These are my favorite kitchen gadgets for 2023! These are great for chefs of all levels and make your life much easier in the kitchen!

Here we are, rounding out the year once again!

I know, I’m coming at you with kitchen gadgets at the busiest time of the year! But we all know that food processors, chef’s knives, the instant pot, stainless steel cookware, and stand mixers are all on sale this time of the year. So if you’re looking to make some improvements to your kitchen game or buy some great tried-and-true gifts for friends or family, I’ve got you covered!

I’ll be honest, this isn’t a list where I talk about a cast iron skillet, immersion blenders, blenders for smoothies, toaster ovens, or my favorite knife. This list is a bit more than that. It’s all the gadgets I personally bought in 2023 and found myself using them multiple times every week. Most of these I would argue I use daily, in all honesty!

And so without further ado let’s hop into the best of the best kitchen gadgets for 2023!

5 must-have kitchen tools for 2023.

6. Popcorn maker.

Okay, I know I promised 5, and this one is a new purchase, but I already find myself using it more often than I ever thought I would.

I finally gave my old silicone microwave popcorn maker the boot, and invested in an air popper! This one had rave reviews on Amazon, and with the price tag that was under $20, I couldn’t refuse. Bonus it has a little caddy on top that will melt your butter while the corn kernels pop.

The only real con I found on this popcorn maker is that the plastic case that goes over the popping element is slightly cheapy plastic. With that said, I would 100% buy this again, and if mine konks out, I’ll repurchase this without hesitation! 

You can purchase it here.

5. Workhorse Wok.

I promise this is the only pan on my list! And It has proven to be a good one. 

I love using my new wok to make stir frys, lomo saltado, and of course my shrimp masala recipe. Cleanup is a breeze, and it even comes with a dome lid. I’ve used it over high heat to quickly saute the ingredients, and the pans still look as good as new even after tons of use!

Remember when I said that I use most of these on a daily basis? This pan definitely gets a workout in my kitchen!

You can purchase it here.

4. Vegetable Chopper Box.

If you’re on TikTok, I’m sure you’ve seen people chop all sorts of things in their chopper boxes. At this point, they’re chopping deli meats with this thing! 

This little box has made prep for onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes, so much easier when I’m making a batch of homemade soup. And it’s great for when I’m craving a Shirazi Salad but don’t have the time to chop up all of the vegetables in perfect bite-sized pieces. The blade slices right through the ingredients with just one good push on the button with the palm of your hands.

The attachments are all bpa-free and dishwasher-safe, so after you’re done chopping, you can simply toss it in the dishwasher to handle the cleanup. Oxo Good Grips is one of my favorite brands for kitchen gadgets and they definitely don’t disappoint on this one. It makes for easy storage because all of the pieces clip on and stay together.

You can purchase it here.

3. Dish Pad.

If you wash and dry as many dishes as I do, this is a great little drying pad for your counter. The  stone dries water in 4 seconds. You can use it to dry fruits and vegetables as well as your handwashed dishes. I find that the dishes dry much faster on this stone pad than on a traditional drying pad.  Storage is also a breeze because the mat folds up and goes right under my kitchen sink when we have guests over.

This is another one of those items on this list that I find myself using everyday. I got this on this years prime day and I’m counting down to the black friday sale so that I can grab another one! This item is pricier than a drying pad. But after using it for almost 6 months, I can say without a doubt that it worth every penny!

You can purchase it here.

2. Cast Iron Bread Baker.

At the beginning of this year, I set out on a new task to make sourdough bread. I know, I’m so behind. I didn’t take up bread making in 2020 like everyone but I definitely jumped on the band wagon three years later. 

When I was still testing my sourdough game in early January, I didn’t know if I was ready to invest in a $300 Challenger Bread Pan. Sure, it’s what all the serious sourdough makers are using, but I can’t justify spending that kind of money on a pan when I wasn’t even able to get my sourdough starter right. Much less any closer to pulling out a semi decent loaf of sourdough bread from my oven.

Enter this much more affordable cast iron for homemade bread. This one costs less than half the price of the Challenger pan and so far it’s been great! I’ve been able to really get into sourdough baking and have made a loaf (or two) a week since my starter has taken off.

You can purchase it here.

1. Rice cooker.

Are you surprised to see this as my number one favorite kitchen gadget of 2023? I honestly thought never in a million years would I invest in a rice cooker. It’s so easy to make rice on the stove. All you really need is a wooden spoon and saucepan. But here I am! Eating my words, and my rice out of a rice cooker!

Whether it’s basmati rice with a little salt, brown rice, cilantro and garlic scented rice, ginger fried rice, or biryani rice with spices, you can make it all in the rice cooker. And dare I say that the rice is just as fluffy, if not fluffier than if I made it on the stove top? Even my mother who has spent all her life making stove top rice had the rice out of my rice cooker and raved about it!  I take that as a win!

Not all rice cookers are created equal though. I did a ton of research before I pulled the trigger on this one and the rave reviews definitely sold me. It comes in both a 5.5 cup and 10 cup measurement. Most days I find that the smaller rice cooker is perfect for our little family of 2. I do think that for a family of 4 or more where rice is a staple ingredient, you may want to opt for the larger size. Though the cooker states a max capacity of 5.5 cups, with certain rice, you can only cook 2 cups at a time.

You can purchase it here.

That completes my list of favorite kitchen gadget for 2023. If there’s something that you bought this year that you’ve loved, feel free to share it with the rest of us below!

A super simple recipe to make lazy skillet lasagna using ravioli! No need to boil the noodles separately, dirty a bunch of dishes, or make layers. This one-pot lasagna combines and cooks everything in one pot!

Hooray for one skillet lasagna!

It goes like this. Sometimes (read: most times), my love for good comfort food is borderline inappropriate. As soon as the weather is slightly more crisp than the day before, I am getting out the pasta and cheese and saying a final farewell to grilled chicken and salad. So, I ask you to feel all the feelings you get when a warm, cozy dish of lasagna is baking away in your oven. 

The way the house smells like cheese and ground beef cooked in tomato sauce mingling with garlic, Italian seasonings, and hints of fennel seeds. The warmth surrounding a dish of cheesy, melty, saucy, and noodle-y lasagna straight out of the oven. As it hits the table, you bring forth your plate for what you mentally beg to be one massive, bubbly, and cheesy slice. And of course, you have to serve this low-effort lasagna with the best garlic bread in the world and a salad because it’s healthy.

Are you feelin’ me now? 

So the minute I got my skillet lasagna recipe finalized and extra cheese, I was ready to bring it to y’all. Who doesn’t want to cut the prep time by half when it comes to making lasagna? I mean, super easy lasagna all the time? No need for layers, and everything cooks itself in one pot?

This is one pot lasagna reality, my friends.

Ingredients for easy skillet lasagna

• Ground beef: I like to use ground beef for my homemade ravioli lasagna, but you can also use ground turkey or chicken. Some people also like to use Italian sausage out of the casing for a classic lasagna, which would also work here. You could even do a split of ground beef and ground sausage. Depending on the type of meat you use, you may want to drain the excess grease so that the lasagna isn’t too greasy.
• Olive Oil: You’ll need a glug to saute the onions and garlic.
• Onions: We’ll add roughly 1 cup of diced onions once the ground beef has rendered its fat.
• Garlic: We’ll add 5 minced garlic cloves to the recipe. This makes sure that the lasagna is uber-flavorful!
• Seasonings: I like to use oregano instead of Italian seasoning for my lasagna recipe, although either would work here. You’ll also need red pepper flakes, sugar, and crushed fennel seeds. Feel free to omit the fennel if you used sausage with fennel already in the seasonings. It can become overpowering.
• Marinara or spaghetti sauce: I like to use store-bought marinara because it already has all the slow-simmered flavors of a lasagna built in. My favorite is this brand; I buy it in bulk from Costco!
• Crushed Tomatoes: No need to drain; add it right into the sauce!
• Chicken or Beef Broth: Either works for this recipe. Just be sure to use low sodium so that you can adjust the salt that’s needed in the recipe.
• Frozen Ravioli: I like using ricotta cheese ravioli, but any flavor you like will do. I usually opt for the ricotta or spinach variety to get extra veggies!
• Mozzarella Cheese: As always, I do recommend shredding your mozzarella for this recipe. Preshredded mozzarella doesn’t stretch the same way as a block does. If you must use pre-shredded mozzarella, I like the thick-cut variety from this brand. Otherwise, I usually ask the deli attendant to cut me a 1/2-pound block. And I’ll shred it at home on my box grater.
• Parsley and Parmesan Cheese: I like to use parsley for topping, but fresh basil works too. Use grated or shaved parmesan, whatever you have on hand!

How to make ravioli skillet lasagna:

1. Cook the meat first. First, heat a large cast iron skillet or oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook and crumble the ground beef to break up any large chunks. Then drizzle with olive oil if the meat is very lean. If you used a fattier ground beef, you may want to drain the additional grease so the lasagna isn’t too greasy.
2. Saute the aromatics. Add the onions and saute them for for a few minutes or until they are tender and translucent. Then add the garlic and let cook for 30 seconds before you sprinkle the seasonings over the other ingredients. Allow the spices to bloom in the oil, then add the marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth.
3. Simmer the sauce. Bring the marinara sauce to a boil, taste, then adjust with salt if the sauce is lacking severely. You don’t want it to be overly salty at this point because we’ll add the lasagna noodles, mozzarella, and parmesan, which all have sodium. Stir in the ravioli and bring the sauce back to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and allow the noodles to simmer for a few minutes until the ravioli heats through and the sauce reduces. This is the part where you bake a traditional lasagna. 
4. Finish and serve it up. Add the mozzarella cheese to the top, turn off the stove, cover, and let the cheese melt. You can also pop the skillet under the broiler for a few seconds to allow the cheese to get bubbly and golden the way it would on a traditional lasagna. Top with parsley and parmesan, and serve warm!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken
• Sun-dried Tomato Baked Salmon and Orzo
• Comforting One Pot Lasagna Soup
• All-Purpose Meat Sauce Recipe
• Tomato Mozzarella Baked Chicken

Yield: 6 servings

Lazy Ravioli Skillet Lasagna

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

A super simple recipe to make lazy skillet lasagna using ravioli! No need to boil the noodles separately, dirty a bunch of dishes, or make layers. This one-pot lasagna combines and cooks everything in one pot!

Print

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb. lean ground beef (turkey or chicken)
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon EACH: crushed fennel seeds AND red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon EACH: dried oregano AND sugar
• 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara or spaghetti sauce (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1 ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth (or beef)
• 20 ounce frozen ravioli (I like ricotta)
• 1 ½ cup cubed or shredded mozzarella cheese
• Parsley + parmesan for topping

Instructions

1. CRUMBLE: Heat a 4-quart cast iron skillet or oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, cook, and crumble for 5-7 minutes, breaking up large chunks. Drizzle with olive oil if the meat is very lean.
2. SAUTE: add the onions and cook for 7 minutes until tender and translucent. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, oregano, and sugar. Continue to cook for 60 seconds. Then add the marinara, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth.
3. SIMMER: Bring to a boil, taste, and add a little salt if it needs it. Then, add the ravioli to the skillet and allow the lasagna to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and the ravioli is cooked.
4. FINISH AND SERVE: Add the mozzarella cheese on top, turn off the stove, and cover allow the cheese to melt for 5-7 minutes. Alternatively, you can pop the skillet under the broiler and broil for 30-60 seconds until the cheese turns golden. Top with parsley and parmesan, and serve warm.

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  Wooden Spoon Set
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  Box Grater
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  5 Quart Pan

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 514Total Fat: 26gCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gProtein: 39g

The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

Crispy Feta Cheese Filo Pastry Spirals are insanely delicious! Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake until golden brown and crispy. Drizzle them with hot honey for a deliciously cheesy treat!

The crispy feta cheese filo pastry spirals your guests will go bonkers for!

Imagine this: butter-basted sheets of filo loaded with a combination of crumbled feta cheese and shredded mozzarella made into a perfect swirl. Then we’ll drizzle more melted butter and bake it in a dish until they’re perfectly flakey and golden.

Ugh! These take me right back to Greece! We had these filo pastry wrapped feta parcels as an appetizer in Mykonos a few years back. They were made with sheep’s milk feta and sprinkled with herbs like fresh thyme. And honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love Greek dishes like Spinach Puff Pastry inspired by Spanakopita, Baklava, and of course, Saganaki, but when you want something cheesy and delicious, phyllo-wraped feta is honestly the crispiest thing to enjoy.

Can I also say that these remind me of Turkish Börek? I can’t tell you how much cheese stuffed in phyllo dough we had in Turkey. The taste is incredible!

If you’re sensing a theme here, that I travel to eat food, you would be correct in assuming that!

Ingredients for Feta Cheese Filo Pastry:

• Feta Cheese: You can crumble a block of feta for this recipe or purchase crumbled feta. If you buy feta packed in brine, I suggest draining it and letting it dry a bit on a paper towel so that the brine doesn’t cause the delicate sheet of phyllo to tear when you fold it.
• Shredded Mozzarella: Combining the two cheeses adds a different flavor profile. I tried the recipe with feta cheese alone and found it wasn’t as delicious as when I added mozzarella into the mix. Feel free to cut back on some feta and mozzarella and introduce a third (or, dare I say, fourth) type of cheese into the mix.
• Phyllo Pastry: you’ll want to work quickly with filo sheets. I like to use a damp towel to cover the sheets of phyllo dough while rolling. This keeps them from drying out and makes folding a bit easier.
• Butter: You can use both unsalted and salted butter for this recipe. The only caveat is that if your cheese has a lot of salt, I suggest using unsalted butter to curb some of the saltiness. If you’re serving this with honey, salted butter yields better results by balancing the sweetness better.
• Sesame Seeds: These are for sprinkling on top before baking. Feel free to omit the sesame seeds or use black sesame seeds here if that’s what you like!
• Honey: It is completely optional. The phyllo-wrapped feta we had in Greece was always served drizzled with honey. But I somewhat enjoyed the Turkish Börek swirls a bit more, and those never had honey! Also, you can use homemade or store-bought hot honey or regular honey for this recipe.

How to make the most delicious Greek feta cheese in phyllo:

1. Start the prep. Start by preheating the oven and melt the first batch of butter in the microwave. We’ll use this for brushing. In a bowl, combine the crumbled feta and shredded mozzarella and mix as best as you can. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray; alternately, you can line it with parchment paper to keep the rolls from sticking.
2. Fill up the rolls. Lay a sheet of phyllo pastry in front of you on a clean work surface. You’ll want to cover the remaining stack of phyllo sheets with a damp towel to keep them from drying out. Then brush the single sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Buttering the layers helps them bake up extra crispy. Then fold the sheet over in half. Sprinkle with roughly 2-3 tablespoons worth of the cheese mixture. Start rolling the phyllo over the filling until you reach the other end. 
3. Wrap it up. Then twist one side of the phyllo dough together to create a coil. You’ll want to keep twisting until you have a ‘cinnamon roll-like’ wrap. Place this in the prepared baking pan and continue wrapping the remaining phyllo the same way.
4. Bake until golden. Melt the remaining butter in a small bowl. Drizzle or brush the rolls with this. Then sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Cook them in a preheated oven until they’re golden and crispy.
5. Drizzle and serve. Drizzle the rolls with hot honey if you’d like. Doing this while they’re hot out of the oven does cause the rolls to soften slightly, so you may want to drizzle once they are slightly cooled.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Easy Puff Pastry Twists with Za’atar
• Chicken Puff Pastry (Chicken Patties)
• Gruyere, Mushroom, and Caramelized Onion Bites
• My Mom’s Crispy Beef Samosas 
• Most Addicting Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Yield: makes 12-14 rolls

Crispy Feta Cheese Filo Pastry Spirals

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Crispy Feta Cheese Filo Pastry Spirals are insanely delicious! Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake until golden brown and crispy. Drizzle them with hot honey for a deliciously cheesy treat!

Print

Ingredients

• 12 ounces crumbled feta
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella
• 1 (16-ounce) box phyllo pastry dough, thawed
• 13 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for topping
• hot honey or regular honey, optional

Instructions

1. PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Melt 10 tablespoons of butter in the microwave until liquid. In a bowl, combine the crumbled feta and shredded mozzarella cheese.
2. BASTE: Lay a sheet of phyllo pastry in front of you on a clean work surface. Cover the remaining stack of phyllo sheets with a damp towel to keep them from drying out. Brush a single sheet with butter. Fold one side of the sheet to create a half sheet.
3. FILL: Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons worth of cheese mixture one inch from the border of the phyllo sheet. Start by rolling the phyllo over the filling and continue to roll until you reach the other end.
4. WRAP: Twist one side of the phyllo dough to create a coil. Gently but firmly twist the phyllo to create a 'cinnamon roll swirl' and wrap the phyllo (see post photos.) Place the wrapped roll in an 8x12 or 9x13 baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining phyllo and cheese mixture.
5. BAKE: Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the same bowl. Evenly drizzle or brush the butter all over the rolls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 48-56 minutes or until golden and crispy.
6. DRIZZLE: Drizzle the feta spirals with hot honey once they cool slightly, if desired. Serve while they’re still slightly warm!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 371Total Fat: 30gCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gProtein: 10g

The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

This is the recipe for my family’s favorite sweet potato soufflé! We start by making a simple sweet potato mash. Then we loaded it up with eggs, a hint of cinnamon, and vanilla bean paste. Top it with a layer of brown sugar pecan crumble. It is TO DIE FOR!

This is the sweet potato casserole of your dreams!

It starts with a cinnamon and vanilla-scented sweet potato souffle. Don’t worry; you don’t have to boil or bake the sweet potatoes if you don’t want to – canned sweet potatoes work, too! We’ll push them through a ricer or mash them up and load them with melted butter, half and half, cinnamon, vanilla, and eggs. 

But don’t let me forget to tell you about that jump lump streusel on top! I could honestly eat a basket full of that crunchy brown sugar-coated pecans.

Serious question: does your family serve multiple potato dishes at the Thanksgiving table too? Mine needs a mashed sweet potato, preferably in casserole form. But my asiago and roasted garlic and cheddar mashed potatoes also have a clutch hold on them. Especially if I serve them with my homemade gravy. I’m tempted to make scalloped potatoes or my twice-baked potato casserole one of these years, but I know the disappointment that would ensue if we had a table without mashed potatoes!

I know everyone has their favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving, but I have a feeling this one will become a family favorite for you too! 

Ingredients for a homemade sweet potato souffle:

• Sweet Potatoes: We’ll need almost two pounds of sweet potatoes. I like to use the kind with orange flesh so that the casserole has a vibrant orange hue.
• Butter: We’ll use the butter for both the sweet potato portion as well as the crumble topping. Both unsalted butter and salted will work for this recipe. I typically use salted butter to help balance the sweetness of the sweet potato mixture and crumb topping better.
• Half and Half: the half and half adds richness to the dish.
• Maple Syrup: the maple and brown sugar work together to add a bit of sweetness.
• Brown Sugar: we’ll use the brown sugar for both the casserole portion and the topping.
• Cinnamon: adding a pinch gives sweetness to this dessert-inspired casserole.
• Vanilla: you can use both vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste for this recipe. I personally prefer to use bean paste as the flavor is a bit richer, and the specks of vanilla make the casserole even more enjoyable!
• Kosher salt: cuts some of the sweetness from the ingredients.
• Large Eggs: will go into the souffle portion of the sweet potatoes. The protein in the eggs will help keep the souffle from being watery.
• All Purpose Flour: is used for the crumb topping.
• Pecans: we’ll use these for the pecan streusel topping. They add a nice crunch to the casserole.

How to make sweet potato souffle recipe:

1. Start with the sweet potatoes. You’ll want to peel and cube the potatoes first. Then, add them to a large pot and fill it with enough water to cover the potato chunks. Bring them to a boil and cook them until a fork pierces through them without much fork and they are tender! Drain the potatoes, add them to a large mixing bowl, and let them cool a bit.
2. Do all the prep. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven if you’re baking the casserole immediately.
3. Mash the potatoes. There are several ways to do this. You can use a hand mixer, a potato masher, or rice them through a ricer. I prefer the ricer, but the other methods work as well. 
4. Making the filling. To the mashed potatoes, add the melted butter, half and half, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, eggs, and mix until they are creamy. Spay a casserole dish with cooking spray. Then, transfer the filling to the baking dish. Now, you can wrap the casserole and pop it into the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake.
5. Top with the pecan streusel topping. In a medium bowl, mix the 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Melt the butter in a small bowl and pour this over the ingredients. I like to use a fork to fluff the topping until the butter and flour cling to the sugar and pecans mixture. Sprinkle this all over the casserole/
6. Bake and serve. Bake the souffle in a 350ºF oven until the casserole is golden brown. Let cool for several minutes before serving.

Other Thanksgiving side dishes:

• Garlic Butter Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Herb Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
• Even Better Jiffy Corn Casserole
• Cheesy Cheddar Broccoli Pasta
• Best Herb Stuffing 

Other sweet potato recipes:

• How to Make Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Topping
• Homemade Sweet Potato Mash
• Autumn Crisp Apple Sweet Potato Salad
• Winter Detox Moroccan Lentil Sweet Potato Soup

Yield: serves 10-12

My Family's Favorite Sweet Potato Souffle

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

This is the recipe for my family's favorite sweet potato soufflé! We start by making a simple sweet potato mash. Then we loaded it up with eggs, a hint of cinnamon, and vanilla bean paste. Top it with a layer of brown sugar pecan crumble. It is TO DIE FOR!

Print

Ingredients

• 4 large (~1 ¾ pounds) sweet potatoes
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• ½ cup half and half
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs

Topping:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Instructions

1. SWEET POTATOES: Peel and cube the potatoes into 2-inch chunks. Add the diced potatoes to a large pot. Fill with water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches. Add a couple of teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat until the potatoes easily pierce with a knife and are tender; about 18-22 minutes. Drain and let the potatoes cool to room temperature.
2. PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF if you’re baking the soufflé immediately.
3. FILLING: In a large bowl, mash the potatoes with a potato masher, or you can rice them through a ricer. Then add the butter, half and half, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste, kosher salt, and eggs.
4. DISH IT OUT: Transfer the prepared soufflé to an 8x12 baking dish and sprayed with cooking spray. You can also cover and refrigerate the soufflé for up to 1 day and then bake the day of.
5. TOP IT OFF: In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Pour the melted butter over the other ingredients and use a fork to fluff them until everything is moistened. Sprinkle this over the casserole.
6. BAKE: Bake the soufflé in a preheated oven for 28-32 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 274Total Fat: 16gCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 2gProtein: 4g

The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

An even better version of the traditional Jiffy Corn Casserole! We’re swapping out one ingredient and making the best corn casserole your family has ever had! It’s got sweetness from the corn, cheesiness, and so much more!

Not another corn casserole recipe!

Oh, but it is. And it’s an even better version of the traditional Jiffy corn casserole because we’re introducing a new player to the game. And this one makes everything 10x better. 

I know what you’re thinking… she’s going to add cheddar cheese to the mix and think she reinvented the wheel. But no, that’s not it! Meet the Jiffy Corn Casserole with a puck of Boursin cheese.

Don’t worry! It’s still loaded with all the corn kernels and creamed corn you love, but we’ll swap out some of the sour cream with a puck of room-temperature Boursin…

And I’m willing to bet your family is going to love it as much as mine.

I’m not kidding. A couple of Thanksgivings ago, I ran short of sour cream. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. And when I looked in the fridge to find something to substitute for this holiday staple, it came down to mayonnaise, Boursin, or Greek yogurt. I opted for Boursin because, well, it’s Boursin. 

And guess what? Best thing that’s ever happened to a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix.

Bake it all up in a casserole dish and just watch how quickly this becomes the new favorite Thanksgiving side dish. I wouldn’t be surprised if you get requests to make this corn souffle for Christmas dinners too!

Ingredients for a Jiffy Corn Casserole Recipe

• Jiffy Mix: This one is pretty self-explanatory! The cornbread mix typically contains ingredients like cornmeal, flour, and baking powder, amongst other ingredients and preservatives. A heads up for my vegetarian friends, be sure to get the box that’s marked vegetarian. Regular jiffy corn mix has some ingredients in it that makes it not vegetarian-friendly!
• Eggs: You’ll need a couple of eggs for this recipe. We’ll add them with all the wet ingredients. They add texture and stability to this savory, yet sweet casserole.
• Melted Butter: I like to use salted butter to help better balance the sweet and saltiness of this casserole. For a sweeter casserole, I do suggest you opt for salt-free or unsalted butter.
• Sour Cream: We’ll still add some to our casserole, but we’ll opt for ⅓ cup instead of the traditional recipe.
• Garlic and Herb cheese: You’ll need one 5.3 ounce puck of garlic and herb cheese. I prefer to use Boursin for this recipe as that’s what I’ve done for the last couple of Thanksgivings. You can swap this for other types of garlic and fine herb cheeses, but be sure that the texture is similar to that of gournay cheese.
• Whole Kernel Corn: I stick to the theme of canned ingredients here because canned corn and creamed corn and both pantry staples for me. You could also defrost sweet corn kernels and use those here instead if you prefer.
• Canned Creamed Corn: Creamed corn is made by combining pieces of whole corn kernels with milky mixture from immature pulped corn kernels scraped off the cob. You can typically find this ingredient next to canned corn in most grocery stores.
• Cooking Spray: You’ll want to use either butter or cooking spray to grease the baking dish with before we pour in the shuffle batter.

Homemade Cornbread Casserole Recipe

1. Prep the dish and the oven. Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Spray a square baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside for now.
2. Melt the butter. Grab a large microwave-safe mixing bowl and melt the butter. You want to let the butter cool to room temperature before proceeding. Otherwise, you run the risk of scrambling the eggs. Once the butter is cooled, stir in the Boursin cheese until it melts into the butter.
3. Add all the remaining wet ingredients. Then add the drained corn kernels, creamed corn, sour cream, and eggs and mix until everything is combined.
4. Add the dry cornmeal. Fold in the corn muffin mix and stir until it’s just combined. Don’t overmix this.
5. Bake until golden. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake the casserole until the center springs back, and you have no wet batter when you test the center with a toothpick. Let the casserole cool for several minutes before serving. It’s such an easy. side dish recipe!
6. Storing. Store the leftovers in the refrigerator or freeze them according to the directions below.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Green Bean Casserole
• Homemade Herb Butter Turkey
• Spoon Bread Casserole (aka Corn Pudding)
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Ground Beef Skillet Chili with Cornbread Crust

Yield: serves 8-9

Even Better Jiffy Corn Casserole

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

An even better version of the traditional Jiffy Corn Casserole! We're swapping out one ingredient and making the best corn casserole your family has ever had! It's got sweetness from the corn, cheesiness, and so much more!

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Ingredients

• 1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• ½ cup salted butter, melted
• 1 (5.2 ounce) garlic and herb cheese puck (such as Boursin)
• ⅓ cup sour cream, room temp
• 1 (15-ounce) can corn kernels, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can creamed corn
• Cooking spray, for the dish

Instructions

1. PREP: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray; set aside now.
2. MELT: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Allow the butter to cool to room temperature. Stir in the Boursin until it melts into the butter.
3. WET INGREDIENTS: Add the drained corn kernels, creamed corn, sour cream, and eggs and mix until combined.
4. MIX: Then add the corn muffin mix and stir until just mixed. Don’t over-mix it!
5. BAKE: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center springs back with no wet batter when tested with a toothpick.. Let cool for several minutes before serving.

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Have you made this recipe?

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A weeknight-friendly recipe for Gochujang Beef Bowls with Spicy Cucumber Salad. This Korean-inspired recipe is slightly sweet, spicy, savory, and so delicious! We love serving it over a bowl of rice with a simple crunchy cucumber salad.

Talk about a 30-minute flavor explosion.

These Korean beef bowls are one of our new favorite weeknight dinners. It starts with a pound of lean ground beef, lots of chopped scallions, an abundance of garlic, and a few sauces and seasonings that we’ll combine in a measuring cup and pour it over the the stir fry beef. The hint of sesame oil, the sweetness from brown sugar, and the heat from the gochujang chili paste honestly make this one of the most delicious rice bowls. And if you’re watching your calories or low-carbing it, you can serve these as lettuce wraps with cucumber salad on the side.

I’ve made a ton of Korean-inspired dishes in the past, like my Korean BBQ sauce or my instant pot beef bowls; there are also my Korean BBQ bowls. And one thing that all of these recipes have in common is that they do require more prep time. However, they are absolutely delicious and something to try! 

For this recipe, we skip the marinade entirely because the ground beef doesn’t really require time to break down. This tastes so incredibly delicious, and I hope you love it as much as we do!

Ingredients for gochujang beef bowls:

• Ground Beef: I like to use 95-96% lean ground beef. This way, you don’t need to drain any excess grease from the pan. If you have ground beef with a higher fat percentage, you can still use it. I suggest you drain it once the beef has rendered off the fat to avoid the recipe becoming too greasy.
• Green onions: these are also called scallions or spring onions. You’ll want to separate the whites from the greens. We’ll saute the white portion and cook them down, and use the green portion to garnish with at the end.
• Garlic: I like to press the garlic through a garlic press to ensure the flavor is evenly dispersed through the meat. Feel free to use minced garlic here. 
• Brown sugar: Adds the much-needed sweetness to the recipe. It also helps balance out the heat from the tablespoons of gochujang paste. I should mention that you could swap the brown sugar for honey if you prefer.
• Low-sodium soy sauce: adds umami to the dish. It’s also our main source of sodium.
• Gochujang paste: this is readily available in most grocery stores these days. I found it in the international aisle. You can also purchase it online here.
• Toasted Sesame Oil: Adds a smokey flavor to the ground beef recipe.
• Grated Ginger (or ginger paste): Works beautifully in enhancing all the other flavors.
• Gochugaru: sun-dried peppers that have been coarsely ground into flakes similar to red pepper flakes.
• Rice Vinegar: adds the acidic touch this recipe needs. It balances out the sweet brown sugar, the spicy gochujang, and the salty soy sauce.
• White Pepper: adds a unique flavor.
• Jasmine Rice: to serve the gochujang beef with. You could also use brown rice, other carbohydrates or serve this in lettuce wraps if you prefer.
• Toasted sesame seeds: Add a little texture over the ground beef. I also use them in my cucumber salad.
• Vegetables: Onions, carrots, and cucumbers make the cucumber salad that I love serving with this recipe. You’ll also need many of the other ingredients listed above.

Making Korean beef bowls: 

1. Mix it all together. In a glass measuring cup, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, gochujang, sesame oil, ginger, gochugaru, rice vinegar, and white pepper. Whisk using a fork, and then set this aside for now.
2. Saute the ground beef. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the protein and cook and crumble the beef until it’s almost done. Add the white portion of the green onions and the garlic and saute it until it’s fragrant and the green onions have had a chance to wilt down a bit. 
3. Simmer in the sauce. Then, whisk the sauce and pour it into the skillet. Lower the heat and allow it to sizzle and thicken until it just clings to the ground beef. Top with the green portion of the scallions and lots of sesame seeds.
4. Serve this up.​​​​ Serve the ground beef in bowls over jasmine rice with the cucumber salad.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Quick Sesame Gochujang Noodles
• Chili Crisp Salmon with Cucumber Sweet Pepper Salad
• Crazy Good Quick Garlic Noodles
• Sesame Ginger Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry
• Sizzling Jalapeno Chicken

Yield: serves 4

Gochujang Beef Bowls with Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

A weeknight-friendly recipe for Gochujang Beef Bowls with Spicy Cucumber Salad. This Korean-inspired recipe is slightly sweet, spicy, savory, and so delicious! We love serving it over a bowl of rice with a simple crunchy cucumber salad.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (95-96% lean)
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced (whites and greens separated)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1-2 tablespoon Gochujang paste
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons ginger paste
• ½ teaspoon gochugaru (or red pepper flakes)
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• Prepared jasmine rice, for serving
• Prepared cucumber salad, for serving (see notes)

Instructions

1. COMBINE: In a glass measuring cup, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, gochujang, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, and white pepper. Whisk with a fork and set aside for now.
2. SAUTE: Heat a 12-inch wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, cook and crumble the meat for 4-5 minutes or until the meat is no longer visibly raw. Add the white parts of the scallions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until the scallions start to soften.
3. SIMMER: Lower the heat to low, pour the sauce over the ground beef, stir to combine. Let the mixture simmer for 4-6 minutes or until the sauce thickens and clings to the ground beef. Remove from heat. Top with the green portion of the scallions or sesame seeds.
4. SERVE: Serve in bowls over prepared jasmine rice with the cucumber salad (see notes.)

Notes

• Spicy Cucumber Salad: Toss 5 sliced Persian cucumbers with ¼ thinly sliced white onion and 1 carrot cut into matchsticks in a sieve over a bowl with ½ teaspoon salt. Let sit 5 minutes. Drain liquid from the bowl and transfer the veggies to the bowl. Add 1 clove minced garlic, 2 thinly sliced scallions, 2 tsp of gochugaru, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon gochujang, 2 tsp of toasted sesame oil, and 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds. Taste and adjust with a big pinch of salt or sugar or other ingredients as desired.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1/4th recipe
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 368Total Fat: 17gCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 34g

The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.

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Creamy, Cheesy Cheddar Broccoli Pasta is the perfect side of the main dish for any meal! It’s cheddar cheese sauce loaded with al dente shells and tender, chopped broccoli florets, and it is glorious!

Call it a side or a main dish.

These cheddar broccoli pasta shells are honestly the perfect side to any meal. Whether you’re planning your Thanksgiving menu or looking for something quick to make for the whole family on a random Tuesday night, broccoli and cheddar shells totally fit the bill.

What I love most about this recipe is that it comes together in one pot! So we’ll boil the pasta, then add the broccoli to the same water. Drain everything and then make the golden brown cheese sauce in the same saucepan before we toss it all together in the most decadent and delicious cheese sauce. 

Would this work with your Thanksgiving turkey? YES. 

Would this work with sauteed garlic butter chicken? YES. 

Would this work with steak and shrimp? YES. 

Could you make a meal out of this with a salad? 100% YES.

It’s honestly the yummiest, most versatile dinner recipe loaded with veggies, creamy cheese sauce, al dente noodles, and all the comfort one wants from a broccoli and cheese dish! It’s mostly pantry staple ingredients and, honestly, even better than Panera’s broccoli cheddar mac and cheese.

Ingredients for cheddar broccoli pasta:

• Pasta: I like to use shells for this recipe, but you could use any pasta shape you like.
• Broccoli florets: I like to grab a bag of florets from the store that I just break down to make them roughly the same size as the shells.
• Butter: We’ll use the butter to make a roux with the flour. 
• Flour: We’ll use less flour so that it doesn’t affect the cheese sauce’s texture but still aids in thickening it.
• Half and Half: This is typically sold in the United States and is a 50:50 ratio of whole milk and heavy whipping cream. You can make your own half and half or use storebought.
• Cream Cheese: this ingredient aids in thickening the sauce further. I prefer to thicken the recipe with more cream cheese than flour because cream cheese doesn’t produce a gloopy sauce mixture.
• Chicken Bouillon: A sprinkle of granulated chicken bouillon adds so much flavor to the cheese mixture. The cheese flavor wouldn’t be as concentrated if we used liquid chicken broth. So I like using the granulated variety or a crumbled bouillon cube.
• Seasonings: This is my favorite blend for broccoli and shells. I use a smidge of ground nutmeg, some white pepper, and mustard powder. These ingredients work beautifully with cheddar cheese and add the best taste to the cheddar broccoli shells.
• Cheese: Feel free to play around with the cheese. I typically use a good medium cheddar, but this recipe would work with sharp cheddar cheese, gruyere, or even a handful of parmesan cheese and Swiss. If you aim to get that beautiful yellow hue, use more cheddar cheese and less of the other ones. Remember that it’s best to use freshly grated cheese for the best melty sauce.

How to make Panera’s broccoli cheddar mac and cheese:

1. Start with the pasta. You want to bring a large pot of water to boil. When boiling, salt the water generously so the pasta has plenty of flavor. Then add the pasta and cook for 30-60 seconds less than package directions. When the timer goes off, add the broccoli and boil in the pasta water. Be sure to save a cup of pasta water so that you can add it to the cheese sauce later as needed. Drain the broccoli and pasta and set aside for later.
2. Make the roux. Melt the butter in the same pot over medium heat. Then add the flour and whisk, and cook the flour until lightly golden and toasty. 
3. Make the sauce. Add half and half to the flour mixture and continue to whisk. Add the cream cheese and whisk it in. It will slowly heat through and melt into the sauce. Season with the bouillon, nutmeg, white pepper, and mustard.
4. Adding in the cheese. When a bubble or two starts appearing on the surface of the sauce, turn off the burner. Slowly stir in the cheese, a little at a time, until it melts completely before adding in the next batch. This allows the cheese to melt, and you get the most luxurious sauce. 
5. Finish and serve. Once all of the cheese has been incorporated. add the pasta and broccoli. Add a small splash of pasta water if the sauce is thick. You can make it a bit soupy if you like it, like SpaghettiOs or a broccoli and cheddar soup. This would also be a good time to add other veggies like peas or steamed and squeezed spinach if you want to make this more veggie-loaded. Taste and adjust with salt as needed. Serve this warm!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Gruyere Mac and Cheese with French Onion Crust
• 5-Ingredient Mac and Cheese
• Creamy Lemon Garlic Pasta (Pasta al Limone)
• Garlic Parmesan Orzo Risotto

Yield: Serves 8

Cheesy Cheddar Broccoli Pasta

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Creamy, Cheesy Cheddar Broccoli Pasta is the perfect side of the main dish for any meal! It's cheddar cheese sauce loaded with al dente shells and tender, chopped broccoli florets, and it is glorious!

Print

Ingredients

• ~2 cups broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
• 16 ounces medium pasta shells
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2½ cups half and half (see notes)
• ⅓ cup softened cream cheese
• ½ teaspoon granulated chicken buillion (or ½ bouillon cube, crumbled)
• ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper AND mustard powder
• 16 ounces freshly grated cheddar cheese (medium or sharp)

Instructions

1. PASTA: Bring a large pot of water to boil. When boiling, salt the water generously. Add pasta and boil according to package directions, adding the broccoli to the water during the last 1 minute of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Drain the broccoli/pasta and set aside for now.
2. ROUX: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine, cooking the flour for 1-2 minutes or until it smells buttery and browns just a bit.
3. SAUCE: Slowly stream in the half and half as you whisk the roux. Continue doing so until all of the liquid is added to the roux. Add the cream cheese and continue to whisk until lump-free—season with bullion, nutmeg, white pepper, and mustard powder.
4. CHEESE: Turn off the burner. Add roughly ½ cup of cheese at a time and slowly stir it into the sauce so that it melts. Be patient; this requires quite a bit of stirring.
5. FINISH: Once the cheese is combined, add pasta and broccoli to the cheese sauce and stir. Heat the pot over low heat as you stir. Add a small splash of pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Taste and adjust with salt as needed. Serve warm.

Notes

• Half and Half: Half and half is a product sold in the US, which is a 50:50 combo of whole milk and heavy whipping cream use 1¼ cup of each if you can't find half and half.

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Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

It’s you’re planning to a spend a weekend in Boston, I’ve got your Boston Itinerary right here! These are all the restaurants you’ll want to check out, neighborhoods to visit, guided tours, and places to stroll!

This was such a last minute trip! 

My husband had been to Boston, Massachusetts before for a quick conference and came back raving about it. So when we needed a northern destination to check off of our bucket list on the way up to Canada, we flew into Boston Logan International airport for a weekend trip. I’ll be honest, this was a last minute trip so I got several of the recommendations on this list from my good friend and my sister. Both of them had been before and knew what I’d love to see and do!

I had always heard that the best times of the year to visit Boston was between September and November and luckily, the timing worked out perfectly for us. Cool morning and sunny afternoons, we clocked in about 15,000 steps a day and ate our weight in cannoli’s, pizza, and more!

A 2-3 day Boston Itinerary

Tourist Attractions:

• Newbury Street: A shopping area lined with 19th century brownstones. They have tons of high end stores and boutiques. Even if you aren’t planning on buying anything it’s great to walk around and take in the sights!
• Boston Public Library: This is a beautiful work out art! For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to visit Bates Hall with its iconic green lamp room! Then walk across Boston’s Copley Square to the Trinity Church.
• Acorn Street: This is one of the most photographed streets in the city! This row of houses is considered highly prestigious and there are signs everywhere that say it’s a private lane. Visitors are asked to respect it and stay off of the street. But you can always stand at the corner and check it out!
• Charles River Esplanade: Gives you  a beautiful view of the Boston skyline!
• Beacon Hill: A great neighborhood to check out on the way to or from Acorn Street. The old corner bookstore (Beacon Hill Book Store) is beautiful and you could spend hours getting lost in there!
• Boston Commons: You can start walking the Freedom Trail here. The Freedom Trail start in the Boston Common, to the Old North Church in the North End and the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. This is rich in America’s history.
• Boston Public Garden: Make way for Ducklings are located here and they are the cutest! You should also check out the Lagoon Bridge.
• Harvard University: Absolutely stunning college campus located in Cambridge, MA. We weren’t really planning on adding this to our itinerary and since we skipped the Freedom Trails (a dream for a history buff, but we just aren’t) we decided to use the afternoon to Uber into Cambridge. Afterwards, head to the amazing Uyghur restaurant in the food reccs!
• Quincy Market: Historic market located right across from Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Downtown Boston. These are both great place to check out and grab a few souvenirs, clam chowder, and for crowd watching.
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: tickets are $20 for general admission and they do offer a beautiful afternoon tea service at the cafe for an extra cost. Though it is a bit pricey, so definitely budge for this if it’s something you’d enjoy!
• Catch a Red Sox game: if you’re a baseball fan, this is not to be missed. The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park during the season.

Recommended Tours:

• Boston Ghosts and Gravestones Trolley Tour: This boards off of 200 Atlantic Ave, right in front of the Marriott. This is steps from the Boston harbor. We had dinner at Regina’s Pizza, grabbed Mike’s then walked over for the tour. Keep in mind that though it is a trolley tour, there are several times you have to hop off and walk (sometimes up hill) to historic landmarks such as the Granary Burying Ground and King’s Chapel Burying Ground. We had a few people on the tour that hopped off and didn’t come back, because of mobility issues. The tour guide carries a little lantern as you walk to burying grounds and honestly, for an all-things-spooky fanatic, this was one of my favorite things to do in Boston! Buy tickets here.
• Boston Duck Tours: This is a great way to see the city if you are short on time on a guided tour without having to leave the duck mobile! The tour guides take your through sites such as the Theater District, Massachusetts State House, Fenway Stadium, and many others before giving you a water tour! We started the tour from New England Aquarium and returned there before walking around the harbor front for a bit.

Where to Eat in Boston:

• Regina’s Pizza: With locations all over the city, we opted for the first and most famous one in North Boston.
  • Located at 11½ Tatcher St. Boston, MA
• Mike’s Pastry: I have an un popular opinion! I didn’t care for Mike’s Pastry. There was so much hype surrounding this dessert shop and honestly, it was kind of meh. Overly sweet, not much flavor to the desserts. But you should still try it for yourself! A quick heads up, they only accept cash!
• Modern Pastry: We didn’t get a chance to try this shop, but I wouldn’t be doing my Boston itinerary justice if I didn’t mention it. Many people try both this and Mike’s and like to pick their favorite!
• Ogawa Coffee: They had the most amazing drip coffee. And my thing is, if you can do drip right, it’s worth checking out!
• Bruegger’s Bagels: For a quick, grab and go breakfast!
• Pressed Cafe: Located in Back Bay, this is a great little breakfast spot. 
  • Located at 105 Huntington Ave. Boston MA 20199.
• Yankee Lobster: A great place to catch some fish and chips, clam chowder, and lobster rolls! Boston is all about the seafood! 
  • Located at 300 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210.
• Silk Road Uyghur:A tiny hole-in-the-wall that packs a flavor punch. Serving up pan-fried noodles with spices, this is not to be missed. 
  • Located at 645 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02141
• Tatte Bakery and Cafe: There are locations for this coffee shop all over the city. The shakshuka and the poached eggs on avocado toast along with the pistachio croissant were divine!
  • Located at 70 Charles Street Boston, MA 02114 (this is the Beacon Hill location but there are others in Back Bay, South Boston, Fenway, and several others)

Of course, these are just some of the many things to do in Boston, so if I missed your favorite, feel free to leave it in the comments below 🙂

If you like this, you might also like:

• Fall Things to do in Woodstock, VT
• Experiencing Fall in Stowe, Vermont
• Girls Trip to New York
• 19 Tips for Visiting the Wizarding World
• A Weekend in Chicago

One Pan Sun-dried Tomato Baked Salmon Orzo Recipe that’s ready in around 35 minutes! Cook the orzo in broth, stir in baby spinach, and top with the salmon filets. Bake until the orzo is creamy and the salmon is tender!

It’s a one pot dinner kinda day!

This one not only has a minimum prep time, it also comes complete with sun-dried tomato and baby spinach flavored orzo in one pan! It’s totally giving Tuscan Chicken vibes. But it comes together in one pan with a pasta, veggies, and salmon.

We’ll start by making the salmon marinade in the same dish that you’ll bake the pasta in. Dip the salmon to coat both sides in the garlic and red pepper marinade. Then add the orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, and broth and let it cook in the oven until the orzo is almost done. We’ll top it with the salmon filets and bake a little longer. 

What you’re left with is an easy one pan salmon orzo dinner!

Ingredients for baked salmon orzo recipe:

• Salmon fillets: You’ll want to use 4-5 ounce fillets. Keep in mind that the cooking time will vary based on ounces of each salmon filet. You’ll want to reduce the cooking time for 4 ounces of salmon.
• Sun-dried Tomatoes: We’ll add sun-dried tomato oil to the marinade and then use the tomatoes themselves with the orzo and the pesto to give it tons of delicious flavor. If you don’t have the tomato that come packed in oil, you can swap it with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. But know that you’ll need to flavor the marinade with a few extra seasonings. The tomato oil really packs a flavorful punch!
• Melted Butter: use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of sodium in this recipe.
• Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice helps flavor the marinade and is the acid that this recipe needs.
• Seasonings: You’ll need kosher salt, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. We’ll use all of these to flavor the marinade.
• Sun-dried tomato pesto: this is an ingredient that is readily available in most grocery stores these days. If you prefer to make your own, I have a recipe here.
• Garlic: we’ll mince a few cloves of garlic and add it to the orzo portion of the dish.
• Orzo pasta: You’ll need dry orzo pasta for this recipe. This is an ingredient that’s easily available in most grocery stores.
• Chicken Broth: I prefer to use low sodium chicken broth for this recipe and then adjust the sodium as needed.
• Parmesan Cheese: Adds umami and saltiness to the recipe. We’ll add the cheese, spinach, and cream once we remove the foil, right before. adding the salmon.
• Baby Spinach: Adds color and nutrients to the dish.
• Heavy Cream: Gives it a subtle hint of creaminess without being too much.
• Garnish: you can garnish this recipe with chopped parsley or chives. Any herbs that add subtle flavor will do!

Instructions for salmon orzo recipe:

• Make the marinade. Start by preheating the oven. While the oven heats through, we’ll combine the sun-dried tomato oil, butter, lemon juice, ¾ teaspoon salt, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes in the dish we plan on using for the orzo bake. Dip the salmon filets, flesh side down in the marinade. Then keep the fillets aside.
• Simmer the orzo. To the remaining marinade, add the pesto, tomatoes, fresh garlic, orzo and the broth. Cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil so that the orzo has a chance to boil and took through in the total time.
• Finish the dish.Remove the dish from the oven, you’ll notice the orzo looks watery, but don’t worry! Stir in the parmesan, spinach and cream. Place the marinated salmon on. top and let the dish cook until the salmon is tender and the orzo is al dente. Remove from the oven and top with parsley or other fresh herbs.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Tomato Basil and Feta Cheese Orzo Salad
• Roasted Garlic Italian Couscous Salad with Olives
• Skillet Chili Crisp Salmon with Cucumber Sweet Pepper Salad
• Garlic Butter Baked Salmon in Foil
• Pineapple Salsa Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze

Yield: Serves 4

Sun-dried Tomato Baked Salmon Orzo Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

One Pan Sun-dried Tomato Baked Salmon Orzo Recipe that's ready in around 35 minutes! Cook the orzo in broth, stir in baby spinach, and top with the salmon filets. Bake until the orzo is creamy and the salmon is tender!

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Ingredients

• 4 (4-5 ounce) salmon fillets
• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil (+ 2tbsp oil)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto (homemade or store-bought)
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 12 ounces dry orzo
• 2 ¾ cup chicken broth (or vegetable)
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 ½ cups baby spinach, chopped
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400ºF. Add the sundried tomato oil, melted butter, lemon juice, kosher salt, garlic powder, and pepper flakes, to a 12x9 baking dish and whisk it together.
2. MARINATE: Dip or brush the salmon filets with the marinade (leaving most of it in the pan.) Set the salmon filets aside for now on a plate.
3. BAKE: To the remaining marinade in the pan, add pesto, sun-dried tomato slices, garlic, orzo and the broth, cover with a tight fitting lid or with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. STIR: Remove the dish from the oven, stir in the parmesan, baby spinach, and heavy cream until combined.
5. TOP: Place the salmon filets over the orzo and veggies, and roast uncovered for another 12-18 minute depending on the thickness of the filet and how well done you like your salmon.
6. SERVE: Serve the salmon filets with the orzo and enjoy!

Notes

• Swaps: feel free to swap the tomato pesto for basil pesto if that's more your thing.
• Sun-dried tomatoes: if yours didn't come packed in oil, you can still use them but you'll need to amp up seasonings for the salmon a bit and swap the oil for olive oil.

Recommended Products

• 
  Tomato Pesto
• 
  orzo
• 
  Tomato in Oil
• 
  8-inch Chef Knife
• 
  Silicone Spatula
• 
  12x9 dish

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If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Cookies are a fun treat to make for Halloween! These cookies are loaded with butterscotch chips and have the most delicious buttery flavor! Perfect to make when you’re having an HP movie night or throwing a Harry Potter party!

Magical!

These cookies are the most delicious combination of butterscotch and nostalgia! 

It should come as no surprise that I’m one big Potterhead. I mean, I did do a whole post on the best tips for Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as a grown adult. I ate pumpkin pasties, drank my weight in pumpkin juice, and ate buckets of fish and chips at Three Broomsticks, but nothing gets me like a butterbeer-flavored treat! Be it a warm butterbeer or an ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s.

These butter beer-inspired cookies are one of the best cookies to come out of my kitchen. They require no refrigeration; you just mix them in a bowl, and then pop them in the oven to bake. And what you’re left with is dollops of delicious cookie dough speckled with butterscotch flavor. 

And hey, I get it if you aren’t a butterscotch chip fan, swap them for white chocolate chips, and I promise you, the flavors will be just as delicious!

Fellow Harry Potter fans, this one’s for you!

Ingredients for Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Cookies:

• All-purpose flour: The flour is the base of the recipe.
• Leavening agents: You’ll need both baking powder and baking soda for this recipe. We’ll add these dry ingredients to the flour before adding them to the wet ingredients.
• Kosher salt + flakey sea salt: You’ll need kosher salt for the batter and some flakey sea salt (such as this one) to sprinkle on top once the cookies are done baking. The butterscotch flavor becomes more pronounced with the salt, so don’t be afraid to use it in this recipe.
• Ground Cinnamon: helps flavor the cookies without being too overpowering. You won’t even know it’s there, but it helps bring out some warmth in the cookies.
• Salted butter: typically, salted butter is my favorite ingredient to use in baked goods. I use this for my favorite chocolate chip cookies and recommend it for many other baked goods as well. If you only have unsalted butter on hand, you can use it for this recipe, but I do suggest upping the amount of kosher salt to 1 teaspoon.
• Light brown sugar + Granulated sugar: We’ll use both of these sugars and mix them with the softened butter. The sugars provide moisture in baked goods so that cookies, cakes, muffins, and brownies don’t dry out too quickly.
• Butter extract + vanilla extract: The butter extract is optional, but I find that it really amps up the flavor of these butterscotch cookies. To be entirely honest, I’m not a huge butterscotch pudding mix or butterscotch chip fan, so for me, the cookies provide plenty of that butterscotch cookie flavor without needing the chips!
• Eggs:
• Butterscotch chips: You know how I mentioned there are people who don’t like butterscotch chips? I would be one of those people! You could even use white chocolate chips or omit the chips entirely and add a bit more pecans! We had a divided household on this one! Hubby loved the chips, while I wasn’t a huge fan!
• Chopped Pecans: These add the best nutty flavor! If you’re dealing with allergies, feel free to swap the pecans for white chocolate chips. They do make the cookies a bit sweeter but also provide a more Harry Potter butterbeer cookie flavor!

How to make Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Cookies:

1. Start the prep. Preheat the oven. and make sure to line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This ensures the cookies won’t stick to the pan. If you have a silicone baking mat, that works too.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, and cinnamon. If you have larger clumps in your baking soda, I do suggest sifting it to ensure the batter mixes evenly.
3. Cream the wet ingredients. Add your semi-melted butter to a bowl. When I say semi-melted, I mean some of it should be liquid, while some of it is super soft and starting to melt. Add both the white sugar and the brown sugar and beat these ingredients together in a medium bowl with a hand mixer set to medium speed or in the bowl of a stand mixer until it starts to lighten in color. Then add the butter extract, 2 tsp vanilla, egg yolk, and the whole egg to the mixture. 
4. Let’s make cookie dough. Mix again before you fold in the dry ingredients. I like to stop when the dry ingredients are halfway combined, then add the chips and the pecans and continue folding. This ensures you don’t overwork the cookie dough, and the little bit of flour helps disperse the add-ins better.
5. Scoop it out. Using a cookie scoop, make cookie dough balls that are about 2 tablespoons worth of cookie dough. You can speckle the center of the cookie with a few more butterscotch chips or pecans to make them more picture-perfect when they come out of the oven, but this is purely optional.
6. Bake the cookies. Bake the cookies until they are golden around the edges but still slightly underdone in the center. Don’t worry, the hot sheet pan will help bake the cookies all the way through. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with some flakey sea salt. Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack. These are the perfect butterbeer cookies! Each bite has some crunchy pecans and melted butterscotch chips! They just melt in your mouth!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• How to Make a Halloween Snackboard
• Puff Pastry Wrapped Mummy Brie
• Loaded Chewy Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Cake
• How to Host a Hot Chocolate Bar Party
• Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf

Yield: ~12-14 cookies

Harry Potter's Butterbeer Cookies (aka Butterscotch Cookies)

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Cookies are a fun treat to make for Halloween! These cookies are loaded with butterscotch chips and have the most delicious buttery flavor! Perfect to make when you’re having an HP movie night or throwing a Harry Potter party!

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Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup salted butter, semi-melted
• ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon butter extract (optional)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup butterscotch chips
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans (or white chocolate chips)
• Flakey sea salt for topping

Instructions

1. PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
   2.
2. DRY INGREDIENTS: in a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda/powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
3. WET INGREDIENTS: In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter and brown/ granulated sugar and mix with an electric mixer (or in a stand mixer) for 4 minutes or until the butter is whipped and fluffy. Add the butter extract, vanilla, and egg + yolk and mix until smooth.
4. MIX: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula, and mix until halfway combined. Add the chips and pecans and continue mixing until no flour pockets remain.
5. SCOOP: out two tablespoons worth of cookie dough using a cookie scoop and place it roughly 1½ inches apart on the cookie sheet.
6. BAKE: the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center looks slightly underdone! Don’t worry, they’ll cook through as they cool.
7. SPRINKLE: with flakey salt and let cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes

• Measuring the flour: The best method to measure the flour for this recipe is by using a spoon to fluff the flour. Once fluffed, use a tablespoon to fill the 1 cup measuring cup until overflowing. Use a knife to level it out without applying too much pressure. Repeat with the 1/3 cup the same way.

Recommended Products

• 
  Vanilla Extract
• 
  Butterscotch Chips
• 
  Butter Flavor

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 228Total Fat: 13gCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gProtein: 3g

The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!