20 Minute Tomato and Basil Angel Hair Pasta Recipe [+ Video]

This 20 minute cherry tomato and basil angel hair pasta recipe comes together in a jiffy, and will satisfy the whole family, even the kids!

Every time the holidays are over and new year rolls around, I’m immediately drawn to a simpler way of cooking – lighter, healthier meals, fresh ingredients, less ingredients, and just an all around relaxed attitude. I don’t like anything too fussy or involved, and this 20 Minute Cherry Tomato and Basil Angel Hair pasta is the perfect example of what you might find on our dinner table this month.

Cooking Class in Italy

I’ve made a variation of this sauce for years – ever since I studied abroad in Italy. On the back end of my trip, my family came over, and my Mom and I took a cooking class for four days on the Amalfi coast in a little town called Positano. We learned the basics of Italian cooking – how to make the best margarita pizza with only the freshest ingredients, how to make pasta dough with our bare hands, and how to make a killer tomato sauce using only cherry tomatoes, olive oil and garlic.

I can still remember closing my eyes while I ate, and wondering if I’d ever taste something as delicious as that sauce back at home – or if I’d even come close to being able replicate it myself.

Less Than 30 Minute Dinner Recipe

Since then, I’ve made a bazillion different variations, all equally as delicious as they were in Italy. I’ve used it as a topping on fish or grilled chicken, slathered it on garlic-rubbed crostinis and tossed it with scrambled eggs, but I think today’s version may be my favorite adaptation yet. Not only because it’s simple and delicious, but because the cooking time from start to finish is less than 30 minutes – pure gold in my book.

Ingredients for Tomato Basil Angel Hair Pasta

You will only need 8 simple ingredients to make this easy angel hair pasta recipe! A whole meal with just 8 ingredients in less than a half hour…you can’t get much better than that! Here is what you will need:

• Angel Hair Pasta: it cooks up quickly and soaks up the flavor of the tomatoes and garlic
• Olive Oil: used to sauté the tomatoes and garlic, extra virgin olive oil is preferred for best flavor
• Garlic: adds bold delicious flavor
• Cherry Tomatoes: or grape tomatoes
• Fresh Basil: adds bright fresh flavor, if you don’t have fresh basil, use 2 teaspoons of dried basil
• Salt: adds flavor
• Granulated Parmesan: adds depth of flavor
• Lemon: a pop of citrus rounds out the dish perfectly

All the measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Cherry Tomato and Basil Angel Hair Pasta

You will want to start by cooking the angel hair pasta. Get a large pot of salted water going on the stove top until the water is boiling. Add the p

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels [+ Video]

Cinnamon sugar pretzels are one of our all time favorite snacks or treats. Adults and kids cannot stay out of the bowl. Trust me!

Such a simple snack yet so hard to keep your hands out of. These cinnamon sugar pretzels with white chocolate drizzle are great for watching a movie or if Mom really needs a darn treat and they are a perfect snack for parties or for holiday food gifts!

Heaven knows you need at least one simple thing for a party so that you aren’t standing in the kitchen all day and night and during the party. This cinnamon pretzel recipe is your answer for a totally irresistible sweet and salty snack!

What Do I Need to Make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels?

Have you all tried Dots pretzels? The original Dots are incredible, but I just tried the cinnamon sugar Dots recently and they are heavenly! In fact, they reminded me of this pretzel dessert recipe! You only need 4 ingredients to make this simple, yet irresistible treat…

• Canola Oil: helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the pretzels without changing any flavor
• Cinnamon Sugar: see section below for making your own
• Mini Pretzels: grab a bag of store bought small pretzel twists
• White Chocolate: melting wafers work great or white chocolate chips are fine too

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

Recommended Equipment

• Microwave Safe Mixing Bowl
• Rubber Spatula
• Baking Sheet
• Glass Measuring Cup

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

This is an odd recipe as it’s oil that you’re going to stir into the pretzels and not melted butter and then use the microwave (no oven needed!!) to bake it all in there. It works. I promise, but it is a little weird to pour oil all over something you want to eat. Here is how it will go…

1. Combine the pretzels, canola oil and cinnamon sugar in a large glass bowl and toss until the cinnamon sugar coats all the pretzels.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.
3. Pour the pretzels out onto a sheet pan and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar mixture.
   • PRO TIP: We like to add this little extra cinnamon sugar right before we drizzle the white chocolate, but don’t stress if you forget. They are wonderful either way.
4. Let the pretzels cool and air dry completely and then drizzle with melted white chocolate.
5. Let them air dry again and eat!

These instructions are all available in the recipe card down below. Keep scrolling for all the details!

Watch How These Pretzels are Made…

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Cornmeal Mush

This might make me a grandma, but I am obsessed with cornmeal mush! There is just something so comforting and simple about it. It is creamy, fulfilling and and warms me up from the inside out.

I’m writing this post 5 days before Christmas so I’m in a Christmas frame of mind. I think I might even make this for Christmas breakfast this year! So whether you’re a kid from 1 to 92, this breakfast recipe is for you! It might make you feel like you are 92, but you’ll also melt for it’s warm and simple goodness. And some things are worth melting for! Thanks, Olaf, for that one!

Don’t just limit yourself to breakfast either! This recipe makes a great lunch or quick and simple dinner!

What is Cornmeal Mush?

Picture the porridge from Goldilocks and the three bears, and that is cornmeal mush! At least that’s what I always picture. Cornmeal mush is a Southern meal that combines cornmeal with water or milk. It simmers together on the stove until it is creamy and delicious. If you are familiar with Cream of Wheat, it is similar to that in consistency, but it uses corn instead of wheat. 

Ingredients for Cornmeal Mush

You only need 3 ingredients for this home cooked comfort, and it’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Here is all you need:

• Milk – you can use any type of milk (whole, 2%, 1%, fat free) or you can even use water if you prefer, but milk is my favorite
• Cornmeal – 
• Salt – adds flavor
• Toppings – feel free to make this dish your own with the toppings, see suggestions below.

The measurements for each ingredients can be found in the recipe card below. The recipe can also be saved or printed there.

How to Make Cornmeal Mush

It’s a very simple process that begins bringing some of the milk to a boil. Be careful to not let it burn. In a separate bowl, you combine more milk with the cornmeal and salt until it is smooth. Then you pour the milk and cornmeal mixture into the boiling milk whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to the low and stir everything together until the mush thickens.

Toppings for Cornmeal Mush

Serve the cornmeal mush with a drizzle of cream, honey, or maple syrup. You could add berries or chopped nuts or bananas. You can really add whatever toppings you love.

Is Cornmeal Mush the Same as Grits?

Grits is a type of cornmeal mush but the grind on the cornmeal is a little more coarse. Grits are often served savory with cheese and salt and pepper. Although grits can be served sweet on occasion. 

Is Cornmeal Mush Gluten Free?

Cornmeal on its own is gluten free so as long as everything add to it or on top of it is gluten free, then you are good to go! This recipe is gluten free.

Storing, Reheating and Freezing Cornmeal

Cornmeal mush will keep in the refrigerator for quite some time. I’ve stretched it for more than a week and it has still be perfect! Store it in an airtigh

French Dip Sliders [+ Video]

French dip sliders are perfect for a quick and easy family dinner or for the next big game day! These are buttery with caramelized onions and a luscious aus jus!

French dip sliders are not at all something I grew up with but occasionally when life was busy, the weather chilly and mom was tired she’d gather up simple ingredients for French dip sandwiches. Just sliced roast beef, hoagie rolls, and flavorful aus jus was all she needed to get dinner in the table for five hungry kids.

We have our own French dip recipe on the blog but knowing how mouth watering our ham and cheese sliders are, I have been itching to make a new sliders recipe. You guys, forget the ham ones, these are out of this world. The best thing I’ve made in months!

Why Make Sliders?

Not that sliders need to be justified, but just in case you wondering why you should make them, let me tell you! Sandwiches are like the best things ever! They are like a whole meal all in one perfect little package. Sliders are just mini sandwiches, so you can eat more than one and not feel guilty! The bread to meat ratio is even better than in a full sized sandwich, and they can be eaten for dinner or for an appetizer. It’s just all around winning!

How to Make French Dip Sliders?

These french dip sliders come together in three different steps…the caramelized onions, the sandwiches, and the aus jus. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking pan.

Caramelized Onions

Let’s start with the caramelized onions so that they are ready to go when you assemble the sliders. Slice a medium yellow onion and then melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions to the butter with two sprigs of fresh time and water. Stir the onions occasionally and add salt and pepper. The onions will begin to turn golden and soften. They will cook for about 20-25 minutes.

Sandwiches

Now it is time to start assembling the sliders! These are so easy! Start by slicing your rolls in half and place them side by side in your greased 9×13 pan cut side up as shown below.

Then you want to lather the top of each roll with stone ground dijon mustard. A different kind of mustard can be used, but we really recommend a stone ground dijon mustard. It just gives it best flavor and extra texture.

Then add a layer of thinly sliced roast beef. We like to go to the deli counter and ask them for a half pound of their best roast beef. Then we just evenly layer it all over the mustard buns.

Next comes the cheese!! We love these sliders with provolone, so we pick up 9-12 slices at the deli counter when we get the roast beef. You can’t have too much

Copycat Waffle Love Liege Waffle Recipe [+ Video]

This copycat Waffle Love liege waffle recipe is the closest we’ve found to our favorite food truck waffles here in Utah using a liege waffle. 

Remember when food trucks started popping up and became all the rage a few years back? The Waffle Love food truck was one of the original food trucks to go crazy here in Utah. They always had a line for days no matter where they were. In fact, they have now opened over a dozen brick and mortar locations in Utah, Idaho and California and their food truck is still going strong!

Waffle Love quickly became the go to family treat truck, date night truck, girls night out truck, and “I’ve got a hankering for something sweet” truck. The waffles are amazing and the little sugary bits really add something to the waffles, but you can’t forget about their awesome toppings which revolve around one of our household favorites, Biscoff. Stinking Biscoff. That stuff rocks our world.

I immediately started working on a copycat recipe so that we could make these irresistible waffles at home. After I figured out the perfect recipe, I posted it and it went crazy! So crazy that the aforementioned company contacted me and asked me to pull my recipe down because it was so close to theirs. Haha…nope! That, my friends, is when you’ve NAILED a copycat recipe! The people need to be able to make these at home, and so you shall!!

While we still love our bacon apple cider waffles, this copycat waffle love recipe is seriously fantastic, and it would be the perfect way to enjoy Christmas morning.

What is a Liège Waffle?

Liège waffles (pronounced “leej”) are a Belgian style waffle made from a yeast dough rather than traditional waffle batter. They are a little sweeter and different in texture once they are cooked.

Liège waffles are different than your normal run of the mill waffle. In fact you really should forget about the taste and texture of the normal breakfast waffle because this one is seriously a totally different taste, but delicious like you wouldn’t believe.

What Ingredients are Needed for Waffle Love Waffles?

Here are the ingredients that you will need to make this liege waffle recipe:

• Whole Milk: scalded, see section below for how to scald milk
• Water: helps activate the yeast
• Sugar: used to both feed the yeast as it activates and to sweeten the liege waffle dough
• Instant Yeast: we prefer instant yeast rather than active dry yeast
• Eggs: adds structure to the waffles
• Unsalted Butter: the fat needed to make these waffles so rich and fluffy
• Honey: adds a little extra natural sweetness and flavor
• Vanilla: adds flavor
• Bread Flour: the combination of bread flour with all purpose is magic
• Flour: just regular