As we wind down the year, I think we should go out with a bang, don’t you? I mean, we should totally be introspective and figure out our intentions/resolutions for 2016, but we should also eat doughnuts with champagne while doing so. I teamed up with Pier 1 again to show you how I transitioned some of my Christmas decorations into a simple/elegant NYE party.
You guys ready for the Christmas holiday? I still have a ton to do. One of the most important things on my plate is finalizing what we’re having for Christmas dinner (I’m hosting!). I came up with this Turkey Cranberry Meatball recipe as a way to use cranberry sauce leftovers we had in the fridge. I loved how they turned out and I wanted to share them with you!
These turkey meatballs have cranberry sauce, kale & sage throughout. For the breadcrumb base, I took two slices of toasted Dave’s Killer Bread (in Good Seed)(non GMO & Organic!) and ground them up in my mini food processor. It’s a simple way to make breadcrumbs if you find yourself in a pinch.
We take the baked meatballs, poke little cocktail sticks through them and serve them with additional cranberry sauce. It’s like bite-sized Thanksgiving bites! I went through the batch super fast in my household. Instant hit!
Here’s what My Everyday Life- Week 51 looked like:
My friend Lisa & I went to Petaluma + Sonoma for a night.
We ate at The Girl and the Fig for dinner.
My drink looked like Pac-Man.
We spent the day on an adventure.
It was the perfect way to unwind before the big holiday.
Playing cards by the fire at El Dorado.
A morning of pampering at the Fairmont.
Inspired by design.
Next time we’ll go to Sack’s when it’s open!
Leaf pile.
Stopping on the side of the road for treasures.
Rain.
Checking out all the antique stores.
Brunch at Topsy’s Kitchen was amazing.
I want this.
I FOUND IT.
Welcome to I Love Lists, Friday! Let’s surf the internet together:
This made me laugh:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/883032
Sweet & Savory is my love language. Mix sweets with pretzels and I’m all yours. Don’t get me started on Take 5 Bars. They’re one of my gateway drugs. I had a hard time deciding if I wanted a sweet or savory snack yesterday so I chose both with these Chocolate Dipped Pretzels. I melted 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave and proceeded to dunk pretzel halves into the chocolate. Since I was thinking about Cooper and what would make him excited about his afternoon snack, I added sprinkles. Excuse me while I put one on top of a spoonful of peanut butter….
To see more of my Thursday Snack Ideas, follow my Pinterest Board!
Life is all about managing expectations. After many years of doing this whole Christmas thing, I can say with confidence that things are bound to go wrong. Last year I had a whole slew of packages stolen from our mailbox and spent hours on the phone with Amazon. This year, I rushed our holiday cards to our house, paying extra for the service and they came to our house looking perfect, except that our cards were from The Hudson Family, instead of the Benjamin Family. The situation got itself worked out. Cards come later this week and I have to rework my calendar & my expectations. It’s cool though, we have it covered. I knew something would go wrong, but my reaction to these things has changed.
I’m all about making the holidays easier. I don’t have time to pull butter out to let it soften to room temperature. I don’t have the patience to scoop out cookies on a baking sheet. But I DO love being in the kitchen baking during the holidays and I DO have the time for one bowl recipes that require melted butter, no mixer and bit of oven time. I can totally make time to cut blondies into squares and eat a few while I’m at it….
These Coconut Blondies are quite exceptional and they really don’t take much time to execute. If you’re a fan of German Chocolate Cake, these blondies will satisfy you. They’re a cross between a cookie, a bar, a macaroon and they’re so buttery they almost taste like baklava. When your cards come late and when your packages get stolen, at least you can make some blondies. Life is sweet, you just have to make it that way.
When the weather changes, I change my bourbon mixers. I go from a ginger beer/lime/bourbon flavor profile in the summer to a herbaceous/bourbon/pomegranate situation in the winter. Sometimes I go the cranberry route, but I’m on a pomegranate bender right now.
I took the idea of a Manhattan and made a few little tweaks. Instead of using bitters, I used unsweetened pomegranate juice so we have a nice bitter tang with a little fruit. We bring in an herbal notes with the rosemary simple syrup. The best part is that you can make it as sweet or as bitter as you want depending on your syrup ratios. Or just add a few dashes of bitters. It’s your life. LIVE IT. Add some ice to a martini shaker, get out a few coupe glasses, garnish with rosemary sprigs and let’s get this party started. Now…what are we going to snack on? Please say these.
