The lovely gals and lovely blog at Southern Weddings Magazine are featuring my Confetti Pretzels DIY – a recipe for delicious white chocolate covered pretzels, all packaged up in cute boxes and a touch of colorful confetti sprinkles!

These would be perfect for a Southern “Surcee” (an unexpected gift) or even make a delightful hostess or favor gift idea for all the Spring soirees that are ahead this season.

Be sure to check out the full feature here with step-by-step photos from my friend Leslie at Leslie & Dusty Photography.

It’s Thanksgiving week! I absolutely love the Thanksgiving holiday because it allows me the opportunity to make a variety of dishes from scratch. Since we moved to Nashville six years ago, we’ve been hosting the Thanksgiving day feast. To be honest, I actually love it and I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to what dishes are “mandatory” in a Thanksgiving dinner. There are quite a few must-have’s on the table in my book right down to the relish tray that is complete with sweet pickles, olives and cranberry.

Here are a few of my favorite dishes and recipes you may like for your Thanksgiving menu.

The picture above was taken from my iphone last Thanksgiving and is my new favorite Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe. You can find the whole recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s blog here. I ended up using a large bag of crusty french bread cubes that were already baked and cubed in the bakery at Publix in lieu of the cornbread/white bread Pioneer Woman uses. I agree with her that organic chicken broth is far superior to regular canned broth. In any case, this recipe is hands down, AMAZING. I could have gobbled up the whole bowl and skipped everything else!

My Other Thanksgiving Recipe Favorites:

Grandma’s Green Bean Casserole
This one is far superior to the typical canned mushroom soup and french onion topping recipe. It isn’t much work either and tastes rich and delicious.

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople
My favorite apple pie recipe! My own review notes from a few years back (I’ve been making this one for years now): This was seriously the most beautiful pie I ever baked! I added a bit more vanilla and some cinnamon (just because I like to!), but other than that, this recipe is perfect!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mmmm…garlic and mashed potatoes, what could be better? My personal review posted on the site a few years back: Wow! These were REALLY GOOD. A new holiday dinner staple. Like others, I used whipping cream instead of the milk (and maybe a bit more than it called for to make them extra creamy). Yummmmm! The real roasted garlic I think definitely added that extra yummy touch. Will make this again for special occasions!

Easy Herb Roasted Turkey
I love this recipe. Sadly, I will be relinquishing control of the bird this year to my Dad. My Mom and Dad are visiting us this year and they have their own way (but still tasty!) way of preparing the bird.  However, if you’re looking for a delicious turkey recipe, here is my review I left in previous years: Yep, all the reviewers are correct – this is THE BEST turkey recipe ever! So glad I chose this recipe for our thanksgiving this year. Was a bit worried about all the herbs that covered the turkey, but didn’t matter in the end! The meat literally fell off the bone before it was done! And the white meat which we don’t usually like because it is dry – so moist – just like the dark meat. And the gravy – no seasoning at all required!!! Just add some cornstarch and it was done! I did brine my turkey overnight which may have added to the yumminess (was my first time doing that). I also added a sliced apple to the inside cavity to add more moisture. I injected some of olive oil/herb mixture under the skin. I also used a reynolds turkey bag. This will be our turkey recipe from now on!

I hope you enjoy some of these recipes and be sure to let me know which are your favorites! What are your Thanksgiving must-have’s at your feast?

Almost a year ago I wrote a post about living more intentionally, with one of those intentions to nourish my body better. I’ve had hives off and on most of my life and we’ve never been able to figure out what the cause of them are. For awhile, I tried a gluten-free diet to see if that would help with the symptoms. Sometimes I’d eat bread and get hives, sometimes I wouldn’t…so we still aren’t really sure a root cause, but I do know I feel better and generally a healthier person when I cut out the carbs.

Which is why this recipe is so great! It’s gluten-free and so tasty too. I shared a photo of this delicious salad on Instagram a week ago and it was such a hit that I needed to put the full recipe here on the blog! I originally found the recipe via Pinterest at the With Style & Grace blog and I’ve adapted it to fit my own personal tastes and preferences. If you are in the mood to make this a sandwich, I’ve served a similar recipe on those mini Hawaiian bread rolls at my annual cookie party exchange and the sweet and savory combo is delicious.

Ingredients

1 shredded rotisserie chicken
1 green apple peeled, cored and diced into cubes
1/2 cup of Kraft olive oil reduced fat mayo
1/2 cup Craisins dried cranberries
3 teaspoons of curry powder
2 bunches of green onions diced
1/2 cup diced celery
salt + pepper to your liking

Directions

Shred white meat from rotisserie chicken and place in medium bowl or container. Add all other ingredients and mix. Refrigerate overnight. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over lettuce or just straight out of the bowl (my favorite!).

Serves 2-3 full size salads

Plate is from Pier 1 Imports and pictures were taken from my iphone.

A little over two weeks into the new year, and I’m doing really well with my intentional eating. I’ve been really careful to avoid gluten with only a minor slip up this past week — darn those ladies of The Sugar Wagon and their AMAZING decadent frozen desserts. They were positioned right across from me at StudioWed Inspired Bride show on Sunday and I just could not resist one of their peanut butter cookie sandwiches…they are TO DIE FOR…and yes, the hives were TOTALLY worth it for that night only.

Anyway, back to the HEALTHY choices I’ve been making…

I’m a really huge Thai food lover. I don’t know if it’s because of the heavy use of cilantro and lime (another reason why Baja-style Mexican food is the only REAL mexican food in my book), or if it’s just that all the dishes are so complex and tasty. On a whim this week, I picked up some ingredients that I thought could make up some sort of Thai dish, though I really wasn’t sure what it was going to be. I ended up with this yummy dish by taking a little recipe off the back of the Taste of Thai red curry paste and also finding a gluten-free Thai Shrimp Curry in a cook book. And here is what I came up with…something easy, fast, healthy and gluten-free (serves 2).

The cast of characters:

- Glass of wine, for you – not the recipe :)
- Frozen Brown Rice (I LOVE these bags, they cook in the microwave in 4 minutes and taste much better than any other quick-cooking rice).
- 1 can of Lite Coconut Milk
- 1 Tbsp. from 1 pkg of Thai Red Curry Paste (you’ll have leftovers to use for other recipes)
- 1/2 bell pepper (I had yellow on hand, sure you could use whatever), chopped into narrow pieces
- a few stalks of green onion, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
- handful of frozen peas (optional and not pictured above)
- 1/2 lb. of uncooked peeled shrimp (the picture above has cooked only because uncooked shrimp is kind of gross to me)
- Thai rub or seasoning, I had this bottle of Pampered Chef Thai Rub in my pantry for awhile…glad to make use of it!
- 1/4 slice of a lime
- A few stalks of fresh cilantro chopped

Directions:

1. Pour glass of wine and have a sip. :) This is how I like to start any recipe. I had a red Ravenswood Zinfandel bottle open so I went with that, but I think a really great refreshing white wine like one of my favorites, St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc, would be great with the spiciness in this dish. Now on to the cooking…

2. Pop bag of rice in the microwave and cook according to directions.

3. While that cooks, pour coconut milk can in a saucepan and on high heat, add 1 Tbsp. of the red curry paste and whisk till blended. You could be like me, who is impatient and thinks that the 1 Tbsp. doesn’t look like nearly enough color and add another Tbsp. or more…but then you end up with a more spicy dish. Will definitely stay at the 1 Tbsp. next time. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring and then reduce and cook for 3-4 mins. Then turn to low.

4. In a cooking pan, spray on some olive oil spray or a dash of olive oil if you please, and saute the bell pepper and onion pieces for a few minutes on medium high until they are soft then scooch them to the side to make room for the shrimp. Reduce heat back to medium. Give a good couple of shakes of the Thai rub on the shrimp to coat them and then add them to the pan to cook for a few minutes on each side until pink. Reduce heat to low.

5. Add a few frozen peas to the shrimp pan and stir till they come to room temperature. I only had a bag of frozen peas and carrots and literally picked out 20 or so peas. Harder than you would imagine, but I really wanted that pea-in-the-curry-authentic-Thai effect. The hard labor was worth it.

6. Pour curry sauce into shrimp veggie mixture pan and mix.

7. Split half of rice bag on each plate, serve half of Thai shrimp and curry sauce on top of each rice pile.

8. Squeeze a slice of lime on top and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro.

9. Enjoy!

I get asked A LOT of the time, “how in the world do you do it all? How do you work, run a business and find time to bake pies???”….

Years ago, I would have loved to have planted down in front of the TV to veg out every free chance I’d get (hello Bachelor and reality TV!). But for now, when I have little windows of opportunity, I sieze them! Cooking is something that actually relaxes me, and I love it when I get the chance to whip something up. It gets me away from the computer, and I love the tactile experience of cutting things, mixing, stiring and of course, tasting! Throw in a good glass of wine into the mix and I’ll really enjoy the whole “time out” from my normal every day.

However, baking on the other hand, is a little more tricky for me. They say you’re either a cook (which allows for more creativity on throwing in a little of this or that) or a baker (which means you follow instructions to the tee), and I definitely lean toward the cook side. My oven is also extremely hot which makes any recipe something you have to watch constantly for the last 20 minutes. All of this together makes for a not so “relaxing” experience, but I push forward anyway! I like a good challenge in the kitchen.

In my baking reportoire, I *rule* (seriously, I do) in the apple pie department. This recipe has been my gold star in my baking book: Apple Pie by Grandma Ople. But I decided a few weeks ago it was time to try something new. Peaches have been featured in all my magazines lately, so I came home with a bag full of ripe peaches only to be balked at by my sweet (and sometimes finicky) hubby who doesn’t like his “peaches warm…”

On to plan B: blueberries! I send hubby to the store to pick up 3 more cups of blueberries and he comes home with FIVE PINTS.

We ate a lot of blueberries that week…

I ended up using this recipe: Blueberry Pie and even though it didn’t “set” as much as I’d like to and I would have gone a little more easy on the sugar and nutmeg suggested additions, hubby said after he licked his bowl clean, “THIS IS THE BEST DESSERT YOU HAVE EVER MADE. DON’T EVER CHANGE A THING.”

I think I earned another gold star for this pie!

Fuzzy iPhone photo: