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A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Prosciutto Arugula Burrata Pizza

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Happiest of Fridays everyone!

What a way to kick off the weekend than with this prosciutto arugula burrata pizza.

I mean, come on. It is now become my everything. 

I have to admit, making pizza has always been a bit intimidating to me. Yeast and rolling dough and using flour and pizza stones – I’ve just never really been into it. But what I can do is stretch pre bought pizza dough (love Traders Joes!) on an olive oiled baking sheet and bake away.

That I can definitely handle. And so can you, I promise.

All that’s left is to top it with melty mozzarella and burrata (swoon), bake a little more, and than on top goes the fresh arugula and prosciutto. Super simple.

And then LOOK AT IT! Come on, did you ever think you could make something so pretty? 

Of course you did. Piece. Of. Cake.

Happy Friday Friends! 

PROSCIUTTO ARUGULA BURRATA PIZZA
Recipes from ALFS

INGREDIENTS:

1 pizza dough (I use Trader Joes, set out to room temp 30 min before)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
8 ounces buratta
6 ounces sliced prosciutto
Red pepper flakes
1 cup arugula
Salt and pepper
Balsamic glaze, I use store bought

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and stretch out your dough to cover. Bake for roughly 7-9 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add a few drizzles of olive oil, the garlic, oregano, mozzarella and burrata. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Remove from the oven and top with prosciutto. Back in the oven it goes for a few more minutes until the prosciutto gets toasted and slightly crisp.

In a small bowl, dress the arugula with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Remove pizza from the oven and top with the dressed arugula. Drizzle balsamic glaze on top.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad

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So my goodness. I don’t know where you live but it has been HOT in the Midwest. Which has been awesome and exactly what summer should be. We’ve had long stretches of 90+ degree days with the real feel temp hitting over 100 degrees. Exactly how I like my summers. Give em to me hot baby.

Meal planning has been tricky though. I have full intentions of continuing to use the slow cooker (especially during a very busy time of baseball season) and getting the oven going for dinner but sometimes it is just. too. darn. hot. Plus, I don’t know about you, but my appetite definitely dips when it’s this warn. Give me all the watermelon, please. And yet I know I need something more substantial than a summer fruit to carry me through my days.

Enter this crunchy Thai chicken salad.

It’s healthy. Hearty. And cool in all the right places. Refreshing and light, but filling enough to keep you satisfying. It comes together with two very significant short cuts: a rotisserie chicken and shredded napa cabbage both which are easily found at the grocery store. Meal prepping at it’s finest, this recipe will last you a few good meals during your work week or for a quick lunch or dinner on the go of a busy sport weekend.

Avocado would also be a lovely additional to the top of this salad should you want another healthier way to fill you up. Don’t skimp on the extra cilantro and chopped peanuts. It’s everything.

Stay cool!

CRUNCHY THAI CHICKEN SALAD
Recipe from ALFS

INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING:

4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce Red Boat brand
1 tablespoon fresh ginger peeled and grated
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon honey to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD:

4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1 red pepper diced
3 carrots grated
2 scallions chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped, plus more for topping
1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped up, plus more for topping
Cut up avocado, optional

DIRECITONS:

Whisk together your dressing ingredients and set aside.

Combine your salad ingredients, gently toss with dressing. Top with extra cilantro and peanuts. Enjoy!

4th of July Salad

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Can you believe it’s almost the 4th of July? What the fresh heck is going on. The kids have already officially plowed through one month of summer and I am desperately running around trying to figure out how to press pause and slow things down a bit.

The rain yesterday afternoon was nice. It sort of shut everything down for a few hours and was much needed, especially after five straight days of 90+ heat that included seven baseball games. Whew. The boys got to chill in the AC, mom got to prep for the week ahead and get some content going in the kitchen, and all felt in good balance once again.

I was in a more festive mood yesterday with the 4th right around the corner. We typically host our family for a little BBQ and I like to put one little ‘4th’ twist on something I am serving. Those who watched my Instagram story know I had this idea to make little stars out of cucumbers. Easiest way to have handled this would have been a mini cookie cutter, which I did not have because I am not a crafty kitchen gal. So I decided to basically hand carve cucumbers which didn’t exactly turn out perfectly, but in my whole new phase of striving for good instead of perfect I felt completely at peace with this. A little homemade ‘from scratch’ looking for sure, but who needs actual perfect cucumber stars in their life? No one I want to be around.

The rest was just easy. Red white and blue was a no brainer with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and feta. Threw in some chopped up toasted cashews for crunch and gave it all a great toss with a simple homemade balsalmic vinaigrette. 

Easy, festive, a little imperfect, but oh so delicious. Happy 4th Everyone!

4th OF JULY SALAD
Recipe from ALFS

INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD:

One large package of spring mix
One large cucumber
Handful of strawberries, chopped up
Handful of raspberries
Handful of blueberries
Handful of feta
Some chopped up toasted nuts, whatever kind you prefer. I used cashews here.

INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING:

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.
1 garlic clove, minced.
1/2 cup olive oil.
Salt and freshly ground pepper.

DIRECTIONS:

Place your spring mix on a large platter. Slice your cucumber into about half inch rounds and cut out stars as shown in photo (or use a mini cookie cutter here, way easier).

Sprinkle on your berries, feta, nuts, and top with cucumber stars.

Whisk together dressing ingredient and when ready to serve, gently toss with salad ingredients.

Enjoy!

Italian Sub Chopped Salad

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Happy Friday friends!

As promised on my Instagram last week, I am delivering the Italian Sub Chopped salad recipe. I tested this one out for Father’s Day because it seemed oh so manly and it was a hit all around. Ladies included.

Everyone loves a sub sandwich. And when you can hold the carbs? Genius. This one highlights all the usuals that you’d find on the popular sandwich: salami, provolone, shredded romaine, tomatoes, pepperocinis, sliced red onion plus a little surprise with the garbanzo beans. Everything is chopped up into perfect fork size pieces and tossed together with an oreganoy olive oil dressing. (I actually ran out of oregano so threw in some Italian seasonings as well which worked lovely). 

Get this one going for your next family and friends gathering. It’s a perfectly crisp and refreshing salad for summer!

ITALIAN SUB CHOPPED SALAD
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING:

4 cloves garlic,minced
1 to 2 tablespoons dried oregano (i used some Italian seasonings too)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice, or juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD:

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1 small red onion, peeled and sliced into super thin rings
1/2 pound provolone, sliced up into ribbons
1/2 pound salami, sliced up into ribbons
cup or so sliced pepperoncini
3/4 pound cherry tomatoes, sliced
Sea salt
1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded (I bought this pre done)
1 head radicchio, halved, cored and shredded (bought this pre done)
2 tablespoons dried oregano for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Make dressing by whisking dressing ingredients together.

To make the salad, fold the chickpeas, red onion, provolone, salami, pepperoncini (including seeds and juice) into the dressing, one at a time to marinade a bit. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt. Set aside until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, add the tomatoes, lettuce and radicchio to the salad bowl, along with a couple of generous pinches of oregano, and toss to combine with the remaining ingredients hanging out in the dressing. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding any reserved dressing if needed. Serve immediately.

Grilled Zucchini Caprese

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Happy Meatless Monday everyone! 

What better way to keep it meat free then with a beautiful dish to highlight the best of the summer produce. This grilled zucchini caprese does just exactly that. Elegant in the most simple of ways, this makes a perfect side dish or main dish if you are trying to keep things meat free.

The best part? What you see is what you get. Zucchini, which you quickly grill over medium heat. Then on top goes some melty mozzarella. Follow it up with some sliced up summer tomatoes (heirloom are the best). And you end it all with freshly chopped basil, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and some balsamic glaze. I keep things easy here and just grab some at the store but you can totally make a glaze yourself at home.

Could not be easier, more delicious, and let’s be honest, pretty! I made this one for cooking club which is always a time to try and impress and it was a hit all around.

Get this one going for your next gathering or a meat free dinner this week. Crusty bread on the side would be a nice addition. I so hope you enjoy! 

GRILLED ZUCCHINI CAPRESE
Recipe from A Life From Scratch

INGREDIENTS:

Two zucchinis, sliced 2cm thick or so lengthwise
olive oil
salt & pepper
sliced mozzarella
two summer tomatoes
handful of fresh basil
balsamic glaze, store bought is just fine

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your grill to medium heat. Prep your zucchini with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill for a few minutes on each side, until there are nice char marks but zucchini still has a strong texture.

Remove from grill and add mozzarella. Top with sliced tomatoes, sprinkle on the basil, salt and pepper. Drizzle the glaze on top and serve.

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