DIY Happy Home

The Best Simmer All Day Summer Tomato Sauce

I was out of my favorite sauce to make Baked Ziti on Sunday, so I made my own. I used various types of canned tomatoes to make a delicious sauce! I will be doing this again because the sauce turned out even better than I expected. I let it simmer on low heat most of the day while I worked on house things, it turned out fabulous!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons good olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

6-8 shallots, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup diced carrots (I used frozen coin carrots that I had in the freezer)

1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes (one had olive oil, garlic, and basil flavors in it)

1 14.5 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

2 cartons of tomato puree

1 can of tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning (or use fresh basil, if you have it!)

2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

2-3 tablespoons of salted butter to finish sauce, optional

Instructions:

Heat olive oil at medium high heat in a stock pot. sauté onion, shallots, and carrots, until soft, but not brown. Add in crushed garlic.

Next, add in all canned tomatoes. Then, add in your salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings, and add in the sugar, if you choose to use sugar.

Cook until sauce is bubbling, then turn down heat to simmer. Once sauce is simmering, use an immersion blender to blend your sauce to the consistency you prefer. Then add in your butter to finish the sauce. The butter gives the sauce a flavorful, rich, smooth and velvety finish.

I simmered my sauce on low for most of the day while I did house chores. Then, I made some homemade baked ziti with it. It would be perfect for any pasta, chicken parmesan, pizza, whatever you would like to use it for! You could even morph it into some yummy tomato soup.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Leave a comment letting me know what you put in your favorite homemade tomato sauce.

Until next time,

Carla XOXO

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits from the Freezer Section: A Review

www.instagram.com/tv/CZpK6Z0j01U/

I was super excited to find Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits in the freezer section at my local Walmart. Let’s face it, the Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster are the best!

It’s the combination of cheddar, garlic, butter, and that fluffy biscuit, that makes them irresistible.

I did the self check out at my Walmart and was surprised when the Walmart employee commented how she had never seen the frozen version before. She said that she would have to try them as well. Because after all, who doesn’t love Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits?

Watch to see how they turn out.

#redlobstercheddarbaybiscuits #frozenredlobstercheddarbaybiscuits #biscuits #yummybiscuits #redlobster #yummyfood #redlobstercheddarbaybiscuitsreview

Cheesy Pizza Dip

www.instagram.com/reel/CZkk76ujB_N/

This cheesy pizza dip is a family favorite! Top it with your favorite pizza toppings. This is perfect for the big game or for tail gating.

Ingredients:

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons Locatelli Romano Cheese, plus more for topping

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 cup of pizza sauce, or as much as you like

Shredded Mozzarella cheese, I used 8 ounces

Shredded yellow cheddar cheese, I sprinkled on top for color

Instructions:

Mix together cream cheese, Locatelli Romano cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Spread cream cheese mixture into a baking pan, pie plate, or a cast iron skillet. Spread pizza sauce on top of the cream cheese mixture. Use as much pizza sauce as you would like. Top the pizza sauce with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Next, sprinkle on the yellow shredded cheddar cheese. I dot the top with more pizza sauce for color. Top with more Locatelli cheese, Italian seasoning, and any of your preferred pizza toppings, such as pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, or vegetables. My pizza dip is plain because my kids prefer plain pizza.

Bake the dip in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until bubbling and slightly brown on top. Serve with baguette, crostini, crackers, pita, naan bread, or your favorite raw vegetables for dipping.

Watch me prepare Cheesy Pizza Dip.

Enjoy!

Kouign Amann Pastry from KRMA Foods: My Review

I purchased the Large Kouign Amann pastries by KRMA foods from QVC and wanted to share my thoughts on the pastries.

Kouign Amann paired with jam and whipped cream.

These croissant like pastries have many buttery layers and have a slightly sweet dough. They are round cakes and have a sugar that caramelizes on top when you reheat them.

They come in the mail already baked at room temperature, sealed in a packages of three pastries, for a total count of 18.

There were three flavors to choose from. Original, chocolate hazelnut, and Apple. You could get a combination of all three flavors. I chose the original flavor, I thought it would be the most versatile to serve. When I purchased them, they were a QVC’s “One Time Only” price of $47.00, shipping included.

I used my air fryer to bake them for eight minutes at 320°. You must let them sit for a couple minutes before eating, because the caramelized sugar on the top of the pastries can be scalding hot. I served mine with some Grandma’s Jam House Home Style Jam, Holiday Jam flavor, and some whipped cream (Cabot’s Brand, my favorite!) Everyone in my family loved them. They are quite delicious. I enjoyed them plain as is, however, the jam and whipped cream served with them were pretty delicious as well.

Kouign Amann takes 8 minutes in the air fryer.

They would be awesome served with fresh berries and whipped cream. I really enjoyed these and would recommend them. The “One Time Only” price I bought them at priced them at $2.61 per pastry, which I feel is a reasonable price.

They are wonderful as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee. I really enjoyed them. If I can score another QVC’s “One Time Only” price, I will be ordering them again.

Watch my review of the Kouign Amann pastry from QVC on YouTube:

Quick and Easy Buttery Dill Salmon in the Ninja Air Fryer

The Ninja Air Fryer is a perfect and EASY way to prepare salmon. The Ninja Air Fryer’s new presets for fish, the temperature probe, and the sear plate make it a no brainer for the most delectable medium well done salmon EVERY time. No more second guessing whether your fish is done or eating dry fish ever again!

You can have a delicious and healthy meal on the table for your family in about 10 to 15 minutes because it cooks up so fast. Add in some veggies to the sear plate too, microwave some rice, or serve with a side salad, and you are good to go.

Buttery dill salmon served with lemon wedges.

Now on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Salted Grass Fed Butter, melted (I used Truly Brand)
Kinders Buttery Steakhouse Blend Seasoning, coat to your taste
Fresh dill, washed and chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Pepper, if desired

Instructions:

Make sure you have your sear plate in the Ninja Air Fryer.
Preheat your sear plate using the Sear Crisp mode.
Melt the butter in your microwave.
Use a silicone pastry brush to coat your salmon with the melted butter.
Season the salmon with Kinders Buttery Steakhouse seasoning to your taste.
Season with sea salt and pepper to your taste. Remember there is salt in the Kinders, so do not over salt.
Sprinkle fresh dill all over the salmon.
Add the temperature probe to the thickest piece of salmon, make sure the probe is plugged in to the side of the air fryer.
When the sear plate is done preheating, add any leftover butter to your sear plate.
Place each piece of salmon skin side down onto the sear plate.
Once all salmon is on your sear plate, slide sear plate into Air Fryer and push the Preset button.
Turn the dial until you see Fish. Then select preferred doneness. I selected medium well for my salmon. Hit the start button, which is the large dial.
Keep an eye on your temperature gauge. Once it is about halfway to 2/3 to finished temperature, flip your salmon. This ensures color on both sides of your salmon.
The Ninja Air Fryer will stop when the fish is perfectly cooked and at the appropriate doneness that you selected (in my case, medium well.). That’s it!
Add more fresh chopped dill to make it look pretty and serve with lemon wedges or slices.

Watch how to prepare Buttery Dill Salmon in the Ninja Air Fryer.

Enjoy!!

Hearty Minestrone Soup in the Ninja Foodi

I have been craving some yummy Minestrone soup. This one hit the spot. It’s hearty, and will warm you up on a cold, chilly, dreary day.

I used the Ninja Foodi to slow cook this soup. But you can use any slow cooker, or even pressure cook it, if you’d like. Or go old school Dutch oven on the stove top and let it simmer away. Any method you use to cook the soup will still give you a delicious, belly filling, healthy, hearty bowl of soup.

Ingredients:

For the Ninja Foodi slow cooker:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small onions, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 to 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into coins
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (the one I used had basil, garlic, and oregano seasonings)
1 32 ounce carton of vegetable broth
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 can white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of small red beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of cut green beans, drained
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 small zucchini, sliced in half, then cut into half moons
Locatelli Romano cheese rind pieces, added in for flavor (can use Parmesan)
Sea salt added, to taste
Pepper, to taste

For the stovetop:

16 ounce box of elbow macaroni, boiled separately following box instructions (add 1.5 Tbsp. of salt to 3-4 quarts of water for flavorful pasta)

Toppings:

Grated Locatelli Romano cheese, for topping
Chopped flat parsley, for topping

Instructions:

Saute the olive oil, onions, celery, and carrots on high until the onion is fragrant and slightly soft.

Add the remaining ingredients (but do not add the cooked pasta yet!) and stir.

Switch function from Sauté to Slow cook on high for 4 hours. Place lid on pot, set valve to seal. (Be sure to hit the start button.)

When soup is done, add in elbow macaroni to each individual bowl served, so the macaroni does not get mushy in the soup and so it doesn’t absorb all the broth.

Top with parsley and Locatelli Romano cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

Watch Minestrone Soup being made on YouTube.

It would be great served with bread, rolls, garlic breadsticks, homemade biscuits, crackers, cheese toasts, grilled cheese, cheddar bay biscuits, cornbread, whatever you like! Or a side salad would also be a fresh and delicious accompaniment.

A dollop of pesto would be a delicious topping for this soup.

Enjoy!

Air Fryer Pizza Bagels

Happy Sunday, everyone! I wanted something quick and easy and was craving pizza 🍕🍕🍕, so I made these Air Fryer bagel pizzas.

I used plain large bagels, but I bet everything bagels or sesame would be tasty!

Hot pizza bagels help with any pizza cravings 🍕.

I cut the bagels in half and lightly toasted them. Then I spread on some Don Peppino’s pizza sauce. Sprinkled with Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese.

Plain slightly toasted bagels with pizza sauce and Locatelli cheese.

Added two slices of thin sliced deli mozzarella cheese. Sprinkled with more Locatelli cheese and some dried Italian seasonings and parsley. Also topped two with some roasted mushrooms that I had in the fridge. Sprinkled a little more sauce on top for color.

Two slices of thin sliced deli mozzarella are added to the bagels.

Added some roasted mushrooms, Italian seasonings, parsley, and more Locatelli cheese to the top. (Two were left plain.)

Air fried at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. It helped to satisfy my pizza craving. Would be great served with a salad or some soup.

Happy Easter!

I had fun decorating for Easter this year, using Grogu (The Child) from Disney’s The Mandalorian as my inspiration. My whole family loves the series and especially Grogu, because, let’s face it, he is ADORABLE! He sometimes gets into trouble on the show when eggs are involved, ha ha, one of his favorite snacks, so I used that as my decorating inspiration.

The Rae Dunn Egg Hunting and Good Egg (Bad Egg is on the other side of this two sided mug) are perfect to house some eggs collected from The Dollar Tree.

Grogu is stealing an egg for a quick snack 🥚😂

I hope you have a Happy Easter!

XOXO,

Carla

Easy, Crispy, Seasoned Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

No need to heat up your kitchen for an hour to bake up crispy skinned, seasoned, baked potatoes! Use your air fryer to get the same results for half the time. No microwaved baked potato can compare to baked, crispy skinned potatoes.

https://youtu.be/xg_ReYKwQLw

You need:

Scrubbed clean russet potatoes
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Parsley flakes
Coarse sea salt
black pepper, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat your air fryer while you prep your potatoes. Wash and scrub potatoes clean with a vegetable brush. Dry potatoes and pierce with a sharp knife or fork.

In a bowl, toss potatoes in olive oil, garlic powder, coarse sea salt, and parsley flakes (and black pepper, if desired). Make sure your potatoes are coated well and add them to your preheated air fryer. Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until fork tender. Larger potatoes may need more time.

Watch my how-to video.

Easy, Crispy, Seasoned Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

https://youtu.be/xg_ReYKwQLw

You need:

Scrubbed clean russet potatoes
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Parsley flakes
Coarse sea salt
Black pepper, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat your air fryer while you prep your potatoes. Wash and scrub potatoes clean with a vegetable brush. Dry potatoes and pierce with a sharp knife or fork.

In a bowl, toss potatoes in olive oil, garlic powder, coarse sea salt, and parsley flakes (and black pepper, if desired). Make sure your potatoes are coated well with the olive oil and spices and add them to your preheated air fryer. Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (mine were done at 32 minutes), or until fork tender. Larger potatoes may need more time.

Watch my how-to video. Subscribe to my channel to receive notifications on future videos.

Thanks for watching!

Carla XOXO