rita line. My mom is a revered shoe huntress, like an Amazon warrior of Marshall Fields and DSW. She taught me every thing I know, of course, including how to dress and groom myself. 

Open toe shoe season is just that. It’s the warmer season where you get to wear shoes that show off your toes! You know–wedges, heels, peep toes, sandals, and flip flops! All the things you stuffed away like precious acorns when fall arrived. 

So with the weather turning and schedules happening to align just so, my girlfriend Maddie and I headed out over the weekend to have some girl time! We got our toes done up and then headed to our favorite local kitchen for crafty libations and fun girl talk. 

She got a Q’s for Cucumber (cucumber juice, cucumber vodka, ginger ale, and candied orange) and I got a classic G&T. Not only did we have a blast, we also gathered lots of inspiration for how to make cocktails look very cute and Instagram-able. I’ve got lots of ideas for Easter Bruch stewing in my head!

#2: Easter Eggs!!

When I was a little girl, my mom would buy me a beautiful dress every year for Easter. We would go to Sunday Mass together, all dolled up. After, we would drive to the city to visit my grandparents who would put on an Easter egg hunt just for me! 

My grandpa would dye the eggs a beautiful hot pink and roll them in glitter. Then he would hide them all over their small garden in the back of the house, ready for me to hunt. I can still picture those lovely pink, sparkly eggs sliding from my hands into a little basket. 

I love to dye Easter eggs every year, and they always make me think of my grandparents. In fact, hard boiled eggs are one of the foods my family lightheartedly associates with my grandmother because she notoriously snuck them on flights to the Philippines as snacks. Grandmas are always pulling snacks out of their bags. 

By contrast, Jim and his family are not huge on them–too “cold and slimy” is the phrase I always hear. But I just love them. Maybe it’s my grandma coming out in me, but they are the perfect little snack or appetizer in deviled eggs. 

#1: Easter Candy!

The other great thing about Easter? Candy. Without a doubt, Easter candy is ten times better than Halloween candy. Whoppers, Starburst-flavored jelly beans, chocolate eggs filled with caramel and truffles! Peeps! Cadbury eggs?!

We have a fantastic little chocolate shop near our house that makes chocolate bars into molds of the Last Supper, lambs, crosses, and bunnies. (I’m still confused what rabbits have to do with Easter, but Godiva chocolate bunnies are reason enough for me to not question things.)

Despite being older now, my mom still makes me an Easter basket every year using the same basket she used when I was little. Whether it’s FedEx-ed to the front door or hidden in the dryer of my childhood home, the Easter bunny treats me without fail. 

Though my tastes have shifted from jelly beans to hair products–and believe me, the Easter bunny has taken notice–my mom’s Easter basket makes me feel like a giddy little kid all over again. 

Like this post? Here are more like it.

Vanilla French Toast

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Maybe this happens to you, too. Suddenly, I’ll get a craving, and I just can’t seem to move off it until I finally eat it. Even then, I might have a brief obsession where several days or weeks in a row, I will be fixated on a food where I’ll need to learn everything about it. 

That’s what happened with le french toast. Jim will lightheartedly make fun of me because he knows I do this. I’ll claim I don’t like something, and then out of the blue one day, I’ll suggest we make it. It’ll just feel right to me–like margaritas on Cinco de Mayo, despite my tequila aversion.

Wednesday after work I decided to go for a long run. Now historically, I have never liked the idea of french toast. Yet earlier in the day I had expressed a bizarre french toast craving to Jim and Joe, and so we planned to make it for dinner. Breakfast for dinner! My favorite!

When I returned from my run, one of my girlfriends, Lauren, stopped by to drop off a few things and catch up. Time got away from me, and by the time I had washed up it was already just past dinner time. I came down the stairs and to my delight, there was Jim and Joe, constructing dinner. I couldn’t have been more proud. 

When I sank my teeth into Jim and Joe’s vanilla french toast, I wondered what could possibly have possessed me to avoid such a delectable brunch item all these years. I am the Queen of Brunch! How did I miss this? 

Not letting this one ever slip away, I demanded the recipe and we made it again Saturday morning. Later on Saturday I bought a loaf of challah and plan on making a lot more french toast in the upcoming days. Obviously, I have to “research” more on this new craze of mine and try out all kinds of recipes!

It’s definitely strange, but I am glad I have these sudden, uncharacteristic cravings. They certainly paid off this time and I have a new breakfast favorite. Lesson learned: listen to my gut! 

Vanilla French Toast

Food Network
Simple, elegant, classic, and the stuff Sunday brunch dreams are made of. So crisp and soft at the same time!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 3
Calories 360 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Eggs
  • ½ cup Milk
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 6 slices Texas toast
  • Whipped cream, maple syrup, and berries for topping

Instructions
 

  • Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon.
  • Heat a large skillet on medium flame with 1 tbsp of butter.
  • Dredge three slices of bread in the egg mixture and arrange in the skillet. Fry 1-2 minutes per side. Repeat for remaining three slices.
  • Serve with syrup, whipped cream, and berries.

Love Breakfast? Me too. Try these...

Nothing Fancy Tuna Sammy

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Another Friday of Lent. One more to go before Easter! Gosh, I am so excited for Easter. Chocolate bunnies, a pretty spring dress, (Jim looking dapper in something pastel…) brunch, and lots of family. ‘Til then, we keep chugging along through Lent. 

Our go-to lunch during Fridays of Lent is often a tuna sandwich, or, as Jim calls it, a tuna fish samwich. Jim says things so Minnesotan some times, I have no idea what he’s saying. Good thing we Chicagoans speak proper English. 

Side note

I have started falling into a rhythm of posting. I do most of my cooking and photography during the weekend and then schedule the posts for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. This is not quite sensical because all the research points to Wednesday and Thursday being the best days to post. But if that’s the case, then everyone else would be doing that, too, increasing the competition! Guess I’m casting my net for the smaller fish!

I also like taking Wednesday and Thursday off since that’s knee deep into the week! It gives me time to binge read books and hang out with Jim! Now that it’s spring, we need to go on walks and be outside. Anyway, back to the tuna!

If you don't like canned tuna...

This tuna sandwich recipe works just as easily with shredded or cubed chicken if you don’t like canned tuna. Egg salad is also made the same way–just two hardboiled eggs instead of a can of tuna.

It also works with leftover grilled tuna, and I have to say, that’s truly the best way to have it. But for the easy, lazy, weekend-on-the-mind mentality, just looking for quick, delicious sustenance, canned is the quick fix. 

Pro tip: cut your sandwiches on on a diagonal. It makes it *so* much easier to eat. 

Also, if you haven’t tried Dutch Crunch Bistro Blend chips, they are SUPERB with this or any sandwich or just on their own. Man, I really need to learn how to get companies to pay me to say things like that. 

Hope you have a happy Friday with beautiful spring weather! 

Nothing Fancy Tuna Sammy

Alex
Quick and easy go-to sandwich for lunch! Next to a pickle and a sky-high pile of bistro chips, that plate is looking mighty fine. Just need canned tuna, mayo, mustard, parmesan, S&P, red onion, and your toasty bread of choice.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 2
Calories 375 kcal

Equipment

  • Toaster

Ingredients
  

  • 1 5 oz can Tuna drained
  • 1 tbsp Red onion minced
  • ¼ tsp Garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp Grated Parmesan
  • 2 tbsp Mayonnaise can sub Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp Dusseldorf mustard
  • 1 tsp Fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp each Salt and pepper
  • 6 Cherry tomatoes halved
  • 4 slices Bread toasted

Instructions
 

  • Drain the tuna and place in a medium sized bowl. With a rubber spatula or spoon, combine tuna with red onion, garlic powder, parmesan, mayo, mustard, lemon, salt and pepper.
  • Toast bread slices. Divide tuna over two slices equally and top with tomatoes. Cover with remaining two slices. Enjoy!

Notes

This is the best recipe if you have leftover grilled tuna steaks. Just shred them with a fork and prepare the same way. The same goes for leftover grilled chicken!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

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I have a major baking confession. Try not to be judge-y-wudge-y about it, okay? K. 

I don’t like pie.

I know, as a person with a baking blog, I should appreciate that pie is one of the quintessential pillars of baking, but I have never been huge on it. The crust was always sort of boring, and it was my opinion that I’d rather have my carbs in a cake or brownie!

But that all changed when Jane made this pie for Pie Day. Holy. Chocolate. Pecans. (Puh-kahns? Pea-canz? Paula Deen?) There’s a caramel layer, a chocolate layer, and the light, crisp pecan layer on top. And all the delicious caramel gooey-ness grabs onto the crust! 

It’s sinfully delicious. It’s also extremely simple to make.

FYI–I don’t think anyone sells chocolate chunks anymore. They’re kind of a hot commodity. I found these at Trader Joe’s but they definitely had some bloom on them, which doesn’t affect the taste, but it kind of annoys me that the moisture in the chocolate chunk machine is too high. #foodsciencesnob Anyway. Chocolate chips work just as well!

K. So this a really simple recipe. Pie crust, chocolate chunks (or chips), sugar, corn syrup, butter, eggs, vanilla, and pecans. It seriously whips up in five minutes and then it’s in the oven for an hour. We’re talking minimal work here for maximum gain. It’s pie economics. 

As I mentioned, I don’t even like pie. But this pie? THIS PIE?! This pie is one of my top ten favorite desserts of all time. The textures are AMAZING. Gooey. Chunky. Crisp. It’s absolute heaven. I have allowed myself a half slice every night. (Apparently pecan pie is the most high calorie food ever.)

Almost all of the recipes I discover are from my incredible mother-in-law, Jane, torn out of a magazine and filed among her carefully curated collection of desserts recipes! Every Sunday night dinner at her house is a great waiting game for the dessert she presents. After trying her pie last Sunday, I came home and just had to recreate it the next day. 

The Flakes are just full of talent. Jim’s dad is an exceptional craftsman, interested in all kinds of buildings, tools, and technologies. Whenever there’s pie, he will insist we invent this pie contraption that–actually, that’s all I should say about it. He’s probably got a patent pending. 😉 

I hope you enjoy the recipe! Please let me know how it works out for you! I love to see and receive feedback!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

My awesome mother-in-law, Jane! (And Nestle Tollhouse.)
Three different, delicious layers of pie: the gooey caramel, the chocolate chunks, and the light pecans.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Pie crust thaw Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 634 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Pie crust thawed
  • ½ cup Chocolate chunks
  • 4 tbsp Salted butter cut into pieces
  • 1 cup Light corn syrup
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 cup Pecan halves roughly chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
  • Place pie crust in 9" pie pan and trim the edges with a knife so that it fits along the edges of the pie pan.
  • Sprinkle chocolate chunks over the pie crust
  • In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt butter.
  • Add to the melted butter the corn syrup, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir with a whisk until well combined. Then stir in pecans.
  • Pour the pecan mixture over the chocolate chunks.
  • Bake for 50 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours. Then chill until ready to serve.
Keyword Chocolate pecan pie

Broccolini Orecchiette

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A Vegetable-based pasta sauce!

Fun fact: orecchiette means “little ears” in Italian. I learned that from Giada de Laurentis back in her Everyday Italian days. I came up with this recipe as a combination of a Giada recipe I made a lifetime ago and a long-cooked broccoli rabe recipe I read about in my Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat book by Samin Nosrat. 

Long-cooked vegetables are basically over-sauteed so they’re very tender and can break down into something saucy. Broccoli and broccolini work really well for this application, but really, any vegetable lying around in the vegetable drawer would probably work. 

Ingredient Breakdown

Here’s what ya need…an onion, thinly sliced, garlic, 8 oz broccolini, EVOO and/or butter, 6 slices of prosciutto or bacon, grated Parmesan, a pound of pasta, and some croutons. I think Giada originally toasted her breadcrumbs, but there are enough pots and pans going on here. Crushing croutons is a fine substitute for getting out a frying pan to toast breadcrumbs. 

Reserving the pasta water is important to do! This is the water the pasta has cooked in and has lended some sticky starchiness to, so it helps thicken the sauce. Make sure to reserve a cup before you drain the noodles! 

Cook the onions in butter or EVOO for 20 minutes in a frying pan. Add the garlic and broccolini and cook another 20 minutes. Somewhere in that time boil water and make the pasta, and before draining it, save a cup of the pasta water to add to the vegetables and let the sauce thicken. Also bake the prosciutto for 10 minutes so it’s crisp. Toss the pasta in the vegetables with torn prosciutto, and top with cheese and crushed croutons.

I’ve been counting my macros this past week to get a check on my nutrition. The general aim is to get 50% of your calories from carbs, 30% from fat, and 20% from protein. This orecchiette comes pretty close to those percentages, but you could get it even closer by adding chicken, steak, or shrimp! 

I love classic sauces like tomato or cream based ones, but a vegetable-based pasta sauce is probably a little more virtuous… This one happens to also be delicious AND heartily Jim-approved, so you know it’s good! 

Broccolini Orecchiette

A pretty healthy pasta dinner! It's about 60% carbs, 25% fat, and 15% protein, but you could definitely add more protein like chicken or shrimp!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 6
Calories 438 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium Onion sliced thinly
  • ¼ tsp Sea salt
  • ½ tsp Sugar
  • 4 cloves Garlic Minced
  • 1 tbsp Salted butter
  • 8 oz Broccolini heads trimmed and stems chopped
  • ¼ tsp Sea salt
  • 1 lb Orecchiette pasta, dry
  • ½ cup Pasta water reserved
  • ⅓ cup Grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
  • 16 Croutons crushed
  • 6 slices Prosciutto

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  • In a large skillet on medium flame, heat extra virgin olive oil until shimmering. Add to it the thinly sliced onions, salt, and sugar, and cook down until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • While the onions are cooking, start a large pot of water with a palmful of kosher salt, about 1-2 tbsp and bring to a boil. Add orecchiette and cook until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Reserve a half cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. Return orecchiette to the pot.
  • Move the onions to the side of the pan. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in the pan, and when hot, add the garlic to it. Stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Then add the garlic to the onions to combine. Add all of the broccolini to the pan, stirring to combine. Add pasta water to the pan. Cook another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Arrange the prosciutto slices on the baking pan. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, until lightly crisp.
  • Add the Parmesan and broccolini mix to the orecchiette. Break apart pieces of the prosciutto and add it to the orecchiette, too, stirring it all to combine. Adjust for salt, if needed.
  • Serve topped with crushed croutons and more Parmesan, if desired.
Keyword broccolini orecchiette

5 Favorite Things

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Okay, daylight savings time totally kicked my butt this week. I am resolving to get back on track tomorrow! Despite the hairy time change and the grumbling it brought, I am still incredibly blessed. These are a few of my favorite things this week!

#5: Fitness Trackers - My Fitness Pal

This is the 12th week of my weight lifting journey, and I really enjoy my workouts. HOWEVER, I fell prey to the mentality that I can eat anything because I exercise. It’s so easy to use this excuse to talk myself into pie, brownies, ice cream, and macaroni and cheese! 

I hop on the scale every Wednesday and was shocked to see the number this week. It was 8 more pounds than what I had started at in January. Granted, weight can fluctuate 5-6 lbs in a single day depending on water and salt you might be retaining. 

Moreover, weight lifting is not a weight loss oriented exercise; in fact, the opposite typically happens. Muscle weighs more than fat. So even though my pants fit better and my arms are more toned, I’m more dense! Like a burrito :-p 

With this in mind, I cracked down on my eating habits. That sounds harsher than it actually was, but I became vastly more aware of my caloric intake. I use the app MyFitnessPal which is developed by Under Armour and works with MapMyRun to synchronize workouts. Both are free and extremely helpful for calorie and fitness tracking. 

It turns out my leg day and upper body workouts burn over 500 calories each AND are only 40 minutes long! I was able to calculate this in MyFitnessPal! Another one of the fantastic features of MyFitnessPal is that you can import recipes into it or manually enter them. I am obsessed with this. 

This past week I have tried to stay around 1800 calories consumed per day and 2300 calories burned per day. My macro breakdown prior to this realization was heavy on calories from fat. Now I am making a very conscious effort to stick to 50% calories from carbs, 30% from fat, and 20% from protein, so you’ll probably see a lot more health-conscious recipes on the blog!

#4: Trader Joe's Chocolate Mousse Eggs

Photo Credit: Audrey Michels / MASHED

My husband, Jim, has always been a little wary of Trader Joe’s. I think he thinks it’s too hippie and rustic. Wait–I just asked him what he dislikes about it and he said, “It seems so…hipster.” There ya go. 

Thus I have to be sneaky. I have been slipping in little bits of my beloved grocery store to him since we started dating, and I’m pretty sure he actually loves it, just as long as he doesn’t know it’s Trader Joe’s. 

His (and my! and Joe’s!) most newfound gem at Trader Joe’s are the chocolate mousse eggs. They’re like gourmet snack cakes and they are heavenly!!!!

I think I might play around in the kitchen today and attempt to make these beautiful mousse cakes and homemade Peeps. I just love Sundays.

#3: BROOKS BROTHERS ANCHOR SWEATER

Jim and I try to have a date night once a month, and yesterday, I desperately wanted to get out in the nice weather. So, we traipsed off to the outlet mall and I got to stop in all of my favorite shops. Jim is a very good husband and patiently waited for me as I tried on dozens of clothes, and then gave me feedback on each outfit. 

I scored this awesome nautical sweater from Brooks Brothers on super sale! I love Brooks Brothers. They’re so timeless and classic. 

I am seriously digging on the coastal style and really trying to hone in on my specific style this year. Jim has a heavy influence on my fashion sense, actually. I have 17 turtlenecks in every color imaginable because he insists I look nice in them! But now that it’s getting warmer, I’m happily shifting into more New England-y stripes and pastels. 

Our date night continued to a local burger spot where we enjoyed sodas, shakes, and burgers–very 1950’s and very us. Then we came home, snuggled up on the couch, and dozed off watched Bringing Up Baby. A perfect date night with my wonderful husband!

#2: Disconnecting from Social Media

I took a much needed break from social media this week. I think we get bombarded with so much information that it is both overwhelming and detrimental to our sense of self worth. Especially for myself, following other food bloggers, it’s difficult to avoid comparing my blog to theirs. 

So I took a step back, removed the apps from my phones, and didn’t log in for a few days. Not only did I feel better emotionally, but also my attention span increased significantly. To be honest, social media doesn’t really add value to my life. It’s great for promoting my recipes, but I don’t gain very much scrolling through the perfectly edited images of other people’s lives.

Jim actually reminded me of an essay I wrote a few years ago about this specific topic, and it was just the right reminder I needed about being true to myself. In fact, I posted it in an old blog I started in 2014. Maybe I’ll revamp and revitalize it. 

Along those same lines, I’ve been toying with the idea of either expanding my current blog to be more about my lifestyle or starting a new one where I’d cover other things I’m interested in besides food! I’d cover health and nutrition, books, social commentary, and fashion. I’ll keep you posted on where this goes!

#1: My husband, Jim

I won the husband lottery when I married Jim. Seriously, I am the luckiest girl in the world. Jim is a pillar of love, stability, and support. He takes care of every house-related issue and then makes time to be an attentive and loving spouse. He empties the dishwasher, gives me daily back rubs, and knows everything about movie producers and baseball players. He’s the emblem of coolness. 

Recently, we had a plumbing issue with our powder room and my dear husband worked tirelessly to fix it. Quite the handyman. He also replaced my headlamp in my car, and when I wrote a new exercise program, he did it with me. He’s always up to date on my blog and will let me take dozens of photos of him until I get just the right lighting. 

He also has very cool interests and hobbies, and he has the best memory of anyone I’ve ever met. He’s written several short stories, and now he’s working on his second screenplay. He’s a master at Romantic music like Chopin and Beethoven, though Schubert is his favorite. Play any song from the 1970’s and he can tell you who wrote it and sang it. He can identify classical music by composer, title, key, and catalogue number. Biblical references? He could tell you any of them. Snowy owls, Walt Disney, Martin Scorsese? He’s the world renowned scholar. 

Jim simply amazes me. He is kind, thoughtful, and hilarious. I am beyond blessed to get to spend my life with this incredible man. I love him to pieces! 

And to all the ladies out there, I would like to add that my incredibly handsome and kind husband has an identical twin! 🙂 Joe and Jim are very similar in appearance and personality, and Joe is seriously one of the best people I know. I am extremely fortunate to have him in my life!

A Grasshopper Walks into a Bar… (Fudgy Mint Brownies)

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I know, I know. I’m late to the St. Patty’s Day gig but I decided to take a few days off my blog and social media to have a little focus for myself. Me time! World not invited! Removing those social media apps from my phone significantly improved my ability to pay attention. Kind of scary.

I did actually make these fudge-y mint brownies on St. Patrick’s Day for Jim, so this is a retroactive post. Jim loves a classic chocolate and mint combo, though he always complains that the ratios are often wrong and it ends up tasting like toothpaste. These brownies managed to get my picky husband’s approval! 

They’re triple layer and taste like an Andes Mint. D-I-V-I-N-E. And so springy! When I think about an Easter basket, it’s got three very critical treats: Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans, dark chocolate Cadbury Eggs, and Andes Mints. Okay, and a dark chocolate Ghirardelli bunny.

The brownie layer is just my classic brownie recipe that Jim and I are 100% sure tastes like it’s a box brownie mix, and that’s a very high compliment! The green mint layer is made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, mint extract, and vanilla extract. Go light on the mint extract. A little goes a long way. 

The chocolate frosting on top is also simple–melted chocolate chips, heavy cream, and corn syrup. The corn syrup distinguishes it from a regular ganache frosting by making it a little more tacky and malleable. I find regular ganache kind of hard to bite into. 

I love the striking contrast of the green mint layer against dark chocolate. White would also look really pretty. Either way! It’s a great spring treat! And my husband refuses to have his photo taken, so he’s just modeling the brownie for me here. 

Pro tip: when slicing the brownies, clean your knife between each cut. That will give you the pretty, Instagram-worthy profile of your brownie. Otherwise, the chocolate can get dragged into the green layer and look smeared. 

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Alex
Refreshing and chocolatey! Like a brownie version of an Andes mint and a great spring dessert! Three layers in these bad boys: a chip-loaded brownie bottom, a cool mint cream cheese layer, and a fudgy chocolate frosting.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16
Calories 347 kcal

Ingredients
  

Brownies

  • 2 oz Semi-sweet chocolate
  • 4 tbsp Salted butter
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 6 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup Milk
  • ¼ cup Vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup All purpose flour
  • ½ cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mint Filling

  • 4 oz Cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups Powdered sugar sifted
  • ½ tsp Vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp Mint extract
  • 2 tbsp Heavy whipping cream
  • 3 drops Green food color or gel optional

Chocolate Frosting

  • ⅔ cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup Heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tbsp Light corn syrup

Instructions
 

Brownies

  • Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Spray an 8" x 8" baking pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper so there is an overhang on two sides.
  • Melt butter and 2 oz of semi-sweet chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl, approximately 30 seconds on high power. Stir to combine completely.
  • Add to the butter-chocolate mixture the egg, egg yolk, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Mix again to combine.
  • Last add the milk, vegetable oil, flour, and chocolate chips, mixing to combine. Pour batter into 8" x 8" pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Mint Filling

  • While brownies are baking, prepare the mint filling. Using an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until silky smooth. Add in the vanilla, mint, cream, and food coloring, if using, and beat until well combined.
  • When brownies are done cooling, spread filling over them and place in the freezer while preparing the chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

  • Combine chocolate chips and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in 30-second intervals, stirring between them until melted. Add in corn syrup and stir well.
  • Pour over mint layer and transfer the pan to the refrigerator. Allow the mint and frosting layers to set at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before cutting. Clean knife between cuts for neat edges.
Keyword Mint Chocolate Brownies

Homemade Spinach and Cheese Ravioli

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Just like grandmama used to make them in the old country. 

Of course it is ten times easier to simply buy spinach and cheese ravioli, and easier still to simply order it, but I do love a putzy meal on occasion made with lots of love and cheese. 

Plus, I really cannot tell you enough how delicious fresh stuffed pasta is. It’s a revelation. Bertolli and Olive Garden can’t give you that, baby. Adorable little pockets of ricotta and greens swimming in Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce. It’s pure bliss.

I recommend doing this when you have some time and have helping hands! This is actually a really good date night meal for a weekend!

How to make fresh pasta dough

I really, really, really, really, really recommend getting a pasta maker if you’re going to make ravioli. Some other types of pasta you can get away without using one, but the straight lines you want in ravioli can only be produced by a pasta roller. I use an Marcato Atlas 150 that I got from Sur la Table and it cost $90. 

I think you can get it on Amazon for a bit less, but lately I’ve been feeling a little annoyed with the monopoly Amazon has. They’re pushing out the smaller businesses!

Anyway. I highly recommend watching my video  or blog post on how to make fresh pasta. I go into the details in the recipe below, too, but the video is helpful for knowing how to make the trifold. 

Spice up the filling!

I like the classic Italian spices and herbs–basil, oregano, garlic, onion powder, etc.–but you can go all out in your filling. I’m definitely going to try mushroom and truffle this fall! Oops, sorry. Just drooled on my keyboard.

I also use thawed frozen spinach. It’s really helpful to wring out the liquid from thawed frozen spinach. If you don’t, your little golf ball-sized fillings are going to be more like puddles. Let the spinach thaw in the bag and then cut a little hole in the bag to let the water out. Give it a good squeeze and then place it on a few paper towels and wrap it up in them. The towels absorb the liquid with another few squeezes and you should be good to go!

Forming the raviolis

This is the fun part! Simply lay the top layer of dough on the dough with the fillings! Press the sides together and use a bench scraper to cut. The cuts will also help seal the fillings. Sometimes a little water brushed on the edges will help seal dried dough. 

You can also use a pasta bicycle to get the zig-zag edges that are iconic to ravioli. I have one of these and for some reason I forgot to use it. D’oh!

Pro tip: Cover your dough with damp paper towels if you’re not going to use it right away. It prevents it from drying out. 

Now there are tomato sauces, and then there are tomato sauces. I stopped buying jarred tomato sauce when I discovered Marcella Hazan’s recipe. Nothing compares. Plus, fresh ravioli deserves freshly made tomato sauce. (But, hey, I get it if you’re in a pinch and making ravioli isn’t exhausting enough.)

Jim and his brother, Joe, went crazy for this ravioli recipe. We actually had it on St. Patrick’s Day instead of corned beef and cabbage because I had a feeling I was the only one who would be eating it! The green from the spinach was a nice little nod to the Irish, but let’s not kid anyone–this is 100% Italian. No complaints! And we did watch a Disney Channel original movie called The Luck of the Irish, so we got in our holiday spirit there! 

Hope you enjoy! If you try it, let me know how it turns out! I love to hear from you!!!

Homemade Spinach Cheese Ravioli

Alex
Crank out fresh pasta, whip up your own filling, and simmer the luxurious and simple Marcella Hazan marinara sauce. It's definitely labor-intensive and for the chef looking for a challenge! You need a pasta maker to do this. I do not recommend rolling pasta by hand!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 50 minutes
Dough resting time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 4
Calories 377 kcal

Equipment

  • Pasta maker, such as an Atlas 150, 180, or a KitchenAid pasta attachment

Ingredients
  

Marcella Hazan's Marinara Recipe

  • 28 oz Can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes Cento brand
  • 5 tbsp Salted butter
  • ½ Onion
  • ½ tsp Sea salt
  • 1½ tsp Sugar optional
  • 1 tsp Dried basil optional
  • ½ tsp Dried oregano optional
  • ½ tsp Garlic powder optional

Pasta Dough

  • 2 cups All purpose flour
  • 2 Eggs
  • ½ tsp Sea salt
  • ¼ cup Water

Spinach Cheese Filling

  • 1 cup Whole milk ricotta
  • ⅓ cup Grated Parmesan cheese
  • 6 oz Frozen spinach thawed and water squeezed out
  • ¼ tsp Garlic powder
  • ½ tsp Dried parsley optional
  • ½ tsp Dried basil
  • ¼ tsp Dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp Sea salt

Instructions
 

Pasta Dough

  • In a stand mixer bowl, add flour. Make a large indentation in the center. Add to it the salt, eggs, and water. Insert the dough hook attachment and knead on low speed until a soft dough, about 8 minutes.* Remove dough from the bowl and place on a sheet of plastic wrap, sprinkled with flour. Wrap and place in refrigerator, about 20 minutes.
    *If flour is not incorporating into the wet ingredients, stop the mixer and un-attach the dough hook. Use it to scrape the flour into the wet mixture. Then reattach it and continue kneading.

Ravioli Filling

  • Combine ricotta, Parmesan, dried herbs, salt, and spinach in a bowl, mixing until fully incorporated. Cover and place in refrigerator.

Sauce

  • In a medium sauce pot, pour in the tomatoes. Mash tomatoes with a fork or masher. Place the onion half in the center of the tomatoes. Add in butter, salt, and dried spices. Cook on medium-low heat for 45 minutes, uncovered.
  • Discard onion and serve.

Roll Pasta Dough and Make Ravioli

  • Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, using a scale, if necessary. Flatten them with your hands until they're half inch (1 cm) thick discs. Dust with flour.
  • Insert the first disc of dough, thin side down, into the pasta rollers on the lowest setting and roll it all the way through. Increase the thinness setting and repeat, increasing the thinness again and rolling up to the fourth setting.
    The dough should look oblong. Create a trifold with the oblong dough so it roughly resembles a square. It is fine if it overlaps. On the lowest setting, reinsert dough through the pasta rollers so the straight edges go in perpendicular to the rollers. Roll dough all the way through and repeat, increasing the thinness each time up to the fourth setting.
    Repeat the trifold process in the other direction, again creating a square with the dough. On the lowest setting, again reinsert dough through the pasta rollers so the straight edges go in perpendicular to the rollers. Roll dough all the way through and repeat, this time increasing the thinness each time up to the seventh setting.
    Repeat this process for the remaining three discs of dough and lay flat on a lightly floured counter. You will finish with four, equal-sized sheets of pasta, approximately 6" wide by 18" long.
  • You will place the filling on the first two sheets of pasta. Using a tablespoon-sized cookie dough scoop, scoop a scant tablespoon of the chilled spinach cheese filling. Roll it into a ball with your hands and place on the pasta sheet, about an inch away from the edges. Repeat the process, placing the balls about 1.5" apart from each other, in a row. You should end with two equal rows on two sheets of pasta. There will be 24 balls of filling.
  • With the other two sheets of pasta, gently place them on top of the other two that have filling on them. Brush the edges of the sheets with water and push the edges together with your fingers.
  • Using a bench scraper or knife, cut along the center of the sheet, lengthwise, between the two rows of spinach-cheese balls. Then cut between each set of spinach cheese balls, creating a square around each one. Press edges that have come loose and then gently lift the ravioli up to prevent sticking to the counter.

Cook Ravioli

  • In a large pot, boil salted water on medium high flame.
  • Cook ravioli in batches of six. They cook for only 2 minutes. You know they are finished when they rise to the top. Remove cooked ravioli using a slotted spoon.
  • Ladle the tomato sauce on a plate or bowl, about ¾ cup per plate. Place ravioli on tomato sauce. Garnish with more Parmesan, if desired.
Keyword Homemade spinach cheese ravioli