Baked Ravioli with Italian Sausage

It has been awhile since I shared a recipe and do I have the perfect one for fall! On Pinterest I found a baked ravioli recipe from Martha Stewart and it sounded delicious, but I wanted some meat in it. The vegetarian meal would no doubt be delicious but I decided to make some adjustments. And it was a home run.

Baked ravioli with tomato sausage sauce.

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Baking Bread: Challah

I have a confession to make: I am newly obsessed with making my own bread. It started last month when I caved in to years of prodding from James about it. On principal I had avoided baking bread because of the time it takes. Waiting for it to rise. And rise again. It’s a pain. I would make quick breads like banana and zucchini breads, which totally aren’t fast since they bake for A LONG TIME, but that’s besides the point, they don’t require rising, hence quick. Anyway, that is besides the point…I finally decided to face my fear.

I first made this french bread recipe from Our Best Bites. It was simple and ended up delicious. It was a basic bread, James said it could be a tad saltier. But all in all it was good. We used it for sandwiches, toast, and garlic bread. I enjoyed it…and forgot to take a photo.

But then I made my all-time favorite bread, and one that I have trouble finding a good one at all times of the year in Washington (except Trader Joe’s): Challah. The Jewish egg bread is SO GOOD. Seriously beyond versatile. You can make sandwiches, french toast, etc, etc, etc. It’s the best bread ever. I scoured the web over and over to find the perfect recipe. After looking at a lot, I settled on making some edits to a chocolate chip challah that I made (well helped make) with one of my best friends Anna a few years ago.

It turned out great! I will probably never buy challah again. For reals. Just look at how pretty it is! (And giant.)

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Homemade Pretzel Bites

I have a blog post in the works that discusses my disdain for baking bread and my recent conversion to loving it, but I made these pretzel bites for a birthday party this past weekend and had to blog about them ASAP.

The party was German themed and my mind immediately went to pretzels. I remember seeing a few pins on Pinterest so started there for inspiration. I decided to use a recipe from Our Best Bites, a blog that I love and have had great luck with their recipes in the past. Here’s a sneak peek at the final result:

Pretzel bites

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A Simple Gin Cocktail

I am a fan of gin. I blame my friend Caitlin (you should read her blog Put One Foot In Front of the Other) for formally introducing me to the Gin & Tonic in college. I already loved tonic water since I was a child, weird I know but we drink it in my family with lime it’s refreshing and delicious, so it was only a matter of time before I discovered that this would be my drink. So a couple weeks ago during Cocktail Week on The Kitchn (one of my favorite food blogs) I found this great article on 3 ingredient cocktails. And I just had to try one. Normally James is the mixologist of the two but he was working late and I just needed a drink to cook dinner. Well, I didn’t need it in order to cook, but you know, sometimes you just need happy hour at home. Anyway, I was really excited to find that there were quite a few gin drinks and wanting to try something new I attempted one of them, and just look how pretty it is!

My beautiful cocktail to drink while I cook dinner.

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