a lovely living

I’m sure many of you will be finding yourselves in the kitchen at some point today or tomorrow. Whether you’re hosting or doing your part in bringing along a side or dessert to your Thanksgiving dinner, chances are you’ll be keeping yourself busy. And it won’t end there. December is likely the month where your oven, and all of your kitchen gadgets get put to use the most. I have the below group of items titled ‘kitchen essentials’, however this would work just as well as a gift guide for the chef/baker in your family. I’m no pro, but all of these items have certainly aided in many of my kitchen adventures, yet funny enough, before I had them I never knew what I was missing. Trust me, if you know someone that’s lacking one of these items, do them a favor and help complete their kitchen. They’ll surely thank you, possibly in baked goods ;)

1. Dutch Oven: This pot just may be my favorite item in the kitchen. From soups, to one pot meals and braising meats, it’s put to use at least once or twice each week. It cleans easily which is another big plus. You can find a less expensive option here.

2. Pampered Chef Mix ‘n Chop: Although it can be used for chopping fruits and vegetables as well, my main use with this utensil is breaking up ground meat while browning it. A spatula or wooden spoon just can’t compete here.

3. Garlic Press: For years I spent extremely too much time mincing garlic with a knife. I’d now be lost without this guy.

4. Bundt Pan: You can literally find these in hundreds of shapes and sizes and once you have one and discover the wonders of a bundt cake, you may end up a junkie like me!

5. Mesh Strainer: Great for sifting, but it’s main use in my kitchen is for rinsing quinoa which we eat often around here.

6. Crock Pot: Chances are you have one, but if you don’t, it’s life changing. We’ve had to up-size ours as our family has grown, but for the relatively inexpensive price, they’re totally worth it.

7. Wooden Spoon: Nothing new here, but I’m constantly grabbing wooden spoons for baking and cooking. I couldn’t have enough.

8. Salad Spinner: We eat salads year round and this thing is a huge time saver. A nice perk is that you can use the bowl for serving your salad as well allowing you to have less dirty dishes, yay!

9. Mini Spatulas: These things are life savers when it comes to getting brownies or baked bars of any type out of that darn pan. Knives just won’t cut it (ha).

10. Pastry Mat: Before purchasing this mat, I had one without any grip and it would drive me crazy sliding all over the place as I did my best to roll out dough. Not only does this one stick, but it also has some very convenient measurement markings which allow me to roll my pie dough accurately.

I know you’re all about to get yourselves into turkey overload, but before that happens I wanted to share with you an awesome recipe I tried last week. I love lasagne, but I’m not a fan of the time consuming prep work that is required. With my fondness for soups, I knew this one was right up my alley. With minimum preparation and a whole lot of taste I’m already looking forward to making this one again.

Lasagne Soup via Cooking Classy:

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced (2 cups)
3 – 5 garlic cloves, to taste, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 lasagna noodles, broken into bite size pieces (6.5 oz)
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (5 oz)
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese (2 oz)
8 oz ricotta cheese

Directions:

• Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, crumble beef into pot, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Drain majority of fat from beef and set aside (you can drain it all if you want it to be healthier I just like the little bit of flavor a small amount of the fat gives). Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in pot, add chopped yellow onion and saute until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel seeds, thyme, sugar, parsley, the cooked ground beef and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare lasagna noodles according to directions listed on package, reserving 1 cup pasta water before draining pasta.
• Add cooked pasta to soup along with 1/2 cup – 1 cup pasta water as desired. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, stir together mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta.
• Ladle soup into bowls, dollop with a large scoop of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with chopped parsley (you can help the cheese melt better by cooking in the microwave after dolloping over soup for a bit or you could put the soup in oven safe bowl, top with cheese mixture and set under broiler to melt well. Or just stir into very hot soup and it should melt well).

Monkey Bread is something I have enjoyed numerous times, yet I had never prepared it myself. Well, now that I have I’m certain it’s going to happen much more often in our home! It’s best enjoyed immediately out of the oven while it’s still warm and gooey and pairs perfectly with coffee or tea. It’s simple to prepare and can be prepped and stored in your refrigerator overnight until you’re ready to bake it in the morning. For those of you with family visiting over the upcoming holidays, this would be a welcomed addition to your breakfast spread. And if you don’t, well then please go ahead and indulge all on your own. I won’t tell ;) Oh, and one quick side note, make sure to put a cookie sheet under the bundt pan while in the oven. Mine decided to spill over while I wasn’t looking!

Snickerdoodle Monkey Bread via Mix and Match Mama:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon (separated)
2 (16.3 oz) cans refrigerated flaky layer biscuit dough, cut into quarters
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 small box (3.4 oz) of instant vanilla pudding mix, dry and not prepared

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a bundt pan with Pam (spray it well!).

In a small bowl, combine sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Dredge biscuit quarters in sugar mixture to coat. Layer in prepared pan.

(At this point, you could cover your pan and pop it in the fridge until the next morning.)

In a small saucepan, combine remaining tablespoon of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and instant pudding mix. Cook over medium-high heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Boil one minute. Pour over layered biscuits.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Invert immediately onto a platter to serve.

Serve right away.