Gobble Up: 1 Healthy Turkey Meatball Recipe

 

In anticipation of Thanksgiving I was perusing my mom’s stash of gourmet cookbooks. I love gourmet cookbooks because the recipes are delicious. But they are also often fattening, complicated and requiring of ingredients I have never heard of.

So the cookbooks were a bust for Thanksgiving, but in my mom’s humble, scrawled, recipe notebook I found just the ticket: a recipe for turkey meatballs that sounds both delicious and healthy. And * hallelujah * it doesn’t involve butter, frying or mysterious sounding ingredients like Pernod.

Since I am not making the dish requiring Pernod, I will be saving all the time I would have spent hunting for this damn thing at Whole Foods. And I am instead going to use this time to make Mom’s turkey meatball recipe! Not for Thanksgiving… but sometime over the holiday break.

 Turkey Meatballs & Spaghetti

Ingredients:

3 cups bread crumbs

 

2/3 cup whole milk

2 pounds ground turkey

½ pound sweet Italian pork sausage (take casings off)

3        ounces thinly sliced prosciutto

1 cup grated Asiago cheese

½ cup minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large eggs, beaten

3 jars marinara sauce (They should each be 24 ounce jars.)

2 pounds spaghetti

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In bowl, add bread crumbs & milk. Set aside.

 

In a large bowl, combine turkey, sausage, prosciutto, bread mixture, Asiago, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 ½ teaspoon pepper.

 

Combine ingredients with your hands. Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the eggs and stir with a fork to combine.

 

Wash hands.

 

Roll mixture into 2 inch round meatballs and place them on the prepared sheet pans. Brush meatballs with olive oil. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the tops are browned and the centers are cooked.

 

Pour marinara sauce in a large pot, add meatballs and bring to a simmer.

 

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and place spaghetti in individual bowls and top with meatballs and sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese on the side.

 

Make this recipe to power yourself up after hunting down all those Black Friday deals, guru girls & guys. Happy upcoming Thanksgiving!

2 Ways To Twinkle This Holiday Season

It’s not that I have no willpower about all trends. I did not, for instance, buy the magic bun maker. Even though it’s advertised on t.v. all the time, and positioned on end caps at stores everywhere.

And I’m not getting the Vitamix blender, even though it’s this season’s “it” item, especially if you juice, says one of my friends. I don’t juice. Regular juice has too many calories. And juice made from kale is – gah!—made from kale.

But I might give into this lamp trend. Funky, enormous letters have been a home decorating trend for awhile now. This season they’re showing them adorned with little lights. I have never met a twinkle light I didn’t like.

This lamp gives off a great retro vibe. And light too. It’s a two-fer. And I love two-for-one deals! The lampersand light by modcloth retails for $90.(Click this link to go to modcloth site.) If that’s on the spendy side, you can still embrace your love of twinkle lights and retro cool.

 

One catalogue is showing a bunch of twinkle lights – little, white ones – coiled up inside a clear hurricane vase.  So festive, so easy, so cheap. The trifecta of good!

The holidays are coming. Twinkle away, guru girls!

Fall's Best Fashion Find: The Mirabel Jacket

What does this coat have to do with the NFL? Read on to find out...

 

In a departure for me, I am very interested in the NFL. Every few years this happens. NFL players start acting like soap opera stars, and suddenly I’m engrossed in the pigskin. Wow, that sounds kind of dirty. But you know what I mean.

What has my interest lately is the bullying scandal featuring Miami Dolphins players Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. One of them allegedly bullied the other. When is it bullying? When is it life? So many questions.

Here’s the other thing I’m obsessed with these days: sweater coats. Every year there are 3 things that happen to me in fall: daylight savings, Halloween candy binges and new coat lust.

This year I’m all about the sweater coat. Because it’s a winter wardrobe’s most versatile piece. You wouldn’t want to walk the dog in it, but if you’re running errands around town, and you need a cute jacket to take the edge off, a sweater coat is just the thing!

You can throw it on over a basic, long-sleeve t-shirt and suddenly you look stylish with minimal effort!

Anthropologie has got some really cute ones these days. I’m either hot or cold on Anthro – I either love all their stuff or hate all their stuff. This season, it’s “love”. Here’s their cutest sweater coat: the Mirabel jacket. It’s also available in burgundy, which is the color I’d go for, instead of the cream. It retails for around $148.(Click this link to go to Anthropologie to see the Mirabel jacket.)

Spendy? Yes. But if you wear it a few times a week for the next few fall/winters, it will be your smartest purchase this season.

I got my last sweater coat from Anthro 5 years ago and still wear it. Now that’s style with endurance. So basically the sweater coat is the NFL athlete of outerwear, soap opera hijinks not included.

Talk Less, Be Happier, And Know Who Kim Jong Il Is

This is me, being wordy on the blog. Or else online shopping.

 

As someone who loves words – the more, the merrier – this pains me to admit: there’s something to be said for brevity.

The fewer the words, the better. Over the past month I’ve read this advice from two, separate experts. This is either the universe telling me to button it up or there could be some wisdom here. (Or possibly both.)

One article was about what you should say to your kid after she plays in a soccer game or performs in a musical or any kid event.

The words are the same.

“I love to watch you play.”

That’s it. No play by play analysis of her moves. No subtle encouragement or not-so-subtle critiquing. Just 6 simple words.

I tried it. And, just like the writer said, my kid liked it.

Huh. How about that?

Then I read an article in “O” Magazine about simple steps to a happier life or something. The secret to domestic bliss lies in 4 simple words that should be uttered the next time you’re arguing with your beloved or your roommate or your offspring.

“You may be right.”

I may have to get this tattooed on my wrist for easy access the next time I’m angered by my fella.

Because who wants to win the battle on the home front but lose the war? I’d rather be happy more of the time than right all of the time. So I’m gonna try this one too.

And the last brief-is-better entry for today is the Skimm.com. This website is my new favorite because every morning it e-mails you a summary of the biggest news events of the day.

So much less wordy than a newspaper! Editors at the Skimm share the highlights of each story in the chatty, accessible voice of your favorite girlfriend. None of the summaries are longer than 3 paragraphs so it takes only 5 minutes to read and send your world knowledge -- even of sports! --  skyrocketing.

It’s free to subscribe, which I did just yesterday, so expect a lot more geopolitical references on the blog here. Because, thanks to the Skimm, Guru Girl’s gettin’ schooled. (Click this link to go to The Skimm to check it out.) 

Houzz.com: Soccer Mom Crack

Sparsely decorated bookshelf that my realtor made me do.

 

There’s nothing like a public proclamation that you’re going to do something to make you, well, do it.

A few months back I grandly proclaimed that I was going to color code my bookshelves, style them up in a way that would make Houzz.com proud. (Have you checked out the houzz site? It is home decorating crack. Positively addicting and tough on the pocketbook because you will want to redecorate every room in your house once you check it out. But on the plus side, houzz.com addiction has no negative health repercussions and, despite frequent use, you get to keep all your teeth.)

So I said I was going to color code my bookshelves, then I went and moved to a new house that has no bookshelves. But I now have a bookshelf (actually, it’s that credenza that I dumpster dove out of the alley last year), and I finally had time to style it up.

Before shot of the bookshelf. A little sterile, no?

The process is still underway as I need to get some cute tchotchkes to intersperse among my favorite titles, but the color coding made such a huge impact that I had to share it immediately.

After shot of the bookshelf.

A color coded bookshelf is a cheap and easy way to cozy up a room immediately. I recommend it, even if you don’t have a million books stashed in various boxes. In most towns the public library has an annual sale where you can buy dozens of books for hardly any cash. Hit the sale, and buy a bunch of books with spines of different colors. Then get yourself a bookshelf. It doesn’t even need to be a nice one. Outfits like walmart.com will deliver one to your door!

Once you style your bookshelf up, it transforms this corner of your house into a cozy library where you can lounge and do nothing more literary than peruse “In Style” magazine. Lotta look for little lucre.

Try it, you’ll like it! Or at the very least, check out houzz.com which has dozens of pictures of rooms decorated in every style imaginable. (Click this link to go to houzz.com.)  

 

 

 

Gotta Read It: "The Goldfinch" & John Mayer's Liner Notes

I love a good back story. It’s what makes Taylor Swift and some other pop stars’ songs such guilty pleasures. Because yes, you can dance to them, but you can also psychoanalyze them all the live long day.

Which is what I just did to the latest John Mayer album, specifically: “Paperdolls” and “Love Who You Love”. Both are totally danceable and

 ** bonus ** both are filled with “Where’s Waldo” clues about John’s former girlfriends.

Give “Paperdolls” a listen and try to determine if it’s about Jennifer Aniston or Taylor Swift. Bonus points if you think about how mad Jennifer and Taylor were when they first listened to “Love Who You Love”, a duet which features John crooning sweetly with current lady love (and bad judge of boys) Katy Perry.

Because c’mon, you know Jennifer and Taylor listened to the songs, at least once. Wouldn’t you?

This is how I feel about subsequent books from authors whose debuts I absolutely loved. Even if the reviews are bad, I read them. Because the first book was just that good. I can’t help myself. Once an author has my heart, she or he has it forever.

This is why I just ordered up Donna Tartt’s latest, The Goldfinch. And why I’m planning to go to bed at 8 o’clock tonight so I can burn some serious pages. Because Tartt’s debut novel The Secret History was one of the best books ever. And even though her last book wasn’t that hot, I remain hopeful about this new one.

Hopeful in a popstar-with-blue-hair kind of way, that recent history can be bucked and a happily-ever-after can be found. (Click this link to go to amazon.com to see ordering options for "The Goldfinch", available for download starting at around $10. )

Happy reading, guru girls & guys!

 

1 Trick For Bettering Your Neighborhood & Your Brain

 

I am a sucker for “power to the people” movements. Except for Occupy Wallstreet. And folks who hang political banners from overpasses.

But there’s another community trend cropping up that I’m all over. Free libraries! Book lovers are building mini libraries themselves – they look like bird houses – and plunking them down in front of their houses.

“Take a book, leave a book, be on your way” is the idea. I love it!

What a great way to share the love (of books) and prompt neighborly conversation beyond “Can you water my plants while I’m away?”

The Dynamic Duo and I are very excited to embrace this trend. Our book birdhouse is currently in the design phase. I can already tell there will be fisticuffs between the architect (the 7 year old) and the G.C. (the 10 year old). But I’ve lived through house construction before. The end result will be worth it!

There’s even a website dedicated to the idea. It’s called “Little Free Library”. The movement started in the Midwest a few years ago, and there are already 10,000 little free library birdhouses out there, in 55 countries!

Check out the website for more details and an option to order a pre-made library birdhouse if you lack the time/know how/infinite patience to listen to your in-house design crew battle it out.(Click this link to go to little free library.)

Happy reading, guru girls & guys!