Friday, October 8, 2010

Wedding Weekend

This is a big weekend for the Mason family. Matt's sister Britton is getting married! I am so excited about all the festivities, I really do love a wedding! Today is the bridesmaid luncheon and rehearsal dinner. Tomorrow they will get married at a beautiful old church downtown and then the reception is at the Yacht Club. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous! I can't wait to see all our friends and especially my parents, brother and sister!

Britton asked me to do the flowers for her bridesmaid luncheon. Here is a peak at the arrangements I did. I love white flowers, can't get enough of them. I actually did all white flowers at my wedding, so I thought they would be beautiful and classic for her luncheon.




This is gonna be a whirlwind weekend. Pictures to come next week! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs



My friend Katie has been raving about these meatballs for a long time. She frequently cooks them for dinner and then she and her husband eat the leftovers as a meatball hoagie the next day. I was inspired, they sounded delicious and honestly I have never made meatballs before, although I have eaten plenty of them. This recipe did not disappoint! The meatballs are amazing, we ate them two nights in a row. Matt preferred his over spaghetti noodles but I just ate mine plain because they had so much flavor! This recipe is so tasty and simple to make.

I've been getting alot of great feedback about my recipes so I am thinking about starting to feature recipes twice a week. This will give me incentive to cook more and try out some new recipes! Send me any suggestions of recipes you would love to see.

Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
1 small onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground dark turkey meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, or store-bought marinara sauce

Directions
Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.
** I used light turkey meat and store bought marinara**

Print this Recipe HERE

Monday, October 4, 2010

Hoarding is Bad

There is a hoarder in my family, my sister. It is so bad she has saved clothes from at least 10 years ago. I was astonished when I went to her house this weekend while I was home at how much junk she had! I told her if she didn't clean up her act I was turning her into the TLC Hoarders Show. So my parents and I vowed to help her get a start on cleaning out her closets. I wish we had taken a before picture, but it totally slipped our minds. However, I think you will get an idea of how bad it was by the amount of stuff we cleaned out. Here are a few pictures of her closet afterwards. This is her business closet, all her work clothes. We switched out all the hangers to the velvet ones, which are awesome. They made it look so much more organized and gave her more room. We still have 3 more closets to go but at least one is done!



and here all are all the bags of clothes we cleaned out from one closet, I think you get the idea of how bad it was. Goodwill got very lucky with this donation!

Friday, October 1, 2010

TGIF

Today I am headed home to Charlotte to spend a few much needed days with my family, host a baby shower for my dear friend Melissa, and get my hair highlighted. I can't wait! I love spending time with my family, which equals help with Sterling and I also love seeing all my girlfriends that still live there! Most importantly I love getting my hair done! I love me some blonde hair! I really need to find someone local to do my hair instead of driving to Charlotte, but I just really like my hairdresser and it makes me nervous to try someone new!

Tonight my mom, my sister and I are having girls night. We got a neighborhood girl to come babysit Sterling and we are going to enjoy some wine and sushi!

Then Saturday I will be hosting my friend, Melissa's baby shower, then a night out with the girls! I can't wait! I hope ya'll have a fabulous weekend too!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Turkey Enchiladas




I have quite the obsession with Mexican food. I could eat it literally everyday and never get sick of it! I mean tacos, nachos, burritos, enchiladas- there are so many tasty varieties. My mom swears she craved Mexican food big time when she was pregnant with me, so maybe that has something to do with my immense love for it! Lucky for me the hubs loves it just as much as me! This recipe is a family recipe that is delicious! You have to try this if you love Mexican food. It is a healthier version too with turkey instead of ground beef. I also use light sour cream, 2 percent cheese and whole wheat tortillas to make it even healthier!

TURKEY ENCHILADAS
-3/4 CUP CHOPPED BELL PEPPER
-1/2 CHOPPED ONION
-1/4 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
-3/4 TSP GROUND CORIANDER
-2 1/2 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH
-1 CUP SHREDDED SHARP CHEESE, PLUS EXTRA FOR SPRINKLING OVER THE TOP
-1 CUP SOUR CREAM
-3 CUPS CHOPPED GROUND TURKEY, COOKED
-1/2 CUP SALSA
-8 6 INCH TORTILLAS

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES. SPRAY PAM IN A 9X13 DISH. HEAT A PAN WITH OLIVE OIL UNTIL HOT, ADD BELL PEPPER AND ONION AND SAUTE ABOUT 5 MINUTES. IN A MEDIUM BOWL COMBINE FLOUR, CORIANDER, AND GRADUALLY MIX IN BROTH. ADD THIS MIXTURE TO THE BELL PEPPERS AND ONIONS. BRING TO A BOIL AND COOK 3 MINUTES OR UNTIL THICK, STIRRING FREQUENTLY. REMOVE FROM HEAT AND STIR IN CHEESE AND SOUR CREAM. IN A LARGE BOWL COMBINE 1 CUP CHEESE MIXTURE, COOKED TURKEY AND SALSA. DIVIDE TURKEY MIXTURE AND SPREAD INTO EACH TORTILLA AND ROLL. PLACE IN DISH. POUR REMAINING CHEESE SAUCE OVER TOP. SPRINKLE EXTRA CHEDDAR CHEESE OVER TOP. BAKE 30 MINUTES OR UNTIL IT IS BUBBLY.

WE GARNISH OURS WITH FRESH DICED JALAPENOS.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Its a Jungle Out There

Yesterday was the first day we had an actual hint of coolness to the air here. It got me all excited about fall, which made me think about my fall wardrobe. Animal prints are everywhere this season and I would love a few pieces to spice up my wardrobe! Last year my mom talked me into buying a leopard print Tory Burch Clutch that was on sale. I hesitated because I wondered if I would really use it, but now I am so glad I have it! Here is a picture of my clutch, Love the chain straps and love the leopard. My mom was right it really is a great purse. Now I only need a night out on the town to carry this baby!


Here are a few of my other favorites, that I'm hoping Santa might bring me!

Rebecca Taylor Spot on Dress $195

Rebecca Taylor Meow Dress $350

Yarnz Leopard Scarf $170

Rebecca Taylor Zip Front Hoodie $395

Tory Burch Julianne Leopard Wedge $325

I found two great cheap versions at Forever 21. I'm not sure what they would like in person but they look cute online!

Forever 21 Tunic $19.50

Forever 21 Metallic Leopard Top $14.80

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Men


I think my husband is pretty smart, funny and fabulous but sometimes he says things that stop me in my tracks. I don't know wheter to laugh or be pissed off! Here are a few of his recent comments.

- Sterling is like a pet but we made him
- if you keep asking me if you look fat, I'm going to start thinking you are fat
- I can't empty the dishwasher because of a certain appendage between my legs
- I'm not in the mood to hold Sterling, I just want to look at him
- If there ain't meat in it, I don't want it for dinner
and last but not least from last night
- You are 30 years old should you really be watching 90210?

Gotta love him right?