hello, november.

i love november.

it (usually) marks the beginning of snowboarding season (although the snow has been falling later and later each year).

it gets cold enough for me to break out my favorite peacoats and slouchy boots.

there are tons of cute harvest-inspired decorations everywhere.

it is the month with the best foodie holiday around.

it makes me want to bake (but then again, what doesn’t make me want to bake?).

here are some other things november brings:

good nutrition month

georgia pecan month

national peanut butter lover’s month

national pepper month

raisin bread month

vegan month

the first week of november is national fig week. the second week of november is national split pea soup week.

how about the first week of daily holidays? sure, ok.

november 1=national vinegar day & national fried clams day

november 2=national deviled egg day

november 3=national sandwich day

november 4=national candy day

november 5=doughnut appreciation day

november 6=national nachos day

november 7=bittersweet chocolate with almonds day

now you know. i am not sure who makes this stuff up, but i am sure glad they do. i love following the different food holidays and celebrating when i can.

while i didn’t really want to fry up any clams for dinner, i did want to celebrate national vinegar day! i love all types of vinegar, balsamic being my favorite.

i recently saw mandi make some balsamic meatballs over in itzy’s kitchen and it reminded me that i have been wanting to make meatballs for awhile now! i have also seen these made on the newlywed chef.

balsamic glazed turkey meatballs.

slightly modified from crepes of wrath.

meatballs:

• 1.25 lb ground turkey breast (93% lean) *you can use chicken or beef if you want
• 1/3 cup egg substitute
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 2 T dried basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• fresh ground sea salt & black pepper (generous amounts of both)

glaze:

• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 packets of stevia

this dish was super simple. i mixed all the ingredients except the turkey in a bowl.

i added the turkey and mixed it well. with my hands.

next, i made them into balls and placed them on a baking sheet. meatball tip: use a cookie scoop.

this way, all your balls will be the same size and will cook in uniform. portion them out and then lovingly shape them with your hands so they are nice and round.

i whisked the glaze in a small bowl. i tweaked the measurements for the glaze because i wanted to have some leftover for drizzling.

i slathered a generous amount atop each meatball.

i baked the balls at 325 degrees 30 minutes and then they weren’t quite done so i cranked the oven to350 degrees and let them bake ten minutes more.

meanwhile, i got to work on the side dishes.

keeping in theme with the italian meatballs, i made up a simple italian couscous.

italian couscous.

• 1/2 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped thin
• ~10 jarred sun dried tomatoes, chopped rough
• ~1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped rough
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup whole wheat couscous
• fresh ground sea salt & black pepper

i like to chop the onions all the way up to the green to add some color.

i put a saucepan over medium-high heat and heated the oil. i added the garlic and onions and sautéed for a few minutes.

meanwhile, i diced my basil and tomatoes.

next, i added the tomatoes and basil and let that cook for a minute, stirring the whole time.

i added the chicken broth.

when it came to a boil, i added the couscous.

i removed the pan from the heat, covered and let sit for about 10 minutes so it could cook. when it was done, i fluffed the couscous with a fork and seasoned generously with salt and pepper. i also added some tomato & basil mrs. dash. nice touch!

perfect.

i steamed some broccoli while the couscous was sitting.

i love it when i have perfect timing in the kitchen. by the time the couscous and broccoli were ready, the meatballs were done baking.  i heated the remaining glaze on the stove in a small saucepan and used it to drizzle over everything.

marshall loves garlic bread, so i broiled a couple slices of garlic infused bread that i had topped with butter+johnny’s garlic seasoning. 

i had a slice of seedy grainy bread myself (which was also topped with butter+the garlic seasoning).

i buy these mini loaves of bread from the bakery.. they are $1.50 each and marshall and i each get our preferred kind of bread!

this meal was different and fun.

3 balls para mi!

i forget how much i like couscous. i need to fix it more often, it is so versatile.

the bread was a nice touch.

i could eat broccoli every day. it never gets old. luckily, marshall agrees. he loves the stuff!

successful celebration of national vinegar day! and we have plenty of leftovers, which makes me happy.

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since it is national vinegar day and all, i want to share a laundry tip that uses vinegar! do your workout clothes ever get sooo funktastic that you can’t get the bad smell out? or do you ever accidentally leave a load in the washer overnight (or for 3 days, like me) and then the clothes smell all sorts of strange? well, vinegar to the rescue! simply add 1/4 cup vinegar to the load of wash, along with your detergent and fabric softener, and your clothes will come out smelling good as new! i promise, it works :)

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before i go, i want to share these great halloween photos from one of my readers, marie. marie is awesome and the costume she pulled off (along with her husband and twins) proves just how awesome she is. check them out!

her twin boy and girl.. cookies:

the whole family!

incredible.

i think this costume gets the award of the year, don’t you?! so cute and clever. thanks for sharing, marie!

if anyone else has fun halloween costumes they want to share, send them my way. i am a sucker for awesome costumes :)

hope your first day of november has been excellent! check ya later alligators.

Qs~

1. do you have any random household tips to share with the class?

2. what is your favorite carby side dish? pasta? potatoes? couscous? rice? something else?

3. why do YOU love november?

xo. janetha g.