Oh wait. It actually does.

And it's totally messed me up. Jeff and I were in Kona, Hawaii, for a week and we let ourselves unplug from our email, phones, blog, and internet. It was delicious. We beach-hopped and bar-hopped our way around the island and for a few days my body didn't believe me that I was actually serious about the whole relaxing thing. I still felt hyped up and tense. But I think my body was being protective, 'cuz apparently I don't just relax when I've been going non-stop for the past year. I shut down. My body got the whole "we're on vacay" message mid-week, and before I could say 'aloha', I slept in until noon (3:00pm in San Diego), took a two hour afternoon nap, and then went to bed at 9:00pm. For the rest of the week.

The sleep fog didn't let up when we got home last week either. We were both soooooo exhausted from our relaxing vacation that I could barely catch up on work, much less think about writing. I've been sleeping for hours every night and afternoon. It's like my soul has a vice-grip on island time. Which wouldn't be a terrible thing except that I have to be productive and all... sheesh.

After that, my parents were in town for the next week. My mother breeds Norwegian Elkhounds and there was a specialty show in San Diego, so we got a visit from a few of her little ones. I grew up with a kennel of these dogs - usually 10 to 15 of them - but I have apparently forgotten how to walk them...

After the doggie caravan left to go back home to Idaho, Jeff and I photographed nine yummy recipes for Recipe Sunday coming to the bloggy-blog over the summer. We've got Brie en Croute with walnuts and brown sugar, an Avocado Mango Salad with Grilled Chicken, the best chili I've ever tasted in my life (it's even better than Jeff's famous chili, which even he admits), and a Nut Encrusted Chicken straight off of the diet menu of Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels.

These are some of my all time favorite recipes that I've ever posted because they're easy and crazy delicious. Plus, most of them are actually from Jillian Michaels meal plan, and I can't believe how incredibly yummy these healthy recipes are. You'll freak out. Buh-lieve me.

Stay tuned to Recipe Sunday every other weekend, and check out past recipes here.

Hugs,

Erin

There's been a few hints of sunny summer days here in San Diego and I feel like one of those wide-eyed cats with my face squished up against the window watching each cloud pass by, barbecue tongs in one hand and a tray of carne asada in the other. But this wonderful dish of pulled chicken sandwiches slathered in homemade BBQ sauce with sweet pickles and a kaiser bun doesn't require the outdoor grill and it will transmit you from winter gloom into the sunshine of late summer within seconds.

The best part of this recipe is that it starts with one of those roasted chickens from the grocery store, so whipping up this dinner is as easy as a quick trip to the store for the essentials, some staples from your pantry, and a few minutes at the stove.

The homemade BBQ sauce uses a can of tomato sauce, cider vinegar, molasses, thyme, and a serrano chile pepper for a touch of bite.

You'll also need an onion to go along with your roast chicken and the fresh kaiser rolls.

Sooooooo when it comes to finely chopping, I need some improvement. As in, my minced herbs and veggies look more like gravel instead of fine sand. So I use this wonderful chopper that I got from Pampered Chef a few years back, and it comes to my rescue when I have those items that I just can't chop fine enough, such as the serrano chile. Love it!

So after chopping your chile, pull apart the roast chicken with your fingers into bite-sized pieces for the sandwiches.

Then slice the onions into quarter-inch rings.

Saute the onions in a large skillet  until they're soft and tender, then add the vinegar and cook for another minute more.

Once the onions are cooked, add the tomato sauce, serrano chile, thyme, molasses, water and salt. Bring it to a boil and let the lovely aroma bring a smile to your soul.

Add the chicken and stir it up to coat everything.

Heat the chicken through and then you're ready to serve!

Next time, I want to try toasting the buns on the grill just a little bit with butter - yum!

My favorite part is the sweet pickles - I'm a SUCKER for sliced sweet pickles on sandwiches!

Funny story about this image. I was setting the table outside for the final presentation shot and placing all of the garnishes while Jeff loaded up the sandwich. It took him a few minutes, and he noticed the table when he walked out...

Jeff: "Sweetie, where did the sweet pickle garnish go?"

Me: "I ate it..."

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

(view the original recipe here)

• 1 2 - 2 1/4 pound deli-roasted chicken
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 3 - 4 tablespoons seeded and finely chopped fresh red and/or green hot chili peppers
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 sandwich buns, split
• Bread-and-butter pickle slices

Directions

1. Remove meat from chicken (discard skin and bones). Use two forks or your fingers to pull meat into shreds.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally to separate into rings. Add vinegar; cook and stir 1 minute more.

3. Stir in tomato sauce, chile peppers, thyme, molasses, water, and salt. Bring to boiling. Add the chicken; tossing gently to coat. Heat through. Serve on rolls with pickle slices. Makes 6 sandwiches.

Hugs,

Erin

Oh! And I finally learned the difference between a sweet potato and a yam a few months back. It took waaaaay more Google-time than I expected (apparently hardly anyone actually knows) but I eventually found my answer. A yam is actually a white tasteless potato variety from South America, and sweet potatoes are the orange guys you see pictured below. I memorized the difference only because the orange sweet potato tastes, well, sweet and yams aren't sweet at all. So it's pretty easy to remember now. Bet you didn't know you would learn that factual tidbit today did you?

This recipe is sooooo simple that you can whip it together as a quick side dish for practically any meal. Just have a few sweet potatoes on hand along with some sage (you can use the sage for this white cheddar onion pudding on another night of the week too) and you're all set!

The key ingredients are salt and cumin seeds for the potatoes (ground cumin won't do the trick), and then crushed red pepper and honey for some spicy/sweet butter.

Then of course, you'll need fresh sage leaves and sweet potatoes.

Mix together 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds. Scrub the potatoes and while the skins are still damp, rub them all over with the salt mixture. Bake them directly on the oven rack for an hour at 375 degrees. Turn them once to crisp the skin on all sides. The crispy salty skins are the best part!

Then you'll make this super yummy spicy butter mixture by stirring a tablespoon of honey or syrup (I used honey) and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes into softened butter. You can use this butter for anything, but the sweetness is especially nice with the sweet potatoes.

Then you'll heat about three inches of canola or peanut oil in a small frying pan. The oil has to be HOT in order to fry the leaves, so wait until the oil pops when you flick a tiny bit of water into the oil. That's when you know it's ready to fry! Fry the leaves for about two minutes or until they're crisp. Drain them on a paper towel and gently dap the excess oil off.

Cool the potatoes for five minutes before slicing them and pushing them open. They'll be super hot on the fingertips! Serve them with the sage leaf placed inside. I let my guests put the butter on themselves just in case anyone doesn't like or can't handle butter in their food. Voila! It's so lovely and pretty!

Cumin-Rubbed Sweet Potatoes with Sage

(view the original recipe here)

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, crushed
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Canola or peanut oil for frying
• Fresh sage leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and scrub potatoes. Mix together salt and cumin. While skins are damp, rub all over with salt mixture (reserve any remaining salt mixture for another use). Bake potatoes directly on oven rack for 1 hour, turning once to crisp evenly on all sides. (Place a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack beneath potatoes to catch drippings.)

2. Meanwhile, for spiced butter, in a small bowl, stir together softened butter, maple syrup, and crushed red pepper. Using waxed paper, roll the butter into a log. Chill.

3. Heat 3 inches of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Carefully add sage leaves to the oil; fry sage leaves for 2 minutes, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain fried leaves on paper towels.

4. Cool potatoes for 5 minutes. If desired, brush off some of the salt. With a sharp knife, make a lengthwise cut in potatoes; push ends toward center to open. Top each potato with 1 tablespoon spiced butter and sage leaves. Reserve remaining butter mixture for another use.

Hugs,
Erin

Watch out world. She's got a pepper grinder and is not afraid to overuse it.

Crockpots, dutch ovens, flavorful meats, and fresh herbs have become my crucial sidekicks - I just can't live without them anymore. And this side dish that I uncovered from my stack of Better Homes and Gardens magazines has been proven itself over and over again. It's soooooo easy and soooooo yummy. You would be doing yourself a disservice NOT to try this dish. It's creamy onion pudding with white cheddar and fresh snipped sage in an adorable personal-sized casserole dish - it doesn't get any better than that!

The main player is your shredded white cheddar, so pick a delicious variety.

And then you'll need a couple of medium onions, eggs, milk, flour, a bit of oil, and fresh sage.

Cut the onions into wedges with the root end attached - so pretty! And then sauté the onions in hot oil in a skillet for 5 minutes over low heat to soften them up and get the flavors coming out. Season them with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, combine the pudding ingredients. Whisk together the milk and eggs, then whisk in the flour.

Add the cheese and snipped sage and stir to combine.

Grease some mini 5- to 7-ounce baking dishes with butter and divide the onions into the dishes.

Pour the egg mixture over the onions.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until they look golden and puffed up. Make sure to serve these warm so the cheese stays gooey and melted.  Yum, yum, yum!

What a perfect winter side dish to go along with your dutch oven roast. It's so easy but creative, fun, and flavorful. My kind of recipe!

 White Cheddar Onion Pudding

(view the original recipe here)

• 2 medium onions, cut into 8 wedges each, root end attached
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh sage

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large skillet cook onions in hot oil 5 minutes over low heat; season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and garlic; cook 8 minutes more or until onions are tender. Remove from heat; set aside.

2. Grease 10 to 12 (5- to 7-ounce) baking dishes with the remaining butter. In bowl, combine eggs and milk; whisk in flour. Add cheese and the snipped sage; combine. Spoon onion in dishes; pour egg mixture over. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove; let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm with fresh sage leaves. Serves 10 to 12.

Hugs,

Erin

What I love most about this sweet and sassy pie is that it's just the right balance of sugar and tart, with the creamy pears mellowing out the lip-smacking cranberries. It's the perfect treat for your honey so surprise them with this quick and easy dessert that looks waaaaaaay more complicated than it really is. Shhh... don't tell anyone though... You can still pretend you spent hours in the kitchen today instead of hours in your PJs on Pinterest...

For the filling, you'll need just a few fresh items and a handful of ingredients from the pantry. Pears are perfectly in season right now, so grab some of those along with a cup of fresh or frozen cranberries (I used frozen and thawed them out).

Thinly slice 7 or 8 pears. Make sure the slices are even and pretty. I can make things look pretty hacked, so I had to be extra careful.

Then combine sugar, cornstarch, apple cider or water, and nutmeg.

Set this aside while you assemble your pie crust and fruit.

Now I am all about buying a store bought pie crust - I've made one too many dry, chewy pie crusts in my lifetime so I'm all about making things easy on myself. BUT when it comes to making a pie on the fly, it's helpful to know how to make your own yummy melt-in-your-mouth crust. So here's a quick demo...

First you'll need 1.5 cups flour, 1/2 cup of shortening, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. This is for a single crust pie, so keep that in mind. I use shortening because it so much easier to handle. They say butter tastes better, but the dough doesn't stay together very well and can be extremely sticky, so I've never had a good experience with it. Also, you'll need to make sure your shortening is COLD in order to produce a flaky crust. As soon as you decide to make a pie, stick your shortening in the freezer. And then remember to take it out again...

Next, mix the flour and salt together and then cut in your shortening using a pastry blender. You can use your fingers to do this part too, but it will warm up the shortening, so be careful. Cut in the shortening until it's pea-sized crumbles.

Then slowly sprinkle in a few tablespoons of COLD water (I put an ice cube in the water to help keep it frigid). Mix the water in with a fork or your fingers until the dough just sticks together in a ball. Be careful not to add too much water. As with any baking, there's a fine balance to the ingredients and any one step could throw off the whole thing. No pressure right?

Once the dough is sticking together, roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Be careful not to overwork the dough - that can lead to a chewy crust.

This is how I make sure I've rolled out enough dough - I can eyeball the pie plate.

(I wish I took photos of this - I may update this post with some instructional images later) In order to get the dough in the pie dish, you can place your rolling pin at one end of the crust, and then gently roll your rolling pin along the surface while taking the crust-sheet along with it, essentially wrapping the dough around your rolling pin. Place the dish in the spot the dough just was, and then slowly unroll the crust over the dish, letting it flop into the recess. Viola!

Then pinch along the edges of the crust with your floured fingertips (to prevent sticking) and slice off the excess with a sharp floured knife.

Then place your filling into your amazing homemade crust! In this case, arrange half of the sliced pears in concentric circles around the pie,  add a layer of cranberries, and then arrange the rest of the pears on top.

Sprinkle a few remaining cranberries on top.

Drizzle the cornstarch mixture evenly over the filling. Cover the pie with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover the pie and sprinkle with sugar, then let it bake for another 30-35 minutes until the pears are soft and the juices are bubbly.

In a small saucepan, combine a few leftover cranberries and 2 tablespoons of carmel-flavored ice cream topping, cooking them for about a minute and them spooning them over the pie. I drizzled the rest of the pie with some extra carmel topping while it was hot too. OH. EM. GEE.

Serve this little gem warm and don't skimp on the carmel topping. Once your sweetie gobbles this up, they won't be able to keep their hands off you! And guys, this pie is so stinkin' easy that even the most inexperienced baker can surprise their Valentine with a true homemade dessert. If you're not sure about the whole homemade crust thang, just buy an unbaked store-bought pie shell and she'll swoon with delight FOR SURE.

 Fresh Pear and Cranberry Pie

(see the full recipe here)

• 1 recipe Single-Crust Pie
• 8 cups sliced red and/or green ripe pears (7 to 8 pears; 3 to 3-1/2 lb. total)
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons apple cider or water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons caramel-flavored ice cream topping, plus additional for drizzling

Directions

1. Prepare and roll out Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (below). Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Arrange half of pears in prepared pastry; sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cranberries. Arrange remaining pears atop cranberries. In bowl stir together 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, cider, and nutmeg; drizzle evenly over pears. Cover pie with foil.

3. Bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake, uncovered, 30 to 35 minutes more or until pears are tender and juices are bubbly. Remove from oven and place on wire rack.

4. Meanwhile, in small saucepan combine remaining cranberries and 2 tablespoons caramel topping. Bring to boiling. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Spoon over hot pie.

5. Serve warm. Drizzle with additional caramel topping. Make 8 servings.

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 - 5 tablespoons cold water

Directions

In bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of the bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until flour mixture is moistened. Form dough into ball. On floured surface flatten with hands. Roll dough from center to edges into a 13-inch circle. To transfer pastry, wrap around rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Ease pastry into plate without stretching it. Trim pastry to 1 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry.

Hugs,
Erin

I almost hate the thing because it makes our food taste so good. I think it's taunting me... "You could never be this good in the kitchen without me, you know. You need me now..."

Are these things melded together by magical kitchen gnomes with flavoring in their fingertips or something?? And can I get me one of those?

Please?

I should really try to eat my oatmeal out of my dutch oven. It would probably taste so good it'll make my skirt fly up. And a girl always needs something like that to start her day.

It was SO HARD to choose a winning recipe for our dutch oven recipe contest! Every recipe you guys submitted looks like it would totally rock my wanna-be-kitchen-goddess world. Chicken and dumplings? Spicy Dr. Pepper shredded pork? Oaxaca yellow mole? You guys really didn't want to make this easy on me did you? But sadly I had to choose only one. As much as I would love to make it rain with Sur La Table gift cards, my hubby would most likely disapprove with some mumbo-jumbo about "marketing budgets" or something...

So I chose our winner based on a type of meal that I surprisingly haven't posted on Recipe Sunday yet - a stew. Plus, a true Youngren can't pass up another recipe with Guinness involved. And the winner of a $25 gift from Sur La Table is (dum, dum dum)...

Leslie's Beef and Ale Stew from Jamie Oliver!! It's the perfect combination of slow-cooked goodness with a gourmet twist. I can't wait to try it out and feature it on a future Recipe Sunday!

Keep your eyes peeled folks... it's gonna be good. Congrats Leslie! I'll be in touch with your winnings!

Hugs,

Erin

I know. Our kitchen has just never been complete.

But then a little package plopped on our doorstep yesterday. My dear sweet hubby had been researching dutch ovens for months and found the perfect one. In the midst of my gleeful squeals, I realized that my hubby is such a charmer. Yes, he does everything in his power to make me smile, but I also think he does everything in his power to have more of those braised short ribs...

Side note: This dutch oven is a 6-quart one made by Lodge, but we have tons of friends that swear by Le Creuset. During Jeff's research though he found tons of folks that say this dutch oven will make incredible food for a quarter of the price. Now I'm all about quality, but is a Le Creuset really necessary?

**This also means that I need your help!! I need some really good dutch oven recipes to break in this bad boy, so send a link to your favorite recipe in the comments. Whoever submits my favorite recipe will win a $25 gift card to Sur La Table, PLUS  I will feature the dish on a future Recipe Sunday. Yay!**

Tomorrow we'll be announcing last week's winner of the Yankee Candle Giveaway so stay tuned and enter to win by commenting at this post here! See you then!

Hugs,

Erin

So when I found this fancy gourmet Dutch oven take on the age old pot pie concept, I couldn't resist borrowing my friends fancy cookware to fancy-up dinnertime. The gooey innards of this recipe are short ribs with cipollini onions and fresh rosemary braised in Guinness with thin crispy russet potato slices acting as the mouthwatering top. Since braising is a lengthy process to tenderize meat, this whole thing will take five or six hours, so keep that in mind if you're gonna give a try. But the time is soooo worth it. This knock-your-socks-off dish is everything warm and cozy that a hearty winter dish should be, and you'll lick up every last bite!

***Speaking of cozy, thanks for all of the comments on yesterday's Yankee Candle giveaway! My readers are DA BOMB. There's still time to win a Yankee Candle, so comment here to win!***

You'll need four pounds of boneless short ribs, a sprig of fresh rosemary, a pound of cipollini onions, and two bottles of dark stout beer, preferably Guinness. And yes, BOTH bottles of Guinness are going in the recipe. Jeff was hoping one was for the food, and the other was for the chef's assistant...

Dredge the short ribs through flour, covering all sides. Technically these short ribs should be cut into two-inch pieces, but technically I didn't read that part... Whatevs. It still tasted freakin' fantastic.

Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in your friends Le Creuset Dutch oven and brown the short ribs on all sides, working in batches and transferring the browned meat to a large plate with kitchen tongs. I realized when I found this recipe that - *gasp* - I don't actually own a Dutch oven, but a friend with a Le Creuset is a very important friend to have. Just saying'.

Then sauté your yellow onions and garlic.

Return the meat to the pot and add the Guinness and rosemary. This was my favorite part - it smelled SO GOOD.

Bring the whole thing to a simmer, then cover and transfer it to a preheated 300 degree oven to cook for 2 1/2 hours.

After 2 1/5 hours of reorganizing the pantry and dancing to Ke$ha in the kitchen, pull out the heavenly Dutch oven and add the cipollini onions. Cook for about 30 more minutes. While it's doing this last bit of braising, take a break from clubbin' it up suburban style and thinly slice about 6 russet potatoes for the topping.

After this last stint in the oven, the meat should be ready to fall apart, so remove the pot from the oven and shred the meat with two forks. Transfer the filling to eight mini-pot pie casserole dishes, mini one cup pie plates, or a large 12-inch gratin dish. The juice will thicken when the meat comes apart.

Raise the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees and let it heat up while you place the topping.

Layer the potato slices in tight concentric circles around the dishes.

Brush the potatoes with oil and crack some fresh salt and pepper on top. Put the whole thing back in the oven for another 45 minutes to an hour to brown and cook the top.

OMG OMG OMG - I've never made anything so good in my LIFE.

The meat was soooooooo full of flavor from all of that sugary Guinness and once you crack the top of the potato thang, the rosemary will melt your soul into a pile of heavenly buttah. And we all know that everything is better with buttah. This is the perfect Sunday dinner on a snowy winter's night! Enjoy!

Braised Short Rib, Stout, and Potato Pot Pie

(see the full recipe here)

For The Filling

• 4 pounds boneless short ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 bottles (12 ounces) stout, preferably Guinness (3 cups)
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 pound cipollini onions, peeled

For The Topping

• 6 medium russet potatoes (3 1/2 pounds)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Make the filling: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Dredge short ribs in flour, coating all sides. Transfer to a large plate. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches, brown short ribs, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large plate using kitchen tongs.

Reduce heat to medium. Add yellow onion to Dutch oven, and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Return meat to Dutch oven. Add stout and rosemary. Bring to a simmer. Cover, and transfer to oven. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove Dutch oven from oven, and add cipollini onions. Braise until meat is tender and onions are cooked through, about 30 minutes. Shred meat using 2 forks. Season with salt and pepper. Divide filling among eight mini (1-cup) pie plates, or transfer to a 12-inch (8-cup) gratin dish.

Make the topping: Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees. Peel potatoes, and very thinly slice each (preferably on a mandoline). Arrange potatoes over meat to form tight concentric circles, working around the edge and overlapping each potato by three-quarters. Brush with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until topping is golden and filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes for mini potpies (1 hour for large potpie).

Hugs,
Erin

So I would sneak whatever I could find into my shopping cart, and then go upstairs to my mini-kitchen play set to mix flour and water to make a dough for biscuits, just like Mom would. I would add flour, and then water. Then more water. And then more flour. And then a ton more water. Then I would roll out my flour/water mixture with my teeny pink plastic rolling pin directly onto my pint-sized plastic kitchen table. It was like I was layering concrete plaster across my play set. Confused, I would try pick up the goopy, sticky mess that I called "dough" with my fingers, and alarmed that it didn't look exactly like Mom's concoctions, this flour plaster quickly ended up in my hair, on my clothes, in my eyes, on the floor, on the cat, and anything else that I would touch while running and screaming around the house with sticky flour hands that my yummy bread wasn't turning out right.

This is the memory that I think of when making biscuits - the hours of scraping layers of flour plaster off of my poor play set kitchen table. And when I'm squishing my fingers through dough, I feel like my kitchen is that same play set and I'm just a little girl fiddling around with flour and water. Only my biscuits actually turn out this time. Well, most of the time...

Isn't there just something about biscuits? They make any dinner a homey, comfort food meal and that's a pretty magical talent. You could set these next to sushi and it would become a down-home, farm meal in the midwest. And this particular combo adds a clever, yummy twist to the classic recipe by adding green onions, transforming it's traditional flavor into an eyebrow raising delight.

As always, the full recipe is at the bottom of this post, so feel free to skip the photos and jump straight to cooking. But of course, that means you'll miss all of the 50 f/1.2 goodness that is my food photography fetish...

Grab all of the traditional ingredients from your pantry for biscuits - flour, buttermilk, baking soda and powder, shortening and salt.

But the flavor boost comes from green onions and a topping of cherry tomato. Ho boy! These biscuits will turn any husband into a kid bouncing up and down by the oven waiting for them to come out!

Combine your dry ingredients first.

Then use a pastry blender to cut in the shortening and butter until they look like pea-sized chunks.

Finely chop the green onion and mix it in.

Make a small well in the middle of the mixture.

Add the buttermilk all at once and use a fork to quickly toss and wet all of the ingredients. You don't want to overwork the dough at this point.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and quickly knead 10 or 12 strokes until it's almost smooth.

You don't want to add too much flour or over work the dough, so be geeeeentle.

Can you see my inner "kitchen-set" girl coming out?

To shape the biscuits, you'll roll three little walnut sized balls and place them next to each other in a greased muffin cup. Which seriously - whenever they say "walnut-sized", "pea-sized", or "small shetland pony-sized", does it ever actually turn out that way? I'm the WORST at estimating so it's more of a "that looks good" size.

Press a grape or yellow pear tomato into the center of each and brush them with olive oil. I couldn't find yellow pear tomatoes so I went with the red grape tomatoes.

They'll bake 10-12 minutes at 45o degrees, and they'll make your entire house smell like onion bread goodness. Seriously, you will be DROOLING by the time these come out! They won't last long - with that kind of smell wafting through the rafters the troops will come running and gobble these up! And by troops, I mean Jeff...

Biscuit Blossoms

(get nutrition info here)

To keep in the party mood, let's ring in the new year with a party favorite. These Mexican appetizers are sooooo yummy - if I had a Mexican grandma, it would totally remind me of her. The only thing that I find strange though (and perhaps this is my white Idaho girl talking), but the recipe is called 'hand pies' when clearly these are empanadas - right? But then again, 'hand pie' sounds more fancy than empanada so maybe these should be called Chorizo-Pepper Fancy Hand Pies. In any case, make one batch of these for yourself and one batch to stick in the freezer. You'll thank yourself later when you get to pull these out for that last minute dinner party and wow your guests with a flaky, creamy, spicy appetizer.

The chorizo is the clear winner of this recipe with it's signature spice and oily flavor.

Mix the chorizo with some queso fresco and we've got ourselves a creamy, spicy filling that you'll flip over!

This is the first time I've ever used puff pastry - you should have seen me circling the grocery store trying to find this little package! It was in the back of a freezer in the Jewish section. Ha!

Alright, on to the cooking. First make your filling by sautéing your onion, garlic, and sweet bell pepper until they're tender.

Then add the chorizo, break it up, and cook until it's no longer pink.

The chorizo will be pretty oily, so drain the fat and move on to the tomato and seasonings.

Let the liquids cook off and then stir in the queso fresco.

Try just a bit of this filling - ITS SO GOOD. We had some left over after we filled the empanada so we used it as a taco filling and we licked up every bite.

Once the filling is ready, roll out the puff pastry sheets and using a biscuit or cookie cutter (or a small drinking glass like I did) and cut out a bunch of rounds. Put a small dollop of the filling in the middle. And no matter how much you may like the filling, be conservative and don't put too much in or else you'll have filling pouring out the sides once you try to close and seal the empanada. It makes a huge mess - trust me.

Brush one edge of the circle with a milk and beaten egg yolk mixture.

Then stretch and fold the empanada and pinch the edge together to seal.

Brush the tops of the empanadas with the egg wash and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

It only takes about 12 minutes at 400 degrees to cook these bad boys. They get super flaky on the outside and gooey on the inside - the perfect combo for a crowd-pleasing appetizer!

Chorizo-Pepper Hand Pies

(see the full recipe and nutrition info here)

• tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 a yellow sweet pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 5 ounces uncooked chorizo sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato, fresh or canned
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 ounces grated queso fresco (3/4 cup)
• 1 17.3 ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets (2 sheets), thawed
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 recipe Sweet Pepper Topper (optional)
• Taco sauce or salsa (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and sweet pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 minutes. Add the chorizo, stirring occasionally, and breaking up the sausage, until the sausage is no longer pink, 5 minutes. Drain fat. Return to heat and add the tomato, oregano, and cumin to the meat mixture and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is almost dry, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Let cool. Add the queso fresco and stir to combine.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll the puff pastry to 1/8-inch thickness. With a 3-1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 24 circles. Place 1 tablespoon filling in center of each circle. Combine beaten egg yolk with milk. Brush edges of half the circle with egg wash. Fold circle over to enclose filling; pinch edges together to seal. Brush tops with egg wash. Place on an ungreased baking sheet; bake 12 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Serve warm topped with Sweet Pepper Topper and taco sauce for dipping. Makes 24 hand pies.

Hugs,

Erin