September 2025 Recap

September is one of my favorites. I love the return to routines and the air getting into more manageable temperatures. The start of school brings some anxiety but was OK this year and we love the fall sports.

I made a Pickle Ranch Chicken Sandwich that was incredible.

This Tomato Ricotta Pie got a refresh from 2013 and works for dinner, lunch, and brunch.

We had meatball break-apart sliders that were met with a touch of hesitation and then were such a win. They may get a repeat with other flavors – ham and cheese would be fun, chicken/bacon/ranch is always a hit for us!

October has me excited for apple picking and halloween. I have some appetizer ideas and hopes for more pumpkin flavored things! Tis the season!

The Big Kid:
He is settled and doing well at school and all the sports. He’s trying intro to hockey and goes to the fall lacrosse clinics. It is so fun to see him progress and gain some confidence for hockey. Thankfully he likes some new electrolyte drinks we’re trying.

The Littler One:
She’s loving second grade – to the extent of not feeling like the weekend is necessary! We’ve been blown away by field hockey. She scored 2 goals the first week and 1 the second week. Some friendships are deepening and it is heartwarming to see.

Goals for this upcoming year:
Year of replacements/upgrades! I was upgrading my denim jacket but then didn’t love the color so it is still in progress.
Restaurant Recreations – nah, not really
Special ingredient focus – the fridge failure and replacement has meant we had a very regular replenishing, not a focus on special.
More fish – salmon!
What I’m reading – I read Julie Chan is Dead and do not recommend. I was medium-ish about This Book Will Bury Me. I loved Funny Story and it renewed my interest in Emily Henry. I listened to Broken Country and it wasn’t for me.

Meatball Break-apart Sliders

These were cute and fun which is exactly what dinner should be sometimes. Slider rolls get some garlic butter with sauce, cheese, and one meatball dropped in.

Meatball Break-apart Sliders
Ingredients: (for ~4)

12 slider rolls
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
12 meatballs
1/2 cup sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 teaspoon parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Melt the butter and mix in the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and minced garlic.
Slice/scoop out the center of each roll and gently fold to separate but not split them apart.
Spoon some garlic butter into the bottom of each well and brush the tops and bake for 5 minutes.
Add some tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a meatball into each one.

Top with more sauce and cheese. Sprinkle parmesan over it all.

Bake for 15 minutes until warmed through and melty.
Enjoy!

They are soft and flavorful from the garlic butter. Each kiddo ate more than it first seemed like would happen – one actually said “I don’t really like any of this” and then got started and wanted more. Twice.

They’re a crowd pleaser, that’s for sure. Kids might like making them since it is mostly assembly. Other varieties would be fun too!

Pickle Ranch Chicken Sandwich

This has all the good stuff. I want pickles in… or on everything. This is drippy and delicious and best eaten with lots of napkins.

Mix up some better-than-bottled ranch to make this special (and so it isn’t too runny leaving you less space for the pickle juice to mix in)!

Pickle Ranch Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 pieces of chicken (mine was breaded and frozen)
~ 1/4 cup ranch dip
~2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
~1/4 cup dill pickles
2 brioche buns
lettuce/tomato

Directions:
Mix up the ranch dip in advance. (Ranch Dressing will be too runny to then add pickle juice to!)
Air fry/bake the chicken until cooked through – according to your package/frozen/defrosted.
Chop half of the pickles and add to the ranch with the 2 tablespoons of pickle juice. Stir well.

Assemble each sandwich with some pickle ranch on each side of the buns, lettuce, chicken, and pickle slices.

Pour on remaining pickle ranch over the top, to take the sandwich over the top!
Enjoy!

These are so good. The brioche is a lovely way to sop up the dressing and when it coats the whole sandwich you get bits of pickle and whole pickle slices…yum. I loved this. Next I’ll try it with a piece of spicy chicken! Now, go get some napkins.

Tomato Ricotta Pie

{originally published in 2013 and updated in 2025}

This tomato-forward ricotta pie is light and in the same vein as a quiche but fluffier and was due for a refresh! It works well with really good tomatoes. I used a refrigerated pie crust making this come together so quickly.

Ricotta Tomato Pie
Ingredients (serves ~5-6)
1 pie crust, thawed
3-5 tomatoes, sliced
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
3 eggs
½ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup cream
1 tsp chopped garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Gently unroll pie crust into a pie dish sprayed with non-stick spray, poking a few holes into the crust with a fork and bake for 10 minutes.
While crust is pre-baking, whisk together ricotta, eggs, parmesan, cream, garlic, salt and pepper.

Remove crust from oven and pour the cheese mixture in.
Lay the tomatoes over the top slightly overlapping.

Sprinkle with salt and bake for 30 minutes.
Let sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm, room temp, or cool.
Enjoy!

I liked that this was light but filling. It’s a summery dinner, lunch, brunch, or breakfast.

Add some fresh basil or oregano! A savory crumb crust would be good too! It freezes well but is best defrosted at room temperature.

Pepperoni Pizza Caesar Wrap

This is the best of all the worlds – caesar salad + pepperoni pizza all formed into a wrap!

I saw this on TikTok but it was shaped like a quesadilla and I thought it would be better this way like a wrap – I cooked it like a quesadilla or like a skillet pizza. After I let it cool briefly, it gets topped with the caesar salad, then I folded it up like a wrap. It was so good.

Pepperoni Pizza Caesar Wrap
Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 large flour tortillas
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
pepperoni
sprinkle of chili flakes and/or Italian seasoning (optional)
1 small head of romaine lettuce
3 tablespoons Caesar dressing
croutons (optional)
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat a skillet to medium heat and spray with nonstick spray. Warm the tortillas on the pan, topping with sauce then cheese then pepperoni on each.
Remove from the heat when melty and cooked through but not super crisp – it needs to be pliable and mostly soft. Sprinkle with chili flakes and seasoning, if desired.

Let it cool for ~2-3 minutes.
Chop the romaine and toss in the dressing. Season with cracked pepper and parmesan.
Pour the salad onto the centers of the quesadilla pizzas.

Wrap them up by folding the bottom up 1/3 of the way, and then roll/fold the left to right.
Enjoy!

This a nice zing from the pepperoni and cool creaminess from the salad – it has to be cool enough to not immediately wilt the lettuce. I loved this and appreciated it as a use for some small amounts of sauce and cheese! This is an excellent speedy way to have the flavors of pizza or to have salad and pizza on the go!