Homemade Pasta & Ravioli....Is it worth it?

Recently, I've had an itch to make homemade pasta. I bought a fancy pasta press and cutter so I could experiment. The actual making of the dough is the easiest part. It's usually just flour and eggs and some kneading. After that is when things can be a bit challenging. Using the pasta press was hard at first. I couldn't get my dough to become thin enough. I had to put it through the press 7-8 times before I could cut it. It was hard and time consuming.

All in all, would I say it's worth it? Not really. It took me a couple hours from start to finish. It was a fun project and I also tried raviolis (which turned out ok, but I had a ton of dough and too little filling). That's a whole other story I will definitely explain at a later date! I would definitely do this on the weekends, but way too much time during the work week. I wish I could have my own little bakery (cakes, cupcakes, pasta, ravioli, pies, etc.) It would be fun and I would love to bake all day. 

For the pasta, I did the mixing by hand (I made a well in the flour and cracked the eggs and mixed it all using my hands) but with the ravioli I made it in my Kitchenaid and it was much easier. I would suggest using a mixer.

Mario Batali's Fresh Pasta Recipe

This is a Pinterest for foodies that I love! It has everything under the sun as far as recipes go:

Foodgawker

New year, new goals.

I got a Kitchenaid mixer from my parents for Christmas!! I'm so excited, now I'm really going to start baking like crazy! I have so many recipes I want to try out (pies, cupcakes, cakes, etc.) the list is never ending. I have a lot of friends that are gluten-free, so in order for me to make gluten-free friendly baked goods, I've been looking at prices of flour (it is very expensive if you buy it at grocery stores). Since I bake so much, I go through it quite frequently. I have checked amazon.com, and various blogs on trying to be more cost friendly when it comes to buying gluten-free flour. A lot of places I've read have said mixing your own all purpose baking flour is the best cost-friendly option. Here are some places I have checked that sound legit when it comes to knowing a thing or two about gluten-free flour mixtures:

Gluten-free flour mixtures (several recipes).

Make your own all-purpose flour mix.

Gluten-free Cooking School

These are just a few that I looked up on Google. I'm going to pick one and see which one tastes the best, and also has the right texture. I know my husband said to limit the brown rice flour because it tends to accelerate the digestive process (if you know what I mean). I'm glad he's around to tell me important information like that, since he's been gluten-free for a couple years now. Happy New Year and happy baking!