Small Town Girl’s Favorite Finds

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Small Town Girl

Welcome back to another edition of Small Town Girl’s Favorite Finds. I hope your week is going well! Here’s a little blog love for some of my absolute favorite posts from last week. I hope you enjoy. Also check out Pinterest board for more fabulous finds!

First up: Cheesy Bacon Burger Fries from With a Blast. I don’t know what it is about this one but I just want it! I love finger foods that I can pick at. I’m thinking this would be a hit during football season! Click on the pic to go to the link!

These Grilled Chicken Skewers with Strawberries and Herbs from Eatwell 101 look amazing. The glaze features sriracha and honey while the strawberries and pesto include lime cilantro. What a great combo of flavors! Yowza! Click on the pic to go to the link!

Brown Butter Potatoes Au Gratin with Gruyere and Carmelized Onions from A La Place Clichy. Wow, what a picture! These potatoes look cooked to perfections. I’m certain the carmelized onions and gruyere take this classic dish to a whole new level! Click on the pic to go to the link!

The Many Faces of Coreopsis: New Varieties to Love from North Coast Gardening. Also known as tickseed, these are some of my favorite perennials. I have several plants already and love them. These are great even for those who consider themselves “black thumbs.” Stick ’em in the ground leave them alone, they will bloom and bloom and bloom! Click on the pic to go to the link!

Last but not least lets end on a sweet note with this Bacon Caramel Roll Bread Pudding from Tornadough Alli. First, I just love her blog name, very clever. Second, bacon and caramel?? OMG yes!! I love bread pudding and can’t wait to try this one out! Click on the pic to go to the link!

Thanks for stopping by!

Which one is your favorite??

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Small Town Girl

Marinara sauce is a staple for all Italian food lovers. Making it from scratch can seem daunting but with once you nail down the key ingredients, anything is possible. This is going to sound ridiculous but until just recently, I’ve been afraid to make my own marinara sauce. I mean seriously, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of an Italian food junkie and have a somewhat illustrious love affair with tomatoes. The problem was, every time I’d try, it never tasted right! It was always too watery, too sour, too salty, you name it! There was always something wrong that made me quickly grab a can of Classico from the cupboard when no one was looking.

I have wanted nothing more than to get this recipe tacked down for a long, long time. After some serious soul-searching and rigorous internet exploration I believe I have cracked the code:

Crushed tomatoes – 1 large can – not diced, not stewed, crushed!!! It gives the sauce that awesome texture that coats every noodle. If you want tomato chunks too, that’s easy and I’ll show you how to do that with cherry tomatoes in the instructions below 🙂 Now I just have to figure out how to crush my own homegrown tomatoes.

Tomato paste – 1 small can and 1 can of water – not sauce! It’s too watery. Tomato paste really makes the sauce and everything else you throw in it bond together. Plus, it’s a little sweet, and sweet is good!

Brown sugar – 2 tbsp – just enough to sweeten the sauce. The molasses helps blend the sweetness in a way white sugar just can’t. Trust me, I know! White sugar in marinara is horrible!

Parmesan cheese – 1 cup – The sharpness of the cheese give the sauce that zip and zing you want. Give it a little time to meld into the sauce and no one will realize there is cheese in there. It totally disappears.

Using these four main ingredients, the rest becomes really easy. You can add just about anything you like as long as you include these key components. Seriously!

Below is my favorite version of marinara: with cherry tomatoes. I love watching them pop in the heat like cranberries, and their sweetness is just oh…. so….. yum!!

Ingredients:

1 10 oz container of cherry tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Italian herb seasoning
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped finely
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup parmesan
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Instructions

In a sauce pan add tomatoes, onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and italian herbs. Cook covered on medium heat for about 10 minutes. The tomatoes will wrinkle and split open.

Stir to break down the tomatoes even more.

Add basil, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, red pepper flakes, and brown sugar to the pan. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Add parmesan, garlic salt, and pepper to taste. Stir, cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Enjoy with all of your favorites!

Amazing Alfredo Sauce

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Small Town Girl

Improved and Revamped Recipe!

The Ramblings of an Aspiring Small Town Girl

I’ve been in love with alfredo forever. Its rich creamy taste and texture sends me swooning. I don’t make it often because I’ll gorge myself on it but every once and a while, I have to do it. I worked on perfecting this recipe for over 10 years. This is the final product: