Spicy Pepperonata Sauce

One of the main problems with many food blogs (including myself sometimes!) is that the recipes they post look sooooo delicious - like YUM - and they claim to be super easy...but they're seriously asking you to buy 15 ingredients??  I know, guilty as charged!  I do it too.  I promise that I really don't intend to, but my kitchen is always fully stocked so I forget that people who don't cook regularly, or only stick to a few basic recipes, probably don't have the 8 spices that I'm asking you to add in 1/2 tsp. quantities (oh hi, Garlic Rosemary Beef Stew).  I'm challenging myself to come up with more recipes that have very basic ingredients, with most of them being spices you should always have on hand if you're planning to make any entree, soup or appetizer on this blog: oregano, basil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and, obviously, salt and pepper.  I invented this little recipe for Spicy Pepperonata Sauce on the fly last night, taking inspiration from my cooking class at The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking earlier this winter.  It definitely ups the flavor - and heat - of your standard red pasta sauce!

Savory French Onion Soup

Let me start off this post by saying that soup is my favorite type of food.  I think it's so underrated!  Why would a warm, hearty, comforting bowl of goodness be reduced to a lunchtime dish or appetizer only?!  It blows my mind because I crave all types of soup all year long, and even make huge pots of it on 80° summer days.  I'm either really odd, or have really good recipes (I'm guessing the latter).  I made a batch of my Savory French Onion Soup today, and it's seriously out of this world delicious!

Western Breakfast Strata

I graduated with my Master of Architecture this past Saturday!  I was so excited for the day to finally arrive, and wanted to make a special breakfast to celebrate the big day!  I didn't want to make just any ordinary breakfast, I wanted to try something completely new...so I decided to turn my favorite breakfast - western omelette with toast and a side of home fries - into a single breakfast strata that is out of this world delicious!

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup with Homemade Croutons

I know it's the middle of August, but for some reason, I had the biggest craving for stuffed peppers this week!  I'm not sure if it's because the summer green bell peppers are PERFECT right now, or if packing up my sweaters and coats for my move in 2 short weeks is secretly making me excited for those cool fall days.  What I didn't have time for this week was spending a couple hours at dinner time preparing the peppers, baking them and making a tomato sauce to serve on the side.  So I decided to get creative and turn the dish I've been craving into a crock pot stuffed pepper soup.  All you need is 20 minutes of prep time, 8 hours of daytime activities (like that's hard to find!), and an extra twenty minutes to finish off the dish with homemade croutons and a little salad.  I don't care if it's 80 degrees out, this is just plain old delicious!