Egg Salad Hot Dog

July 12, 2014July 12, 201414 Comments

I’m pretty sure Honey Boo Boo would love this meal.

I saw her fill a bath tub with mayonnaise once and the play in it. That tells me she’d be all over this. It’s really all sorts of classy.

Eggland’s Best sent me some eggs for a party I’m planning soon, so clearly I’ve been thinking about eggs a lot. I had the idea on a random day that egg salad would be great on a hot dog, because I’m pretty much sure hot dogs go great with most things.

I’m not sure I’ve ever told you this, but I love hot dogs. No really. Like a lot. It’s borderline weird how much I like hot dogs. So when I thought hmm I bet egg salad would be good on a hot dog (because that’s what I think about in the middle of the day, totally normal), I decided to put it to the test and Jesse was my guinea pig.

Jesse came home to find my creation even though we had plans to do some grilling. I think we were both pleasantly surprised…

I know it sounds like a weird combination, but I promise, it’s really tasty. Also, since this is clearly the classiest of meals (insert heavy sarcasm), I won’t judge you if you want to eat this in private. But let’s be honest, you should probably own the classiness and tell the world about this awesome combination.

Egg Salad Hot Dogs

4 eggs, hard boiled
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 heaping teaspoon Barn Burner Mustard
dash of garlic salt
1 green onion, chopped
4 hot dogs
4 buns

Dice hard boiled egg. Mix egg with mayo, mustard, garlic salt and white part and half the green part of one green onion.

Heat hot dogs as you’d like. Boil. Grill. Microwave. Whatever you prefer.

Lay hot dog on bun. Top with egg salad. Garnish with remaining green onion. Serve with ketchup if you’d like. Makes 4 hot dogs.

I tried to keep it light on the mayo. What really added the flavor here was the mustard. I’ve told you about Green Mountain Mustard before: HERE and HERE. Seriously, their Barn Burner is what makes this awesome. If you can’t get your hands on this mustard, maybe try putting some hot sauce in the egg salad.

To top off the classiness, I have to tell you I put ketchup on mine. No regrets.

Ok so egg salad on a hot dog. I’m going to need you to trust me (and Honey Boo Boo). It’s pretty great.

What do you think? Egg salad on a hot dog? Any other strangely awesome combos?

Blueberry Lemon Thyme Pie in a Bourbon Crust

July 9, 2014July 9, 201413 Comments

Before this week, I hadn’t made a pie in a really long time. I had almost forgotten how fun it is to make a pie.

There’s something really special about making a pie. I think it has to do with all the steps. It’s a process, but almost always, it’s worth it.

With this pie, it’s totally worth it. I can honestly say, I thoroughly enjoy making pies. I love making the dough and using my fingers to break up the butter. I love rolling out the dough to fit the pie pan. I should also tell you that I’m a little bit in love with the crust. I decided bourbon was a good idea, so I used bourbon instead of water. Then I decided thyme goes great with blueberries and lemon. So why not? I won’t lie, the thyme gives the pie a really earthy flavor. I’m not sure it will be to everyone’s liking. If you aren’t into earthiness, omit the thyme and you will have one rockin’ pie.

The only part of pie-making that I’m not crazy about is chopping fruit. With this pie, this is a non-issue.

This is pretty much the pie for those who don’t like to chop things. There’s really zero chopping involved. Just rinse your blueberries, grate your lemon and pluck some thyme off the stem, then throw it all together with some sugar and flour. It all is pretty simple.

Of course with any pie, you can always get fancy. Lattice tops are always fancy. I tried to get even fancier by using a spoon to crimp the edge. Oh and the little heart adds a nice touch, right? All sorts of cute!

I’m a fan. If you’re in the mood for a fancy pants pie that is comforting and earthy (is earthy a bad thing?), this is the jam:

Blueberry Lemon Thyme Pie in a Bourbon Crust

For Crust:

350g all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, cold
1/4 cup bourbon

For Filling:

1.5lbs fresh blueberries (5 cups)
3/4-1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp fresh thyme

First make your crust. Mix together dry ingredients. Cut your butter into cubes, using your fingers work into your flour mixture until you get coarse crumbs. Add bourbon and work into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Resting is a critical part of pie dough making. If your pie dough is shrinking, it’s because it hasn’t rested enough. So let it chill in the fridge a few hours. Pour yourself a glass of bourbon while you wait.

When you’re ready to make your pie, make your filling. In a bowl, combine all ingredients Roll out the crust, half for the bottom and half for the top. Place one half in the bottom of the pan. Fill with fruit filling. Then make a lattice top (or just roll it out and cut a few slits in the top), crimp as desired.

If you want some cool pie crimping ideas, check this out. Put your pie in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 350F. Once heated, bake for about an hour or until the blueberries are bubbling all around. Allow to cool completely and serve.

Blueberry pie always looks like a mess when served. But that’s part of the fun of pies. Unlike layer cakes, pie aren’t perfect. They’re messy and chunky, but overall pretty great.

I’m really interested to try more herbs in pies. I’m thinking maybe strawberry basil might be a good combo.

Any other ideas? How do you feel about pies? Fan? Not so much?

Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Salad

June 24, 20147 Comments

I’m currently having a bout of I-don’t-want-to-cook.

It’s a chronic syndrome. I haven’t quite found the cure, but I have a remedy.

The situation is this: I want to eat healthy meals, but I’m just not in the mood to prepare them.

An unfortunate result of I-don’t-want-to-cook is a desire to eat bad things. And thus, I also want to eat fatty sandwiches and burgers (because those are cheap and easy to pick up… but really I should mention Del Taco Bean and Cheese burritos because they’re my weakness). Today, I almost gave in to a fatty sandwich for lunch, because I was too lazy to pack a lunch. I got a salad at a local spot. And while it was healthier than the fatty Reuben I also wanted, nothing beats the healthiness of a home-cooked meal.

So the solution to the chronic I-don’t-want-to-cook (or really I-don’t-want-to-do-dishes) is ~~to get a boyfriend who cooks~~ having lots of healthy leftovers. I’m a fan of cooking in bulk for the week because I always know there will be a day when I don’t feel like cooking so I might as well be prepared. My most recent creation is perfect for these days. You can make it on Sunday and it’ll still be good for Thursday, since there’s no meat involved.

Don’t worry, I didn’t go crazy with photoshop. I used yellow cauliflower. That’s why it’s so bright. I’m currently making this again with purple cauliflower. I’m going to bet that will look awesome as well.

So if you’re like me and you’re having an I-don’t-want-to-cook (or do dishes) moment, this is your solution. Very little work and lots of deliciousness and nutrients. So get your cauliflower/lentil on…

Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Salad

3/4 cup lentils, dry
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
garlic salt, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 oz goat cheese (optional)

Cook lentils for 20 minutes (or until tender) in boiling water. While the lentils cook, pre-heat your oven to 400F. Chop cauliflower, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, cumin, paprika, cayenne, garlic salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until golden and crispy.

Next make dressing. Whisk together 1 tbsp olive oil, mustard, vinegar and some salt and pepper. Now combine all ingredients. Toss together lentils, cauliflower, cilantro, and dressing. Top with goat cheese and serve! This recipe will serve 4.

Like I said, this recipe is super easy. It only takes about 5 minutes of prep work. The rest is pretty much just the oven and stove doing the work. That means you can watch Orange is the New Black while you wait for it all to be ready, then take 2 minutes and throw it all together.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I have some cauliflower in the oven, now all I need is Netflix.

What’s your quick and easy, to-go healthy meal?

Zucchini Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Leek-y Meatballs

June 17, 201412 Comments

I’m going to be honest. I’m a terrible meatball maker. I’m also a terrible meatball namer. They taste great, but generally look horrible and leek-y? I couldn’t come up with something better?

I don’t know how people get their meatballs to be round and beautiful. Mine end up a little bit like patties, but they taste awesome.

Because they taste awesome, I really can’t complain. So let me tell you about these (slightly ugly but delicious) meatballs.

What I love about these meatballs is that the vegetables are still a little bit crunchy, so they have a great texture. But what I REALLY love is the peanut sauce that went with it. I intended to make Italian flavored meatballs with added leeks, but then I tried them and they reminded me of potsticker filling, so I decided to go for an Asian twist. And thus peanut sauce was necessary. Peanut Sauce is the perfect addition. I’m totally into it.

The other magical part of this meal is that it’s almost paleo and 100% healthy. The paleo part doesn’t really matter to me, but the healthy part does. I’m always looking for great-tasting healthy recipes, that’s why I’m such a big fan of this. That said, if the paleo part matters to you, use almond butter or sunflower butter in place of peanut butter and it’s 100% paleo!

Zucchini Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Leek-y Meatballs

6 zucchinis, spiralized or julienned
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 leek (white part only), finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp olive oil

For Peanut Sauce:

1/4 cup coconut aminos (or low sodium soy sauce, if paleo doesn’t matter to you)
1-4 tbsp water*
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter or almond butter if you want to make it paleo)
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 small knob of fresh ginger (about 1 inch, about 1 tbsp)
1 tsp sriracha, or more to taste (optional)

Make meat balls. Combine turkey, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, leeks, egg, salt and pepper using your hands. Roll into 25-30 small balls (a little larger than a walnut). Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook meat balls about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked through. Alternatively, you can bake them at 450F on a parchment paper lined sheet for about 25-30 minutes. (Note: I made these another time but I caramelized the onions and leeks first and it was awesome. Just saying… in case you want to try that)

Next make peanut sauce. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until well combined. *I’ve made the sauce with 4 tbsp of water, it’s a bit runny, which I like, but if you want it thicker, use less. You might need to adjust the coconut aminos to make sure it’s not too salty.

Toss zucchini noodles with sauce (reserve some extra peanut sauce for drizzling), plate noodles, top with meat balls and drizzle with extra peanut sauce. Garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts if you’d like. If not, just serve and devour. I’m having a really hard time deciding the serving size for this recipe because I eat massive amounts of vegetables. This recipe will serve about 4 people, but I got 3 meals out of it with left over meatballs (because I tend to eat more vegetables than meat).

I’ve made this twice now and loved it both times. It’s pretty quick and easy, but seriously tasty. I recommend it, if you’re looking for a tasty meal to add to your healthy dinner rotation.

Do you have any awesome meatball-making tips?

Ceviche de Jaiba

June 9, 2014June 10, 20144 Comments

I’ve been agonizing over this post for about two weeks now. I’ve had a million ideas about what to write and none of them seemed to work out. Instead of agonizing any further, let’s talk about what led up to the amazing recipe I’m going to share with you… It all started with a hike… a 10 mile hike to a bridge where people were bungee jumping. If you’re in the LA area and have never been to the Bridge to Nowhere, I recommend it.

Given how NOT graceful I am when it comes to balance, I’m really impressed that I could cross streams on rocks and logs. I think the hike is medium difficulty, and overall really fun. It took us about five and a half hours. On the way back, we were all ready to be done, because it was hot and we ran out of water. Clearly a bad combo. Next time, I’m bringing a water filter and a swim suit. There were tons of little pools in the stream for swimming. It would have been great to swim given the heat.

That particular day, my legs were sore. The previous week, I had hurt my arm at crossfit. While I let it heal, I modified all my workouts to involve only lower body movements. Basically I just squatted and ran for a week. Then on Saturday, Allison and I ran. So by Sunday, my legs were toast. This hike did them in. By the end of the hike, all I wanted to do was drink a gallon of water and sit for a bit. Being the dream boat that he is, Jesse made this:

I’m going to go ahead and say that this is really his recipe, but I’m sharing it with you because it’s damn delicious. Gentlemen, make this for your lady. She will appreciate it.

Ceviche de Jaiba

1lbs imitation crab meat, shredded (or Real Crab meat)
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 4 limes
salt to taste
Avocado and Chips/Tostadas, for serving

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve with sliced avocado on a tostada or with chips and cover in hot sauce. Jesse likes to put ketchup on his too. That was tasty enough but I was a big fan of the hot sauce. You can also add fresh sliced jalapeños or habanero peppers for some extra heat.

This ceviche with a nice cold beer was the BEST post-hike meal. It’s light and citrus-y, and if made by a nice fella… it’s pretty much everything a girl could ask for. I can’t wait to go on another hike and eat this again.

What’s your favorite place to hike? How about post-hike meal?

Zucchini Pasta with Avocado-Pepita Pesto

May 20, 2014May 12, 201514 Comments

These days I pretty much only want to talk about vegetables. As I mentioned last time, I’ve been over doing it with desserts/sweets recently so I’m going to get super excited about vegetables and tell you about my most recent vegetable-filled discovery: Zucchini Pasta.

I’m not the biggest fan of pasta and I’m partially convinced that I’ve talked myself into not liking it, because I just don’t feel like it’s amazing enough for the calories. Bread, on the other hand, I’m happy to eat tons of bread, regardless of calories. Pasta… I’m meh about pasta. That said, I’m a huge fan of eating things in the shape of long stringy pasta. I love spaghetti squash and when my co-worker gave me an extra spiralizer that she had, I was ecstatic.

Since then my brain has been churning with awesome zucchini noodle ideas.

The inspiration for this recipe came from a raw, vegan cooking demonstration I went to a few weeks ago. They served us zucchini noodles with pesto. So from there, I decided to make my own version with ingredients I had on-hand at home. It was a complete success.

Zucchini Pasta with Avocado-Pepita Pesto

5 small zucchini squash, spiralized or julienned
1 small avocado
1/4 cup pepitas
1 cup fresh basil
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tomato, diced

Place avocado, pepitas, basil, lemon juice in food processor (or vitamix). Pulse. Stream in olive oil and water and continue to blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss zucchini noodles with some of the pesto, you can add more or less to your liking.

Please note, this recipe will make more than enough pesto for 5 zucchini. You can refrigerate the rest for another day (it’ll start to turn brown after 2-3 days).

What I loved about this dish was:
1. how easy it is to make.
2. how well it tastes the next day and
3. the fact that it doesn’t require you to turn on the stove or oven, with our recent heat wave and summer just around the corner, that was essential.

I’ll definitely be making this again. I’m consistently surprised at how much I like raw zucchini. It’s definitely an underrated vegetable.

Do you have a spiralizer? Any ideas on what I should try to spiralize next?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the Peanut Butter and Co. Bee’s Knees Giveaway to win two free jars of Peanut Butter!

Honey Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter & Co.’s Bee’s Knees

May 15, 2014May 14, 201444 Comments

Desserts are my weakness in life. I wish I knew how to stop eating dessert on a daily basis. But I don’t.

For the most part, I live on the moderation train. I’ll eat anything but in moderation. Sometimes when I overdo it (as I have been recently), I impose the “homemade” rule on myself. I hate food rules but this one has worked for me.

The homemade rule is: I won’t eat a dessert (or other high calorie food) unless I make it myself.

If I want a cookie, I don’t need to go buy a pack of Chips Ahoy. I can pull out all the ingredients and make it myself.

If I want mac and cheese, I’m buying pasta, milk, cheese and making my own cheese sauce. None of that powder stuff.

If I want ice cream, I’m going to buy some milk and cream and pull out the ice cream maker.

It’s a good rule to have, because it makes me wait. We’re used to instant gratification, having things exactly when we want them. But with a lot of high calorie treats, that’s not really how it should be. So my “homemade” rule is one of the better food rules, in my opinion. It makes me slow down.

It’s time for me to impose my “homemade” rule, because yesterday I ate Costco frozen yogurt and I just finished a store-bought Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. While homemade foods still have calories and fat, I feel better knowing that I’m not adding chemicals to my foods. Not to mention, I can control the amount of fat, sugar and salt. It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.

I pretty much always want ice cream, so when Peanut Butter & Co. sent me their The Bee’s Knees Peanut Butter to try out, I decided ice cream was the perfect creation.

Honey Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1/2 cup honey
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup milk (I used non-fat)
1 cup The Bee’s Knees Peanut Butter

Beat together honey and egg yolks until slightly fluffy. Beat in heavy cream and milk. Pour into a medium sauce pan. Turn on heat to medium. Stirring occasionally until it starts to thicken slightly (about 10 minutes). Once the mixture starts to get a bit thick, mix in peanut butter.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, then chill. Pour into ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s ingredients.

Freeze for a few hours to set. Serve and enjoy!

I melted some extra Bee’s Knee’s Peanut Butter and drizzled it on top. It was pretty much amazing.

Next time I want to try to make this without the added honey. I think The Bee’s Knees can hold the honey-peanut butter flavor on its own without the extra sweetener.

Want to try making this ice cream on your own? How about winning two free jars of The Bee’s Knees? Peanut Butter and Co. is being awesome and giving away two jars of The Bee’s Knees to one Foodologie reader!

To enter the giveaway, head over to my Facebook Page. Click the “Giveaway” tab and follow the module to enter.

You can enter by:

Leaving a comment on this blog post telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor is

Liking Foodologie on Facebook

Following me on Twitter

Tweeting about the giveaway.

The giveaway ends May 28th at midnight. Winner we be announced May 28th. Entry open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: As a member of Peanut Butter & Co.’s Yum Squad food blogger club, I received product in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? I am a little bit in love with pistachio.

Tomato and Ricotta Salad

April 30, 20145 Comments

I’m currently having a love affair with full fat ricotta cheese.

It has to be a full fat thing, because I’ve had ricotta before, but none as delicious as this. It’s just the regular whole milk ricotta from Trader Joe’s. Nothing fancy. Usually, I buy part-skim, but this time all I could find was full fat.

That was the best thing that could have happened.

Now I’m obsessed with ricotta. I want to put it on everything. In fact, I have been putting it on everything lately, but this is my favorite combination:

It makes for the perfect appetizer or light meal. It goes great with wine and doesn’t weigh you down. You can probably go dancing after eating this and feel great.

Tomato and Ricotta Salad

2 tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsp (or more) ricotta cheese
2 tsp Chipotle Olive Oil*
1 wedge lemon
salt/pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes, top with ricotta, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with chipotle olive oil and finish with a squirt of lemon juice.

Serve and enjoy!

*I got my olive oil from Antica Olive Oil. If you don’t have Chipotle Olive oil on hand, I would recommend extra virgin olive oil with some crushed red pepper flakes or chipotle powder. If you’re not a fan of heat, your favorite olive oil will work.

I loved everything about this. I had it for dinner this past Friday (before a fun flamenco show), then again on Saturday night and then for lunch on Sunday. What can I say? I know what I like!

I’m definitely making this for my next gathering. It’s easy, fresh, delicious and super easy to scale up or down depending on how many guests you have. It also goes great on bread if you’re looking for finger foods!

What’s your favorite way to eat ricotta? After this Lemon Ricotta Cake, this tomato/ricotta combo might my favorite!

Lemon Ricotta Cake

April 27, 2014April 30, 201410 Comments

I feel like Allison and I have been talking about lemon far too much lately. We’re obsessed ladies.

So I finally broke down and made a lemon cake. I’m continually on the search for a lemon cake, and this is finally THE ONE.

It’s amazing. Simple. Moist. Light. Delicious. I really couldn’t ask for more. This is my new go-to lemon cake recipe. Because let’s be honest, we all need a few go-to cake recipes. My go to Chocolate Cake recipe is the Hershey’s chocolate cake. My go to Banana Cake recipe is my Little Banana Cake. This recipe will make 1 (9-inch) round cake. So if you were looking to do a lemon layer cake, I would suggest doubling (or even tripling if you’re doing a 3 layer cake) then spreading each layer with lemon curd and frosting with a simple whipped cream icing or a cream cheese frosting. Those would be delightful. Don’t be surprised if you see the cake I just described on Foodologie soon.

Lemon Ricotta Cake

For Cake:

1/2 cup Canola Oil
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Lemons, zested
2 eggs
1/2 cup Ricotta
1 cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt

For Glaze:

2 tbsp Butter
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 1 Lemon

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9 inch round baking pan and line with parchment paper.

In a mixer, combine oil, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until well combined. Beat in one egg at a time. Beating each a few minutes until fluffy. Beat in ricotta and juice of one lemon (reserve the other lemon for the glaze). Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Allow to cool.

Make glaze by heating butter, sugar and lemon juice in a sauce pan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool a bit. Then turn cake over onto serving dish. Pour glaze over cake. Garnish with lemon slices, slice and serve.

I’m biased because I love lemon, but this was seriously good. Perfect for a simple afternoon treat with tea, but also good for a simple dessert for your summer dinner party.

Do you love lemon desserts? What’s your favorite?

I love lemon tarts, like this one. But this lemon cake is giving lemon tarts a run for their money.

Beef Empanadas

April 23, 2014April 23, 201411 Comments

I’m starting to worry that I’m going to be on an empanada kick. I had never made empanadas but I’ve eaten my fair share of empanadas in my day. In Guatemala, there aren’t too many empanadas. They exist, but I’m not sure I’ve eaten them. We’re more tortilla folks, but Argentina… that’s the land of empanadas. After my freshman year of college, I went to Argentina for 2 months and volunteered at a school and wandered around Buenos Aires.

Oh hey, I drink mate from a gourd sometimes…

It was an experience I’d never trade. I learned how to be on my own. I learned to love red wine. I learned to love cities. And I ate a ton of empanadas.

My favorite are the spinach and cheese kind, but the traditional kind are beef ones. Because on top of being the land of empanadas, Argentina is also the land of beef. So I decided to give it a try.

The pastry part of these tastes different that the traditional Argentinean kind, but it was still pretty darn tasty. I think they traditionally use lard, which is why mine taste different. Also I added bouillion to try to mask some of the butteriness. Next time, I’ll definitely try lard. But I’m definitely happy with these creations.

Beef Empanadas

For Dough:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks butter (12 tbsp), cold
1/2 tsp chicken bouillion
1 egg
4-5 tbsp water

For Filling:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/4 cup sliced green olives
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 egg (for brushing)

In a bowl, combine flour and butter. Using your fingers, break up the butter until it turns to coarse crumbs. Add egg and incorporate. Add water and form into a ball. Knead a few times til it all comes together. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you make the filling or until ready to use.

Heat a skillet with olive oil. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until onions are tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add beef and cook until browned. Add paprika, cumin, olives and hard boiled eggs. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Now it’s time to assemble the empanadas. Pre-heat oven to 400F.

Roll out dough as thin as you can (1/4 cm if you can). Using a circle cutter or a bowl, cut out circles. The size of the circles will determine the size of your empanadas. I used a bowl about 3 inches in diameter.

Place some of the meat filling in the center of each circle. Fold in half and pinch edges together. Flute edges (folded over) and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is used up.

Mix one egg with a tbsp of water. Brush empanadas with egg mixture and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. The bake time will vary depending on the size of your empanadas. Start checking them after 15 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy with a glass of wine.

I have so many ideas for empanadas. Like I said, I fear this might be the start of a new trend for me. I already bought some ricotta to make some ricotta, kale and leek empanadas. Doesn’t that sound amazing?