even though a may look it, i am NOT italian. but i've always felt a little bit like i was. with my olive skin, fiery personality and strong affinity for fresh pastas and garlic, i've always connected with the italian culture and people. so much so, that i married an italian guy. 

i must have been italian in another life because as soon as i started to learn to cook, i was drawn to italian cooking. and when wes and i went to visit my brother who played water polo in rome for a year, i never felt more at home. so it is no surprise that homemade pastas and sauces have become my specialties. 

now that the weather is cooling and swim lessons are slowing, i THOUGHT i would have a bit more time on my hands. WRONG. things seem to be crazier than ever for both me and wes. so i've taken to making easy staples that we can keep in the fridge and pull out at the drop of the hat. 

this sauce is perfect because it is low maintenance to make, can easily be tweaked with a few of your favorite ingredients and can be stored for a week in the fridge or up to six months in the freezer. since wes likes a little extra animal protein, you could quickly cook up so ground beef or turkey and then add your stored sauce to make a delicious meat sauce. i like a sauce full of delicious mushrooms. so i saute them up, add the sauce and voila. sauce perfection. OR, you can just serve this sauce up as is with your favorite homemade or store bought pasta. i served mine up with my favorite trader joes lobster ravioli because at the moment, ain't nobody in this house got time for that! 

easy sunday sauce
serves: 4 cups
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 50 minutes
ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 2 tbs olive oil. 2 cups dry red wine (you can read all about how to choose the right wine HERE). 3 tbs tomato paste. .25 cup chopped fresh basil. 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and roughly chopped. 1 tbs dried italian spice blend (great to keep on hand). 4 cups (3 15 oz cans) tomato sauce. 1 cup of water. 3 tbs sugar. 1 tbs kosher salt. .5 tbs fresh ground black pepper. 

in a large heavy pot over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onions and garlic. season with three pinches of your salt and 1 of your pepper. cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. about 5-7 minutes. 

turn up the heat to medium high and pour in half the red wine, your dried herbs and two more pinches of salt and one more of pepper. stirring as the wine cooks down, scraping up any brown bits created by the cooking onions. cook the wine down until it almost completely evaporated, 3-5 minutes. 

add in the tomato paste and give it a good stir till the paste is completely combined. 

add in your your fresh herbs and a couple more pinches of salt and one of pepper. stir well to combine. 

pour in the tomato sauce and the water. 

add in the remaining wine, the sugar and the remaining salt and pepper and give everything a good stir. 

bring your sauce to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium. let it cook down until the sauce has reduced and thickened so that you can see the sauce line on your pot has gone down about an inch. about 20-30 minutes. make sure to taste the sauce to make sure all the alcohol has cooked out. trust me, it will taste a bit boozy if it hasn't. 

then serve with your favorite pasta or store in the fridge or freezer till you are ready to use. 

xo, a

easy sunday sauce
serves: 4 cups
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 50 minutes
ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 2 tbs olive oil. 2 cups dry red wine (you can read all about how to choose the right wine HERE). 3 tbs tomato paste. .25 cup chopped fresh basil. 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and roughly chopped. 1 tbs dried italian spice blend (great to keep on hand). 4 cups (3 15 oz cans) tomato sauce. 1 cup of water. 3 tbs sugar. 1 tbs kosher salt. .5 tbs fresh ground black pepper.
in a large heavy pot over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onions and garlic. season with three pinches of your salt and 1 of your pepper. cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. about 5-7 minutes. turn up the heat to medium high and pour in half the red wine, your dried herbs and two more pinches of salt and one more of pepper. stirring as the wine cooks down, scraping up any brown bits created by the cooking onions. cook the wine down until it almost completely evaporated, 3-5 minutes. add in the tomato paste and give it a good stir till the paste is completely combined. add in your your fresh herbs and a couple more pinches of salt and one of pepper. stir well to combine. pour in the tomato sauce and the water. add in the remaining wine, the sugar and the remaining salt and pepper and give everything a good stir. bring your sauce to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium. let it cook down until the sauce has reduced and thickened so that you can see the sauce line on your pot has gone down about an inch. about 20-30 minutes. make sure to taste the sauce to make sure all the alcohol has cooked out. trust me, it will taste a bit boozy if it hasn't. then serve with your favorite pasta or store in the fridge or freezer till you are ready to use. 

i make no secret about the fact that breakfast is my favorite meal. i don't care if i don't eat my first meal till two in the afternoon, i am NOT skipping my breakfast. 

gimme all pancakes, eggs, breakfast burritos, avocado toast and granola. i love it all. 

and i have been CRAVING some baked eggs. i LOVE baked eggs. they are the perfect one stop breakfast shop and you can doctor them up with pretty much any ingredients you like. this is a pretty base recipe, and you could easily add in other fresh veggies, some chorizo, sausage or bacon.

our garden is currently going off with fresh herbs. we have a plethora of basil, thyme and parsley and they made the perfect fresh compliment to the deliciously decadent runny yolk and perfectly baked egg whites. mmmmmmmmmmm i am drooling all over again just thinking about it. 

herb & tomato baked eggs
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 25 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
ingredients: 4 eggs. 1 tbs olive oil. 1 cup diced brown onion. 1 (15oz) can diced tomato (or 15 ounces of fresh if you have them). 2 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp paprika. 2 pinches red pepper flakes. 20 basil leaves, 17 chopped and the chiffonade the other 3. 5 thyme sprigs, leaves removed. 2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped. 4 tbs white cheddar cheese, grated. 1.5 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper. 4 small oven safe dishes. tortillas or crusty bread for serving. 

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. then begin to make the sauce. in a small saucepan, combine the olive oil and onions. season with .5 tsp of salt and half the pepper. cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent and starting to brown. about 5-7 minutes. 

add in the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant. about 1 minutes. 

add in the red pepper flakes and paprika and give it a good stir. mix all your herbs, but the chiffonade basil. keep that aside for final garnish. 

pour in the diced tomato and all but 1 tbs of the fresh herbs. season with another .5 tsp of salt and the other half of the pepper. simmer until all the ingredients are well combined. 3-5 minutes. 

pour equal parts of tomato sauce into the base of each dish. 

crack one egg into each dish and season with the remaining salt. sprinkle with the remaining fresh herbs (minus the chiffonade basil) and the cheddar cheese on top of the egg. 

bake for 8-10 minutes till the egg white is set and the yolk is still runny. if you don't like a runny yolk, cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. remove from the heat and serve hot! 

enjoy with tortillas or your favorite crusty bread. 

xo, a

herb & tomato baked eggs
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 25 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
ingredients: 4 eggs. 1 tbs olive oil. 1 cup diced brown onion. 1 (15oz) can diced tomato (or 15 ounces of fresh if you have them). 2 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp paprika. 2 pinches red pepper flakes. 20 basil leaves, 17 chopped and the chiffonade the other 3. 5 thyme sprigs, leaves removed. 2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped. 4 tbs white cheddar cheese, grated. 1.5 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper. 4 small oven safe dishes. tortillas or crusty bread for serving.
start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. then begin to make the sauce. in a small saucepan, combine the olive oil and onions. season with .5 tsp of salt and half the pepper. cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent and starting to brown. about 5-7 minutes. add in the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant. about 1 minutes. add in the red pepper flakes and paprika and give it a good stir. mix all your herbs, but the chiffonade basil. keep that aside for final garnish. pour in the diced tomato and all but 1 tbs of the fresh herbs. season with another .5 tsp of salt and the other half of the pepper. simmer until all the ingredients are well combined. 3-5 minutes. pour equal parts of tomato sauce into the base of each dish. crack one egg into each dish and season with the remaining salt. sprinkle with the remaining fresh herbs (minus the chiffonade basil) and the cheddar cheese on top of the egg. bake for 8-10 minutes till the egg white is set and the yolk is still runny. if you don't like a runny yolk, cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. remove from the heat and serve hot! enjoy with tortillas or your favorite crusty bread.