Steak, Blue Cheese & Caramelized Onion Flatbreads

These. were. so. good.

For Christmas Day this year, we were HOME. TOGETHER. WITH NO PLANS. It was great! We had spent time with one side of the family at Thanksgiving, a few days before Christmas we had 2 days of fun with the other side, and on Christmas Day, it was just us. We slept in, stayed in our jammies for too long, went sledding, watched Christmas movies (and NBA basketball, of course), and enjoyed a couple of apps. We did meatball sliders, pizza dip, and these amazing flatbreads.

We grabbed some Cybros sprouted pizza dough (check out their awesome products - we're huge fans!), and I stretched it out into some "rustic" shapes, and baked them for a few minutes - maybe 5 or so - at 425 degrees. Before they were totally done, I pulled them out, rubbed a little garlic on the tops of each flatbread, spread on some caramelized onions, some thinly sliced NY strip steak and of course a liberal sprinkling of blue cheese crumbles. Then I put them back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese was melted. We sliced them up, put them on a platter, and within minutes, they were history.

It's easy to caramelize onions - just put a little EVOO into a pan, and add in about 2 whole sliced onions - I had one yellow onion and one sweet onion, so I used a combination. I sprinkled a little salt and pepper on, and then you need to stir them frequently, so they brown, but do not burn. Burned onions are bad. I'm guessing it took about 15-20 minutes, but it was worth it!

Layered Mexican Trifle Salad

So this is awesome. It's a lot of work, but it is awesome. Feeds a crowd, looks cool, tastes great. What more can you ask for? I first had this at a party, and then tracked down the recipe - I believe it was originally from Pampered Chef. You can mix it up, but I really like this combo. It's easy to double or whatever is needed, based on the serving dish. The one pictured was MASSIVE, and was basically a triple batch - so much work, and at the last minute! Layered Mexican Trifle Salad I ngredients: Beans: drain, rinse and mix together 1 15 oz. can pinto beans and 1 15 oz. can black beans 1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained (I've also used fresh) 1 large tomato, diced (I usually use several Roma tomatoes) 2 green bell peppers, diced 3 ripe avocadoes, diced and mashed with the juice of 1 lime and salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion, diced (red or white) 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded 2 cups cheddar or jack cheese, shredded

Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti & Asiago Cheese

We ALL really love this recipe. This is based on a recipe from the good people at Cooks Illustrated - I am grateful to them for getting my kids to happily eat sundried tomatoes and broccoli! I've also made this in a huge batch and served it family-style for a dinner party (and got to use my giant Pampered Chef Simple Additions square pasta bowl (it's really big), and it was AWESOME). If people could have licked the bowl clean, they might have - there was NOTHING left. Try this, and love it: Chicken, Broccoli, Penne and Asiago Cheese Skillet 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares 2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or olive oil - just don't heat that to smoking) 1 medium onion, minced (about 1 cup) 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.) 1/4 tsp. dried oregano 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 oz. ziti or penne (2 /12 cups) 3 c. water 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 3-4 c. broccoli florets 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and choppe

Another Take on Comfort Food

Sometimes there's nothing you can do but cook. I've had the displeasure of seeing 2 young moms in our school community recieve cancer diagnoses in the last 18 months. If you're like me, when someone you know is hurting, you want to help, but lots of times, there's not much you can do. If you can cook, you can take away some of the stress of getting the family fed and bring a meal or two. In fact, even if you can't cook, you can pick up a meal at a restaurant or a bag of groceries, or even a gift card for a local restaurant. I think it comes naturally to some - the church and school communities I grew up in always loved with food - church potlucks, school spaghetti dinners, and of course lots of meals for people who needed them. But not everyone has done this before, so it might be overwhelming. As in my "feeding a crowd" blurb, there are a few things to keep in mind. Don't try to impress - don't try new recipes. Find out if you're

A Cooking Baker

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