Baker's Theory

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!

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.

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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

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

Garlicky Shrimp and Veggies in Peanut-Lime Sauce with Rice Noodles

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Lately I have really been getting more into seafood and Asian fusion dishes. I used to be a major shrimp skeptic, but now I really enjoy it! It’s in my Filipino heritage, I guess! This garlic shrimp and veggies with rice noodles is so simple, and most of it comes together in the pan! The peanut-lime sauce is just made by a blender, so nothing fancy, but SO TASTY. The lime gives it a great pucker but it’s also wonderfully savory. (It also makes a great salad dressing!)

This is a fun date night recipe because one person can chop/grate and the other can sauté! I made a similar recipe with my buddy, Maddie, a month ago from Half Baked Harvest’s website, although her recipe used coconut milk for the sauce, and in contrast, we’ve got a special, peanut-lime saucy base! 

The Super Easy Sauce

I like things easy. Like plopping all the ingredients in a blender and magically, sauce appears. 

This sauce has lime juice, a jalapeño, grated ginger, grated garlic, fish sauce (try it before you knock it!), red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and peanut butter!!! 

Then you drizzle it all over rice noodles. Mmm. It also makes a great dressing!

(Almost) everything goes in the pan

The pattern goes like this: Cook bacon, put it aside. Cook mushrooms in bacon fat, shove them aside. Cook peppers in butter next to mushrooms, then shove them aside. Cook the shrimp in more butter and add garlic! Top with some greens and shove it all on the noodles. 

Oh, did I mention the bacon is candied? Now where shall I put that Nobel…

It’s optional, but highly encouraged. Like paying your taxes! 

Just kidding. Darn, I need to do my taxes. 

Put it all together!!!

  • Saucy rice noodles? Check.
  • Bacon-ified vegetables and shrimp? Check. Check.
  • Easy, healthy, vegetarian-friendly, Lent-friendly dinner? All the checks. Make them out to me, please. 

Saucy Peanut-Lime-Garlic Shrimp and Rice Noodles

A little American-Thai fusion shrimp noodle dish! You can easily sub chicken if you aren't a seafarer.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Thai Fusion

Ingredients
  

Sweet and Spicy Bacon

  • 4 strips Bacon
  • 1/4 tsp Red chili flakes
  • 1 tbsp White sugar
  • 1 Garlic clove smashed

Peanut-Lime Sauce

  • 1/4 cup Fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp Fish sauce Red Boat
  • 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Fresh ginger grated
  • 1/4 cup Creamy peanut butter
  • 1 Jalapeño, seeds removed
  • 3 tbsp Sesame seed oil
  • 3 Garlic cloves grated

Shrimp, Noodles, and Veggies

  • 8 oz Shitake mushrooms sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 Jalapeño, seeds removed chopped
  • 1 medium Red bell pepper sliced
  • 3 tbsp Salted butter, divided
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 12 oz Shrimp (about 18 pieces) thawed, peeled, deveined
  • 3 Garlic cloves grated
  • 2.5 oz Spinach or kale (about a handful)
  • 8 oz Rice noodles
  • Chives or green onions for garnish (optional)

Instructions
 

Fry Sweet and Spicy Bacon

  • Arrange bacon on a plate and rub with smashed garlic. Sprinkle with red chili flakes and sugar.
  • Preheat a large frying pan on medium heat. When skillet is hot, add all four bacon strips. Fry until desired crispiness is achieved, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. *Sugared bacon will stick to paper towels!

Boil Water and Pan Fry Veggies and Shrimp

  • Boil salted water in a large pot. Once boiling, cook noodles per instructions, typically boiling for about 8 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
  • Meanwhile, in the same pan used to fry the bacon, add the sliced shitake mushrooms and salt and pepper as desired, cooking until almost crispy, about 3-5 minutes.
  • Shuffle the mushrooms to the side of the pan and add half of the butter (1.5 tbsp) to the center of the pan. When butter has melted, add to it the sliced bell pepper and jalapeño. Season again with salt and pepper, as desired. Cook for another 3 minutes.
  • Shuffle the peppers to the side with the mushrooms and add the remaining 1.5 tbsp of butter to the pan. When melted, add all of the shrimp to the pan. Drizzle the honey over the shrimp and season with salt and pepper as desired. Cook until pink, about 2-3 minutes per side. Then add grated garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • Once shrimp is cooked, combine it with the mushrooms and peppers in the pan and add the spinach or kale to it. Stir until greens have wilted, then turn off the heat.

Blend Peanut-Lime Sauce

  • Combine lime juice, fish sauce, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, fresh ginger, peanut butter, jalapeño, sesame seed oil, and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
  • Add sauce to cooked rice noodles and toss to coat.

Serve

  • Distribute between 3-4 bowls or plates. Serve shrimp and vegetables over saucy rice noodles. Garnish with crumbled bacon and green onions or chives.
Keyword Garlicky shrimp and noodles, peanut lime sauce

Panzanella: The Naughty Salad

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What is panzanella? Picture all the best things about a salad: the cheese, the croutons, the dressing, something savory…imagine they decided to have a super bowl party and not invite the persnickety vegetables. Voila. That’s a panzanella. It’s absolutely brilliant.

Thankfully, Italian people have already made this discovery of removing all the healthy things from a salad and stamped their approval on it, so, similar to gelato, I feel guilt-free about it. Italian people know how to eat. 

I did a panzanella recipe last year, but this one is Version 2.0 and was inspired, in part, by that tik-tok pasta. The original caprese panzanella was fresh tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and toasted bread with a simple vinaigrette. However, I am on a massive roasted tomatoes kick, so I had to incorporate them. While I was at it, I also seasoned the bread into croutons. I know, ultra healthy. This is honestly like the summer version of stuffing. 

How to make the croutons

To reiterate, regular panzanella has just toasted bread. I one-upped that to seasoned and oiled bread that is then toasted. This is colloquially referred to as: a crouton. 

As with roasted vegetables, I toss the cubed bread in oil, salt, parsley, and garlic powder in a bowl and then arranged them on a pan. I used to season straight on the pan, but I like the bowl method better. It makes it a lot easier to get an even distribution of seasonings and oil on each cube. Then bake at 375F for 25 minutes or until completely dried out.

I had about a half loaf of sourdough bread and a half loaf of whole wheat that I cubed. If you’re aiming to go a little healthier, there are so many excellent multi-grain breads to choose from! 

A word of caution: you’ll have to put up a fight to resist eating all of the croutons that are fresh out of the oven. These are complex carbohydrates, folks, and they will take you down if you let them.

How to roast tomatoes

I did a post a while ago on how to roast tomatoes, so I’ll just do a brief recap here. Grab a pound of tomatoes and slice them. If you’re using cherry tomatoes, just in half is fine. Bigger tomatoes, slice them about a quarter inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and sugar. Drizzle with EVOO and balsamic vinegar. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. 

So beautiful.

As a side plug for roasted tomatoes, they go with so many things!!!! Brie-L-T sandwiches, in omelets, or in pastas or salads to name a few. 

Panzanella Accoutrements

Toasty bread and tomatoes are molto bene, but add fresh basil and mozzarella and you are in hog heaven. I suppose that’s another way of looking at panzanella: it’s one giant hog pile of delicious ingredients.

Anyway, this is my basil plant, Hayden. He’s looking at something on the ground, I think. 

Now I am not huge on a strong basil flavor so I just use a handful, but utilize fresh herbs as you desire. I’m not eating your panzanella; you are! 

There is one thing I am a huge fan of, though, and that’s fresh mozzarella cheese. I love Trader Joe’s pre-sliced mozzarella logs. 

By the way, panzanella tip: this recipe requires one pound of bread (a loaf), one pound of tomatoes, and one pound of mozzarella. It’s like a pound cake of a salad!

And probably equivalent in nutritional value…

Ultimate Salad Dressing

This is an Ina Garten recipe and honestly is the most perfectly ratio-ed salad dressing ever. It’s 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, and 1 1/2 tbsp mustard. You can translate into any other salad dressing you want. For example, an asian dressing could be 1/3 cup sesame seed oil, 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar, and 1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter.

You simply need some oil and acid with an emulsifier. Acids can be citrus juices or vinegars, and emulsifiers can be mustards, mayo, tahini, or nut butters! Plus a little S&P. 

Panzanella, Assemble!

Here’s the good part. Grab your biggest bowl and combine all of the ingredients. Another panzanella tip for you: salad dressing makes things soggy, so wait to add it until it’s time to serve. Alternatively, if you’re serving this for a gathering, allow guests to add their own dressing. 

And there you have it. An overly photographed, over-explained blog post for a salad. Albeit, a sort of naughty salad that is actually more like a summer stuffing and might need a bit of explanation, but…oh, well. It’s as good as it looks, I promise. You will stand over this bowl with a fork and inhale it when no one is looking. 

Panzanella 2.0: The Naughty Salad

The best parts of a salad minus the virtuous parts of a salad. Mozzarella cubes, croutons, roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, and salad dressing. This is actually like the summer version of Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing. You need a pound of bread, a pound of tomatoes, and a pound of mozzarella. It's like a pound cake, but with salad, and probably equivalent in nutritional value.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients
  

Croutons

  • 1 lb Bread loaf cut into 1" cubes
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Garlic powder optional

Roasted Tomatoes

  • 1 lb Tomatoes sliced between 1/4"-1/2" thick
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • White sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • Balsamic vinegar

Dressing

  • 1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
  • 1½ tbsp Düsseldorf style mustard
  • Salt and pepper

Other Ingredients

  • Bunch Basil
  • 1 lb Mozzarella cut into 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/4" pieces

Instructions
 

Make croutons

  • Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C.
  • Combine cubed bread in a large bowl. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil, about 1/4-1/3 cup. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder, if using. Toss with hands to ensure each bread cube has oil on it.
  • Spread bread cubes onto two baking sheets. Do not stack or overlap pieces.
  • Bake both pans for 25 minutes. Allow to cool on pan.

Roast tomatoes

  • Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  • Arrange tomatoes on baking pan without overlap or stacking. Sprinkle with salt and sugar. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tomatoes are blistering. Allow to cool in pan.

Prepare dressing

  • In a one-cup liquid measuring cup combine olive oil, vinegar, and mustard. Add salt and pepper as desired. Whisk until a smooth consistency.

Assemble Panzanella Salad

  • In a large serving bowl combine croutons, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Toss to make homogenous, or leave layered for a nice presentation.
  • Serve with dressing on the side if it will not all be eaten in one setting. Otherwise, toss with dressing and serve immediately. Panzanella will keep for about 3 days, but the croutons will become soggy after the first day.
Keyword Caprese, Panzanella

Crispy Roasted Veggie Omelet

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My mother-in-law, Jane, makes the world’s greatest roasted vegetables. They are simple, easy, classic, and make eating vegetables an actual delight. I roast almost all of our vegetables these days because of her. It’s the best way to ensure I feed Jim something besides sugary treats. It’s also Lent, so our veggie intake is way up! 

Omelet you in on my secrets.

If there are leftover roasted vegetables, popping them in an omelet is the way to go. I’ve always been a more savory-oriented person, so roasted veggies integrated into breakfast sounds way better than fruit to me. Today was roasted cauliflower and asparagus! 

Oh, and yeah, that’s double chocolate chip banana bread. The way I see it, if you’re going to have cake, might as well have it in the morning when you have the whole day to work it off. And now that the weather is warmer and we’re getting our walks in more regularly, I am happy to add a few more carbs into my diet 🙂 

I like to nudge my omelet on top of a buttery piece of toast and let it spaceship into my mouth. Toast is a great vehicle for interstellar food. 

Cheddar + bruschetta + roasted veggies wrapped in an egg and riding the sourdough rocket = breakfast bliss. 

Plus, I got chocolate cake. Life is good.

Omelet making 101: How to omelet

  • The trick to frying up an omelet in the skillet is low heat and steam. Use a 6″ frying pan and melt butter in it on high heat, spreading the butter all over the pan. Pour in your beaten egg (I add a splash of cream and some salt, parsley, and garlic powder to my beaten eggs and 100% recommend) and then lower the heat and cover. Let it slow cook for a few minutes.
  • Don’t have a lid for your frying pan? Use aluminum foil. 
  • Be brave. Flip the omelet. There’s something exciting about the quick slide, fling, and flip. It’ll also up your pancake game. A little flipping panache is good for your culinary repertoire. 
  • To flip the omelet, first make sure it is not stuck to the pan by sliding a silicon spatula under the omelet and breaking loose any stuck parts. Then hold the pan handle, slide the omelet around, and then fling it up, letting it land on the other side. Not so bad, huh?
  • Make it sawwwcy. Omelets can be a little dry if you’re just topping them with cheese and vegetables. You wouldn’t just add cheese and veggies to pasta, would you? You’d add sauce, too, right? I love Trader Joe’s tomato bruschetta topping to make my omelet saucy. 

Essential omelet recipe

Since I don’t know what your roasted veggie leftover situation is or how you like your eggs seasoned, here are the basic instructions fit for you to tailor to your liking. Reheated roasted veggies are fine to be microwaved on low power for 30 seconds or so. Serves 1. 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tbsp butter
  • 1 egg + 1 egg white
  • Splash of milk or cream, about 1 tbsp
  • Pinch of salt, about 1/8 tsp
  • Dash of garlic powder (optional)
  • Dash of black pepper (optional)
  • Sprinkling of dried parsley (optional)

Fillings!

  • Shredded cheddar cheese, about 2 tbsp
  • 2 oz roasted veggies (about 4 medium pieces of roasted cauliflower and four pieces of roasted asparagus)
  • 3 tbsp Trader Joe’s Bruschetta topping
  • Beat egg, egg white, milk/cream, salt, and other desired seasonings in a bowl. 
  • On high heat, melt butter in a 6″ skillet and spread butter around completely. 
  • When butter is bubbling, pour in egg batter, lower heat to about 30%, and cover. 
  • Allow egg to steam for 2 minutes undisturbed.
  • Uncover and make sure no part of the egg is sticking to the pan, loosening it with a silicon spatula if necessary. 
  • Holding the pan handle with one hand, flip the omelet. Be brave. You can do it.
  • Immediately cover the new side facing up with toppings, starting with the cheese. 
  • Once cheese is melted, fold omelet over on itself and slide out of the pan onto a plate.

And that’s it. Devour it. Oh, wait. 

Bonus recipe. Crispy roasted cauliflower. Because, to quote the Hokey Pokey, that’s what it’s all about.

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower

Crisp, tender, and oh, so delicious cauliflower florets, sliced to place a flat side down on the roasting pan in a very simple combination of salt and oil. Tasty don't need to be fancy, and this is a great way to get in your vegetables!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Side Dish
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz Fresh cauliflower florets sliced to expose one flat side
  • Kosher salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a roasting pan or cookie sheet.
  • Place cauliflower florets in a large bowl. If they are uneven in size, slice them so they are close to the same size. Additionally, it is beneficial to have a flat, sliced side of the floret to place flat side down on the roasting pan.
  • Sprinkle with kosher salt and drizzle with oil. If there are florets that did not get any oil in the drizzle, dip their head in the oil that has pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
  • Place the seasoned cauliflower on the parchment-lined pan, flat side down, if possible. Place the cauliflower spread out. Crowding vegetables in the pan steams them and prevents roasting.
  • Place pan in oven and bake at 375°F / 190°C for 30 minutes. Then increase to 400°F / 200°C for 20 minutes.
  • Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days.
Keyword crispy roasted caulifower florets