Southwest Turkey Meatballs.

I love Pinterest for fashion and decorating inspiration, but recently I've discovered a new way to use it; to find new recipes! I found this recipe for Southwest Turkey Meatballs.

 

                                                                                Source: skinnytaste.com via Elyssa on Pinterest

  I tried it last week and it was so good! Here is what you need:

1-1/4 lbs 99% lean ground turkey

1 jalapeño, seeds removed (I used a serrano pepper)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions (I used green onions)

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
pinch oregano
salt and fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the pepper, garlic, cilantro, and green onions in a food processor and pulse until chopped, but not pureed. 

 Mix the green mixture into the turkey.

           Add the egg, bread crumbs, and other spices.

It should look like this:

Roll into 1" balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.(For those of you that read my turkey roasting post, I would now like to draw your attention to my clean oven. :)

I made pasta and a white sauce and mixed the meatballs in with green beans and peas. It was pretty yummy!If you go over to www.skinnytaste.com you can find a recipe for a Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Dipping Sauce if you want to have them as more of an appetizer. 

  These were very easy and delicious! I will definitely make them again!

Stuffed Spinach Pasta Shells

This is another one of our favorite recipes. I like it because it is vegetarian, so it's pretty inexpensive to make and cuts down on how much meat we eat.
It's pretty simple.
Here's what you need for a 9 x 13 pan: 26-28 jumbo pasta shells 2 boxes of frozen, chopped spinach (Thawed. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible) 4 eggs16 oz italian blend shredded cheese2 c. ricotta cheese1 1/2 jars pasta sauce

Cook the shells, run them under cool water, and place on towel to dry.

Mix together the ricotta, eggs, spinach and ital cheese. (Reserve 1/2 c. of italian cheese.)

Stuff the shells. Place in greased pan.

Pour sauce in top and sprinkle 1/2 c. reserved cheese.

 Bake, covered at 350 for 40 minutes or until heated through.

 

 

Roasting a Turkey 101

Roasting a turkey in the oven used to scare me.

The first year we were married and hosted Thanksgiving I was terrified I would mess it up! It would be too dry, not cooked through, burned, etc...

I made my 4th turkey a couple days ago and realized- turkeys don't scare me anymore!

The bonus is that if I get a 12 pounder I can make three or four meals from it. Here's how I roasted my turkey:

Thaw the turkey completely. (There are directions on the package. Usually you will want to thaw it in your fridge for 3-4 days. After it is thawed, remove the neck and giblets. Rise cavity with water and salt the interior.

(For Thanksgiving I used a bag and cooked the turkey all night. These are directions for roasting a turkey in a few hours, sans bag. I always heard that a bag made a more moist turkey, but I thought this one was very tender.) 

You'll want to put something in the cavity. I just used an onion cut into quarters. Of course you could stuff it with dressing or be creative. I've heard of people using oranges and lemons cut in half, or lime and fresh thyme.

Next I melted 2 T of butter to drizzle on top. 

Now for some spices.... I chose sage, oregano, italian seasoning, and black pepper.

 Here's what it looked like when I was done sprinkling:

Put on the lid for your roasting pan (or make a foil 'tent' to keep the turkey from getting to brown or spattering. Put in in an oven heated to 350 degrees.

I would like to say two things about this picture:

1) My name is not Louise J. The pan was a Goodwill score. ($4)

2) That is not my oven. My oven sparkles and is shiney and clean. ALWAYS.

I clean it with vinegar and baking soda everyday. Right after I run 5 miles and scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush.

Anywhoo.....

Here is the finished product!

 It was quite yummy! 

Here's what I did for meals with it:

1. Sliced turkey breast, green beans and hashbrown casserole

2. BBQ turkey sandwiches

3. Spinach salad with cut up turkey, black olives, croutons, cheddar, and onion.

4. Turkey carcass soup with dumplings.

All Dressed Up!

Here is what I wore to church today! We have had great weather, so I decided to pass on the boots today and wear a pair of flats!

 White T: Kohls

Tank: Banana Republic, thrifted

Sweater: Gordmans

Belt: Thrifted

Skirt and tights: Target

Shoes: Naturalizer

Flower pin: made by me

Linking up at:

Drab to Fab!

I am being featured today over at Sugar and Spice for Amy's 'Drab to Fab' challenge. She is encouraging ladies to find something they haven't worn for awhile and re-style it. Head over for some great inspiration!

Journaling

I have always loved to journal. My mom made me start keeping a journal when I was 10 for writing practice. (I was home schooled.) As I got older I told her I was keeping a journal of how I felt so I wouldn't be as mean to my kids as she was to me! :) It is pretty funny to go back and read some of my entries!

Apparently "See you later alligator, after while crocodile" is a natural end to a journal entry.

Here are a few gems:

(Age 10. When my mom was due with one of my sisters) "I had to got to my grandma's house cause mom started having contractions we were really excited but it was a fake."

 (Age 10.) "I did my Penny Saver route. Dad he got bit by a dog. It was a sheep dog. It made teeth marks and stuff. Cool."

(Age 12. After a bible camp) "I will miss Veronica, the piano player. She was so da-bomb (that's small talk for awesome.)"

(Age13.) I blew up at Mom and said "You always want to now (know) why, when, were, (where) and how and I'm sick of it!" That's when she grounded me. Well, just one last thing. I think __________ is the Cutest GUY in the whole world! SYS  (See you soon) Lisa (My nom de plume) 

p.s. __________ is sooooooooooo cute! :)

Mature, wasn't I? (Sorry, Mom!)

Any how.....

I haven't done as well recently with journaling, but this week I was talking to a friend who shared something she had found on Pinterest and was going to try. I really liked the idea and am going to do it myself.

It's called Peaks, pits, prayers, and praises.

Here is the journal I got to do it with:

Those 4 words are a guide to help you reflect on the day.

1. Peaks of the Day: The highlights. The good moments. Something overall positive that happened during the day. 

2. Pit of the Day: The low point of the day. But, rather than just complaining about it, see if you can find a way to look at it positively or as a blessing in disguise. 

3. Praise: Simply praising God for specific things that happened 

4. Prayers: Prayer requests that may have arose from the new day or that have been lingering. I love this idea!

Thanks for the great idea Morgan!

Family

We had our last Christmas celebration with my extended family this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun! Here are a few photos I snapped while we were together!

 My step-grandma made these for all my girl cousins and I!

(C Likes them too)

Opening gifts.

Getting dinner ready! Even the guys help!

Snuggle time with Mommy!.....

....and Daddy!

Cousins on KP!

Working hard?? :)

C and Sadie. C loved this horsie! Horses are his favorite animal right
now and he even has learned how to make the sound, complete with a head toss.

Fun times! It is such a blessing to have so much family close by!

Our Tree

You're probably thinking, "This girl is a little late on the tree post." Yes and no. Christmas is past, but I actually just put up our tree on the 27th. 

Let me explain. We have a 15 month old that is very curious and explorative (I just made up that word) and I thought that putting the tree up might be more trouble than it's worth, but he has done so well when we're at his grandparent's I decided to put it up after all. After Christmas. I've always been a bit of a rebel. My Hubby likes to leave the tree up till Valentines Day anyways, so we still have lots of time left to enjoy it. :)

Growing up I always thought our tree was kinda ugly. Lots of construction paper ornaments with glitter, macaroni, and ric rac. Not Martha Stewart-ish at all, more 'I was made by a 3 year old' chic. I loved the trees at department stores. Color coordinated and perfectly decorated.

When I got married I decided to have a themed tree. Silver, white and red. I bought little holly clusters and a variety of coordinating ornaments and a matching red star. It was quite lovely, but it meant that some of the ornaments we had from childhood (My mom bought me one every year.) didn't match. This made me a little sad, but I left them in the box. Each year I put up the themed tree I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.

This year I decided that while themed trees are pretty to look at, they don't have a lot of heart. So I hauled out the childhood ornaments (Minus a couple of real rag tag ones. :) and now have a tree that makes me smile and brings back childhood memories.

 This was an ornament from my mom the first year we got married.

 This is a vintage ornament from the 60's that was my grandma's.

 Our first Christmas.

 We got this one on our honeymoon Alaska.

 This is one of my favorites. My parent's got it for me the year I was born.

 C loves the tree! When I first turned it on his eyes just glowed!

Trying to take a bell off. :)

Happy New Year!