Category: Make Ahead

Homemade Squid Ink Fettuccine

I am taking full advantage of the long weekend by making a recipe I’ve wanted to make for a while now: Homemade Squid Ink Fettuccine!

I’ve been inspired to finally try to make homemade pasta after Danny Freeman’s demo at Binding Agents a few months back. And on a recent stop at Ippolito’s, I noticed they had cuttlefish ink for sale and knew that homemade squid ink fettuccine was in my near future!

Homemade pasta is surprisingly easy to make, but it does take some time (the dough has to rest a few times) so just keep that in mind when planning to make it. I have a bunch of tools on hand that make pasta making even easier, so I’ll link to those throughout this post.

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) cuttlefish ink
  • 3oo grams (about 2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

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Cajun Mac and Cheese

I love a classic mac and cheese. But I also love a spin on a classic, like this recipe for Cajun Mac and Cheese!

This Cajun Mac and Cheese recipe is made of elbow pasta with onions, bell peppers, celery, and andouille sausage, baked in a creamy, spiced cheese sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 (16 oz) box elbow pasta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 (12 oz – 16 oz) package Andouille sausage, chopped
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
  • 4 oz cubed sharp cheddar cheese
  • 4 oz cubed gouda cheese

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Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies

These Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies are a bit out of my cookie baking comfort zone. I tend to stay away from any holiday cookies that use royal icing — I don’t usually have the patience for decorating cookies so I lean toward drop cookies for most of the ones I make.

But this year, I figured it was time to try a fairly easy decorated holiday cookie – Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies!

These sugar cookies are topped with royal icing and then are decorated with strings of Christmas lights which are made with black icing and mini M&M’s.

The resulting Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies are colorful, fun, and oh so tasty!

Ingredients (makes approximately 2 dozen cookies)

Sugar Cookies:

  • 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks (reserve your egg whites!)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Royal Icing:

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract (can substitute vanilla extract to make nut free)

Decorations:

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Fresh Juiced Apple Cider

‘Tis the season for apple cider! Every year, I make sure to pick up some store-bought apple cider to enjoy. But this year, I wanted to try to make my own Fresh Juiced Apple Cider using my Hurom Juicer (paid link) and was surprised with how easy and delicious it was to make!

You can make this fresh juiced apple cider with whatever your favorite apple is, but I suggest aiming for a sweeter apple, like Honeycrisp.

I like to add rye to my cider to make a spiked cider. You can also add bourbon, spiced rum, or drink as is for a non-alcoholic beverage!

Ingredients (makes about 6 cups, multiply as needed):

  • 12 apples, cored and sliced
  • 10 whole black peppercorns
  • 8 whole allspice berries
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • the zest of 1 orange
  • the zest of 1 lemon
  • 9 oz (or 6 shots) rye, bourbon, or spiced rum (omit to make non-alcoholic)

Continue reading Fresh Juiced Apple Cider

Chicken Pesto Meatballs

Now that it’s fall, it is the perfect time for me to share one of my go-to quick weeknight dinners: Chicken Pesto Meatballs.

This recipe for Chicken Pesto Meatballs is equally easy, quick, and delicious – you’ll be amazed at how flavorful these meatballs are!

The below recipes serves the meatballs with a pesto pasta, but we have also enjoyed the chicken pesto meatballs on a bed of salad greens, with rice and vegetables, or on their own as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

Chicken Pesto Meatballs:

  • 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto (if buying store bought, I strongly suggest going to the prepared foods section of the supermarket to see if they have any freshly made pesto rather than jarred)
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Pesto Pasta:

  • 16 oz pasta of your choice (my favorites are fusilli and orzo for this recipe)
  • 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto

Continue reading Chicken Pesto Meatballs

Juicer Gazpacho Shooters

One of my favorite parts of being a member of a CSA is the abundance of tomatoes that they provide. During tomato season, I gobble up tomato sandwiches, salads filled with tomatoes, and basically any tomato-filled recipe I can. Recently, even I had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, so it felt like the right time to make some homemade gazpacho, or more specifically, Juicer Gazpacho Shooters!

As I gathered my ingredients, my husband asked if I was using our Hurom H320 Cold Juicer (paid link) to make the gazpacho. Now, why didn’t I think of that?

let’s take a moment for my pretty tomatoes

These Juicer Gazpacho Shooters are so easy to make! Most ingredients are added straight into the hopper, and the juicer does the hard work for you.

The result is a beautifully silky-smooth gazpacho, perfect for serving in small shooter glasses (paid link) for a great summer party appetizer or a fun start to a meal.

For more information about the Hurom H320 Cold Juicer (paid link), check out my post for Ultra Low Pulp Green Juice. Now, on to the Juicer Gazpacho Shooters recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 1 small bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 cucumber, roughly chopped
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 2 pounds tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sherry
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Continue reading Juicer Gazpacho Shooters

Homemade Corn Ice Cream

If you’ve never had Homemade Corn Ice Cream before, you’re in for a treat!

It’s summer, which means there is an abundance of corn at the moment. I am a member of a CSA (Penn Farm CSA in New Castle, DE run by students at William Penn High School), so I’ve received about half a dozen ears of corn the last few weeks — that’s a lot of corn! So I decided to use some of those sweet cobs to make Corn Ice Cream. (If you, too, have quite a bit of corn on hand, try one of my corn-filled recipes!)

The natural sweetness of corn makes it a perfect choice for ice cream. The addition of egg yolks to this recipe makes a beautifully creamy and decadent Corn Ice Cream!

Ingredients:

  • 4 ears of corn on the cob, shucked
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

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Homemade Blueberry Ice Cream

Why yes, I am still making ridiculous amounts of ice cream in my spare time. There are so many different flavors to try to make! I was inspired to make my latest recipe for Homemade Blueberry Ice Cream by my mother-in-law who loves all things blueberries.

With blueberries in season, what better time to make this delicious treat?

To make this Blueberry Ice Cream, you unsurprisingly need a lot of blueberries – 4 cups – not including adding optional whole blueberries at the end. So it is truly filled with blueberry goodness!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups fresh blueberries, plus more if desired for mixing in
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 2 1/2 heavy cream
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

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Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream

Today I am sharing a super versatile recipe for Cheesecake Ice Cream that is a result of, well, me having way too much cream cheese on hand.

Recently, some of my husband’s friends came to visit and brought us New York bagels (always a welcome gift in our house!), and a good 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese. Even after all the bagels were gone, we still had 12 oz of cream cheese left!

So what better way to use up all that extra cream cheese than with this recipe for Cheesecake Ice Cream?

You may recall that I made a cream cheese-based ice cream with my recipe for Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream, and I loved it so much, I knew I’d be making more cream cheese-based ice creams soon!

This recipe is very simple and works well on its own or as a base for some more creative Cheesecake Ice Cream recipes — strawberry, cherry, chocolate, whatever makes you happy!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 12 oz cream cheese
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • crushed graham crackers, for serving
  • your favorite fruit, for serving

Continue reading Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream

Homemade Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

I’m back with yet another new ice cream recipe that I’ve been dreaming about for months: Strawberry Basil Ice Cream.

As the weather gets warmer, the in season produce just gets better, which means a bunch of new inspiration for ice cream flavors. We are entering the beginning of strawberry season now, so I was excited to make this Strawberry Basil Ice Cream!

This recipe for Strawberry Basil Ice Cream steeps fresh basil in the cream and sugar base, which adds a subtle basil flavor under the more prominent strawberry flavor. If you want a more prominent basil flavor, you can absolutely mix in some freshly chopped basil when churning your ice cream!

Ingredients (makes 1 quart):

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 lb strawberries, hulls removed

Continue reading Homemade Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream

This recipe for Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream is inspired by one of my favorite dessert recipes on this blog: my Tahini Millionaire Bars. If you haven’t tried my Tahini Millionaire Bars yet, I strongly suggest you check out that recipe!

So what is Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream? It is tahini flavored ice cream with homemade salted caramel and chocolate ganache swirls, and it is going to be one of your new favorite ice cream flavors!

Ingredients (makes about 1 quart):

Tahini Ice Cream:

  • 1 cup tahini, stirred well
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon almond extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Homemade Caramel (you can also use store bought):

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Ganache:

  • 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
  • 6 tablespoons heavy cream

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Irish Soda Bread Scones

I know St. Patrick’s Day was a week ago, but these Irish Soda Bread Scones are so tasty, they need to be shared! Plus, who needs a specific holiday to enjoy something as yummy as Irish Soda Bread Scones? These can (and should) be enjoyed all year round!

Inspired by one of my favorite Irish treats, these Irish Soda Bread Scones are really easy to make. Just like traditional Irish Soda Bread, these are best eaten with softened butter, and maybe a smear of your favorite jam.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk

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Homemade Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream

In case you’ve never heard of Irish Potatoes, they are a Philadelphia treat that shows up around St. Patrick’s Day each year. Named for looking like little potatoes, Irish Potatoes are a confection of cream cheese and coconut, rolled in cinnamon. Inspired by this delicious treat, I decided it was about time I made Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream!

So, what is in Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream?  It is a cream cheese-based ice cream, flavored with cinnamon with coconut flakes stirred in.

The result is wonderfully reminiscent of Philly’s favorite St. Patrick’s Day treat!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

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Homemade Irish Cream Ice Cream

Irish Cream Ice Cream. Not only is it way too fun to say, but it tastes absolutely delicious as well!

Irish cream is an alcohol-based beverage made with cream (obviously), whiskey, and other flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, making it a perfect flavor for a tasty ice cream.

You know how much I love homemade ice cream, so I’m excited to share this new recipe! I’m making this Irish Cream Ice Cream in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, but this is sure to become a year-round favorite flavor!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys Irish Cream)

Continue reading Homemade Irish Cream Ice Cream

Homemade Hot Honey

If you’re looking for a simple DIY gift for friends and family, Homemade Hot Honey is a great option!

Hot Honey is honey infused with chili peppers and can be used in so many different ways, including drizzled on pizza to stirred into cocktails to served on charcuterie boards.

This recipe for Homemade Hot Honey is made with just three ingredients and can definitely be adapted to your tastes or what you have on hand.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup honey
  • 3 dried chili peppers, split open, or 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Continue reading Homemade Hot Honey

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