Martha Stewart | Sprinkled with Love

November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

I had two Thanksgiving dinners this year. One on the actual holiday and my second was last night. I’m still stuffed…can’t wait to get some cardio in today!

After a seasonably warm morning run, Mike and I headed to his sister’s new home Thursday. It was a great opportunity for Heidi and her fiancé, George, to get both sides of the family together before their quickly approaching wedding (yay!) to celebrate all that we are thankful for. From food to holiday decor, their first Thanksgiving was quite a success. I need to get my hands on their turkey chili recipe…

I was asked to bring an appetizer and made this incredibly easy Endive Spears with White Bean Radicchio Salad. I also whipped up a wonderful harvest salad filled with walnuts, apples, roasted squash and goat cheese, which I stupidly forgot to take a picture of. Prepare yourself for a post on that later this week! It was tasty so I don’t mind recreating it to share with you all!

How cute is this pin board Heidi made to display what we’re thankful for this year? She’s so crafty.

The table arrangement was also handmade by the little Martha Stewart. So colorful and festive! I loved the candle holders and flower vases she made out of different jars, which were wrapped in burlap and tied with twine. Heidi also framed a menu and displayed it in the kitchen for her guests to check out.

On Friday, my sister and I suited up and hit the ice with our high school’s varsity hockey team. Boy, have I missed skating. It was great to see my favorite coach, help him out with instructing new skaters and, of course, get a workout in all at the same time. I’m STILL in pain from the sprints he made us do! After we got home, I quickly showered and got ready for the boyf’s premiere of Tiger Pride: The Story of Hand Football. I was (and still am) very proud of Mike and to see all his hard work pay off was truly rewarding. I wish I was able to snap a picture of us but he was running around like a crazy person and I was manning DVD sales. Oh well. Check out more information on his documentary and watch trailers here!

Moving on to last night…Thanksgiving round 2 with my family. I made my favorite side dish of baked veggies (parsnips, onions, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, beets and butternut squash) drizzled in olive oil with minced garlic and fresh thyme. I’m already looking forward to leftovers today!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Guess what’s next? CHRISTMAS! Well, my 22nd birthday and THEN Christmas. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I’ve been blasting Christmas music somewhat secretly since before Halloween so I am already in the spirit. Are you? I will be spending my winter break in NYC this year and am absolutely elated.
What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Any recipes you consider a holiday must?

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Fitness, Random, Reviews | 2 Comments »

Tags: Apples, Butternut Squash, Endive, Family, Goat Cheese, Grateful, Hockey, Martha Stewart, Mason Jars, Thankful, Thanksgiving, Tiger Pride, Walnuts, White Bean Radicchio Salad

November 23, 2011

Add Sparkle to Your Day of Thanks

Looking to add a little pop of color or sparkle to your Thanksgiving ensemble? Why not!? Make a statement! Here are two new looks I’m grateful for:

First and foremost, OPI’s Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window with gold glitter tips. Trust me, it’s a lot easier than it looks (I have to credit Taylor for giving me a quick tutorial). Simply paint nails your desired color and sprinkle a heap of glitter (Tay has Martha Stewart Essential Colors 24 Piece Glitter Set) on a piece of newspaper. Once the coat or two of color is dry, dip a clear polish brush into the sparkles and brush onto your nail. Add a clear top coat and tadaaaa! Play around with different color combinations, try an all-glitter accent nail and for you glitter pros, experiment with an ombre look.

Ok, onto number two: Maybelline’s Baby Lips Lip Balm. This product goes far beyond your typical lip balm with 8-hour hydration in six fun shades. Pink Punch? Um, yes please! I have my friend Jenny to thank for introducing me to this awesome (and inexpensive) beauty must-have. Clinical care for $3.99. Can’t beat that! PS: HEY FOUR EYES! I’m obsessed with my new Ray-Ban specs…
What are you wearing to feast tomorrow? How do you add a pop of color or sparkle to your ensembles?

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Fitness, Random, Reviews | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Baby Lips, Glitter, Gold, Lip Balm, Martha Stewart, Maybelline, OPI, Pink Punch, Pop of Color, Ray Ban, Sparkle, Taylor, Thanksgiving, Uh-Oh Roll Down The Window

November 2, 2010

Marvelous Martha Meatballs

Ever since I ended my vegetarianism freshman year, I have been obsessed with turkey meatballs. I was in the mood for a hearty spaghetti and meatball dinner last night to conclude the crazy Halloweekend festivities. I decided to give Martha Stewart’s Light Turkey Meatballs a try, which I altered a bit, and cut down on the carbs by making some spaghetti squash!

Ingredients
3 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
1/4 cup milk/soy milk
1 package of ground turkey (I use Shady Brook Farms’ 99% Fat Free)
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
Coarse salt and ground pepper
**I added in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (I took my Lactaid pill before I ate…) and 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil**

To start, place bread (I used Arnold’s Flax & Fiber 100% Whole Wheat, so healthy and tasty) in a food processor, or in my unprofessional/broke college kid case…a blender. Put the fine crumbs into a bowl, with the milk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. (Big Y didn’t have any scallions, UGH thanks for nothing! I swear, the closest Big Y to UConn’scampus has an awful array of food. Come on, step it up. I highly suggest you use them though.)

Mix together with a fork and slowly add in the breadcrumb mixture.

Now for the fun part! Roll each ball using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Place them onto a greased baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes (or when no longer pink in the middle) at 350°F.

If you like them brown/crispy on the outside, drizzle with olive oil. I placed them in the oven along with my spaghetti squash!

While you heat up your sauce on the stove (no I didn’t make homemade spaghetti sauce this time…sorry to disappoint) you can place the finished meatballs in to simmer for a bit and soak up the tomatoey goodness! Super simple recipe. Light and healthy, especially if you swap out the pasta for spaghetti squash.

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Dinner | 1 Comment »

Tags: Healthy, Martha Stewart, Simple, Soy Milk, Spaghetti Squash, Turkey, Vegetarianism, Whole Wheat

October 23, 2010

Chilly Weather Calls for Turkey Chili

It was Lindsay’s 20th Birthday (one of my DZ little sisters) so we celebrated the other night with a festive fall harvest themed dinner party. What was on the menu? Turkey Chili and Autumn Sangria! It was the perfect way to warm up at the end of a stressful week. (Midterms, bleh!) I’ll let the recipes speak for themselves.

Ingredients for my modified recipe:
(I combined Martha Stewart’s Vegetarian Black-Bean Chili and AllRecipe.com’s Simple Turkey Chili)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs ground turkey (we used 3 lbs because I had quite a few of hungry bellies to feed)
2 onion, chopped
4 cups water
2 (28 ounce) cans canned crushed tomatoes
2 (16 ounce) cans canned kidney beans – drained, rinsed, and mashed
2 cans (19 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 zucchini (about 1 pound total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 carrots, thinly sliced
Bag of frozen corn, thawed (I forgot to add these, woops! Next time…)
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Place turkey in the pot and cook until evenly brown.

In the meantime, cut up zucchini, carrots and onion.

Once the turkey is cooked, add in onions and cook until tender.

Pour the water in the pot.

Strain kidney beans.

Strain black beans.

Mix in tomatoes, beans and garlic.

Season chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt and pepper. Add in the rest of the vegetables. (I forgot the frozen corn, yet I don’t think it would have fit in our biggest pot anyway!)

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Taylor was on stirring duty! We need to invest in a larger pot for next time…as you can see, it was full to the brim!

Serve with bread and slices of avocado. Yum! There is literally nothing better than a cup of chili on a chilly day. The birthday girl loved it, as did the rest of my DZ family (plus Taylor)! Many, including myself, went up for seconds!

Successful fall harvesting! Taylor got in the spirit with her festive outfit. The Autumn Sangria was also a fantastic touch (which, thanks to Google, I found on InnTheKitchen.com).

Sprinkled with Love,

Lauren

Posted in Dinner | 5 Comments »

Tags: AllRecipes.com, Autumn Sangria, Chili, Delta Zeta, Fall harvest, Martha Stewart

September 23, 2010

Fish in a Flash

I love Martha Stewart. I follow her on Twitter, I browse her website daily and I read her blog. To be even more creepy and blatantly honest, a bullet point on my Bucket List is “Meet Martha Stewart.” If I could work for her some day, that would fabulous.

Anyway, I decided I was in the mood for a tasty salmon dish, yet was too exhausted to slave over an arduous meal. After picking up two Wild Alaskan Salmon fillets at my local Big Y, I stumbled upon this Martha recipe. It was easy, quick and delicious. I have been super busy lately (between school and sorority stuff, the Homecoming parade is this weekend ahh!) that I feel like I have been neglecting my amazing boyfriend, so I invited him over to taste-test and of course enjoy some valuable time together.

Ingredients for Soy Glazed Salmon

(This recipe makes 4, I cut it in half for my dinner for 2!)

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry white wine, or water
2 pounds salmon fillet
Lemon wedges, for serving

Start off by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Make the glaze in a small bowl by combining the brown sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice and white wine.