Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas + Flemings Giveaway!

The fact that I'm writing this post while 39 weeks pregnant and literally will be wearing maternity pants on Thanksgiving (if I'm not actually in labor) this GIF could not be more appropriate. 

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If you're anything like me though, the meal is great... but the leftovers are even better! I am constantly concocting new creations every year with our leftovers but this year I received a little bit of help from my friends at Fleming's Steakhouse. 

Executive Chef Russell Skall shared some of his great Thanksgiving Leftover recipes with me, here's my favorite that will be added to the repertoire for sure! 

                                            Roasted Turkey Crepes

Filling Ingredients: 4 servings

2 Lbs. Turkey meat white & dark                 

3 oz. wt. Onion, 1/4” wide x 2” long julienne

6 oz. wt. Red pepper, 1/4” dice 

4 oz. Button Mushrooms, 1/4" wide slices

1/4 lb. Butter

1/4 lb. Flour

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. White pepper

3 cups Turkey gravy or Chicken stock           

2 cups Half & half 

               

Filling Preparation Instructions:

Remove the skin on the turkey then cut into 1/4" wide x 1 1/2"-2"

long julienne strips. 

Remove the seeds and stem on the red pepper then cut the onion & pepper

into julienne pieces.

Cut the mushrooms with the stems into 1/4" wide slices.

Melt the butter in a 1-gallon sauce pot set on high heat.  Add all of the

vegetables and sauté for 5-6 minutes. 

Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium then add 1 cup of water, salt and

pepper then cook for 1-2 minutes stirring often until very thick. 

Add the turkey gravy or chicken stock, half & half and 

cook for 4-5 minutes to a slightly thick sauce consistency.

Add the turkey meat and cook for 2 minute. Place the mixture on a sheet pan to cool.

Mornay Sauce Ingredients: 4 servings

1 oz. Butter

1 oz. Onion minced

1 clove Garlic minced

1/2 cup White wine

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp. Tabasco       

1/4 tsp. White pepper

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

3 Tbsp. Grated parmesan cheese

Mornay Sauce Preparation Instructions:

Melt butter in a 1-quart sauce pot on medium heat. Add onions and

garlic then sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Add the white wine and cook to reduce by half.

Add the heavy cream, Tabasco, white pepper and

salt.  Cook on medium high heat to a sauce consistency about

8-10 minutes.  Add the grated parmesan cheese and blend in

with a wire whip.

Strain the sauce into a storage container.

Plating Instructions:

Ingredients: 4 servings

8 ea. Crepes local store                   40 oz. wt. Turkey filling

As needed Pan coating                     2 cups Mornay sauce

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh herbs

Place the brown side of the crepes face down on a table. 

Weight out 5oz. of the cold turkey filling and place lengthwise in the center of each crepe.

 Roll up the crepes and set on a sheet pan sprayed with pan coating.  

Bake in a 350° oven for 10 minutes to an internal temperature of 160°.  

Place 2 crepes side by side on each plate.

 Ladle 2 oz. Mornay sauce over the top of the crepes. Garnish with chopped herbs.

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After all that cooking, you may not want to get behind the stove for awhile so why not enter my giveaway for your chance to win a $100 Fleming's gift card! Just leave a comment below or on Facebook with what you like to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers and I'll pick a winner over the weekend! (baring I don't go into a labor!)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! 

Baby Registry Picks and The App You Didn't Know You Needed!

Well, now that baby news has officially made it to my blogosphere, I figured that it would be a good time to share some of my favorite Baby Registry finds! I'll admit that as soon as that little stick read "Pregnant", I was ready to start registering. I did refrain and ended up waiting until we knew if we were having a boy or a girl to help streamline things but I can't say that the process was simple. There are so. many. baby things! 

Oh, and let's be honest, becoming a new mom is daunting and everyone has their opinion.... everyone. 

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I've legit been stopped in Nordstrom's and a woman told me I didn't need a wipe warmer. Ok, cool... but can I proceed with purchasing these Kate Spade earrings? Some tips have been helpful but most of it comes off as really patronizing and when your filled with hormones, it's really not what you want to hear. 

My husband and I did hit up the usual registry suspects (Buy Buy Baby, Babies R Us, Pottery Barn Kids and Target) which was fun but again, insanely overwhelming. All I wanted to do was have someone else scan all the stuff I actually needed while I sat in a corner and ate FroYo. 

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All joking aside, the process has been really eye opening and thanks to my Mr., LOTS of research went into the items that ended up on our registry. That being said, we ended up finding lots of things that we new we wanted but weren't sold in the usual registry stores. That's when I found BabyList. BabyList is an app (and website) that lets you put pretty much anything (yes... anything) on your baby registry. You can pull from boutique stores, Etsy pages, department stores or even register for some home cooked meals or spa treatments, because let's get real, Mama's gonna need a little pampering before and after baby arrives. 

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BabyList is a great resource not only for registering but there are tons of articles under the "Hello Baby" that cover everything from baby gear, bringing home baby, and my faves, the "Best Lists" that cover pretty much everything! 

Lists such as Best Disposable Diapers, Best Baby Carriers of 2016, and Best Strollers of 2016, were all crucial in helping us pick our registry items! 

As I mentioned, aside from the awesome lists and resources the biggest perk of BabyList is that you can pull items from virtually anywhere! Here's a list of some of my favorite registry items to show you what I mean. 

1. Nuna Mixx Jett Collection, Nordstrom 

We (ok, my husband) did a ton of research on strollers and we landed on the Nuna Mixx after trying out what felt like hundreds at different stores. For me, it was all about being able to close it easy. The "one hand folds" of other strollers were useless on me because I'm so short and some others felt like I was working on a Rubik's cube. I loved the ease of the Mixx and how I could roll it like a suitcase when it's closed if I wanted. Oh, and it also looks pretty badass too. 

Nordstrom was having their anniversary sale and launched an exclusive offer on the Nuna Mixx for a steep discount and it came with a bassinet attachment, which had never been sold before. We loved it! Only issue, Nordstrom doesn't have a registry option. Luckily, with just one click of a button on my browser (you can save the BabyList button to your web browser and pin from any page!) it was added to my registry! 

*the Anniversary sale price has since been removed but the product is still available. 

2. Milkmaid Goods Nursing Cover and Swaddlers 

I had originally seen these super cute swaddle sets from Milkmaid Goods on Instagram. I mean, how adorable is that photo? After checking out their website a bit more, I started to see the nursing covers that they had too. I had always dreaded the ugly smock-like nursing covers that I had seen in the past but these poncho-esque covers seem like they would make everything a breeze. Oh and multi-use? Yes, please! Needless to say a few styles ended up on my registry. 

Milkmaid Goods from Dreamboat Productions on Vimeo.

3. Ju-Ju-Be BFF Convertible Diaper Bag

Hi, my name is Kasey and I'm a bagaholic. I think it's hereditary actually, my mom has a ridiculous amount of handbags and tote bags and beach bags so I surely followed suit. When it came to a baby bag I instantly thought, "Oh, Kate Spade diaper bag, DONE!" but the more I started looking around, the more I realized I needed to put my #adulting hat on and find something practical.
That's when I found the Ju-Ju-Be brand. They had the find prints of Kate but the practicality of a North Face backpack so it was a no brainer that this piece would be added to my registry.

Here's the catch (and where BabyList saves the day). There are a TON of retailers that sell these bags and each of them can tweak the price a little bit. By adding this item to my BabyList registry, it automatically generated a list of retailers that sell the bag and the price so my shower guests could instantly see where they could score the best deal. #winning!


4. Anything on Etsy

I'm a huge fan of Etsy, I've been using it ever since it was in beta. I think that a place where artisans and crafters can share their goods with the masses is fabulous! This is where BabyList really shines because it lets you add any item to your registry without having to set up a designated registry through Etsy.

As some of you know, I'm a BIG fan of Lilly Pulitzer... like really big, so it was no surprise when I wanted to make sure that I had lots of matching "Mommy & Minnie" sets with my older prints, Etsy was the place to go. Lots of the sellers on Etsy have access to authentic LP fabric and make beautiful pieces that you can't find in LP stores, so it's not like they are knocking-off the OG.
I found Southern Stitch Company to have the cutest pieces for my little one to match some of my favorite Lilly items currently hanging in my closet. The owner of the shop was a delight to work which always seals the deal for me! Above is a look at the fun set she put together for my registry!



5. All your other registries in one place!

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So by now you might be thinking, "Well, what about diapers and the other basics that I want to register for?" BabyList has you covered there too! You can add your other store registries to your BabyList site so your gift-givers only have to go to one place! We added our Target, Babies R' Us, and Pottery Barn Kids registry to BabyList and guests had no problem navigating... even those over 60 ;-)


I can't wait to share photos with you all of our little lady using all the great things we've received off our registry! Stay tuned for lots more coming your way while I try to navigate this whole pregnancy and new-mom thing!



FCC Disclaimer: This post was created in part with partnerships from the vendors listed above. All opinions are my own. 
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Baby News and a Kate Spade Baby Shower!

I know, I know, it's been awhile since I've done a new blog post... like a LONG while but let's just say things have been a little busy. If you follow along on social media then you may have seen the news that it's not just food baking in the oven over here... that's right, we're expecting! We are thrilled to welcome our little lady into this world this November!

So, in addition to sharing this exciting news, I thought I would also share with you some images from the beautiful baby shower that my friends threw for us here in California. (You'll get a peek at our Lilly Pulitzer Themed East Coast Baby Shower in another post soon!)

Now, I maaaaay have dropped a few hints here and there but my girlfriends knew the perfect theme to pick for my baby shower out here in Cali, Kate Spade. I must stop and say that I am fully aware planning a baby shower for a hormonal, OCD, control freak cannot be an easy task so I have to commend my girls Shirin, Kim and Jen for doing such an amazing job!

I had a bunch of ideas that my girls executed perfectly from onesie stations to photo booth props. I also have to thank my team at work for putting together such an amazing menu filled with my favorite craving foods!

Take a look at the photos below and hopefully they will inspire you!

Guests took home polka-dot clad tins filled with loose leaf tea and "Baby Potts is Brewing" stickers on them with the instructions to brew up a cup when they get the news that our little lady has made her debut!

For activities, they had onesies and bibs out for guests to decorate... some got a little too creative with this! They also had a basket of diapers for everyone to write some "words of encouragement" on which came out pretty hilarious too!

Adorable Tea Sandwiches and Wedge Salads with the perfect shade of pink pickled onions!

Watermelon Feta Skewers, Roasted Asparagus Salad, "Godmother" Sandwiches,
 Cucumber Sandwiches (my major pregnancy craving!), Pasta Salad, Pickled Veggies, and Hummus/Pita.

Cake Pops, Key Lime Parfaits, Blueberry Tarts, Peach Hand Pies,
Pink Velvet Twinkies and Kate Spade approved  Cupcakes! 

Can't forget about the incredible food! It pays off to work for a world-renowned Chef and catering company on days like this! Adorable tea sandwiches, fresh salads and scrumptious desserts were aplenty and beautifully presented. My wiz-of-a-baker friend Jen made the awesome themed cupcakes and my husband made sure to scoop up some rosé flavored gummies from Sugarfina to compliment to stunning venue, Malibu Wines.

Malibu Wines Upper Deck

A huge thanks to everyone who attended and made us feel so ridiculously loved. We are truly lucky to bring our little girl into this world filled with such a supportive group of friends.

Want to grab these printables? Just shoot me an email or comment below and I'd be happy to share!

That Time We Went to Hawaii Plus An Easy Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream Recipe

With Summer right around the corner,  I thought it was a great opportunity to share one of my favorite recipes again with everyone!

A few months ago The Mr. and I received an incredible opportunity to take a quick jaunt over to Maui. We had to keep this all on the DL for a while but I've recently received the all-clear to share!

We experienced some of the most breathtaking sites as you can see in the photos below and enjoyed amazing meals such as Kalua Pork, Garlic Nori Fries and of course, Shave Ice.

Kaula Pork Wrapped in a Banana Leaf, Paella with Jumbo Prawns, Linguica and Calamari, Garlic Nori Fries

It ain't a trip to Hawaii unless you get authentic Shave Ice! Half Pineapple, Half Tiger's Blood for me!
Clearly the sugar made us silly! 

Chocolate Coconut Clusters for Spring!

Yum

It’s officially Spring, which means it’s time to break out the bright colors, the flirty dresses and of course, the super cute sweets!

I find it funny that the winter holidays are the only ones taking a bad rap for being the time to indulge, but when you think about it, there are plenty of occasions year-round where we encounter sweet sabotage.

There are the bunny rabbit cupcakes, beach ball cookies, and endless backyard barbeques that can leave you wondering where all these calories are coming from.

I decided to put a healthy spin on a classic Springtime treat from my childhood. My mom would always make little bird’s nest candies with Chow Mein noodles, peanut butter chips, and the adorable mini eggs. As cute as they are, they're loaded with empty calories… I mean, it’s candy after all. So I thought, what if I swap out some of those non-nutritional ingredients for something that packs a little more of a punch. I started with semi-sweet chocolate base and added in some Kelapo Coconut Oil to give it that nutty taste with the added benefit of healthy fats! Next up, I traded out the old school Chow Mein Noodles for Fiber-rich cereal such as Kashi GO Lean. The shape of this cereal was exactly what I needed to maintain the nest like shape.

After adding some toasted coconut, these treats were just about done. Don’t get me wrong, you can stop here and serve them year-round, but given the time of year, I decided to jazz them up with some Springtime candies.