Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 46

Butternut Squash Tortellini Skillet.

This easy butternut squash tortellini skillet is one of my go-to simple dishes for the fall season. It’s cozy and comforting, filled with brown butter and sage. It tastes amazing and is so super satisfying!

This is such a Monday meal!

It never fails that on Mondays I require the easiest, simplest dinner that is cozy and comforting. Especially in the fall season. 

This butternut squash tortellini skillet is simple, so super flavorful and filling enough for a weeknight meal.

Enjoy it alone or serve it with a big greens salad. It’s also a great side dish with some grilled chicken or your protein of choice. 

Over the years, one of my staple pre-made meals has been the butternut ravioli from Trader Joe’s. I serve it with brown butter, sage and parmesan. It’s total comfort food and just tastes amazing. Like the best parts of fall. The savory sweetness gets me every time. 

Then, I started making something similar with actual squash and cheese tortellini. It’s what you see here, complete with the brown butter, sage and parm. 

Because is there anything better than brown butter, sage and parm when it comes to butternut squash?!

I think not. The nuttiness of the brown butter, the fragrant sage, the savory parmesan. It’s SO good.

This version of my favorite comfort food is a bit more satisfying and nourishing than the Trader Joe’s ravioli. Thanks to cooking the squash in the skillet and adding the cheese tortellini. It’s similar to my harvest tortellini, but it isn’t baked and doesn’t have a melty cheese topping. Dare I say, it’s almost… lighter. 

This is how I make it!

First, I brown the butter. I add the sage in there too so it gets crispy! I like to do this first and transfer the butter to a bowl – this way there are some brown bits left in the skillet to make the squash. I set the sage aside too to crisp up. 

I add a drop of olive oil and then the cubed butternut squash with lots of salt, pepper and garlic powder. I cook this for a few minutes undisturbed so it gets a nice golden crust on the bottom, then I flip and repeat until the squash is tender. (more…)

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A Week In The Life, Vol 42.

Nearly halfway through October. Time slow down!!

On another episode of our pumpkin farm tour…

Fall spam, 24/7.

Drop off line shenanigans.

Look at that windowpane pull of my sourdough!!!

Holiday queen.

I can’t believe these pumpkin varieties didn’t seem to exist when I was a kid.

A little witch.

Decided she wanted a bubble braid 24 seconds before walking out the door!

We could see the Northern lights!!! It was so hard to capture on my phone but we caught it.

This seems reasonable. I’m a christmas elf!

Eddie and I celebrated our anniversary this week!

Once every month I want a hot coffee. Then I proceed to drink only 1/4 of it before switching to iced.

We made Halloween haunted houses.

The amount of sprinkles these kids snuck…

Jordan’s first time mostly doing it by himself!! He was thrilled.

Date night to celebrate!

16 years of looking across the table.

Yessss.

Max loves his flag games.

Everything in the kitchen is fair game for him to steal!!

He is so funny.

And cute.

And the littlest baby of all the babies!!!

6am hockey game arrival!

Obsessed.

Emilia and I did some crafts and baking.

Finished off with more Halloween fun for the weekend!

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What To Eat This Week: 10/13/24.

Gear up for cozy comfort food!

What’s on your menu this week?!

What To Eat This Week

Roasted chickpeas and peppers pita

Cheesy weeknight enchilada bake

Winter hummus bowls

Honey mustard chicken bowls

Butternut couscous bowls

Pumpkin turkey chili

White bean tuna salad

Pumpkin granola bark

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Currently Crushing On.

Hello weekend!

This week on the blog I shared this autumn pasta salad with maple vinaigrette. I also shared this cheesy enchilada bake, my favorite fall recipes to meal prep and these pumpkin scones with espresso glaze. YUM.

I also shared some of my amazon favorites – the best I’ve ever bought.

You can find all my favorites in my amazon store front and LTK shop! I started a few gift guides too.

There’s a new menu for the week and a new peek inside our everyday life.

You can join The Everyday Dinners cookbook club right here! If you have a copy of the book, request to join the group. If not, get one here!  Ready to start on fall! It is such a wonderful community and an amazing place for recipe ideas.

xoxoxox

WHAT I’M LOVING THIS WEEK

Pumpkin streusel muffins. I always want one!

We love mini pepper nachos.

Apple cider cupcakes are beautiful.

I want all this ranch cheddar snack mix.

Ancient grain arugula salad looks amazing.

This sausage gnocchi soup is so cozy.

Aperol spritz mocktail. Yum.

Look at this chocolate mousse. Whoa.

Buckeye brownies need to happen here.

There are sweet potato nachos too!

Sweet potato cobbler also exists. Omg.

This pumpkin cheesecake mousse is fabulous.

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Pumpkin Scones with Espresso Glaze.

These pumpkin scones with espresso glaze are one of my favorite fall recipes! These autumn treat is dreamy, a fluffy pillowy scone filled with pumpkin spice flavor and topped with coffee glaze. They are irresistible!

Oh how I love a little pumpkiny bite that can be enjoyed with coffee! 

Or, covered in coffee!

Or eaten for breakfast. A midnight snack. Lunch dessert! These pumpkin scones are fluffy and tender and covered in the most dreamy coffee glaze. 

It’s the best bite of fall that you can make in about 30 minutes! 

I love the combo of pumpkin + espresso so much. My pumpkin dream cupcakes with espresso cream cheese frosting? Wowza. They are so freaking good. It’s a combination that I think about often. 

So, I knew that an espresso-y glaze would be just divine on pumpkin scones. 

This is a version of a classic scone recipe that I first shared on here over 16 years ago. It was one of the first recipes I ever shared, which is mind blowing. And since then, I’ve rambled about how I never even liked scones back in the day.

That was over 16 years ago, so… I think it’s safe to say that I really like scones now!

P.S. I have a ton of scone recipes now. Wild.

One of the reasons I love these so much is because they take barely any time at all. Once the ingredients are combined, you pat the dough into circles, cut it into triangles and bake for 15ish minutes or less. 

They are easy, fast and make a nice batch that lasts for the week! Or that you can share with friends. Or that you can freeze for later. Priorities! 

The espresso glaze uses freshly brewed espresso and the small alone is enough to send me into a wonderful nostalgic spin. Long before I enjoyed coffee, the smell alone was comforting to me. Anytime I brew it, I’m transported back into my home kitchen when I was a kid.

Love it. 

And!

The espresso glaze pairs so well with the pumpkin scone. It just works. Think PSL but in a fluffy little bite size with a coffee icing. 

I mean, look at these little triangle clouds of love.

The flaky layers. And buttery pumpkin flavor with lots of spice. Finished with the coffee icing!

I can’t handle it. (more…)

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16 Fall Meals You Can Prep Ahead For Lunches or Dinners.

These are 16 of my favorite meals to prep ahead for the week – dishes that hold up well day after day! Soups, pastas, grain bowls and salads, these are my favorite things to eat for lunch or make ahead for busy weeknights!

Let’s make dinner super easy during the crazy fall season!

With a bunch of meals that I adore – ones that still taste fantastic a few days after making them.

I am allll about the easy meals I can prep ahead of time to make sure we have something to delicious to eat on busy nights – or at least eat for lunches. While we can easily fall back on our go-to of something like a grain, grilled chicken or salmon and roasted vegetables, these ones below are more complete dishes that add variety and some excitement to our prepped meals.

That is KEY! I don’t want to eat something boring or something that doesn’t sound good – and I hate any sort of meal prep to go to waste.

Below you’ll find a few of my favorite bowls, soups, pastas and even two kale salads that hold up well for about three days! What are your favorite fall meals to make ahead for the week?

16 Fall Meal Prep Meals For Next Week

(more…)

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Weeknight Cheesy Enchilada Bake.

This cheesy beef enchilada bake is a cozy, comforting weeknight meal. Homemade enchilada sauce, ground beef, corn, green chiles, tortillas and cheese make this extra delicious. Leftovers are great too!

This is the ultimate weeknight meal. 

This beef enchilada bake is so delicious, completely with homemade enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, tortillas and monterey jack cheese. It’s baked until melty and bubbly and cheesy and it tastes like an absolute dream. Heaven on a fork!

Or heaven on a chip? 

I freaking love this meal. It reminds me a lot of my one pot nachos – the flavors are similar. The flavor is very familiar, nostalgic and overwhelmingly enjoyed. It tastes like a cheesy enchilada in the best way possible. 

There are so many versions of recipes like this. I even have a few here on the site – like this chicken enchilada skillet. 

This version with ground beef (or turkey!) may be my favorite. The flavor is out of this world and it’s easy. 

Now, when I tell you it’s easy, I should tell you this: I make my own enchilada sauce. I can’t help it – we love it and the sauce in the can is just not the same. This does add an extra element of cooking at the beginning of the recipe, but it’s not difficult. 

That being said, you could totally skip that part and use a can or jar of enchilada sauce that you love. No biggie! 

To start, I brown the ground beef. Once browned, I remove it from the pan and make the sauce in the same pan. Just make sure the pan is 1. large enough and 2. oven-safe. That way, you’re good to use the one pan!

The enchilada sauce itself only takes about 15 minutes. Once it’s done, I put in some torn or cut tortillas, the ground beef, some frozen corn (it will easily cook in the oven!) and a can of diced green chiles. 

SO EASY.

(more…)

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Tuesday Things.

1. How to create positive urgency. I love this so much.

2. I’m still enjoying some true crime podcasts but need some new recommendations. I don’t love unsolved cases. Give me your faves!

3. Craving this chocolate pudding cake like whoa.

4. TV things. Still loving Tell me Lies so much even though the characters are nuts. I also keep watching Nobody Wants This!

5. I kind of want an oura ring. Except I don’t love wearing rings. And do I need something telling me that I don’t sleep?

6. The top prime day faves that I think are *actually* worth it.

7. In case you’re a freak like me and already thinking about Thanksgiving, here are my Thanksgiving essentials!

8. I also can’t wait for eggnog lattes. There I said it.

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My Top 15 Amazon Prime Day Favorites!

You guys have been asking me for years to share an amazon favorites post, so here it is! In time for prime day, I thought I’d share the 15 things I think are totally worth it. You can find more of my picks here, as well as my amazon store front. My kids’ birthdays are in the late fall too, so I’ve already started making some gift guides since I’ve bought some birthday and christmas gifts for them!

What are you loving?!

Top 15 Amazon Prime Day Favorites

Tineco iFloor 3. I’ve mentioned this a few times but it changed my life. I mean, not to be dramatic. It changed my cleaning life! This cleans my floors like NOTHING else. It is incredibly satisfying and cleans so well. There are some weeks when I use it daily!

Parchment Paper Sheets. I buy these over and over again. Can’t live in my kitchen without them!

All Clad Immersion blender. It’s soup season! I have not always loved the immersion blender but this one changed my mind. It works SO fast and it’s easy to use. It doesn’t spray everywhere. It’s super smooth makes blending in a pot simple.

Amazon Smart Plugs. I use these every holiday season and adore them. All of our christmas tree lights hook up to these, as well as any lit garland in the house. With one command, all the holiday lights come on! So easy.

Breville Barista Touch. During prime day this past summer, I made an impulse purchase and oh my, was it wonderful. I love this and so does everyone who steps foot in my house! It’s like having a little coffee shop in your home. The coffee is incredible.

LEVOIT Air Purifiers. I bought these last year when we moved into our house, mostly because there was still some work happening. I have a few around the house (our room, upstairs, basement, etc) and am so happy with them.

KitchenAid cordless hand mixer. Going cordless on this changed my life. It is SO much easier to use in the kitchen and especially with kids.

Le Creuset Dutch Oven. I use my dutch oven multiple times a week – for so many different dishes. Even for bread. It’s a must have and this quality is unmatched.

Apple AirPods Max. I didn’t expect to like these, but I have ended up LOVING them. They are the most comfortable noise cancelling headphones I’ve ever used. They are wonderful!!

Breville the Smart Oven® Air Fryer Pro. This is one of my favorite kitchen appliances. I love having it in my kitchen to easily reheat items or make things like quick chicken fingers for the kids. Definitely my favorite air fryer too!

wernies No Show Socks. Best socks ever! They do not slip at all. I have repurchased these many many times.

Nanit Pro Smart Baby Monitor. I got this in 2021 when I had Jordan and it was one of the best purchases. I love it. I travel with it and still use it every night.

Wall Charger, Surge Protector. I have a few of these and I like to travel with them. They are also great in the kitchen. We all have so many different devices these days that having this is necessary.

Beckham Hotel Collection Bed Pillows. A few years ago I was googling the best pillows. I’ve done this many times and we’ve never been satisfied. But 3 or 4 years ago we got these (and have since replaced once or twice!) and they are INCREDIBLE. We both love them. We have the king version.

Clean skin club facial towels. I’ve been using these for over a year every night and I swear they’ve changed my skin. I was going through so many towels to ensure I always had a clean one for my face, and with little kids and hand washing, it was hard to determine that. I LOVE these – they are so convenient and easy to use.

Kindle Paperwhite. I had to include this bonus because I can’t live without my kindle these days. Max also has one and uses it constantly when we’re on the go. I take mine everywhere. I actually get anxious if I forget it at home!

[none of this is sponsored, i just love to tell you what i love every month! there are a few general affiliate links above! xo]

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Autumn Pasta Salad with Maple Vinaigrette.

We love this fall pasta salad with maple vinaigrette! Roasted squash and brussels sprouts, pepitas, goat cheese, arugula and a maple vinaigrette make it absolutely delicious. Great for lunch or dinner!

I’ve got fall in a bowl for you today!

This autumn pasta salad is filled with roasted butternut squash and brussels sprouts, creamy goat cheese, crunchy pepitas, arugula and a spiced maple dressing. I’m all about easy fall dishes and this is one that’s been on repeat this season. 

The texture is phenomenal. The flavor is incredible! It’s a great side dish for the season and I’m not going to lie: I eat it as a meal. 

I adore everything about it. 

My favorite season has most of my favorite flavors too. Roasted squash and brussels sprouts make an appearance in so many of our dinners. Because of that, this ends up being a good dish to make when I have leftovers too. 

I love it because I can make it and serve it immediately or I can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and make it for lunch. Leftovers are great and it is a truly versatile dish.

It’s also a really good base for rotisserie chicken or even roasted chickpeas! I love it as a side dish, a main dish, a party dish or as meal prep.

This is what goes into our fall pasta salad:

Roasted butternut squash

Roasted brussels sprouts 

Diced shallot

Creamy goat cheese 

Roasted pepitas

Baby arugula for some greens 

It has everything I want in an autumn salad and more! Oh and the dressing?

SO GOOD. 

This is my classic maple dressing and it’s perfect for the fall season. A delish vinaigrette with a hint of sweet and spice. The nutmeg makes it extra special and brings out the warm flavor. 

The whole combination tastes so good together. There is so much crunch, the goat cheese kind of melts throughout the salad and it’s filling. Super satisfying.

It’s also one of those dishes that feels nourishing thanks to the roasted vegetables.  (more…)

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