Holiday Traditions: Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve my family gets together for dinner at my grandma's house. We have always gotten together on Christmas Eve because it was also his birthday, and even though he has passed away we still get together. This year we are having ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (I will be filming a video about that), brussel sprouts, rolls, cupcakes, apple pie, and I'm sure more. ;-) I will be posting pictures tomorrow so make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

After dinner we will exchange gifts and enjoy each others company. Then I will go to church at 11pm. It is my favorite service of the year. It's the candlelight service and we sing lots of Christmas carols. It really gets you into the spirit of things. Plus, it's usually actually Christmas Day when you walk out of the church and it just seems like the most fitting place to be. =)

What are your traditions on Christmas Eve?

*Star picture from here.

HB Cooks: Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

So awhile back I tweeted a picture of my tomatillo salsa and several of you asked me how I did it. It's pretty easy and really yummy. 

First you need about 1 pound of tomatillos. In L.A. they are really easy to find and they are in the regular drugstore. They look like green tomatoes with a husk on them. (They are actually from the gooseberry family.) Pick ones that are firm and clean. When you get home peel the husk off and wash them. (They will be a little sticky but that's okay.) If you like your salsa spicy then wash a jalapeno too.

Now, you need to roast them. You can do this in a cast iron pan, your broiler, or on a grill, like me. Roast them (and the jalapeno) until they are slightly charred on all sides. 

Then place the jalapeno in a bag for about 5-10 minutes. The steam in the back will help you peel the skin off.

Then take a paper towel and use it to peel off the skin and pull out all the seeds. Be careful not to burn yourself and make sure you wash your hands afterwards!

Then put everything in the blender and puree. (Not shown but really good- add about a handful of fresh cilantro to the blender.) 

Salt and pepper to taste and store. It's great with chips or on enchiladas. Let me know if you try this!

Yum!! Spicy Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I found this super yummy recipe on Pinterest today and new I had to make it for dinner. (I mean it combines my two favorite types of food; Mexican and Italian.) It turned out so good and I knew I had to share it with you!

I took the original recipe and tweaked it a bit to suit my taste. What I did was I used freshly roasted green anaheim peppers. (I roasted them on my gas grill until they were black and then let them cool down in a paper bag. Then I peeled them and deseeded them.)

I also don't really like sour cream so I decided not to use it. Instead I used a full can of the red sauce. 

Mine was super spicy but that is because I used the hottest canned green sauce. (I think I'll do medium next time.)

The recipe makes A LOT so you might want to cut it in half if you just want a couple of servings. I really liked this recipe and the sauce is going to be my new go to sauce. I hope you like it too!

If you try it please let me know what you think!