Veggie Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

My friend Erin has been raving about this recipe from Skinny Taste for weeks now.   I finally got my act together and made it (and in my toaster oven no less) this week.  If you are not familiar with Skinny Taste she has some really awesome healthy recipes and a killer cookbook.  I have cooked several of her recipes before and they are always delicious.  These were fairly simple to make and can easily be made ahead of time.  I made the filling and stuffed all the mushrooms during the day then at dinnertime all I had to do was pop them in the oven or toaster oven which I am still rocking.  Good news our gas line was run yesterday and after the city approves it we can install our new oven later this week.  The toaster oven has served me well but I am so ready to have an oven again!   

Back to the stuffed mushrooms, they are full of so much flavor and they really do taste like lasagna! 

The kids thought they tasted like pizza which is always a good thing.  Frances loved them, Sterling was so sure about the mushroom part.  I would imagine if you wanted to add meat ground beef would be delicious since they are a take on lasagna.  I served ours with Ina Garten's Parmesan broccoli and it was a really filling meat free meal.

Enjoy!

|| V E G G I E   L A S A G N A  S T U F F E D  P O R T O B E L L O  M U S H R O O M S ||

adapted via Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 loose cups baby spinach, chopped
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1/3 cup chopped onion ( I used 1/2 large white onion)
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper ( I used a whole red bell pepper)
• kosher salt
• 3/4 cup part skim ricotta
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 4 large basil leaves, chopped
• 4 large portobella mushroom caps
• 1 cup marinara sauce ( I used Raos our favorite)
• 1 cup part skim shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I added this in because I like a touch of heat)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with oil. Gently remove the stems, scoop out the gills and spray the tops of the mushrooms with oil, season with 1/8 tsp salt and fresh pepper.

Heat a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, add oil, onion, garlic and red pepper and season with 1/8 tsp salt. Cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the baby spinach and red pepper flakes and saute until wilted, about 1 minute.

In a medium bowl add the ricotta, parmesan cheese and egg, mix well. Add the cooked vegetables and basil and mix. Stuff the mushrooms with ricotta mixture and top each with 2 tbsp marinara, 2 tbsp mozzarella.

Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with basil and enjoy!

Versatile Outfit Ideas For Now and Later | His and Hers

As much as I like to dream about warmer days and resort wear it is nice to have some pieces you can wear now and later.   I wanted to share a few ideas for the men and us ladies too!

Matt Outfit Details 

Peter Millar Sweater | Peter Millar Buttton-up | Levis  (aka Dad Jeans)| Sperry Boat shoe

Natalie Outfit Details

Equipment Dress | Kendra Scott Necklace | Nude Pumps  similar| Sunglasses | Kate Spade Studs

 

The weather in Charleston has been so crazy lately cold and rainy one day and then warm a few days later. Both of our outfits are great because because you can wear pieces alone or layered up for cooler temps. 

I don't feature Matt on here often but sometimes it is nice to get ideas for the men.  As I have mentioned before Matt is not very into fashion and being trendy but he does like classic clothes and ones that can work both for work and the weekend.  

a close up look at the plaid, I love the color combination.

Matt's Peter Millar shirt is great for work under a suit or paired with jeans for a more causal look. Nordstrom carries a great selection of the Peter Millar Dress shirts.

Matt prefers the regular fit shirt style with the button down collar.   These make great gifts for men too.

It is also available in 3 solid colors and a twill check.

and I love this pattern too.

The sweater is made out of a linen/wool blend and super light weight.  It is awesome for layering over a button up or alone.  It makes for nice light weight outerwear for this time of the year.  I love the classic navy stripes. 

I own this Equipment Dress in two other patterns.  It is the perfect versatile dress.  It looks cute with flats and heels.  The sleeve length is perfect for year round.  I love this navy pattern so much, I actually bought this blouse in the white version as well.  

Sizing wise Equipment dresses are pretty TTS.  I am wearing a small.

The Kendra Scott Necklace is another favorite I wear year round, it looks good with everything!

We had to have a little fun with our photo shoot:)

You can shop our looks below:

Thanks to Nordstrom for partnering on this post!

Scenes From Our Weekend

The weather here was so nice all weekend.  It made me excited for Spring and spending more time outdoors.  Vitamin D is good for the soul,  I swear I felt happier just having some warm weather and the sun!  My parents got in town Thursday and my sister and brother in law got here yesterday so we had lots of family time!

Thursday night I went to a party at Finicky Filly celebrating The Brown Box Club. Then afterwards we had dinner at Muse.

Rebecca Taylor Blouse | McGuire Jeans | Vince Pumps | Julie vos Ring | Dina Mackney Necklace

Friday my mom and I ran some errands- aka shopped at TJMaxx and Homegoods and then we had a small family birthday celebration for Sterling.  I made Feta Artichoke dip one of my favorites.

I mentioned before that my next door neighbors frequently take my pictures for my blog- if you need photos they are awesome to work with!  They stopped by to wish Sterling a Happy Birthday Friday.  This is Gary marveling over my giant rose pour and Rick with Frances. I could not ask for better neighbors! You can check out their photography site here.

Saturday night we went out to dinner with some of our favorite couples.  Our friends booked all 16 seats at R Kitchen and we had the best time.

I am kind of obsessed with the white blouse I am wearing.  I like that it is off shoulder but with straps and I love the detail around the top. I am wearing a size small for sizing reference.

Rebecca Minkoff Blouse (also in stock here)| Green Necklace | Jeans | Vince Pumps | Alesya Clutch

The dishes at R Kitchen are always so fresh and innovative. This was my second time dining here and I loved every single dish again.   This sashimi was made with fish caught earlier that day.

We had a blast.  I love the intimate atmosphere.  The perfect spot to catch up with our friends. 

Sunday we spent the day with my sister and my nephews.  I love getting my newborn fix with Rutledge:) As you can tell Frances hates it when I hold another baby, she gets so jealous.  She likes to be the baby:)

I am wearing an Equipment Dress, I will be featuring it tomorrow on the blog, along with some looks for the guys too!

Today only Beauty Counter is offering a free angled brush with any purchase of their blush duos.  The angled brush is awesome for applying bronzers and blush. 

I love the Tawny/Whisper Duo it is the perfect bronzer/highlighter! 

  

I have mentioned on here before how much I love my Essential oils.  Well for the month of February they are offering 10% off all starter kits.  If you are thinking about trying the oils it is a great time to and take advantage of the discount.  With all the germs and viruses going around I have been running our diffuser like crazy!  If you are interested you can email my friend Nicola neej29@hotmail.com.  She is a nurse and also a rep for YL Oils.

I also wanted to share one of my favorite Clover Canyon prints was just reduced to 40%.   I have the long sleeve dress in this same print which is now sold out but love these two versions.

Dress | Blouse

Have a great Monday!

Our New 4Sleep Mattress + Giveaway

When Matt and I first got married we had a queen size bed, we quickly realized we needed and wanted a king size bed.  When his parents decided to move down here they gave us their old king bed which was so generous and nice.  Problem was it was already fairly old.   We used it for probably 5 years and then Matt started having back problems.  His chiropractor even suggested a new mattress to help with some of us back pain.  

Enter 4Sleep, when they offered to give us a mattress to try out we were both beyond excited.  As adults it's the little things that make you happy like a new mattress.  I was a little uncertain about this mattress as it arrives folded up in a box.  I was like how can a full size mattress fit in this small box, but it does.  

It arrived and we eagerly took it out of the box.  Here are a few pictures of what it looked like inside and as we pulled it out.

I love the pattern on the fabric.  

I think Matt has been the most excited of all.  As soon as we put the mattress down he had to test it out.  Then he said he might never get up.

You can see from the side angle how thick and plush this mattress is.

A few facts about 4Sleep Mattresses

- They are made with four 11 inches memory foam layers

- Every mattress comes with a 10 year warranty

- Free fed ex shipping

- 100 days return policy.  You can try your mattress out for 100 days and if you don't love it,  they will take it back. 

I also found their prices were way less than many other memory foam mattress companies.   All the mattresses are under $1000.

Within a few nights of sleeping on our mattress Matt and I were in heaven.  I swear I get excited to get in bed.  The mattress is plush but offers support at the same time.  If one person moves the other side of the mattress stays still.  It has also helped Matt's lower back pain.  Plus it is so comfortable!!

With our old mattress I had to use a thick mattress cover and pillow top insert and it still wasn't comfortable.  I would get in bed and it would still just feel hard.  With the 4Sleep Mattress I use nothing.  I climb into bed and it feels so soft yet still offers support at the same time.    My body just melts into the mattress- pure heaven I tell you!

Now the exciting part!  4Sleep is letting me giveaway one free mattress in the size of your choice!  Just follow me on instagram (@snoopnattynat)  to see how to win!  

Right now there is also a promo that ends tonight at midnight.  Use code 4SLEEP4PRES and you can take $100 off any mattress order.

The kids love it too!  They always want to get in our "comfy" bed now.  It truly is a family bed!

A huge thank you to 4Sleep for our new mattress and for partnering on this giveaway! 

Sweet Dreams indeed!

Real Life Confessions

Today I wanted to share a few real life thoughts.  We all like to look at pretty clothes and good food but sometimes you just gotta keep it real.  

- We have officially hit the Terrible 2's with Frances I am talking about full on tantrums in public  and often.  If you tell Frances no she does not like it.  She flings herself on the floor and screams.  Then when I try to pick her up she stiffens up her body so it is hard for me to lift her, it's beyond embarrassing.  This was taken after I told her it was too cold to wear her bathing suit- I am clearly such a mean mom.

- I have been going to Barre class regularly for about 6 weeks.  Before I started barre I was certain I was fairly fit.  I run and walk and I am fairly active.  I was so wrong.  I got to class and could not physically lift myself off the ground to do a sit-up.  My ab muscles were shot.  I saw 60 year old ladies pumping out sit-ups and I could not do one.  I am slowly making progress but damn its hard.

-Then the downside to exercising more often, is I am hungry all the time.  I am not losing weight because I am eating more.   

- Sterling's new favorite word is poop.  Drives me nuts

- Speaking of poop every time we go into a nice store he has to poop.  It never fails,  my mom and I joke about it now.  As soon as we walk in he has to go and can't hold it and of course it always smells horrible and takes him forever. 

- Both of my kids have suddenly turned into the pickiest eaters.  All they want to eat is pimento cheese, applesauce and oranges.  It frustrates me to no end they won't try what I cook.

- Instead of showing her belly Frances is now obsessed with showing her "hiney." This should bode well for her collage days.  

- Every single morning Frances checks to see if I have underwear on.  As soon as I lift her out of her crib she lifts up my robe and says "mommy have gina, mommy wears panties. " I have no idea why but she likes to make sure mommy is covered up- haha

-  Our oven has been broken for about a month.  We have a new one but didn't realize what long process it was to have gas run to our house since we didn't have an existing gas line before.   We have been using our toaster oven to cook the majority of our meals and I have to say you really can cook almost anything in a toaster oven!  I miss my oven though and can't wait to get the new installed hopefully next week.  Maybe Sonja Morgan was onto something with her toaster oven line:)

- My kids think seltzer water is coke.  I think maybe because it is carbonated like coke they think it is the same.  I love it they ask for a coke and I give them a seltzer and they are happy.

- It never fails as soon as I get on the phone both of the kids start having a total melt down.  They can be outside or back in their bedrooms but I swear they sense when I am on the phone and come in just to bother me. I was having a conference call the other day and Frances screamed the entire time.  I actually had to go outside to talk and watched her scream through the window. 

- 90% of the time my car looks like a homeless person lives inside.  There is always crushed food, papers, and toys everywhere.  That is until my parents come to town.  I always vacuum it before my parents come  because at the ripe old age of 35 I still don't want them judging me because my car is dirty.  When they are not in town it is a hot mess.

- My past two shellac manicures I have peeled the nail polish off every single nail.  I have no patience to wait to have it removed and strangely I like the satisfaction of peeling it off- so weird I know.  

- Last night I rode in an Uber that smelled like rotten eggs, at first I thought it was the sewer but alas I think the driver had horrible gas.  It was so bad.

- I yell at my kids more than I wish I did

- I am addicted to my phone.  I can't go to bed or wake up without immediately grabbing it and checking emails and scrolling instagram.  It is a horrible habit.

- The other day we had cashier whose gender was questionable and Sterling loudly goes " is that a girl or a boy I can't tell."  I wasn't totally sure so I just tried to pretend like I didn't hear it.  I love when kids say embarrassing things.  

- Frances beats up Sterling every single day.  I had no idea a 2 year old could make a 6 year old cry so much but it happens several times a day.  It is like a role reversal.  I try to tell Sterling to toughen up and Frances to be nicer:)

- I love to throw away toys when the kids are not looking.  I am always finding random pieces that go to who knows what and I immediately chunk them.

- I came home to this scene the other night after Matt watched the kids while I was at Supper Club.  He was "too tired" to clean up.  He promised he would clean it the next day but I am too OCD and had to clean it all immediately. 

- I turn 36 in a few weeks and I am not gonna lie starting to be in the upper 30's is starting to freak me out.  All I notice now are my wrinkles and fine lines.

Have a fabulous weekend!