I'm excited to be partnering with Tuttorosso Tomatoes to bring you this post and recipe.

Oooey gooey cheese and the sauce…that's what makes a good pizza, right? When I came up with the idea for this recipe…I didn't know if it was going to call it. It doesn't taste like a pizza…

But it looks like one right? Disclaimer: No it doesn't taste like pizza but it's ooey gooey cheesiness, the sauce is amazing and the pepperonis so I'm allowed to call it pizza-baked right?

Recently, I returned to Atlanta (one of my favorite cities and I mean that!) to attend a tasting event at Empire State South in midtown Atlanta sponsored by Tuttorosso Tomatoes.

I can't get enough of this place. The food is always amazing and Chef Hugh Acheson is always hilarious!

I feel very fortunate that I get to do what I love, friends. You all make it possible. Thank you for your support!

We tasted tomatoes…have you tasted them from the can before? You should do it sometime, it will be eye-opening for you!

These baked eggs with crushed tomatoes were amazing, this is on my list to try to make at home!

Chef Hugh demoed this recipe for us…Tomato, Potato and Leek Gratin…it was so good! I made it once at home already!

And this recipe…it's sheer genius…a braised salmon in a Tuttorosso tomato sauce miso and roasted vegetables. The miso added another dimension to the tomatoes…I'm totally going to experiment with these flavors more!

And now to the baked gnocchi! First cook the garlic in olive oil for a few minutes.

Add the Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes with basil. You can use the regular ones or the no salt tomatoes. I made this recipe with both!

Add the dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.

Cook the sauce for 8 minutes.

Cook the gnocchi while the sauce is going. You can also use pasta if you don't have any gnocchi available.

Grate the cheese and get ready!

Once the sauce is all done.

Spread 1/2 cup at the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. I love this baking dish so much…I use it so much!

Add 2 tablespoons each of the swiss and the parmesan cheese.

Then, add half of the gnocchi…spread evenly across the dish.

And then add half of the remaining sauce.

Then, add 1/4 cup of both of the swiss and parmesan cheeses and half of the mozzarella cheese…I love layering the cheeses. This is how we get the ooey gooey cheese!

And then the rest of the gnocchi.

And then the rest of that gorgeous sauce!

And the rest of the cheese.

Top with 16 mini pepperonis…

I even tested this recipe with 16 ounces of pasta twists.

Layer the cheese and sauce the same way. Curtis loved the pasta!

I can't get him to try gnocchi. You know how it is sometimes, you don't fight a losing battle. But at least he loved the pasta version of this dish!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this dish. In fact, the sauce gets richer the next day…so if you can make the sauce a day ahead of time, you'll thank me. I know it!

This recipe makes great leftovers too…I enjoyed it for lunch for a few days after I shot these photos. I can't wait to make this again soon!

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Pepperoni Pizza-Baked Gnocchi Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 28-ounce can Tuttorosso® Crushed Tomatoes with basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• pinch of crushed red pepper
• 2 16-ounce containers of gnocchi, uncooked (or if using pasta, you'll need just 16 ounces)
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced and then cubed
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons grated swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 16 pieces of mini pepperoni

Instructions

• Add olive oil and garlic to a medium sized pot and turn heat to medium high. Once olive oil is heated, cook garlic for 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the garlic). Add Tuttorosso® Crushed Tomatoes with basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste and crushed red pepper. Cook sauce for 8 minutes.
• While cooking the sauce, heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook gnocchi according to package instructions.
• In an 8-inch square baking dish, add 1/2 cup of sauce at the bottom of the dish. Add 2 Tablespoons swiss cheese and 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 of the gnocchi.
• Spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce on top the gnocchi and top with 1/4 cup of swiss cheese, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and half of the fresh mozzarella.
• Repeat the last step and then top with the pepperonis.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes and then turn on the broiler and broil the top for 4 minutes. Let the dish sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Tuttorosso. I only share with you brands and products that I love and always only share with you my own opinions.

The post Pepperoni Pizza-Baked Gnocchi appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

Often, when I travel, I'm inspired by the food I'm seeing and the food I'm enjoying…I have a really long note in my Evernote app called Recipe Ideas. It's so long, I had to split it off into two notes, one called Sweet Recipe Ideas and another one called Savory Recipe Ideas. I add recipes to these notes probably every few days but when I'm traveling, I'm always adding to them…like crazy, every. single. day.

A lot of times, I get home and immediately want to make//find//develop recipes from my ideas…like this grilled cheese sandwich we had at the Churchill, a bar we stopped at during our stop at the port city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, while we were on an Alaskan Cruise with Princess Cruises.

I really wish I had taken more photos of the place…they had a ton of beers on tap, so many that on their website, they don't even maintain an online listing of the beers they serve at any given time. You have to check their instagram account for that information.

I need to admit about my obsession with bacon…I didn't eat pork for fifteen years, I think I'm just making up for lost time! When we ordered this grilled cheese sandwich with fries and drinks…I immediately asked the server to add bacon to it. Curtis side-eyed me…I think he thinks he created a monster (since I now eat bacon).

First things first, prep the bacon. We have gotten into this habit of cutting the bacon slices in half down the middle before cooking them. That way they are easier to handle when flipping it in the skillet and I also feel like they cook more evenly!

We freeze the leftovers (uncooked bacon) if there are any and portion them out so we can easily grab a few pieces without having to defrost the entire batch.

I cook bacon in a nonstick skillet. I also cleaned the skillet with a clean paper towel after I finished cooking the bacon.

I also have to admit, I selfishly made this grilled cheese sandwich five times when I got home before sharing it with you. I'm sorry, I waited so long. Before we left the pub and paid our bill, I asked the server to ask someone in the kitchen what cheeses they used. She came back and told me swiss and cheddar…total music to my ears!

I could also tell they used a garlic & herb butter on the bread and knew I had to try this recipe with Land O'Lakes Garlic & Herb Butter Spread!

You know how to make grilled cheese! One thing, I always try to do when adding bacon or anything else in addition to grilled cheeses is making sure there's even more cheese in between the non-cheese ingredients.

See the crusty cheese on the bottom of the pan? That's my favorite!

Once you flip it once, make sure to press down with a spatula on your sandwich.

And there you have it, another great recipe inspired by our Alaskan cruise! Excuse me while I go make another one of these!!

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Swiss & Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 slices cooked bacon
• 4 pieces of your favorite sliced bread I used sourdough
• garlic and herb butter spreadable butter I used Land O’Lakes
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese you can also used 2 slices of Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Cook the bacon and prep your other ingredients, including spreading butter on one side of all slices of bread.
• Heat a nonstick skillet on medium. Add two slices of bread with the butter side down. Add swiss cheese, then bacon and then top with cheddar cheese. Top with remaining slices of bread with the buttered side up.
• Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, paying close attention so the bread doesn’t burn. Lower heat if necessary when flipping over the grilled cheese sandwiches. Also, after flipping it over, use a spatula and press down on the sandwiches.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Princess Cruises. I only share with you brands that I love and share with you my own opinions.

The post Swiss & Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwiches appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

So I started seeing a new primary care doctor recently and she thinks I'm lactose intolerant to a certain degree. I'm honestly not surprised about this revelation because like 90% of Asians are lactose intolerant. My older sister actually developed an intolerance to lactose in her 30s as well. I'm not going to bother getting tested, I researched that, I don't want to spend hours at the doctor's office.

Anyways, she kind of freaked me out when she said you should probably stay away from mac & cheese. I gave her a face. But I love mac & cheese. And then, I got a little bit clever…when it came time to bounce around ideas for my continued partnership with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk, I thought why not make a mac & cheese recipe with almond milk…it can be done, right? I have been trying my hand at baking with and cooking with almond milk so this was exciting for me to try.

It took a couple of tries and tweaks to get it right but I can yes, it can be done! It's so creamy and cheesy, I love it!

We're big fans of buying blocks of cheese and grating it when we need it. I chose swiss gruyere, parmesan and sharp cheddar for my three cheese macaroni and cheese.

Melt the butter and add the salt and spices.

Then, add flour and create a roux. You want to cook it so the flour gets cooked.

Then, slowly whisk in the Almond Breeze almondmilk, for this recipe, I used the original flavor. Then mix in the cheese.

There you go!

Add the macaroni pasta and mix really well.

And you have cheesy goodness. Enough said. I'm so happy about this…you don't even know! I know some of you are going to ask but I don't really have a problem with most cheeses like cheddars because they don't have a lot of lactose or they are lactose free.

And PS, even Curtis is excited about this recipe! I'm out of town and he texted me a picture of his dinner plate complete with leftover mac & cheese on that plate! Yay!

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Three Cheese Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6 to 8 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• a dash of ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 cups Almond Breeze Almondmilk Original
• 1 1/4 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup freshly grated swiss gruyere cheese
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water with salt added to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions on the package.
• While the water is boiling, melt butter in another pot on medium heat. Add ground mustard, salt, pepper and ground nutmeg and mix in flour. Constantly stir and mix the flour mixture in the pot for about 3 to 4 minutes, creating a roux and cooking the flour.
• Slowly whisk in Almond Breeze Almondmilk, mixing it into the flour mixture carefully. Cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, while whisking the mixture. Add cheese and mix, turn the heat off. Add the drained pasta to the pot with the cheese sauce. Mix together to coat the pasta and serve immediately.

Notes:

• You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator but when you microwave it, it's not the same consistency as when you first make it and eat it out of the pot. You can also bake it in a baking dish. Curtis loved baking the leftovers in the oven.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk. I only work with brands that I love and always share with you my own and honest opinions.

The post Three Cheese Mac & Cheese Recipe (made with almond milk!) appeared first on The Little Kitchen.