Back in November or December, I chose my Word of the Year for 2020. I thought long and hard about it, and was so happy with the word I chose: Home.
Super ironic now, right? I had no idea back then what Home would mean for all of us by the end of March.
But there was so much more wrapped up in it than just the idea of staying home. I wanted to read more. I wanted to decorate the house and complete small projects that would make it feel more like a home. And I wanted to cook more.
I’m not super comfortable in the kitchen. I need to follow a recipe, and if too many things are happening at once, I get frazzled and have a panic attack.
Now that we’re all eating at home more, I’m using this as an opportunity to get more comfortable in the kitchen and practice cooking. Utilizing the same recipe more than once definitely helps with my anxiety, so I’ve been going back to these recipes several times. (Plus, it helps to have a go-to so you don’t use up too much of your limited pandemic-brain space on what to eat for dinner.)
Foolproof Pan Pizza
I first found this recipe back in February or March and bought the bread flour specifically for it. Then it sat in our pantry for… far too long before I worked up the courage to actually make it.
The pizza dough has to rise several times, so it’s a multi-step, multi-day process, which definitely intimidated me. But once I bit the bullet and started working on it, I realized that it’s really not that hard. It just takes planning and a little bit of time, which we all have right now.
This pizza is delicious. Way better than delivery. The photo above is the pizza before it goes in the oven—the photo at the top of the post is it freshly cooked. 🤤
There are so many varieties, because you can go with different toppings each time. That prevents it from getting boring! We’ve seriously considered getting a second 10-inch cast iron skillet so we can make two pizzas at once.
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
We first made these cinnamon rolls for Christmas and they’re amazing. Just like the pizza, they require some overnight prep, so you can’t whip them up the day you want them. But omg they’re so worth the wait.
We’ve only made these once during quarantine so far, but I’ve made them at least 4 times so far, and I know they’re going to be a go-to for years to come.
Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs
These meatballs are out of this world. Sean and I are big fans of Asian food, so these are right up our alley. At first we were worried they’d be too sweet—in fact, I wanted to make these several years ago, but Sean nixed them because of the honey. This time around, I didn’t tell him what I was cooking—just that I’d be making dinner. And we both loved them. I think I used a little too much sriracha the first time, so I’ll hold back a little bit on that in the future.
These are super easy for lunches, especially when working from home, because you can start a batch of rice when you’re about 30-40 minutes away from your lunch hour, then microwave the meatballs and put them in a bowl with the rice. Easy! We just had them with rice and soy sauce because we were out of fresh veggies, but they’d be awesome with sautéd zucchini and carrots, too.
What recipes have you been making on repeat since quarantine? Please drop them in the comments so I can try them out, too! ♥️
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