Mini Pies on TODAY

I've been trying to write this post for a day and a half.  A day and a half!  Trying to balance life is a daily struggle of mine, and I'm sure you can all relate.  I have so much I want to cook, so much I want to share with you, and yet I'm trying to actually put my swimsuit on this summer and go UNDERWATER with my kids.  As in, who cares about how cold the water feels or what my hair looks like or having to shower after (or not).  I'm trying to play with my kids!!  And so my to-do list grows and grows and grows... WHY IS BALANCE SO HARD.

Back to trying to share with you, my virtual friends.  Yesterday I had so much fun baking mini blueberry pies with my friend Savannah on Today.  It was a Today Original recipe, and they were simple and delicious.  Yes, yes, I may have made a few mistake during the segment, but I think you know that I embrace errors in the kitchen and I certainly try not to take cooking too SIRIously.   

You can check out the segment and view the Today Original recipe here.

All photos by Samantha Okazaki

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Homemade Treats for Dad

I always find Father's Day hard to shop for.  Most of the cool, techy toys I know Carson would LOVE are like, stupid expensive (I'm talking to you, drones).  I've found homemade gifts are the most meaningful, whether that's a customized beer bottle label from this site, or a baked treat from MY site!  Here are some ideas!  Exclamation points!  (Or is it marks?)

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

Golf Cupcakes

Brown Butter Banana BBQ Cake

Transformers Red Velvet Cake

Southern Caramel Cake

Mini Cherry Pies

S'Mores Cookies

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Cheddar Topped Shepherd's Pie

Did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day yesterday?  I like any excuse to drink Guinness and wear my favorite color.  But best of all, I am a huge fan of hearty Irish cuisine, like Corned Beef & Cabbage or Shepherd's Pie.  Is Shepherd's Pie actually Irish or British?  No matter, wherever it officially derives from, it's bloody delicious (see what I did there?).  My 5-year-old wouldn't go near it with a 10-foot pole, but he also doesn't like green beer so his taste buds don't matter.   

After a lot of digging around online, I found this recipe that sounded the best to me, although I did still adapt it slightly.  My alterations: the recipe called for 2 pounds of ground beef but I substituted half of that with ground lamb, when the recipe called for 1 cup of water, I used Guinness instead (isn't that Irish for "water" anyway?), I threw in about 1/2 cup of frozen peas to the meat mixture at the very end, as well as some ground nutmeg and Worcestershire Sauce and I generously seasoned everything as I went with salt and pepper.  

This was comfort food at it's best and I can't wait to eat leftovers.  A perfect meal for the remainder of this very looooooooong winter (as in, eat it every night until bikini season seems near).   

Doesn't the Irish flag look something like this?

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