Marinara Sauce

This is Sunday, which usually means I'm watching football while sauce simmers on the stove. This is today's sauce. It's simmering now and the house smells amazing. I add spinach to try and get some more nutrients into my kids and they think it's basil. Shhhh....don't tell!

Marinara Sauce

1 shallot,chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced (4 will be used immediately, the other 2 will be added a little later)

8oz cremini mushrooms

2 large handfuls fresh spinach

1/4 cup sherry

2 cans San Marzano tomatoes 

15-20 basil leaves

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried basil

Saute shallot and 4 garlic cloves in about 1 tbsp olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and spinach. When the spinach has cooked down and the mushrooms are softened (a few minutes), add the sherry and simmer 5 more minutes. 

 Add the tomatoes.

These are whole tomatoes, so I just take them out by hand and squish them into the pot. You can use a fork to break them up in a bowl first, but it's not as much fun as squishing them. lol. Add the remaining ingredients. I usually let my sauce simmer for a few hours with the lid on because I like the sauce to be on the thinner side. You do need it to simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better, in my opinion. If you leave the lid off, it will be thicker, so it depends on your preference. If I were making a lasagna, for example, I would let it simmer without a lid.

Pizza with Prosciutto and Arugula

This is our new favorite way to make homemade pizza....ok, it's not completely homemade because I use already made pizza dough...but still...lol....it's delicious!

Pizza with Prosciutto and Arugula

Pizza dough (you can get already made pizza dough at Trader Joe's or a thin pizza crust that's already made. I used to use the ready to go pizza crusts from Trader Joe's, but they recently discontinued them..booooo!)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1-4oz package prosciutto (more or less depending on your preference)
Arugula (I got a bag of arugula and used about half.)
juice of 1/2 lemon
about 2 tsps olive oil (for the arugula)
Parmesan cheese, shaved


If you are using the prepared dough, it needs to sit out on a floured surface for at least 30 minutes. I used that time to get everything ready.
In a small bowl, mix the 1/4 cup olive oil and the minced garlic. Let it sit and get yummy while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. If you're using a pizza stone, it needs to be put into a COLD oven and brought to temp. Cut the prosciutto into bite sized pieces. It makes it easier to eat once it's on the pizza.
Put the arugula into a bowl and add the 2 tsps olive oil and lemon juice. (I used a little bit of the garlic infused olive oil, but you can also use plain.)
Roll the dough until it's the thickness you prefer. This pizza really needs a thin crust, but it's up to you.

As you can see, I am unable to make a perfect circle...lol...

 Once the oven is up to 425, carefully lift the flattened pizza crust and place it on the pizza stone. You can also put the dough onto a cookie sheet and place into the preheated oven. Poke the crust a couple times with a fork so you don't get huge air bubbles in the crust. Using a basting brush, brush the entire crust with the garlic infused olive oil. Bake 8-10 minutes.
Take the crust out when it's golden brown.
Add the prosciutto in an even layer while the crust is still super hot...the fat on the prosciutto will melt beautifully onto the crust.....add the arugula and top with the shaved parmesan.

This was before I decided to cut the prosciutto into pieces. It definitely works better if the prosciutto is chopped up a bit.

I actually added more parmesan cheese after I took this picture. Be careful, though...the prosciutto is salty and so is the cheese, so if you overdo the cheese, the whole pizza may be too salty.

Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This grilled cheese can be made with just sharp white cheddar, but tonight I added a little Fontina cheese and it was delicious! Last time I made these, I used an orange sharp cheddar and a really good aged white cheddar. Those were also equally amazing! So, you can just play with this recipe and decide which way you like it the best!

Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Sliced sourdough bread
Aged white cheddar
Sharp cheddar cheese or Fontina cheese
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup chopped chives 
a dash of garlic salt (to your taste)

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese with the chives.
Butter the outside of the bread slices.
Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese/chive mixture on the inside of the sourdough slices for your grilled cheese. On top of that, add one layer of white cheddar cheese slices. Then add a small amount of fontina cheese or sharp cheddar cheese. Whichever you prefer. You can also choose to just use the white cheddar.

Put into the pan on medium heat and cover with a lid. It should take about 2 minutes per side. I always cover it because it really helps to melt the cheese. This sandwich is delicious served with tomato soup or my cauliflower soup that I posted a while back. :)

You can see the ratio of the white cheddar on the bottom and the amount of fontina on top. Fontina is strong cheese, so start with a small amount and see what you think. Again, you can substitute the fontina with a sharp or medium cheddar cheese, too. The white cheddar is crucial for this sandwich, though.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

I usually make this soup after I roast a chicken....but I didn't have time tonight, so I cheated and picked up a rotisserie chicken. It was delicious without all the work!

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

1 shallot, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, diced (about 2 cups diced)
3 large carrots, diced (about 1 1/2 cups diced)
1-48oz container chicken broth
1-32 oz container chicken broth
1/2 cup cooking sherry
5 red potatoes, cut into preferred size
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 yellow squash, sliced
2 zucchini squash, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 rotisserie chicken (meat taken off, cubed or shredded)

Saute the shallot and the garlic in about 2 tbsp olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Add cooking sherry and continue to saute for about a minute. Add celery, carrots,  potatoes, squash, soy sauce, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add chicken and cream of mushroom soup. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through.
That's it!

5 Bean Soup

It's raining tonight, so I felt like warm soup.......I didn't feel like going to the store after work, so I went through my cabinets and put this together. It came out really delicious and was perfect for a rainy night!

5 Bean Soup

1/2 white onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

5 strips of bacon (I used a homemade bacon, but I think any type of bacon would work)

1/4 cup cooking sherry

1-32 oz container Beef Broth

1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (mine had italian seasonings in them already)

1/2 tsp cumin (or more if you like a stronger cumin flavor)

1 tsp salt (more to taste)

1 tsp garlic powder

1-15oz can cannellini beans

1-15oz can white beans

1-15oz can pinto beans

1-15oz can small red beans

1-15oz can black beans

cayenne to taste (I used about 1 tsp and then added some to my own bowl. lol. I like spicy!)

Saute bacon for about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Saute until the onions and celery are translucent. Add the cooking sherry and bring to a simmer. Add the beef broth and let those come to a simmer. Add the beans, the cumin, salt and garlic powder and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. You can also add the cayenne at that time, if you choose to add it.

Enjoy!