Italian Grinder Salad

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Crunchy greens, juicy tomatoes, and a medley of meats and cheeses are drizzled in a delicious creamy dressing to make this Italian Grinder Salad.

grinder salad with lots of meat, cheese, and plenty of tangy dressing

Grinder Salad

Whoa. This salad. It is SO good! As soon as I tasted the Italian Grinder Sandwich that I shared earlier this week, I knew that a salad needed to happen. The tangy slaw mixture topping the sandwiches was my favorite part, so I wanted to make the most of that flavor combination in a loaded salad.

Luckily, I had plenty of extra ingredients on hand, so I was able to make this salad the very next day. The whole family gave it two thumbs up and I’m pretty sure I’ll be making it again soon.

If you don’t need 8 servings all at once, or if you aren’t feeding 3 teenage boys, I suggest prepping all of the grinder salad ingredients and storing them separately in airtight containers, as instructed in How To Eat A Salad Every Day.

Just stash the meats and cheeses in a couple of ziploc bags or containers, and pour the grinder salad dressing into a jar until it is needed. This makes it so much easier to prepare salads consistently and quickly.

When you’re ready to eat a great salad, just combine however much of each ingredient you need in a bowl and toss your individual serving with a bit of dressing. These ingredients should keep well in the fridge for several days.

pottery plate with salad piled on it, next to striped napkinRead more

Italian Grinder Sandwich

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Savory deli meats are piled high on a toasted hoagie roll, then topped with an unforgettable tangy slaw and gooey provolone cheese to make this Italian Grinder Sandwich your new favorite lunch.

Close-up on sandwich

Italian Grinder Sandwich

The slight crunch and crackle of toasted bread, soft and warm meats topped with gooey, melted cheese, crisp onions and peppers in an incredible slaw. What’s not to love? Put them all together and it’s pure lunch heaven.

Toasted hoagies are bursting with incredible flavor and all of my favorite grinder sandwich ingredients. This Italian grinder sandwich may be the best sub sandwich I’ve had in the past year.

Sliced cold cuts sandwich

This recipe is extremely versatile, making it great for large gatherings. Everyone can pick out their favorite lunch meats, just swap out the turkey for roast beef or pepperoni, etc. Or, you can just pile them on. I won’t judge.

Kids adore this quick lunch. But, especially for little mouths, cured sliced meats can be difficult to chew. If you chop up the meats, it makes it easier to manage. And, what child wouldn’t want their own, special “chopped” grinder sandwich?

Bread with salami, prosciutto, and cheeseRead more

Sizzling Italian Dipping Oil for Bread

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Sizzling Italian Dipping Oil for Bread

a photo of a shallow white bowl full of bread dipping oil fill of finely chopped fresh herbs and minced garlic.

Sizzling hot, full of fresh herbs and garlic with a little drizzle of sweet balsamic vinegar…the most irresistible dipping oil for bread. It soaks into the bread just a little and is the perfect appetizer or side dish for any meal.

Years ago when I was in college I was dating a boy that enjoyed cooking and baking. We had a lot of fun trying new recipes and because we were dating, my parents gave me a fancy set of oil and different seasonings for bread for one of my Christmas gifts. The relationship didn’t last but my love for bread and dipping oil totally did! Haha!

Take 10 minutes to make this dipping oil recipe, pull a fresh loaf of focaccia bread or a crusty artisan bread loaf out of the oven, and you have an elegant start to your authentic Italian bolognese dinner! You’ll feel like you’re sitting at a fancy Italian restaurant!

What Goes into Italian Dipping Oil?

Here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe:

  • Olive Oil – extra virgin, make sure it is good quality (from Italy or California is the best), extra virgin olive oil has a deeper and richer flavor
  • Garlic – fresh, not from a jar
  • Fresh herbs – parsley, oregano (or marjoram), rosemary and basil all minced really fine
    • PRO TIP: We love this combinations of fresh herbs, but you could use any combination you love! It’s so versatile! Add some thyme, omit the parsley…seriously whatever your family enjoys!
    • If you need to use dried herbs, double all the measurements for each herb.
  • Red Pepper Flakes – feel free to add more if you like more heat
  • Kosher Salt – adds flavor
  • Balsamic Vinegar – adds the most lovely hint of sweetness and acid to cut through the oil
  • Bread – I have been known to dip just about any bread into this oil. Heck, I’d dip a slice of white Wonderbread! See section below for specific suggestions.

The measurements for each ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

What Type of Olive Oil is Best for Dipping Oil?

You want a top quality, extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor. Extra virgin olive oil will hold up the best to all the flavors of the fresh herbs. Look for EVOO that is from Italy or California. EVOO can be expensive, but you only need 1/3 cup for this recipe, so buying the best is recommended and will last for a long time.

Can Other Types of Oil Be Used?

No, I would definitely not recommend using any other type of oil for making a dipping oil for bread. Other types of oil just don’t have the same rich flavor that you get from olive oil. Olive oil is also one of the healthiest types

My Favorite Lasagna Recipe

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My Favorite Lasagna Recipe

a photo of a serving of layered hearty meat lasagna on a white plate topped with melted cheese and chopped parsley

We have been long overdue for an update to this hearty meat lasagna recipe! I have been working on making it the BEST classic lasagna recipe ever, and this is finally it!

We layer this lasagna with our authentic bolognese meat sauce, a creamy bechamel sauce and 2 types of cheese all tucked between layers of lasagna noodles. You’re absolutely going to love this easy lasagna recipe!

It was 2009 when I first posted this recipe…2009…15 years! SO much has changed since then…we’ve expanded our family. We’ve moved (three times). We’ve progressed from toddlers and tantrums to teenagers and still tantrums 🤪. It seems natural that this lasagna recipe should change a little too. It’s now better and bolder and everything a homemade lasagna should be.

Ingredients for Hearty Meat Lasagna

I’m going to divide up the ingredients list between the three different parts of this recipe – the meat sauce, the bechamel sauce and the items needed to assemble the lasagna. Here is what you will need:

Meat Bolognese Sauce

  • Butter and Olive Oil
  • Vegetables: Carrots, Celery, Red Onion, Garlic
  • Proteins: Ground Beef and Italian Sausage
  • Tomatoes: Roasted Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Fire Roasted Tomatoes (canned)
  • Milk and Heavy Cream
  • Cooking Wine
  • Lemon Zest and Juice
  • Seasonings: Nutmeg, Bay Leaves, Salt and Pepper

Bechamel Sauce

  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Whole Milk
  • Nutmeg
  • Kosher Salt
  • Pepper

Lasagna Ingredients

  • Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles
  • Fresh Parmesan
  • Mozzarella Cheese

Don’t be alarmed! You did not read ricotta cheese in that ingredients list. We actually found that we preferred the lasagna without it! Keep scrolling to the end of the post for the measurements for each ingredient.

How to Make Homemade Meat Lasagna

To Make the Meat Sauce

  1. Prepare the bolognese sauce as instructed in that post and set aside.

For the Bechamel Sauce

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Sprinkle in the flour continuously whisking it in until a paste forms and it bubbles a little.
  3. Add in the milk slowing still whisking constantly. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer until it thickens.
  4. Whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg.

For the Lasagna

  1. Prehea

The Most Perfect Moist Chocolate Cake [+Video]

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The Most Perfect Moist Chocolate Cake [+Video]

A big, tall slice of three layered chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Each layer is frosted with thick chocolate frosting and the slice is sitting on a white dessert plate.

Homemade Chocolate Cake like this is not easy to find. This is the Most Perfect Moist Chocolate Cake recipe, and that’s coming from an obsessed cake tester!

Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Frosting

You all know how I work. It’s why we have the best Traeger Ribs, Buttermilk Pancakes and Banana Bread recipes among a gazillion others. I get all sucked into finding the best of the best for a specific recipe and I can’t let it go until I’ve achieved it.

And friends, I’ve discovered which chocolate cake is best. If you’re needing chocolate cake for a birthday or a family celebration, you just step right up.  (Who am I kidding, just make it because you are surviving the crazy these days.)

Everyone I know loves a moist chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, but no one has great luck with a homemade chocolate cake without just using a cake mix. I am crazy giddy to share all of my secrets!

Don’t go crazy, but this is a chocolate cake recipe without butter. That’s for a very specific reason. As much as I thought that butter would be all the difference in flavor, it just wasn’t the truth. The flavor didn’t count enough for how much the cake lacked moisture.

Apparently butter doesn’t make cakes moister, which makes sense. Butter has a high water content that evaporates as steam in the baking process so it can’t keep the moisture like an oil can. If you really want to use butter you can, just use equal amounts or half and half, but all oil did lead to a better chocolate layer cake!

Homemade Chocolate Cake Ingredients

As I already mentioned, the moistness of this homemade chocolate cake is thanks in part to the oil used in the batter. Our other secret? Buttermilk! Yep, this is a buttermilk chocolate cake.

Any time a recipe calls for buttermilk, it makes me think it’s going to be a fancy recipe. But in reality, this chocolate cake from scratch couldn’t be simpler to make.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this moist chocolate cake recipe:

  1. All-Purpose Flour: I’ve tested all sorts of flours but had the worst luck in a chocolate cake with cake flour.
  2. Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: Do not use dutch-process cocoa powder, but opt for an unsweetened cocoa powder, which will give a better rise. Try Hershey’s or a similar brand just in the grocery store. Not crazy trip to a gourmet store needed.
  3. Espresso Powder: Espresso powder is optional, but listen, as one who does not drink coffee for religious reasons I really do believe this makes a difference in the chocolate flavor.
  4. Baking Soda Baking Powder: Yes, use both!!! I’ve tried many baking powd
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