After a few months of stepping away from the blog, I’m back! I fell off the writing wagon for awhile because life got busy, and I honestly wasn’t feeling very inspired in the kitchen. Sometimes you just have to get a meal on the table as quickly as possible, and there aren’t enough hours in the day to make the perfect meal. But, that’s life! I hoped things would slow down a bit over the summer, but this seems to be our busiest season every year. There’s just so much going on in June and July — holidays, birthdays, all sorts of celebrations. It’s all so much fun, but sometimes it’s hard to juggle it all.

But there’s something about all of the delicious, fresh produce that comes along during the summer that makes me want to embrace simplicity. When you have high quality ingredients that are naturally bursting with flavor, there’s no need for meals to get complicated. I can’t get enough melon lately, and the tomatoes I’ve been picking from our garden are to die for. I didn’t like tomatoes at all as a kid, but they’re one of my favorite summer treats as an adult.

While BLTs and panzanella are delicious, my favorite way to enjoy summer tomatoes is actually by slow roasting them. We grow three varieties in our garden and, when I’ve got more tomatoes than I know what to do with, I throw them in the oven for a couple of hours with some good olive oil and fresh herbs. Cooking them low and slow almost caramelizes the tomatoes, drawing out their sweet and acidic flavors. And, they make your house smell delicious — definitely worth turning the oven on for in the middle of the summer.

Once the tomatoes are done roasting, you can store them in a jar in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. I like to throw them on sandwiches and salads, but they also make for the best pasta or pizza sauce ever. All you have to do is sauté some chili flakes and garlic in a saucepan, then add the tomatoes and crush them up a bit with a wooden spoon to draw out some of the juices. I like my sauce thick and rustic, so I just let it simmer this way until it breaks down a bit and the flavors come together. Throw some chopped basil in at the end and you have a ridiculously delicious sauce.

You can use this recipe with any type of tomato, but the cooking time will vary based on their size. If you’re roasting several varieties at once, you’ll want to keep a close eye on them and pull out the smaller tomatoes early so they don’t get burnt. I like this recipe best with a variety of cherry and Roma tomatoes.

Slow-Roasted Summer Tomatoes

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 lb. tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 sprigs fresh herbs (I like Thyme and Rosemary best)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. Place tomatoes in a large bowl, then toss with olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Carefully spread tomatoes in an even layer on the baking sheet, making sure the cut side of the tomatoes is facing up.
3. For small varieties of tomatoes like cherry, roast for 1.5 to 2 hours — until the tomatoes are shriveled but still have some liquid in the middle. For medium and large varieties of tomatoes, roast for 3 to 4 hours.
4. Allow tomatoes to cool on baking sheet until they reach room temperature. Transfer tomatoes and any oil into a large mason jar and store in the fridge for up to five days.

[/directions]

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After what seems like a month of nonstop travel, life is finally slowing down in our household this week. We’ll be spending the next few weeks at home and I’m so excited to get back into my routine of cooking. When life gets hectic, I often find myself craving time in the kitchen. It’s the place where I can escape from other aspects of life and lose myself in a good recipe. That’s exactly what I did when we arrived home from a weekend away this week.

James had been sick all weekend and requesting nothing but soup to help nurse his aching throat back to health. It gave me the perfect excuse to make a batch of my Grandpa Cattaneo’s tortellini, which may be the most treasured recipe among my mother’s side of the family. The recipe itself is delicious – it’s one that my cousins, aunt and uncle always request when they’re visiting. But it’s the tradition of making the tortellini that makes us love it so much.

This is a recipe that’s rarely made alone, but rather assembled with family around the table, helping to crank out dozens of delicious pasta pillows. I have fond memories of making this tortellini with so many people I love — and I considered it a true test of our relationship the first time I asked James to lend a hand. It’s now a tradition he also embraces. My family typically makes several batches of tortellini between Thanksgiving and Christmas to gift to others or enjoy as part of our holiday celebrations. But, I look for any excuse to dust off my pasta machine and make this ultimate comfort food. When done alone, the task is time consuming. The delicious results make it worth the effort.

Everyone in my family has the same hand-crank pasta machine, which I can’t recommend enough: the Marcato Atlas. This recipe is written according to the settings on that specific machine, but can be adjusted if using different equipment. I suggest serving this tortellini in the traditional Italian way — with simple toppings that let the fresh pasta shine. We eat it most often as a soup, boiled in homemade chicken stock and topped with parmesan. It’s also lovely with fresh marinara sauce.

Turkey Tortellini

Dough

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. salt

[/ingredients]

Filling

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. dried onion
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp. Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Place flour on a large, clean surface. Form it into a small mound, then make a large hole in the middle of the flour. Carefully pour egg and egg yolks into the depression in the center and use a fork to lightly beat eggs. Once eggs are combined, add water to the eggs and use a fork to slowly incorporate the flour with the liquids. If the dough appears too dry, add an additional 1/2 tsp. of water until it starts to come together. Once the flour is incorporated, the dough will likely look shaggy and bumpy. Use your hands to carefully fold the dough a few times, being sure to pick up any loose pieces.
2. Once the dough is staying together, slowly start kneading it. If the dough starts sticking to the counter or your hands, sprinkle it with more flour. Continue kneading the dough until it’s smooth and pliable — this will take several minutes. Form the dough into a ball then cut it in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. While dough chills, make the tortellini filling. Combine egg yolk, garlic, onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk until combined. Add ground turkey and use your hands to mix with seasonings until just combined. Chill until you’re ready to assemble the tortellini.
4. Once you’re ready to make your tortellini, remove one of the dough balls from the refrigerator. Place the dough on a lightly-floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a disk that’s about 1/4-inch thick. Carefully run the dough through the widest setting on your pasta maker (on my machine this is the 0 setting). Fold the pasta sheet into thirds, then run it through the machine again on the same setting. Repeat this process of folding and feeding the dough through the machine on the same setting once more.
5. At this point you should have a smooth but thick pasta sheet. Change the machine’s setting to the next widest thickness (on the Atlas that’s 1). Run the pasta sheet through the machine, then change the setting to the next level and run the pasta sheet through the machine again. Repeat this process until you achieve a thin, long sheet of pasta — I go until level 6 on my machine.
6. Carefully place the sheet of pasta on a clean surface and cut it in half vertically so you have two, long, wide sheets of pasta. Use a ruler to trim the edges of the pasta sheets to form rectangles, setting any dough scraps aside. Next, use the ruler to cut each pasta sheet into several two-inch squares, again setting any dough scraps aside.
7. To fill the tortellini, take 1/4 tsp. of turkey mixture and form it into a loose ball. Place filling in the center of each square. To shape the pasta, fold one corner of the square to meet the other (forming a triangle), then press down on the edges to seal the pasta. Then press the two opposite edges of the triangle together to form the tortellini. Dip your fingers in a small bowl of water before shaping each piece of tortellini if the pasta isn’t sticking together easily. Repeat the process until you’ve formed all squares into tortellini shapes.
8. Place the tortellini on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for ten minutes, until firm. Transfer frozen pasta to a large ziplock bag and freeze until ready to use.
9. Take any scraps of dough and use your hands to form them into a small disk. Run the disk through the pasta machine starting on the widest setting and repeating until you’ve reached the desired thickness. Trim the edges of the pasta sheet using a ruler to form a rectangle, then use the ruler to cut as many 2-inch squares out of the dough as you can. Fill and fold the tortellini as outlined in step 7. Repeat this process until you’ve gotten as many 2-inch squares out of the dough as possible, then freeze the tortellini as outlined in step 8.
10. Repeat steps 4 through 9 with the second half of the pasta dough.
11. Roll any leftover turkey filling into teaspoon-size balls and place on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes or until firm before placing in a ziplock back and storing in the freezer until ready to use.
12. To prepare tortellini, take it and the meatballs out of the freezer and carefully pour them into a large pot of boiling water or chicken broth. The tortellini and meatballs are ready when they float to the top of the water or broth, about 3 to 4 minutes.
    [/directions]

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If I had to pick one food to eat for the rest of my life, pasta would top the list. The never-ending combinations of noodles and sauces mean it never gets boring — and I have yet to find a bowl of pasta I don’t like. Gnocchi with pesto and mom’s lasagna are the ultimate comfort foods for me, but oftentimes real life calls for a dinner that’s even more effortless.

I always keep a jar or two of store-bought pasta sauce in our cabinet for nights when I really don’t feel like cooking. I always buy a marinara-style sauce because it’s a blank canvas for other ingredients. My favorite pre-made sauces are Rao’s (worth the extra cost) and Private Selection Basilico. While the sauces taste OK straight out of the jar, a little extra effort makes them taste more like they’re homemade. And, the final product still comes together quickly.

Here’s how to elevate your favorite store-bought pasta sauce:

Start With Garlic

In my opinion, this is how all delicious meals start! I begin by sautéing two to three cloves of minced garlic in two Tablespoons of olive oil until fragrant. You can also add some soffritto, which is the base of all good Italian dishes. It’s the flavorful combination of chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook the garlic and onion first until softened, then add in the carrot and celery.

Add Protein

Adding meat to the sauce will not only give your final pasta dish more flavor, but it will amp up the nutritional stats on the meal and keep you feeling full longer. I love using lean ground beef, ground turkey or a combination of sweet and spicy Italian sausage. Once the meat is browned, drain fat and add sauce to the pan. Simmer for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors marinate; the longer it simmers, the better it will taste. I typically use about one pound of meat for 24 oz. of sauce.

Pour In Some Wine

If you really want to make your sauce taste fancy, pour a couple splashes of wine into the pan to deglaze it after sautéing meat or veggies and before you add the sauce to the pan. A little bit goes a long way and makes pasta taste especially rich.

Stir In Fresh Herbs

I like my pasta sauce packed with flavor, so I often throw in a handful of chopped fresh herbs while it simmers. You can use whatever herbs you have on hand, but I like to toss in lots of basil, oregano, thyme and parsley. If you don’t have fresh herbs, use a Tablespoon or two of dried Italian seasoning and one teaspoon of ground fennel to amp up the flavor.

Top With Quality Cheese

One of the biggest splurges in my grocery budget each week is fancy cheese. I buy a couple of varieties: at least one for snacking and one for grating. I like to top my pasta with aged parmigiano-reggiano, mimolette or fresh mozzarella — or all three! I stick the cheese-topped pasta under the broiler for a couple of minutes to make it extra gooey and delicious.

The post How To Make Store-bought Pasta Sauce Taste Homemade appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

And, just like that, the first week of 2017 is nearly over. I feel pretty good about how I started the year off: more relaxation, exercise and home-cooked meals. I’m hoping to build on that momentum and carry it through the rest of the year. How was your first week of 2017?

While I didn’t mention it in my goals for the year,  I’m making an effort to make more veggie-based meals in 2017. I love vegetables, but I typically serve them as side dishes. As a result, I don’t always get as many servings a day as I should. And, I feel so much more satisfied when I eat a main dish that features a hearty portion of veggies.

Making more veggie-based meals can be a challenge at times because James isn’t as adventurous when it comes to certain foods. When I started throwing this dinner together the other night, James said, “You aren’t making zoodles, are you?” Apparently he isn’t as big of a fan of that recipe as he originally claimed!

That’s why I love spaghetti squash. It takes on the flavor of whatever sauce you toss it in and I think it resembles and tastes more like pasta than any other veggie noodle out there. Plus, it’s so easy! You don’t need any special equipment for spaghetti squash — it turns into noodles just by scraping it with a fork.

Serving spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce is actually the only way I’ve ever had this variety of squash. When I was checking out at the grocery store, the clerk suggested tossing it in melted butter, garlic and parmesan. That’s a recipe that’s on my list to try over the next couple of weeks!

Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 2 sweet chicken or turkey Italian sausages
• 2 spicy chicken or turkey Italian sausages
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
• 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large spaghetti squash (aim for 3 to 4 lbs.)
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
  [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add garlic and red pepper. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Squeeze all four Italian sausages out of their casings and into the pan. Break meat up into small pieces using a wooden spoon and stir until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Carefully remove from heat and drain fat from pan.
2. Return pan with meat mixture to medium heat and add crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and the bay leaf. Stir until combined and let sauce come to a boil. Once sauce is boiling, reduce heat to low and cover pan. Let sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes.
3. While sauce is simmering, poke the spaghetti squash all over with a fork. Place spaghetti squash on top of a paper towel in the microwave and cook on high for 10 to 15 minutes, until squash is soft to the touch. Remove squash from microwave and let cool until it’s comfortable enough to handle.
4. Use a large butcher knife to cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop the seeds out of the middle of each side of the squash using a large spoon. Once all seeds are removed, scrape the inside of the squash with a fork until you’ve reduced all of the flesh to noodles.
5. Remove sauce from heat and discard bay leaf. Top spaghetti squash with a heaping portion of sauce and a sprinkling of cheese.
   [/directions]

The post Spaghetti Squash With Spicy Meat Sauce appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen this week, thanks to a nasty head cold I caught a couple of days ago. I usually throw together a pot of this soup when I get sick because the spiciness seems to help with congestion, but I haven’t had the energy. Thank goodness for Rush Hour Station’s Anger Management soup — it instantly made me feel a bit better.

I did get a chance to test out a new zoodles recipe earlier this week and I was really happy with the results. Have you hopped on the zoodles bandwagon yet? I’d had them before but hadn’t ever served them to James because I was worried he wouldn’t be able to get past the fact that he was eating zucchini. I was pleasantly surprised when he cleaned his plate at dinner and demolished some leftovers at lunch the next day. He kept calling this “zughetti,” which cracked me up.

I’m not going to tell you zoodles are just as good as regular pasta because that would be a lie. I’m a pasta lover and, in my opinion, you just can’t beat the real thing. But, because life is all about balance, I try to opt for zoodles more often than classic spaghetti. They’re delicious, but in a different way.

For me, the key to making zoodles a hit is in the sauce. The meatballs cook in the marinara instead of in the oven, giving them more flavor and reducing the number of dirty dishes.

I use this OXO hand-held spiralizer to make my veggie noodles. It’s easy to use and much easier to store than some of the larger, countertop spiralizers. You can usually find them at Bed Bath and Beyond and sometimes TJ Maxx.

Zoodles With Meatballs

Zoodles:

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 3 large zucchini
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

[/ingredients]

Meatballs:

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 Tbsp. fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
  [/ingredients]

Marinara sauce:

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. salt
  [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Use a spiralizer to cut zucchini into noodles. If the zoodles are longer than regular spaghetti, cut them in half. Place zoodles on top of paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Place another paper towel on top of the zoodles, press down and let zoodles sit for 15 minutes. This will ensure your zoodles don’t end up soggy.
2. While zoodles are resting, make the meatballs. Place breadcrumbs, parmesan, egg, milk, fennel and garlic salt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined. Add meat to the bowl and use your hands to mix until just combined.
3. Roll meat mixture into 24 1-inch meatballs. Set aside.
4. To make the sauce, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is warm, add garlic and red pepper and stir constantly until garlic turns slightly golden, about one minute. Add remaining ingredients and bring the sauce to a boil.
5. Once sauce is boiling, carefully place meatballs in the pan. Reduce the heat to simmering and cover. Let meatballs cook for ten minutes before flipping them over, then allow them to cook while covered for five minutes more. Remove from heat once the meatballs are cooked through.
6. To cook zoodles, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add zoodles to the pan and cook for three to five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles reach your desired tenderness. Remove from heat and top zoodles with meatballs and sauce.
   [/directions]

The post Zoodles With Meatballs appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Happy Monday, y’all! How was your weekend? For the first time in a long time I spent mine with no plans at all. And it was glorious. I hung around the house, went for a couple of runs, caught up on trashy TV. It felt amazing to have no obligations and spend my time doing whatever the heck I felt like doing. Everyone needs a weekend like that once in a while. It’s freeing!

I find cooking therapeutic, so I spent a lot of my time in the kitchen. I tested out some new recipes from my latest cookbook purchase (review coming your way soon) and threw together a few of our favorite meals so we’d have plenty of options for lunches this week. The only problem with my favorite, easy pesto recipe is there are never any leftovers. It’s one of those meals James and I both adore, so we soak up every last bite of the green goodness with pieces of crusty bread. Nothing made me happier than tasting pesto when we were in Italy and finding it tasted just like my mom’s recipe.

Our go-to way to serve this is over gnocchi, but pesto is delicious no matter what vehicle you use to consume it. I like smothering it on chicken, sandwiches and even throwing a couple of tablespoons into my favorite homemade salad dressing.

Finding lots of fresh basil can be tricky this early in the season, but you can easily substitute spinach for half of the amount of basil required in the recipe. I promise the results are still amazing!

I prefer my pesto thick, packed with garlic and not too oily, so feel free to adjust the recipe to your tastes.

Simple Summer Pesto

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 3 cups fresh basil (or a combination of spinach and basil)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup high-quality olive oil
• 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. pine nuts
• 1/2 tsp. salt

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor, starting with only 1/4 cup oil, and pulse until smooth. Add more olive oil until pesto reaches your desired consistency.

[/directions]

The post Simple Summer Pesto appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Sometimes, you just don’t have enough time or energy to whip up a healthy, homemade meal. You come home from work, collapse on the couch, prop your shoes up on the coffee table and drift off into the world of Real Housewives marathons (team Vicki and Tamra 4ever).

This pasta is for those times. It takes less than 20 minutes to whip up and I almost always have the ingredients on hand. This recipe also gives you a lot of pasta, so there are plenty of leftovers to take for lunches throughout the week.

Did I mention there’s cheese involved? Let’s be real, I don’t think any of my recipes don’t involve cheese. But, a little bit goes a long way — this adds the gooey comfort we all adore without adding too many unnecessary calories.

Now, go get that water boiling so you can make it back to the couch just in time for the housewives’ claws to come out.

Weeknight Chicken Sausage Pasta

Ingredients: 

• 16 oz. pasta of choice
• 1 lb. fully-cooked chicken Italian sausage, chopped into bite-size pieces (such as Al Fresco) 
• 1 cup bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly-shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, add olive oil and garlic to a large skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about one minute.
3. Add sausage, onion and bell pepper to skillet and cook until sausage is heated through and onion and pepper are soft — about four minutes.
4. Drain pasta and add to skillet containing sausage, onion and pepper. Remove from heat and mix until combined.
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese.

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