Sometimes the best meals come together by accident. That was the case with two things I made last week. One already made a cameo in a TikTok (and Reels, because I’m getting fancy on Instagram) and I’ve already filmed the other to post on TikTok at some point. To be determined.

I thought I’d share them both here because maybe you’re cleaning out your fridge and think, “I have all of that too and would like to use it.” Or maybe you think both are terrible ideas and don’t make them. It’s fine if it’s the latter. Just don’t tell me.

Also, I’m still learning how to type up and share recipes. Apologies if anything is confusing. I’m working on it.

Let’s get to it.

Pizza Roll Ups

I want to preface this by saying this recipe is not unique to me. I did not invent this concept. While I didn’t go looking for a specific recipe and just sort of winged it, I know versions of this exist already. Don’t come for me.

Also, don’t comment on how easy this is. “Did you really have to write this out?” you may ask yourself. The answer is yes. I’m documenting things in 2022, people. Let me and my air fried pizza rolls live.

Ingredients:

• Tortillas of choice (but I recommend the taco size, or more specifically 8-inch taco size)
• String cheese
• Pepperoni
• Pizza sauce or marinara for sauce

Directions:

Place string cheese on one end of tortilla.

Place as many pepperonis on top of string cheese as your heart desires.

Roll the tortilla up. (Don’t forget to tuck the ends.)

Place in air fryer. I didn’t spray mine, but you can if you find yours tends to stick.

Cook on 370 for 8 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Serve with marinara or pizza sauce.

Suggestions:

I used turkey pepperoni. You can too. You can also use literally anything you want (like any vegetables you have in the fridge and like on pizza).

Speaking of which, you can also use any size tortilla your heart desires. I don’t have a big enough air fryer to make the burrito-sized tortillas in (at least not a few at ones) but you could go for it. Your ratio of string cheese to tortilla would be a little different though, so that’s something to consider. Throw some extra mozzarella cheese on it if you go that path.

Also, I originally cooked the rolls in my air fryer for four minutes but they didn’t get as done as I wanted. When I flipped them and added another four minutes, they came out perfect. You can play with the time as you desire.

***

Sausage and Pesto Pasta with Asparagus and Broccoli

I didn’t know what to name this because it came together as a result of me wanting to clean out my fridge. It was truly a moment of putting everything I had that I thought would work together in one pan and hoping for the best.

And it worked out.

Ingredients:

• Pasta of choice (I used fettuccini)
• Heavy cream
• Pesto
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Italian sausage
• Garlic
• Shallots
• Grated mozzarella cheese (or parmesan)
• Olive oil
• Red chili flakes
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Cook sausage however you prefer (I chopped them up and sautéed in the same pan I used for the whole dish)
• Set sausage aside
• Heat olive oil in pan
• While oil is heating, boil water with salt for pasta
• Cook pasta al dente
• While pasta is cooking, place minced garlic and chopped shallots in pan one oil is hot, cook for a couple of minutes
• Add chopped asparagus and broccoli to pan, cook for a few minutes
• Add heavy cream, pesto, salt, pepper and red chili flakes to pan, stir and allow to simmer
• Preserve some pasta water to use as needed (I added a little with the pasta to help thin the sauce a little)
• Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to pan with everything else
• Add grated mozzarella cheese (or parmesan) to pan and stir
• Serve and enjoy!

Suggestions:

I used Trader Joe’s spicy Italian sausage, which I thought worked really well. If you don’t like spice, just get regular Italian sausage and remove the red chili flakes.

And if you don’t eat meat, you don’t need the sausage at all.

***

Some final notes from me:

I am here once again to sing the praises of this garlic press. I know—I KNOW—you can just buy minced garlic at the store, but if you’re like me and want to actually mince your own, this garlic press is one of the best things to exist.

Also, we have been working to update our back stairwell (which is right off the kitchen) to have an exposed pantry for more storage. That means we are also going to finally finish the kitchen (which we remodeled in 2019, but sort of stopped with the final details out of exhaustion) in the next couple of weeks. That’s mostly just trim work, swapping out the blinds, etc. I’m excited, especially because I found these LED motion activated lights and I’m excited to get them under the cabinets. Reviews are hit and miss, but they were only $20 and I’m eager to replace what I’m using now (which are puck lights that are super difficult to change the batteries on). I’ll report back.

All right, that’s enough of me.

For now.

Erin