Brittany's PantryWeeknight Marinara: How To Make Store-Bought Sauce Taste Like Homemade
Brittany wrote this on 5 February 2015
basil, garlic, gluten-free, onions, tomatoes
If you could smell what I smell right now, you would swear I had spent hours in the kitchen chopping, dicing, mincing, and stirring my way to the awesome sauce you see above. If you could taste what is in this picture, you just might start searching my house for the Italian grandmother you figure I must have hidden somewhere. It is that good.
I do not, in fact, have an Italian grandmother. Not genetically and not chained to the radiator in my pantry, ready to make cannoli at a moments notice. I DO however, occasionally have the desperate need to feed my family quickly and with whatever is in my pantry. Doing this inexpensively is always good too. When those days sneak up on me, I make this marinara sauce. Its fast and perfect for busy families, big or small. It is so easy, I can make it in my sleep. Come to think of it, I probably have made it in my sleep…
So. This is my go-to method for those days when I am out of homemade sauce in the freezer and I just need something ready made. With the addition of a few key ingredients, you can boost the flavor in a matter of minutes. Dried herbs are my friend here because it is just faster. In the time it takes to boil water for pasta, I can whip this up and use it in a bazillion different ways. Sometimes I add italian sausage, tons of bell peppers, or mushrooms. Occasionally I skip the pasta and dunk cheesy bread in the sauce. The addition of meatballs, homemade or store-bought, is great over pasta or on a toasted hoagie bun. Whatever I have in the fridge to use up, this recipe can make use of it. So smart. Maybe not as handy has having an Italian grandmother in charge of your kitchen, but I work with what I have. 🙂
Weeknight Marinara
This recipe can be doubled to feed a crowd without adding to any of the cooking time. When it comes to jarred sauce, I usually pick the cheapest, most plain brand I can find to stash in my pantry for emergencies. If I can find a brand that is preservative free and low sodium, even better. The addition of the butter and sugar here helps cut down on the acidity that is usually so high with purchased sauces. If your brand isn’t that bad, omit the sugar. If you need to stretch this just a bit, add an undrained can of petite diced tomatoes to the recipe.
1 T butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1-quart jar of store-bought marinara sauce
1 tsp dried basil (or 1 T chopped fresh basil if you have it lying around)
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp sugar
large pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
large pinch of red pepper flakes
1 large, dried bay leaf (optional)
chopped fresh parsley, if you have it
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and heat the garlic together over medium heat. Once the garlic is fragrant (about 30 seconds) add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer together, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes, and taste for seasoning. Remove the bay leaf and top with parsley if you like. Enjoy!
Mini Corn Muffins W/Bacon, Chives & Spicy Cream Cheese Whip
Brittany wrote this on 2 February 2015 bacon, buttermilk, chives, corn, cornmeal, cream cheese, sour cream
Sometimes, inspiration just strikes. Like lightening. Or in my case, like cream cheese and bacon.
A few years ago I started adding bacon and chives to my regular Mini Corn Muffins. I still make them plain all the time and usually serve them with chili, salads, or just as a snack to munch on. But filled with extras, they make the perfect addition to a brunch buffet or breakfast. With the green of the chives and the chunks of bacon, they are more than a little tempting all piled up in a big basket. A nice, savory change of pace. And bite sized! How cool is that?! I decided to make them for a little get together I was at recently, but couldn’t shake the fact that they looked like they needed something extra. Hats of cream cheese? Yuppers. Perfect. All dressed up and ready for a party. It was my husbands idea to top them with bacon. I wanted to add some chives to the top for color, but bacon won out due to the enthusiastic and threatening insistent cries of my family. Ultimately, you decide which you want to top them with!
These are so easy to bake up and top that you are going to want to make them for everything. Parties are an obvious choice, but set out with a spread for a bridal shower or baby shower, these are a fantastic, non-sugary appetizer that are irresistibly pop-able. They are also the perfect size for little fingers so try adding them to a table at a kids party, with or without the topping. Bursting with flavor and fantastic textures, these little bites of wonderfulness are definitely ready for their close-up.
Mini Corn Muffins W/Bacon, Chives, & Spicy Cream Cheese Whip
Top the mini muffins no more than an hour or two ahead of time. You can bake them up a day ahead and store them in an airtight container. Mix up the topping and chill it in the fridge until you are ready to use it and everything will be ready when you are.
Cook 1/2 lb of bacon and chop. Set aside several pieces for garnish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a mini muffin tin.
Muffins:
Mix together in a medium bowl:
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 c canola oil or grape seed oil
Add:
1 c white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
1/3 c cornmeal
2 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients just until combined. Do not over mix.
Fold in 1 c frozen corn, thawed
2 T chopped fresh chives
Add most of the bacon, still reserving a bit for garnish on the tops.
Divide batter among the mini muffin cups and bake until puffed and golden, 9-11 minutes. This makes about 40 mini muffins so it may take two passes through the oven. Remove to a cooling rack.
Topping:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 T sour cream
1 tsp bottled hot sauce
1 T honey
1 tsp milk
Whip all ingredients together until smooth. Pipe, spread, or dollop whip on the cooled mini muffins and garnish with reserved bacon, more chopped chives, or both! Can be made and assembled an hour ahead.
Lets chat about chocolate, yes?
It needs no introduction. Chocolate is good and chocolate is great. Blah blah blah. Nothing we don’t already know. So when you find a Ghirardelli recipe in a magazine for a double chocolate cookie, you take note and trust them. Who better to for me to listen to about chocolate cookies than chocolate experts? And we all know that Ghirardelli is the real deal. Also, I got this before Pinterest existed when people still read magazines for the recipes. Which, amazingly enough, wasn’t all that long ago…
I have been making this recipe for years, exactly as it stands, with no changes. When you want a fudge-y, brownie-like, chewy cookie, this is the ticket. I keep looking for other versions, trying out other kinds of cookies. I have posted a few of them; midnight chocolate, peppermint chocolate, triple chocolate. But these are the only cookies that are basically solid chocolate barely held together by a few other ingredients. As in, the high ratio of chocolate in these is pretty much just one step up from gnawing on a block of semisweet. Ul-ti-mate, baby. 
It is the texture of these that really gets me though. The crispy edges give way to a chewy center that is all crackly with choclate-y goodness. Not cakey. Not too crispy. Perfect. Basically the perfect chocolate cookie.
Clearly we need to chat about chocolate more often, yes? I also may have just set a record for number of times the word ‘chocolate’ appeared in a blog post.
Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Cookies
The only thing I have changed about this recipe is the method. Feel free to add a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the batter for, well, obvious reasons. And it may be hard to believe, but this is not a sponsored post. Ghirardelli knows nothing about it. I just love their cookies.
1 (10 oz) bag of good quality, bittersweet chocolate chips
6 T soft butter
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)
In a small microwaveable bowl, heat the bittersweet chocolate and the butter together in 20 second intervals, whisking after each one until the chocolate is smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined. Pour the chocolate into the egg mixture and whisk together. Whisk in the flour and baking powder. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan and bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes, or until cracked and shiny. The insides should be soft and chewy so DON’T OVER BAKE! If you use a teaspoon scoop to make smaller cookies, they will only take about 9 minutes. Let cool on the pan for a full 5 minutes or so before removing to a cooling rack. Keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
