Dish | Healthy Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

I'm always looking for an easy meal to make on Sunday for my lunch during the work week! When I stumbled upon this recipe I was so excited because not only do red peppers last in the fridge for up to a week but they were healthy, filling, and DELICIOUS!
The dish only takes about 30 minutes to put together then 25 to bake and voila! You have a meal to last for the whole week, or freeze for later!













Ingredients
About 1 LB Ground Turkey or Ground Beef
(3) Red Bell Peppers
(2) Cups Spaghetti Sauce
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Half of a Small Yellow Onion
Salt and Pepper to Taste
(1/2) Cup Chopped Spinach
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 450.
Wash red peppers and cut around the steam to remove. Cut peppers in half, removing the seeds in the process. Once you're done with the peppers, saute the onions over medium high heat until transparent. At this point add the ground turkey and continue to cook, once the turkey is almost done cooking add the spinach, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, spinach and spaghetti sauce!
Scoop about 1/2 of a cup to a cup into each pepper and top with grated Parmesan cheese!
Bake on a foil lined baking sheet for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the Parmesan is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Mangia!

Dish | Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is just one of those desserts that never seems to get old! What's even better is how quickly this recipe comes to together, it's almost as if you were never in the kitchen in the first place! I used this recipe, which was exceedingly simple and took full advantage of one of my favorite fruits!

Ingredients
Butter or Margarine
Brown Sugar
Sliced Pineapple (I used fresh pineapple!)
Maraschino Cherries
Flour
Sugar
Shortening
Baking Powder
Milk
Egg







Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
While the oven was pre-heating I put 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch circular pan to let the butter melt. After the butter is completely melted evenly distribute 2/3 cup packed brown sugar into the pan, then place approximately 9 pineapple slices ( again I used fresh pineapple that I peeled and decored) into the sugar/ butter mixture, once this is done if you would like you can place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice!
Next mix together 1 1/3 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup shortening, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/3 teaspoon salt, 1 egg and 3/4 cup milk (you can mix it up and use buttermilk instead of regular milk if you would like too! In my case I used plain old 2% milk). I also poured some pineapple juice into the batter so that it would have a slight hint of it throughout the cake, not just on the top!
Beat in an electric mixer on slow for 30 seconds scraping the sides occasionally. Then beat again on high for about 3 minutes or until batter is creamy. Then simple pour over pineapple and sugar mixture making sure to spread evenly.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean! Once the cake is done, place a heat proof plate onto of pan and flip over. Leave the pan on top of cake for a couple of minutes so that the caramel sauce can drizzle over the cake! After all everything is better with more butter and sugar on top!!

Mangia!

Crazy for Color Blocking!

One of my favorite things about Spring is experimenting with new and fun colors in preparation for the summer! One thing I have become particularly obsessed with is bright/neon colors mixed together aka color blocking!! There are so many different ways to incorporate it into an outfit and then mix and match to create a new look!

 

 

 

What are some of your favorite colors or styles for spring?! 

Design | How to Make Your Own Headboard

About a year ago I was in the market for a new Headboard seeing as the one I currently had was given too me and was meant for a queen sized bed and I only have a double. So I started my search on Target, Overstock, Walmart and Ikea (which would have meant a drive to Charlotte and somehow figuring out how to get the headboard into my Mini). I had in my mind what I wanted, a tufted black rectangular headboard to go with my black and white sheets. After many endless Google searches I discovered I would be paying close to $300.00 if not more and even then it wouldn't look exactly like I wanted it too. So one rainy weekend I came up with the brilliant idea to make my own headboard and too my surprise it only took about an hour of crafting time!

Supplies
1 Sheet of Plywood
Quilt Batting
Fabric
Thread
Buttons
Staple Gun
Patience

1) Purchase a piece of plywood that is roughly the size of your bed, in my case I did not measure my bed correctly and spent a very long time in Home Depot with the wood department men staring at me with concern and confusion as I Googled on my Blackberry the dimensions of a Full Sized bed ( It's 52' H x 4' W). This honestly took up the most time during the whole project!

2) Cover the piece of plywood with batting, or in my case I bought bags of fake snow because it was on sale and it worked just as well! Lay the batting on the floor and lay your piece of plywood on top. Pull the batting tight to the back of the plywood and staple in place, cut off any excess batting in the back. I also stapled the batting down at random intervals so it would not move when I put the fabric on the top of it.

3) Next your going to cover the batting with your choice of fabric, I choose a solid black fabric that had some stretch too it! Just like you did with the batting lay the plywood on top of the fabric (batting side down). Pull the fabric tight so there are no ripples to the back of the plywood and staple in place with the staple gun, cutting off any excess fabric when you are done.

4) Here's the part I had the most difficulty with, the buttons! I wanted two rows with three buttons in each row so I measured everything out and made small marks on the fabric with a pencil to act as a guide. Then I took the staple gun and stapled at each marking so I would have an anchor for the thread and I could make sure the tufting was even as I went. Next take your buttons ( I used plain black buttons that had a small shin to them) and thread through the staple. I went through a couple times to make sure it was secure!

After I finished with the buttons I went back and pulled on the fabric a little to make sure that the batting was even in all places so it wouldn't look lumpy! The headboard was extremely easy to put together and now I have exactly what I have been looking for!!

Good Luck!

It's The Little Things That Make a Big Difference

Bookshelves are one of those underrated spaces but when done right and properly organized they can actually make a huge impact. This past weekend I got in the spring cleaning/organization mode and decided to tackle my small bookshelf in my room.
Here are a few things to make the space feel more personal, unique and functional!

• Include Pictures and Special Pieces- Since my walls are cream colored and the bookshelf is white I picked picture frames that had color or detail so they would pop more.
• Keep books on a tilt or even lay them on their side, it creates different angles and everything doesn't look so uniform.
• Group similar items together, it makes things easier to find and is aesthetically pleasing!
• Always throw in a pop of color when you can!

Dish | Southern Style Shrimp and Grit

Shrimp and Grits has always been one of those dishes that I've been skeptical about. I think it was more so the grits part then the shrimp part, I just wasn't really a fan of their consistency! However, after moving down to the South where it's a commonly loved dish I couldn't avoid it for long. Throw some shrimp into the mix and I feel head over heels in love! Some may say last summer I developed an obsession since it was all I would order when I went to a restaurant. Below is a recipe I adapted from my Dad, the true food connoisseur!











Ingredients
Grits (I used the prepackaged Cheese Grits from Motts Channel in Wrightsville Beach)
Milk
Heavy Cream
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
Salt
Pepper
1 Medium Onion Chopped
Bacon- yum bacon!
Parmesan Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
and of course Shrimp (also from Motts Channel)!

Directions
Shell and De-vein shrimp- set aside
Cook bacon (the amount is really based on preference) and set aside. Put about a tablespoon of the bacon grease in a saute pan and throw in the chopped onion and garlic, cook until light brown. Add milk and heavy cream and bring to a slow boil, add grits slowly while stirring. Cook approximately 20 minutes or until thick, add cheese and a little bit of butter (I added a little dash of Creole Seasoning too). Cook and add a little more milk if it gets too dry. Cook shrimp in the same pan as the bacon grease with a little butter, I sauteed some tomatoes with the shrimp since I have a tendency to add them to everything.
Combine the bacon with the grits and top off with the shrimp and tomato mixture!

Mangia!

Dish | Risotto Macaroni and Cheese

The other night I had huge craving for Mac and Cheese and Kraft was just not going to cut it. I used the recipe below and decided to mix it up a little by switching out the regular old elbow macaroni with orzo. It gave it more of a velvety rice taste in a decadent sauce. My tastes have changes a lot since childhood but comfort food never seems to fail.
Enjoy!












Ingredients
Orzo Pasta (small rice shaped pasta)
Shallots
Garlic
Chicken Stock
Water
Heavy Cream
Parmesan Cheese
Fontina Cheese
Butter
Salt
White Pepper


Directions
In a frying pan heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil, add t tablespoons of minced shallots, 1 tablespoons minced garlic and let brown a little. Add the orzo pasta and lightly brown, add 2 cups of heated chicken stock and cook until the pasta is al dente (Add extra stock if the liquid is very low and the pasta is not done).
Add the Parmesan and Fontina cheese, stir until the sauce is creamy. Finish it off with a little heavy cream and of course butter (let's be honest-everything tastes better with butter!) Then just salt and pepper to taste!

Mangia!