Memorial Day & Recipe Round-up

I hope everyone is having a safe weekend and enjoying their extra day off work. I also hope that everyone is taking time today to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day. Today is a day to remember those that have served in the Armed Services, past and present. And most importantly to remember those that didn't make it home. Those that sacrificed their lives for our country. Let us always remember them and honor them and respect today for what it is meant for.

Source: bbc.co.uk via rayna on Pinterest

To my husband, brother, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and many friends and family members that have served or are currently serving our country, thank you for service. Today and always.

I also wanted to share a fabulous recipe today that I tried out this weekend. Time for Recipe Round-up! I know I haven't posted any recipes lately and mostly it's because every time I start dinner I forget to break out my camera and then I get lazy and just don't post about it. Terrible, I know. But it's the truth.

Saturday evening I really wanted to eat out. But something made me decide not to and just cook up some ground turkey that was sitting in my fridge. So thankfully I did because I had been wanting to try out this recipe for weeks. It's probably one of my favorite meatball dishes now. Hands down in my top 2!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Sauce


Here's what you'll need. Don't pay attention to the Teriyaki glaze. I took it out on accident and had to swap it for Sesame Oil. Silly me.

For the Meatballs:
- 1/4 cup panko crumbs or breadcrums
- 1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil

For the Dipping Sauce:
- 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp chopped scallions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Mix ground turkey, panko (or breadcrumbs), egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp sesame oil and mix with your hands until well combined. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture. Makes about 12 meatballs.

Bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

For the dipping sauce, mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 tsp of sesame oil in a bowl. and scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce then drizzle meatballs with 1 tbsp sauce. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 tbsp per person for dipping.

That's it! Easy peasy and so delicious! I will be making this often. I served it with some teriyaki style rice which was perfect.

Happy Monday and Happy Memorial Day! Have a fabulous week! We're off to a BBQ at my mom's :)

Oh, How Pinteresting!

This is my first time linking up with Michelle over at The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting! I love, love, love her blog and have been loving this link-up so I finally decided it was about time I try it out and join in on the fun. Plus it gives me a reason to look at everything on Pinterest. Hehe. Don't we all need more excuses to gaze at the amazing and fun things on Pinterest? Heck yes we do.

Now onto all the fun things I'm loving today.

Source: pauladeen.com via Emilie on Pinterest

Getting my hair cut on Saturday and I am LOVING Hilary Duff's bangs here!

Source: graphicshunt.com via Morgan on Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via Sherrill on Pinterest

Source: thegirltalks.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: onceuponachef.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: busybeekidscrafts.com via Theresa on Pinterest

Dreams

Problem is, I'm not sure what my dreams are. This makes me feel sad. I can think of so many things I would be happy doing, yet I don't know what I really dream of doing. Or being for that matter. It's like it just hit me that I don't know what my aspirations are. Maybe it's time to figure it out.

On another note, dinner tonight was amazing! Of course I didn't think to pull out the camera and write it down. Big mistake on my part because it was delish. I didn't use a recipe and just kind of threw it together but it was a huge hit. I generally don't really care for pork chops, but I had some in my freezer that I needed to use. I decided to try them in the crockpot (which I had never ever done before) and let me tell you.....best choice ever! I coated them in bbq sauce, and sprinkled with chili powder, cumin, and a little garlic and slow cooked them for about 6 hours. OMG! They fell apart and were mouth watering. I will never cook pork chops any other way. Ever. I highly recommend you all try bbq pork chops in the crockpot. Right now.  Ok?

Summer = Lovely & Busy

Summer is just about here in Oregon! We have been enjoying some AMAZING weather this past week. Can't beat 70's and sunny. I know I'll take it! More rain is coming our way but hopefully summer is right around the corner because you can't beat the summer months here.

We are heading to the dunes on Saturday with my sister to enjoy some sand and the coast. My mom and stepdad are camping for the weekend so a day trip was definitely in order. Plus, J hasn't been to the Oregon dunes yet so he is in for a treat! Dunes, pine trees, and the beach all in one place! Yes, please.

Summertime also brings us a few extremely busy months. Between June and August we have Father's Day, my 29th birthday (woot, woot!), our 7th Anniversary (I really can't believe it's been so long), L's 3rd birthday, and J's 30th birthday (yep, the big 3-0). That's a lot to cram into less than 3 months! But, it also means lots of summer celebrations so I'm good with it. I think a BBQ is in order for each event. I love summer BBQs!

Here are some other summer-themed things I am loving/wishing for right now.

 

 

Hope you're all getting ready for some fun in the sun this summer! And I hope I get all of the above items this summer. I know I really, really NEED them. Haha.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

What would you do?

Target Discount. Say Whaaaat?!?!

Who doesn't love Target? If you don't, you're insane. I mean, they have great prices, cute clothes, and perfect items for your home. It's one of my favorite stores. Target and Kohl's are always at the top of my list. Well, today is officially J's first day at the new job. He was so ready to get back to work. I don't think I've mentioned this before but he is working for none other than.....TARGET! He is a manager for the Distribution Center out here and it's a really great job. I am beyond proud of him.

Of course working for any large corporation has major perks and Target is no different. Tons of opportunity for growth, great benefits, and a discount at Target stores (of course this is my favorite part)! I already shop there quite a bit but now it gives me an excuse to be there even more. This could be bad. Very, very bad!

To celebrate his first day on the job, I thought it would be fun to share some of the items I am dying to purchase with said discount. Haha. Not sure if J would agree with some of these or even agree that this constitutes a celebration. But, I do. And it's fun. So here are a few of my favorite items at Target right now.

I am in desperate need of a new dining table. Ok, maybe not desperate but when we have company we don't have anywhere for people to sit at our table. It's time for something larger. I would also LOVE to have a metal headboard in my room. It feels like it would complete my decor in there. Not that it's anything fancy but it suits us. Lastly, what woman doesn't want a new fun top, cute open-toed booties and a new bag for the summer?! I know I do! I especially love the bag. It screams summer to me.

This is what I am loving at Target right now......What about you? 

Happy Monday! 

Sunday Funnies

Happy Mother's Day to all of you gorgeous mommies out there! I hope you all have a fabulous day. I am especially thankful today for my mom. She is one of the strongest, most loving, and hard working women I know and I couldn't ask for anything more. She is an amazing Yaya (grandma) to my kids and we are blessed to live so close. Love you mom!

My mom and all of her kids

And of course I can't forget the other special moms in my life.....Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, step-mom and J's step-mom! They are all such special women that have impacted our lives in so many wonderful ways.

Now, on to Sunday Funnies! Because it's Mother's Day and all, I have decided to dedicate this entire post to this extra special day. Enjoy and laugh a ton :)

Hooray for weekends!

Happy Friday peeps! TGIF sums is up for me. It's been one of those weeks. A week where my stress levels peaked majorly. Beyond the norm. Which is generally pretty high as it is. So, to say my stress levels are high means it's pretty bad. Basically, we moved and I have been searching for daycare every day with no luck. I am pretty particular when it comes to who I leave my kids with. Understandable to most moms. I just have high expectations and I wasn't finding what I had hoped for here. I even broadened my search to about a 20 mile radius. Still nothing. I reached a fork in the road where I felt that if I didn't find something soon I could risk losing my job. Which of course I didn't want to happen. Thankfully, LBCC pulled through and sent me a referral list in the area and the first place I called had openings. I popped in for a same day visit and LOVED the provider and her entire set-up! She has a great structured environment, wonderful property, and it just felt like the right fit. I snatched it up yesterday afternoon and my kids start on Monday. Close call to say the least. But, the stress is lessening now that I have that secured and I feel good about it.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a jog with my sister and then my hubster made us a yummy steak, potato and salad dinner (of course accompanied by a glass of wine) and we celebrated Mother's Day at our house a tad early. My kids couldn't wait to give me their gifts and I was okay with that! And boy was I a spoiled momma this year! Not that I am complaining because I LOVE everything. But I don't do much for myself so it was a bit more than I expected. I must rephrase, it was a ton more than I ever expected. J emphasized how important it was for that very reason....that I just don't buy myself things very often. I really do love what they all bought for me. I mean, check it out! (Excuse the not so great pics....taken with my Blackberry)

I have been waiting for one of these and he found an awesome deal!!! And I got chai latte to boot :)

The kiddos picked out these beautiful orchids for my table....love them.

And a Kindle Touch! I hope this gives me motivation to read more. 

See what I mean? Seriously spoiled! I will admit I felt a tad guilty about it because I don't spend very much on myself but J insisted that he set aside some cash and kept it a secret so I guess I will let it slide. Just this once. Haha.

Anywho, I am looking forward to this weekend. Lots of cleaning and laundry to get done, but also planning to enjoy some nice weather. Happy Mother's Day to all you fellow moms out there and have a fabulous weekend!

Sunday Funnies

It's been a week or two since I have linked up for Sunday Funnies. Way too long for this FAB link up from Kara!





Speaking of Kara.....we're off to see The Avengers with our hubbies today. In IMAX 3D too. Can't beat that!

Happy Sunday Funday ya'll!

Just realized Kara posted this too....but it's ok. Great minds think alike!!!

 

Have a marvelous day :)