Another quick one

There's always some ground turkey in my freezer. It's great to have around for when you want something quick. I use it for chilis, burgers, tacos, and quick meatballs. These only take about 10 minutes in the oven, just enough time to mash some potatoes.

And in that vein - I tried a new recipe for mashed potatoes. Normally I mash together buttermilk, butter, potatoes, and garlic. On my cooking board, a lot of people substitute cream cheese for my buttermilk. I thought I would try it. I will never do that again. The cream cheese gave the potatoes an unpleasant plasticy consistency. You can kinda see that in the "shine" of the potatoes in the picture.

Turkey meatballs

3/4 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 minced red onion
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat oven to 400
2) In medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Using tablespoon, form turkey mixture into balls.
3) Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake 10 minutes until cooked through.
Serves 2.
Each serving has:

Calories		378.5
Total Fat		19.2 g
Cholesterol		228.0 mg
Sodium		399.9 mg
Potassium		397.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate		11.8 g
Protein		37.2 g

Move over Rachael Ray

This was the week of the 10 minute dinner for me. I've just been so busy I've needed to come up with things that were quick. Those included such treats as an openfaced grilled chicken sandwhich - which surprising Jon raved about. Nice to know that quick doesn't have to equal boring.

Growing up we did english muffin pizzas. They were quick and they were tasty, but they were also messy and small. You ended up eating more than a normal pizza because they were gone so quickly. Flipping through magazines I saw a recipe for pizza made with pitas and thought they would make a much better (and dare I say more gourmet) substitution for english muffins.

Pita Pizza

4 pitas
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1) Heat oven to 400
2) Place pita directly on rack in heated oven for 2 minutes
3) Remove from oven and place on clean work surface
4) Evenly divide artichokes, olives and parmesan among tops of pitas
5) Sprinkle with fresh thyme
6) Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Serves 2.
Each serving has:

Calories		479.2
Total Fat		9.6 g
Cholesterol		9.9 mg
Sodium		1,191.5 mg
Potassium		480.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		79.5 g
Protein		19.5 g

January Decor

So one of my New Years resolutions was to do a better job of decorating the home so it becomes a place I really enjoy coming home to. My home already has a lot going for it, because when I come home I'm always greeted by a wagging tail and some happy kisses. And Ringo's there too.

Bascially this new "design on a dime" theory focuses on two main areas, the dining room, and the living room (although I did score a billion rubber duckies in all colors of the rainbow for seasonal bathroom accents - but really, do you want to see pictures of a bathroom?)

We'll start with the dining area.


How cute is my new table setting? I love it and everytime I look at it, it makes me happy. It's also caused us to have more meals at the table and less on the coffee table because this arrangement keeps the table from becoming "the place we throw junk." I used a tablecloth I already had - one that desparately needs to be ironed. as well as champagne glasses we already had. I used two different sets because we don't have a set of four. I don't know how I feel about this to tell you the truth, because all our glasses have special "memories" behind them. On the table are our toasting glasses from our wedding, and glasses from my sorority formal.
I picked up the white napkins from C&B (I love C&B) and the silver napkin rings were only $.25 at Bed Bath and Beyond! For some added sparkle, I tied some tinsel around the bases of the glasses.

After Christmas shopping is the best. I got the silver chargers from Target for less than $2 (and that's for 4 of them) and the plates from Target for $3 (again for 4). I love the snowflake design and the platinum band (even if its not real platinum)



Closeup of the centerpiece - the inspiration for this whole thing were the disco ball ornaments I found at Urban Outfitters (another after Christmas steal). I love that they serve double duty and are going to add some fun to our tree next year. I filled some votive holders and a bud vase (Michaels) with tinsel from Target ($.12) and wrapped some garland around the whole thing. Garland was also from Target and I had enough for both table centerpieces as well as the glasses for about a buck.


In the living room I used a vase we already had and filled it with some garland and silver leave things (the technical decorating term), also from Target. Seriously, I love after Christmas sales. I was also able to pick up the square votive candle holders with silver candles from Z Gallerie for half off! The candles were a must after Jon and I noticed the amazing glow the centerpiece gave off when lit from below by a gift from a coworker.

Perfect Panty Candidate 10

Did I mention the new Red Mango by my workplace? It makes me very very very happy. It's also right beside Fredericks of Hollywood. I was never a huge fan of Fredericks, finding it a bit more trashy than VS. Of course, then VS started selling crotchless underwear and now all bets are off.

Couldn't hurt to check it out, right?
I grabbed a $6 thong and was on my way. It's great because its seamless and cotton which makes it very comfortable. Really comfortable. As comfortable as the DKNY - and for those of you who don't like strings, this is the thong for you. No crawl, AND Jon thinks its just as cute as the Hanky Panky. And its a lot cheaper!

Day at the Beach

We had a special visit last Saturday from two of my favorite people - Abby and Andy. The A's are getting married later this year, so we wanted to plan a time to get together before things got too crazy. They made the drive ALL the way down from LA to see us, and I'm so glad they did.

We hadn't seen either of them since their engagement party, and really didn't get a good chance to talk to them because, well, it was their party. So much is going on in their lives, it was nice to catch up. The A's just bought a condo and we're trying to talk them into a dog - after the wedding of course.

The great thing about hanging out with the A's is that its so comfortable. They're a couple we both know so well and we're friends with each individually so conversations drift between the four of us moving from one to the other. It's a unique situation that I love.

We spent the day giving Abby a tour of South Orange County. We had a lovely lunch at Chaparosa Grill. Chaparosa is a "Caribbean" restaurant, which is not always reflected by the menu. I prefer to think of it as more of an eclectic little gem. The first time we dined there, my cousin had Asian Nachoes made with won tons, thai chicken, cheese, and peanuts (explain to me how that's caribbean?). This time we enjoyed salads and sandwiches, which they do an excellent job of. Abby and I split a spinach salad with cranberries and walnuts and a each had sandwich. She had a cranberry turkey, and I had a turkey avocado. Andy also had the turkey avocado. Jon actually went Caribbean with the spicy jambalaya. All the dishes were excellent and there was a lot of passed forks, the sign of true friendship.

We then brought the A's down to Dana Point to see the harbor as Abby grilled me about the ever important topics of "The Hills" and "When we're going to have a kid." I love when friends ask that question because I can turn it around completely. "I could ask you the same thing." We then moved north to Salt Creek Beach, one of our favorites. As soon as we got to the beach, the fog moved in which was creepy and cool at the same time, and made for great photos.

A day at the beach should always end with seafood. And something simple like shrimp and orzo is thrown together in a matter of minutes.

Simple Shrimp

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 1/2 pounds shrimp
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1) Combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add shrimp. Seal bag, and shake to coat.
2) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
3) Add wine and vinegar to pan; cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring with a whisk. Stir in shrimp; remove from heat.
Serves 4.
Each serving has:

Calories		267.9
Total Fat		5.3 g
Cholesterol		258.4 mg
Sodium		544.5 mg
Potassium		342.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		14.1 g
Protein		36.2 g

Perfect Panty Candidate 9

I'm a researcher by nature. Science, history, law, I love the researching aspect of it. So when it came to underwear, you'd better bet I did some major research.

And the #1 recommended underwear is hanky panky's thong. In the spirit of science, I shelled out $18 at Nordstroms for a pair.

These are one size fits all - which right away raises some eyebrows. But, its true. They did fit. The stretchy material just stretches to fit which makes the lace more or less close knit. I do have to say, these are my sexiest new underwear. I absolutely adore the way they look. The dip in the top of the back is complemented by the curve of the bottom of the waistband.

I would love to say the feel was just as good as the look, but it wasn't. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as the DKNYs. They even began the dreaded crawl. Sigh. I guess these are "for show" panties only.

But it's not even Thanksgiving!

I love turkey. It's my favorite of the fowls, and I'll eat it more than the once a year where it becomes the guest of honor. I especially love buying turkey breasts because they take less time to cook, and they're all white meat! Bonus.

For Thanksgiving, nothing beats mom's traditional turkey, but if I'm eating Turkey on a Tuesday - or any other day of the week, I like to play around a bit. I was listening to the call screener on my favorite radio show talking about how he broiled his turkey for Thanksgiving by accident and it gave me a great idea - broiled turkey!

Keep an eye on this baby or it'll be a charred mess. But with constant supervision, it turns out delish!

Orange-Pomegranate Broiled Turkey

1 clove garlic
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/8 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp pepper
1/8 cup olive oil
boneless, skinless, turkey breast

1) Smash garlic, sprinkle with salt, and let stand 5 minutes.
2) Mash into paste, place in bowl. Add juices, vinegar, honey, chopped rosemary, and pepper. Whisk in oil.
3) Divide mixture. Reserve half. Place other half in ziplock bag with turkey and refrigerate overnight.
4) Heat broiler and place broiler pan 4" from heat source.
5) Season turkey with salt and pepper. Broil turkey, basting with remaining marinade about 45 minutes. Let breast stand 15 minutes before cutting.
Serves 4.
Each serving has:

Calories		127.8
Total Fat		7.4 g
Cholesterol		11.8 mg
Sodium		1,133.9 mg
Potassium		159.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		11.0 g
Protein		5.2 g