Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 421

Grain Bowls with Maple Chipotle Brussels and Coconut Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

Want to talk about that obnoxiously long title?!

Grain bowls!

A very boring name for a very not-so-boring bowl. Apparently they are a thing and since my fridge is the place where any and all leftovers go to die, I’ve jumped on board. 

We’ve been making huge clean-out-the-fridge bowls and I’m not hating it. Have you tried it yet?

I’m pretty certain that “grain bowls” is just a fancy millennial name for piling all kinds of fridge leftovers into one bowl at the end of the week when you have a ton of leftover rice.

Am I right or am I right.

2016, I love you.

Grain bowls can become super high maintenance VERY quickly. Even look at this recipe: I have roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes and chickpeas, three types of grains and then other stuff on top. To make it all from scratch, at once? Kinda defeats the purpose.

At least what I think the purpose is.

My suggestion is to use extra grains. Like leftover grains. If you’re all “how am I supposed to get extra grains?!?” it’s simple – making salmon with brown rice? Cook a little extra rice. Making quinoa breakfast bowls? Make a bit extra and remove it before you eat. Little things like that! The first bowl or two might take a few days of planning. It may even require that you go to the grocery store. But once you get the hang of it and find the flavors you love, use up your leftovers! Make it a Sunday night thing. Or a Saturday afternoon lunch thing.

The one thing that I demand you make are these chipotle maple brussels. Even if you don’t make them for a grain bowl. Make them for a dinner side, or heck, even for a snack.

Yes I love brussels that much.

I even ate them for a snack last Wednesday.

I don’t even know me.

One annoying thing is that you probably won’t find me eating a grain bowl with just… one grain. I need to make things difficult and have a handful of different textures and flavors, so the leftovers idea works really well for me. I even add a spring of fusilli or some other pasta I might have on hand.

And let it be said because you know it: the crunchy chickpeas are a MUST for me. I need something crunchy and preferably not a nut. Preferably bacon, but you know.

Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you – it’s simply a run down of how I made this entire bowl – but make it your own! The flavors here are off the charts, maple chipotle, coconut, roasted reds, sesame kale. It sounds like a horrifying amount of stuff going on (and well, frankly, it is) but it works. Give yourself some crunch, one or two of these flavors and go to town.

With bacon maybe too. (Def.)

Grain Bowls

Yield: makes 2 bowls

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 cup brussels sprouts, stems removed and cut in half
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 chipotle pepper, diced
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from the can of chipotles
1 small sweet potato, peeled and sliced into rounds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cooked farro
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup cooked whole wheat couscous
1 cup curly green kale, chopped
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 roasted red pepper
2 ounces feta cheese

chipotle drizzle (if desired)

3 tablespoons greek yogurt
1/3 cup half and half
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)
juice of half a lime
zest of half a lime
1/8 teaspoon salt



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. I roast everything at the same time to simply!

Toss the brussels with the maple syrup, chipotle and adobo. Spread on the sheet. Toss the sweet potatoes with the coconut oil, butter, salt and pepper. Spread on the sheet. Toss the chickpeas with the olive oil, paprika and garlic (and a shake of salt and pepper.) Spread on the sheet! Roasted everything for 20 to 25 minutes.

To make the grain bowls, combine the grains in the bottom of the bowl. I like to massage the kale with the sesame oil and let it sit for 5 minutes, then toss it in with the grains for some extra green! Add on the brussels, sweet potato and roasted red pepper. Top with the chickpeas and the feta. Drizzle with the chipotle crema if you'd like. Eat up!

See! Not even boring.

HowSweetEats House Salad.

I’m almost embarrassed to share this super easy thing with you.

Back in June when my brother got married, my sister-in-law’s aunt made the simplest but BEST (seriously, best best best) greens salad I ever did have. It just tasted so fantastic (along with the pizza we were eating…) and wasn’t full of wacky ingredients – just normal, everyday add-ins.

From that moment, I decided that every single side salad I made, or every single big salad that accompanied a meal, but wasn’t THEEE meal, would have to be an “aunt Ellen” salad. And I’ve done it!

When we were on vacation I mentioned that we had made a killer salad one night for dinner? This was it.

This isn’t one of the crazy, more-of-a-meal salads that I share every now and then. This is pretty much the base, super easy, serve-as-a-side salad in our house. Not taco or steak or lime flavors.

Some sunflower seeds because I find them to be the most neutral and the are the one seed/nut that Eddie doesn’t (this he) hate(s). eg: walnuts, almonds, pistachios.

It’s basic, in a good way. It doesn’t have dried cherries or goat cheese, it doesn’t have arugula and bacon. I obviously love all four of those things, but this is one of those salads that works well with pretty much all meals. It doesn’t steal the show from your lasagna, you know?

My must haves, at least for the last three or four months:

Spring greens or butter lettuce. It’s all I want!

Chopped bell peppers. The size of the chopping depends on my mood. Like how much do I really want to chew?

Diced red onion. Or chopped. Because Eddie is one of those (rare) people that can eat an onion like an apple and he likes big pieces. Gah-ross. I know.

Tomatoes! Little, sweet grape ones.

Banana pepper rings. It wasn’t until this past summer that I was interested in these on a salad at all. They have to come from the jar, and you KNOW it’s because of my ridiculous adoration for all things pickled. I like mild, sometimes Eddie likes the hot ones.

A sprinkle of cheese of course, but not overwhelming. I did freshly grated parmesan here.

And what I need basically all the time: garlic sourdough torn croutons. These are a must in our house every single week. So much better homemade.

I only left one thing out that we really enjoy, but I left it out of this salad because we don’t have it every day. It’s more of a weekend add in, and that’s: mini pepperoni or torn pepperoni!

GUYS. You know I really didn’t even enjoy pepperoni until recently. This is half the reason why. Little pieces of pepperoni in this salad are so fabulous.

For dressing, I’ve been making an apple cider vinaigrette. This is what I use – practically daily. It’s a similar recipe to the one from my greek salad and we love it oh so much.

So easy, but major flavor with all these players. And that’s ME talking. About vegetables!

Our Favorite House Salad

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

10 ounces fresh spring greens, baby lettuce or your greens of choice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1/3 cup mild banana peppers
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
(if you're feeling it: torn pepperoni pieces)

garlic sourdough croutons

2 cups torn sourdough bread pieces/cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

dressing

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil



Directions:

Add your greens to a large bowl and season them liberally with salt and pepper. Add the rest of your ingredients, your croutons and dress!

garlic sourdough croutons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the bread pieces on a baking sheet and cover with olive oil, tossing well. Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt, tossing again. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

dressing

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil. This dressing stays great in the fridge in a sealed container for a week or so, so feel free to make a double batch if desired!

and that is that. DELISH.

Currently Crushing On.

{via}

Hi! Are you snow covered right now? You would not believe the amount of people at the grocery store yesterday that had carts full of bread and milk and toilet paper. I mean, I know this is a running joke if you live in a city where is snows, but yesterday was the first day that I actually WITNESSED multiple carts in my store filled with those things. My cart? Avocados, bacon, fontina cheese and brussels sprouts. Do with that what you will.

If we get tons of snow, I’m surely making multiple nutella lattes.

Also, Eddie bought a sled for Max. And snow pants. And boots. I’ll just leave that right here.

What are your plans this weekend? If you have time and ingredients, you need to make this white pizza dip (< video!) for weekend. And over on the pioneer woman, I’m sharing cotton candy popcorn balls. Ridiculously fun and sugary.

other loves:

four words: three ingredient white queso. happening!

my life: heart emoji donuts. yesssss.

13 tips for organizing your baking supplies. ugh. is “find someone to do it for you” an option?

i’m obsessed with sarah’s capsule wardrobe.

no bake samoa macaroons. i want.

the ultimate boozy coconut hot chocolate. if you’re blizzarding this weekend, this should appear.

craving a huge bowl of this classic beef chili.

DIY floating glitter tumbler?! sign me up.

how incredible does this roast chicken pho zucchini noodle soup sound?

this orange ginger juice, the prettiest thing i ever did see.

you know i’m the absolute worst with crafts, but you can make a POTATO STAMP. what.

who even thinks of salted caramel apple fritter bread?! amazing.

i don’t need more cheese in my life except that yes i do, so sweet cheese puffs. adore.

love the idea of this bacon and caramelized onion potato salad during this season. so much flavor.

BBQ Havarti Burgers with Sweet Potato Curly Fries.

I’m making big plans.

We might get blasted with snow this weekend and while I’m currently deciding if I want to relive Ben picking the pink power ranger over Felicity, fall in love with Sam Seaborn again or do something really drastic like make a Huey Lewis and the News playlist while we’re housebound, I have one super serious question that I must have the answer to ASAP. 

What are you thinking of making for the super bowl? Or for a playoff game this weekend? I’m quite concerned since it’s an excellent excuse to braise short ribs and find yourself elbow-deep in some sort of horrifyingly delicious cheese dip. And while I might not be watching a game for any other purpose than socializing, I’ll probably get the itch to have some sort of spread on hand during the inevitable binge session of Scott Foley forever known to me as Noel.

Can we talk about how ORANGE this entire situation is?

It’s no secret that photography is my least favorite part of this process, but there are two things I find super difficult to photograph and that I just loathe taking pictures of: triangle slices (how/where/when to get the best angle?!) and orange foods (probably scarred for life from the yellow orange lighting back in the 2009 days of my blog). It’s not that I don’t love eating orange foods but they just always look… super orange.

Eddie was in it to win it though. He doesn’t mind the orange and I’m almost positive he took down a whole baking sheet of fries.

And I guess that I can get over it for these fries, because they are heaven on earth. I pretended they were stuck in a snow globe of BBQ spice and seasoned the ever-living heck out of them.

So, I think the secret to really crispy, delicious sweet potato fries, whether they be curly or regular, is the double fry. With one fry, they were slightly soggy and not crisp all around. But the MINUTE they hit the second fry, they were golden and crunchy on the outside but still so soft and sweet on the inside. I was DYING.

And I just used canola oil to fry, but I’ve made some smaller batches in coconut oil. It is SO good. It’s just hard for me to fathom wasting that liquid gold for a huge batch of frying. You know?

When I get on a burger kick, I get on a burger kick. There isn’t much else that solves a burger craving for me – I need a burger piled high with tons of toppings. In my early days, I only wanted cheese. For most of my childhood I ordered a “plain cheeseburger,” half scared that they would forget the cheese and I’d have a plain dry burger, but that wasn’t as bad if lettuce and tomato ended up between the buns. Oh heck no. I was NOT doing that.

Then I came to my senses. I wanted more flavor, more texture, more toppings to make it delicious. Now I prefer piles a spring greens, still like to leave off the tomato (too weird on a burger, no thanks) and tons of other toppings, like caramelized onions, mushrooms, mustard (always, where my mustard freaks at!), and fries. It’s practically required to stick a fry or five on top of your burger, just like it’s required to stick potato chips inside your sandwich. It adds SO much.

I promise.

I swear. To the moon and the stars and the sky.

My current favorite topping on my burger is a three-way tie between bacon jam, truffled aioli and shoestring onions. Freaking adore those crunchy onion frizzles! They kill me. And sometimes when the burger is topped with all that stuff, I actually prefer it wrapped in LETTUCE.

I know. What is wrong with me.

Not all the time, but occasionally the crispy, fresh iceberg wrap is ideal when you have 67 toppings on an already-thick patty.

Try it!

I’ve made the crispy onion straws at home before but I really wanted sweet potato fries on the side… and knew they’d end up on my burger. Especially since I decided to spiralize them into curly fries. I tried a few different settings on my spiralizer and actually loved them all! I had a tough time deciding but I think the thinner, angel-hair-like, shoestring fries win. Not only are they perfect for dipping (chipotle ketchup all the way) but topping? They rival the onion straws.

On to the burger, before you lose your patience. (Too late, I know).

I put some BBQ sauce in the beef mixture. I topped the thing with entirely too much Havarti cheese, really an obnoxious amount. It’s just so fantastic and ridiculously melty. Spring greens went on too. More BBQ sauce once served, a pile of bread and butter pickles (they are becoming a thing here, I’m totally blown away) and the sweet potato curls. All on a sesame bun that I brushed with butter because I didn’t think I had enough calories in my life. WAH.

But no really, just brush your buns with butter and throw them in the oven for five minutes. Life changing.

Sold yet? Give me an extra plate of pickles!

BBQ Havarti Burgers with Sweet Potato Curly Fries

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Total Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

BBQ havarti burgers

1 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces havarti cheese, sliced
4 to 6 brioche or sesame seed buns (depending on your size preference)
spring greens for serving

sweet potato curly fries

3 sweet potatoes, spiralized
vegetable or canola oil for frying
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper



Directions:

BBQ havarti burgers

Place the beef in a bowl and seasoning with the salt and pepper. Add the BBQ sauce and gently mix with your hands to incorporate, forming 4 to 6 patties, whichever size you wish and whatever size fits your bun. Heat a large skillet (or your grill, your preference) over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Cook the patties until browned on both sides and your desired doneness is reached. I do about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-well, but it will depend on how think your burgers are. A minute or two before they are done, cover the tops with the sliced harvarti and cover the skillet to let the cheese melt.

To serve the burgers, add a dollop of BBQ sauce on the bottom of the bun, then cover with spring greens. Add the patty on top, more BBQ sauce and a heaping pile of sweet potato fries!

sweet potato curly fries

Spiralize the sweet potatoes and place the spirals in a large bowl. Cover with water completely and let soak for 45 minutes. Once finish soaking, place the potato spirals on a large towel, covered with another towel, and pat firmly to remove as much water as you can.

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Fit the pot with a candy thermometer. You want the oil to be around 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with paper towels. Stir together the sugar, paprika, garlic powder, salt, onion powder and pepper.

Working in batches, add some of the potato spirals to the oil (don't overcrowd!) and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the very so slightly seem to be crisping or changing texture. Remove the spirals with a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs and place on the paper towel to drain the excess oil. Repeat with remaining spirals. Once those are all finished, you do the second fry. Work in batches again - this time the spirals will only need 1 to 2 minutes in the oil - they will turn golden, you will see. Remove and place on a paper towel again. While still hot, cover the spirals in the seasoning mixture.

when I dip you dip I dip.

Clementine Cream Sodas.

Let’s have a drink with our avocado toast!

At least that’s probably what I’m doing right now. Bringing basic well into 2016 and it tastes so good.

Gotta have something wonderful to sip on and this one is boozeless! It’s worth it, I promise.

This isn’t A cream soda, it’s just… cream soda. You know the bubbly, bottled version that tastes like wonderful vanilla frosting? I loved cream soda as a kid and then I feel like it disappeared for a million years.

But like everything else, it returned (boylan’s is our fave!) and a few summers ago I was loving it up once again.

Does that mean I’m a cool cream soda hipster? I mean, technically I liked it before it became trendy again.

So I made some! My own faux cream soda version with juice from a million clementines. Or like ten.

Ten clementines.

I adore the cuties, much like everyone else. Last year I made this chocolate covered orange shake with clementines. I’ve covered them in chocolate. I’ve put them in chicken skillets. I’ve eaten them by the ton.

You know, the usual things.

It goes a little something like this:

Make a lovely vanilla syrup.

Juice your citrus!

Lots of crushed ice. Must be crushed. Crushed is heaven.

Stir your syrup and juice, lots of spoonfuls to the mouth.

Top with seltzer!

Bubbly, sweet and citrusy. Exactly what I want right now.

Oh but WAIT.

This is exactly what I want right now, plus ice cream. A big scoop of vanilla (or lemon, I tried both and uh, don’t hate it) dropped into the homemade soda. It’s like creamsicle central, but homemade! And not in a 34-month old popsicle found in the back of your freezer in a January desperation sabotage attempt on your “lifestyle change.” I know you get me.

Clementine Cream Sodas

Yield: makes 2 sodas

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 vanilla bean
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup clementine juice (this was about 7 clementines, juiced, for me)
seltzer water, for topping (about 3 to 4 ounces per glass, or whatever you'd like!)
vanilla ice cream, if you want a float!



Directions:

Place the sugar, water and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat. (Note: you can scrape the vanilla beans out or leave the pod whole - I leave it whole so they beans don't get all throughout the syrup. Then use the pod for another drink, coffee or more syrup after!) Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and set it aside. Cool it to room temperature, then stir in the vanilla extract. You can store this sealed tight in the fridge for a week or so. You will have extra!

To make the sodas, stir together 3 tablespoons of the vanilla syrup with 1/3 cup of the clementine juice in the bottom of a glass with crushed ice. Fill the glass with 3 to 4 ounces of seltzer and stir. Taste and add more orange and/or syrup if you wish. Serve!

If you'd like to add ice cream, use a big glass. ;)

at least it’s packed with vitamin c?

Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Chai Icing.

If you’ve actively been looking to break your resolution, I’m going to sell you right now.

One peek below into this swirly vanilla chai batter and we’re all done for. It’s OVER people.

Half of me wants to scoop this into a mug and drink it.

The other half doesn’t want to die from salmonella or, well… drink batter.

Also, I can’t stop typing “chair” instead of “chai.” My fingers automatically hit the R. I’m conditioned!

These cupcakes are so super fluffy and filled with tons of warming spice. It’s like a big mug of tea in cake. A big hug in a mug in a cake. Covered with an icing hat. The flavor is one that I didn’t have much interest in until I took a gigantic bite.

And died.

Also, is brown buttercream a thing? Should it be brown butter buttercream? I wanted to call it brown buttercream but thought you’d freak out and think that it was (or supposed be) brown. Which I suppose is not terrible since chocolate is brown. But still!

Regardless, the icing is made with brown butter. Shocking at this point, I know. So it’s made with brown butter, then covered in a crunchy sugar chai sprinkle. The coarse raw sugar adds the most wonderful texture on top of the fluffy buttercream cloud!

Like, hello: can I feel that crunch and fluff with everything I eat?

The best part is that I’ve never even cared about chai. It was never one of my beverages of choice, but after making these chewy chai snickerdoodles this past fall, I have changed my tune. I want everything chai. Especially loaded with sugar. 

ALSO. This is the cupcake that I shared on my Tuesday Things post last week! Suspense is now over. A bunch of you have been asking and I have been a terrible person for ignoring you. Or, I just transferred the written recipe into an electronic version less than twelve hours ago because I’m struggling to get my life together. That’s real talk right there.

Now I know it’s still January and all but there are TONS of reasons that you might need a cupcake recipe, like a playoff football game, the superbowl, fat Tuesday or just this coming Friday night. When a blizzard hits. Be prepared. I personally choose the last option.

I know. This is your shocked face.

Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Chai Icing.

Yield: makes 12 cupcakes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

cupcakes

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk

frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to solid room temp
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

crunchy sugar topping

1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

 

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Set it aside.

Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat it until creamy. Add the sugar and beat with the butter on high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add in the oil and vanilla extract, beating on medium speed for another minute. With the mixer on low speed, add in half of the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk. Add in the other half of the dry ingredients and mix them on medium speed until the batter is combined.

Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the tops are set, about 16 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

frosting

Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until creamy. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the sugar. Add in the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. Beat until the sugar is incorporated and add the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Beat the frosting on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy and creamy. If the frosting seems too thick, beat in the tablespoon of milk for 1 to 2 minutes until combined.

Frost the cupcakes once cooled. To make the crunchy sugar topping, stir together the raw sugar with the cinnamon and cardamom. Sprinkle on top of the frosting!

[cake from my confetti cupcake recipe, chai spice from chewy snickerdoodles!]

But can you even?!

Tuesday Things.

1. These breakfast cookies are what I’m planning on making today. Ugh, they sound fantastic. And super easy!

2. Current avocado toast obsession (since it basically has it’s own category in my life now): super thinly sliced cucumbers, drizzle of toasted sesame oil, sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. DO it.

3. So. One of my “resolutions” was/is to clean as I go and it is finally changing my life. I don’t do it on big recipe days because that’s near impossible but I’m doing it in everyday life and it’s actually working. Who knew? You knew. That’s who.

4. My friend Andie is giving deets on her cookbook today and GUYS, it is amazing. I’ve had a peek and the food is unreal.

5. You know what I’m really kind of over? Bacon in my dessert. Don’t get me wrong – this will probably lead to some wild idea and in two weeks I’ll be sharing a bacon treat with you. But now? Meh.

6. The internet has ruined most communication for me, because I was definitely the tween who spent countless hours on the phone talking to her friends. But now? This is my life.

7. TV! Did you watch Billions? Eddie and I super loved it. Like are really into after only one episode! Even though I refer to the characters as Brody (from Homeland) and Tara (from SOA). Also I’m thinking I might binge on The Americans, because so many of you have told me to watch it and I’m feeling super Felicity-nostalgic right now.

8. Eddie is still doing yoga every single day. It’s awesome, but also hilarious, because he will tell you that he’s the least flexible person on the planet. We did yoga once together years ago and I had to stop ten minutes in because I was laughing so hard. But this past weekend he was even nailing crow pose! I think it’s making him more chill too? Maybe?

9. 22 tiny things you should do everyday. Number 8 oh heck YES.

10. Hair wraps!!, number 24 – these were the things of life in the summer and when school would start back up, because hello, it meant you had been to the beach. Raise your hand if you HAD to have a hair wrap. Pretty sure my mom only let me get one once.

11. Is anyone else in Pittsburgh completely devastated at the closing of Marty’s Market? Ugh! Why universe, why?

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna with Burrata.

How to feel slightly better about eating four kinds of cheese: go!

About six different kinds of vegetables are involved (you know, real vegetables this time. Not, like, just corn.) and they cancel out everything and anything about the cheese. Except how wonderfully melty and delicious it is. Oh and except for the fact that there are four layers of it.

Four! I love life.

I grew up eating hearty dinners. Not super huge dinners, but they were definitely the biggest meal of the day. My mom cooked almost every night and it was always a complex meal. And while I love a great big brunch on the weekends or even a lunch that sometimes carries me over late into the night, day after day, I still love having a big warm, comforting dinner. The portions don’t have to be huge but I like it to feel… dinnerish. If that makes sense. I’m talking a salad, a side, an entrée, and maybe even another side like applesauce.

Like a super high maintenance dinner.

And hi, yes, I’m a child. The only different between now and twenty years ago is that I’m no longer covering the applesauce in cinnamon sugar. Begrudgingly, I should add.

Today, the universe says that hearty breakfasts are where it’s at but the family table at dinnertime is still my favorite. It always will be.

Now for a not-so-secretive secret? I didn’t eat lasagna for years. In fact, I probably didn’t eat it for the first twentyish years of my life, due in large part to my lack of tomato sauce love.

Then! A few years ago I started making butternut squash lasagna (my all-time favorite recipe is in my cookbook) and was hooked. It led to white pizza lasagna, a whole bunch of skillet lasagna, and then just last year, right after I had Max and felt hunger like I’d never felt before (seriously! sooooo hungry after having a baby.), had my aunt’s lasagna that she makes with sandwich pepperoni (omg so good).

Needless to say, I want all the lasagnas now forever. I’M INTO IT.

I don’t need the meat though, so veggies it is. This is a super easy way for me to eat all the vegetable I can, and not only that, Max decided he would eat the veggies he usually pushes to the side (mushrooms, roasted reds) too. Because they taste like heaven!

Oh and you bet this caused a divide at the family table for dinner. It’s over a week later and Eddie is still asking where the meat is. Five minutes ago? He asked.

We are at the top of the cheese empire right here. Mozzarella, parm, provolone AND burrata, which may as well be classified under heaven and not even cheese. Cream stuffed fresh mozzarella balls? I cannot.

Not at all.

I love each and every part of the filling. The ricotta swirled with the herbs and a ridiculous amount of parmesan. It melts into the provolone which melts into the burrata which melts into the mozzarella.

But the veggies! Broccoli, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, red bell peppers, orange bell peppers – all roasted. So much flavor right there. And the tomatoes! Bursting and almost popped, they are scattered throughout the filling but also set on top for the prettiest, burnt and bubbliest, cheesy over achiever topping you ever did see.

It’s as hearty as it comes and I love serving it with a big salad. Super cliche lasagna side, get it?  I’m actually going to be sharing said salad, the howsweeteats house salad, in an embarrassingly easy post later this week. Whooooop.

Also! This is the vegetable lasagna that I made last year (minus the burrata) for my freezer meals before I had Max, and it freezes so well. I like to bake it then cool completely and freeze. And just a word of advice: if you’re freezing it for a family of four or less, I’d make it in two 8×8-inch pans. ‘Cause let me tell you, it can be rough eating a gigantic pan of lasagna for one week.

Rough. But fabulous.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna with Burrata

Yield: makes one 9x13 inch dish

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

 

12 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces broccoli florets
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini squash, chopped
2 pints grape tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper for seasoning


2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


12 to 15 no-boil lasagna noodles (depending on how they fit in your pan)
1 (24-ounce) jar of marinara sauce
2 balls of burrata cheese
8 ounces provolone cheese, freshly grated
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. One one sheet, place all the grape tomatoes (left whole). Spread the remaining veggies out on two other sheets, but don't crowd them. Drizzle each pan with some of the olive oil, cover with salt and pepper and toss well. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be bursting.

I like to combine all the veggies EXCEPT for the tomatoes into one bowl. This way I can reach for them to scatter in the lasagna. I also combine the grated cheese together. When layering, I like to add a handful of roasted tomatoes in each layer, but saved a bunch for topping. Same with the grated cheese: save some for topping. So with the veggies, sauce, ricotta and burrata, you will use it three times (divide into thirds). The tomatoes and grated cheese, 4 times, so have a 4th helping for the top.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta, parmesan, basil, oregano, salt and pepper together. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spoon about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and top with 3 lasagna noodles. Next, start your layers. Cover the sauce with a third of the roasted veggies. Drop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture on top of the veggies, then pull apart one of the burrata balls and scatter it evenly over. Top with handfuls of the grated cheese. Add another few spoonfuls of marinara, then place 3 more lasagna noodles. You want to do this two more times for two more layers. I finish the last layer with a top layer of lasagna noodles, smothered in tomato sauce and the rest of the grated cheese. I like to add the leftover cherry tomatoes on top of that.

Place the dish on a baking sheet. Turn the heat down in the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove and let sit for another 45 to 60 minutes before slicing.

 

cheese peekaboo.

Currently Crushing On.

{via}

So. We are not a skiing family but secretly, I wish we were. Is it too late to start now? If I’m being real, I just want some sort of ski cabin (wait wait, I’m much more condo than cabin…) decked out in cuddly blankets and full of espresso machines. I want two fireplaces and ten stacks of books and the most perfect instagrammable snow falling right outside the window. And some hot chocolate. That’s really why I want to be a skiier. Is it as dreamy as it sounds? Indulge me.

How was your week?! It was COLD here so we cuddled up and maybe even ventured outside in Ugg boots. THE HORROR. Other than my always questionable fashion choices, I’ve been drinking a bunch of this and smooching a bunch of this.

And! Over on facebook I shared a video of my cheesy one pot tomato basil pasta. Throw it all in ONE pot – and go. Tada.

loves of the week:

my friend kristen does the most fun snapchat coffee talks ever, and now she is doing a similar newsletter. i love this so much.

best thing i read all week: tips for using your phone camera only – and leaving the big one home when traveling.

tomorrow morning i’m making the prettiest tropical green smoothie bowl.

how to organize your goals and get stuff DONE! oh yeah oh yeah. this probably does not include having someone do things for me, whomp whomp. 

loving the idea of these spicy veggie sushi bowls. so much flavor.

earlier this week i made this baked spaghetti with meat sauce and it was SO fab. i have made dishes like this before but this one? top notch. eddie and max both agreed.

chai overnight oats with blood orange. like i can even pass this up.

megan’s 29 things she’s learned in her twenties. perfection.

we can do it: lemon poppy seed loaf cake. 

maple roasted pears are screaming my name.

as long as no fennel SEEDS are involved, i’m all over this linguine with fennel and winter greens.

let’s blow our resolutions with a white russian affogato. what do you say?

White Bean Soup with Crumbled Bacon and Spiced Brown Butter.

My soup game has been severely lacking this winter.

It’s a shame too, because I love a good soup backstroke. Look at that silky bowl!

I almost always make one new soup recipe a week come Fall, but we had cahrazy weather here, with it feeling like summer on Christmas, so I’m blaming it on that. I promise I’ll stop talking about the weather now, k.

Let’s make up for it now!

P.S. last Friday night I made this lasagna soup (I know, I’m so wild) and holy cow was it fantastic. Insane. Add it to your list, and make both this weekend. Done and done. I made your plans!

So. This white bean soup is almost too easy to share with you. It’s too easy for it’s own good. I used canned white beans, a big change from using dried beans, which I almost ALWAYS did before having a baby and found myself with what was apparently loads of time on my hands. As well as a working brain that remembered to do things such as soak beans.

Not minding one bit though, because this soup can come together in 30 minutes. It is pure SILK. It’s creamy and dreamy and gives you the most melt-in-your-mouth feel.

By the way, how do we feel about the term (expression?) “mouth feel?” I’m not exactly a fan.

It starts with bacon, comes together with the beans and finishes with spiced brown butter.

This butter. UGH. This butter. It’s so wonderful.

I’ve talked about it before. The curry brown butter itself is originally from Heidi’s green lentil soup, which may be one of my favorite recipes of all time. I’ve made that butter countless times (and used it on things like grilled cheese) – it takes brown butter to another level entirely. I mean, if you thought you liked brown butter before?

Just wait.

This is off the charts. So I added just a pinch of cardamom for more warming winter spice.

The best part about this is that you just need a tiny drizzle. It adds so much depth of flavor to the bowl, you won’t even believe it! Then top it with some crunchy bacon, some fresh herbs, maybe a crouton from your salad that you weren’t sure was a good idea but that ended up being an awesome idea – one big, rustic crouton is enough.

Unless you’re like me and want a bowl solely for dipping. Uhhh… YEP.

White Bean Soup with Bacon and Spiced Brown Butter

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (14-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup half and half

spiced brown butter

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 pinch of ground cardamom



Directions:

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until crispy and all the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain any excess grease. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and stir. Stir in the basil, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the onions begin to caramelize, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the beans and stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, carefully transfer the mixture to a blender. Blend until pureed completely, then pour back in the pot. Season with the salt and taste again - you may need to season more, but remember you are topping it with bacon! Stir in the half and half right before serving.

Serve topped with the bacon crumbles and drizzles of spiced brown butter.

 

spiced brown butter

Heat the butter over medium heat in a saucepan, whisking constantly. Cook until it bubbles and the brown bits appear on the bottom (about 4 to 5 minutes) then quickly stir in the curry and cardamom and remove it from the heat. Whisk for another 10 seconds. Drizzle and drop the butter on the soup before serving.

[brown butter idea from 101 cookbooks!]

isn’t that heaven itself?!