spaghetti + meatballs, roasted edition

I made the most amazing tomato sauce last week-- with, you guessed it, some of my Bradley County tomatoes. I decided to throw in meatballs with this dish and they were SO GOOD. 

Started with a long, slow roast of tomatoes. I think I roasted 20? Quartered and tossed them in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Added a dash of garlic powder, Italian seasoning, slivers of basil, parsley, oregano, a couple sprigs of rosemary. (Did I add I grew all of the above?!) Roasted these on 425 for 2.5 hours. 

Once they were finished roasting, I let them cool then added to the food processor and you guessed it, processed. You can add a little water to get it to the right consistency, it's all up to you. 

I made two batches. These will freeze so you can save for later. 

Monday night I decided it was finally spaghetti night, so I took out my ground turkey to make meatballs. I added some Italian breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, and a medley of fresh herbs-- oregano, basil and parsley. Cooked the meatballs and combined--- finished product is the top picture.

It was so good! So much flavor. Brian kept saying how light yet flavorful it was. Definitely can't wait to use my second batch of sauce. SO, so good. 

new designs :)

Double post today!! It's almost football season-- which means I've been busy making all sorts of cute new door hangers:) I haven't been able to post these to etsy yet since my darn iCloud won't work but don't worry... they will be up tomorrow no matter what. In the meantime, enjoy this preview. xoxo.

homemade roasted salsa

Feast your eyes on this amazingness which is.... roasted tomato salsa, made by yours truly. I think I mentioned, a few times, the massive amount of tomatoes we got last week. I roasted up a tray and made salsa as my second stab of domestic salsa bliss. 

I quartered the tomatoes, drizzled them with oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Lined my cooking sheet with foil, dumped the tomatoes and let them roast.. for like two hours. I think I roasted them on 400.. now I can't quite remember. I ended up making two batches but I based each batch off of 6-8 tomatoes. It works really with however many. You can't mess this up. 

Chop your yellow onion, cilantro, serrano and add about 2 TBSP of onion and cilanto to the food processor.. I just adjust to however I'm feeling.. ONE medium serrano pepper and 1/2 tsp salt. (sometimes I take the seeds out of one side, just depends) OH, and the juice of one lime. Process that then add the tomatoes and process again. AND voila! There you have it, amazing, delicious, fresh salsa. You can thank me later. 

Steak with Chimichurri = YUM.

I cooked this Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri last week and it was sooo delicious. I say I cooked it, I prepared it and my grill master husband did the actual grilling :) 

I'm really on a roll with the Skinny Taste recipes and y'all... I have not been let down. Every single one has been SO. GOOD. We like our meat on the pink side, this one is real pink but was really good. We don't eat red meat very often so I feel it's justifiable. You can obviously cook it to your liking. The chimichurri was the best part. I'm sure it would be great on regular steak too. So loaded with flavor, try it!! And only 6 WW points per serving, yes please!! 

I served this with roasted okra, which is so good! Cook for about 20 mins at 425 degrees. I toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little old bay. And a salad to round out the meal :) 

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri

via Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 6 • Size: 3 oz steak w/ 4 tsp sauce • Weight Watcher Points+: 6 pt

Calories: 232 • Fat: 14 g • Carb: 1 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 24 g • Sugar: 0 g

Sodium: 343 mg • Cholesterol: 77 mg 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds flank steak

1 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

fresh ground pepper

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

For the Chimichurri Sauce:

2 packed tbsp parsley, finely chopped (no stems)

2 packed tbsp chopped cilantro

2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp water

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp fresh black pepper

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste

Directions:

Using sharp knife, lightly score the steak about 1/8 inch deep on both sides in a crisscross pattern at 1/2-inch intervals. In a small bowl combine the cumin, garlic powder, oregano, freshly ground pepper and kosher salt. Season both sides of the steak with season spices.

For the chimichurri, combine the red onion, vinegar, salt and olive oil and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix all ingredients together. (Note: this tastes best when you chop the onions by hand rather than in a food processor, not sure why but trust me)

Prepare the grill on high heat. Grill the steaks to desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, turning steaks 1/4 turn after 1 1/2 minutes to form crisscross grill marks, if desired. Transfer steaks to cutting board; let rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice steaks across grain. Transfer to platter and top with chimichurri sauce.

Enjoy, xoxo! 

bradley county tomatoes!

My grandparents brought us a huge batch of Bradley County Tomatoes last week... we're talking a HUGE BOX. I didn't waste any time and roasted a very large majority of them. I'm planning to blog about three of the recipes I used on these but in the meantime, I'll leave you with the above collage. This is the tomato timeline-- birth, roast, cook, tomato soup, roasted salsa and roasted tomato sauce... yummmm. Can't wait to share the details :) Thanks Mamaw and Papaw! 

happy birthday, mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom! I can't wait to celebrate with you, I love you much!! xoxo. 

You must try this!

I'm back with another Skinny Taste favorite! This website really is my absolute favorite. Last night I made the Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken and Veggies AND before you hear honey and run... don't! 

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i'm old, i now obsess about skincare.

I guess it's something that happens as we get older-- I can't have pizza 3 days a week and not workout, can't lay in the tanning bed for fear of skin cancer, burnett's vodka is totally out of the picture, no pulling all nighters because I can sleep all day long, and most importantly... no going to bed with makeup on! The last point is something I have never paid much attention to but realize I was so wrong!

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stuffed zucchini boats

So I tried something new Monday night and was a bit nervous to tell Brian for fear he would hate it! I took before cooked pictures but never took one after, it was THAT GOOD. 

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summer reads, girl....

I've never been an avid reader but when you live with one, it kind of encourages you to pick up a book every once in a while. I've tried a few and put them down days later. 

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happy fall y'all.... too soon?

I think my mom did it to me... the love for everything fall. I'm giddy thinking of pumpkin spice lattes, leaves candles from bath and body works, mums, cool saturdays filled with me napping while brian watches football, ahhh... there are so many things to love! 

I'm up super early this morning with two of those things. These adorable door hangers and you can find them both in my etsy shop. CANDY CORN and PUMPKIN. If you are local, use the code IMLOCAL and we can schedule a pickup/drop-off :) 

I'll be back soon with some other hangers I've been working on.. or follow my INSTAGRAM account for new designs! XOXO. 

happy monday!

I stole this picture from my cousin, Caroline. It's my 84 year old Nonno working in his sunflower garden, in the heat with a huge smile on his face. I like to think I get my hard-worker, busy bee gene from him via my mom. One thing I didn't get from the two of them, a green thumb. Mine is more like a shade of gray.

Regardless, I just love this picture.. hope it inspires you to have a very happy, productive Monday :)

homemade pizza night

Last week I made homemade pizza and BOY was it a process. I homemade my dough which took the most time! Eeek! Luckily I started early and had plenty of time for the dough to rise and turn out extra yum. 

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