Goat Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers and The Nesting Place Giveaway
These Goat Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers are a simple appetizer with 3 easy ingredients.
**contest is now closed**
The Nester (Myquillin Smith) and I met online 5 years ago, through our blogs (and Melissa), and then were roomies several times at conferences. We had lots of fun! Right away we connected with each other, both having a similar message when it comes to our homes and entertaining. Forget about image, embrace reality, and love on people! For Nester it was: Embrace the home that you are in!
“When I’m in a perfect home, all I can think about is how to act and how my home compares. I get all caught up in myself and miss the real purpose of beig there: connecting.” – The Nester
Her message.
Nester is also known for her “It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful,” message, which has helped millions of women, including myself. Sometime I chant my inner-Nester, when I start getting stressed out with entertaining! It brings me back to reality, that having people into our home for dinner is not about perfection, but all about the rich relationships. Amen!
Her book.
Recently, Nester wrote a book called The Nesting Place, (#1 on Amazon Home Decor books right now!) which is full of her very simple decorating ideas (in a home bursting with 3 boys, pets, and general messes that occur in a busy, active home). In her book, she tells her story and journeys through the homes she has lived in (both owned and rented) and how she took risks to transform her home into an inviting place. I love the chapter, The Gift of Messes, Mistakes, and Other Beautiful Imperfections. You just have to read it.
She shares a trillion decorating ideas, on a budget, painting tips, DIY ideas, makeover and thrift store tips, how to repurpose, barter, move stuff around, shop the house, window treatments, how to bring in nature, go with the trends, marry furnitiure, and more.
She always comes back to this thought: Perfection is overrated!
Rest and joy.
Doesn’t it sound like a fabulous book? I have a copy and have read it from beginning to end, and I’m so inspired with the love on every page. Thank you, Nester!
Whether you’re being called to be a homemaker, or you work outside the home, you love to entertain in your home, or you’re scared to death, you have a gorgeous giant home, or you rent a small apartment, our homes can be–should be–places of rest and joy.
Nester gives us affirmation in believing that it is from our homes that we become all that we are created to be.
“You don’t have to wait for perfect conditions. Create your home now, wherever you are. You have everything you need.” – The Nester
Simple appetizer.
Recently we had a small dinner party in our home with 2 doctors I used to work for, and their wives, and another couple. A simple appetizer was served, Goat Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers, with 3 easy ingredients (so easy to buy at Costco or Trader Joe’s and keep on hand for last-minute company), which I’m sharing today.
I love to entertain, and I love to keep it simple. I realize that our home will never be perfect (3 outdated bathrooms, and lots of “originals” in our home), but I move beyond my fears anyway and tell myself that people are not coming to see my home. And then, we end up having the best time – in any area of the house!
The giveaway.
If you’d like an opportunity to win a copy of Myquillian’s new book, I’m giving away 3 copies!
The Nesting Place, is also available on Amazon.
If you’d like to be entered to win a copy today (US residents only), please leave a comment letting me know:
What areas do you struggle in, making your house a home?
{Entries accepted through 11:59pm PT, April 29th.}
Goat Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers with Pesto
Yield: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Easy entertaining: Be prepared, pick up a bag of peppers at Costco, along with goat cheese and pesto. You're set for an easy appetizer!
Ingredients:
- 1 dozen mini sweet peppers (red, orange, and yellow)
- 4 oz semi-soft goat cheese (cream cheese works, too.)
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup pesto
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare the peppers by slicing off the "top" (concave) side of the peppers, leaving the stem.
- Scoop out the seeds and the membrane.
- Combine the softened goat cheese with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the herbed goat cheese into the peppers.
- Arrange the peppers on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake for around 15-18 minutes until peppers are softened and cheese is hot and bubbly.
- Serve on a platter with a separate bowl of pesto for dipping.
I struggle mainly with clutter. I am a piler and I think my kids take after me. Stuff piles everywhere! and then nothing ever looks clean. That app looks quite tasty!
I definitely struggle with comparing (why would anyone want to hang out at my house?). And I struggle with keeping up with the clutter in our small house.
Paper clutter is my downfall….it is everywhere :)
I struggle with accepting our home as a blessing God wants me to receive. After moving frequently as a child, the ‘Is this temporary?’ thought is one I’m continuously releasing in order to settle in and make our house a home.
That app looks delicious. I’ve never tried mini-sweet peppers! Do they taste similar to their lager counterparts?
I love this message – of embracing people instead of perfection. I struggle in my heart with welcoming people into my mess. And I struggle with clutter and papers!
My biggest struggle is inviting people into our home. I love taking food to people and will make a meal or pan of cinnamon rolls for anyone in need but cant’ get myself to extend the invitation to come into my home. I think it’s because its not perfect. Maybe this book is exactly what I need to get over the hump.
We moved into a beautiful home about 3.5 years ago and I still haven’t hung many pictures because I can’t figure out where to put them. This house has lots of windows and large open doorways so there’s not much wall space. And then in the main family room there’s paneling and the couch is off center so there’s nothing over the couch because I can’t figure that out either. I need to just hire someone to advise me.
Clutter would be at the top of my list. My dining room table is always full of mail and magazines. The book sounds great:-)
I struggle with imperfection. If I see a spot on the wall or a cobweb or dog print on the floor or a piece of dirt. Really. I go into manic mode. When there are all three — cobweb, dog print AND piece of dirt, I’m a basket case. In a home with a retired husband who refuses to take his shoes off in the house and starts his veggie seedlings behind the sofa in front of the bay window…and dog with paw prints, I never relax. I wash my floors at least twice a day. Sometimes four times. No lie. People always love to come to our home and always feel welcomed, relaxed and happy. I’m the one who sees the piece of dirt. I’ve actually gone behind my family when they arrive for holidays with the little vacuum. No lie. But once they settle, I can relax and put the vacuum away — til they leave!
I struggle with layering pieces within each room to create a complex look.
I struggle with not having everything in it’s place. Beautiful is not perfect, but I don’t see that in my own home, even if everyone tells me. My vision needs to loosen up!
I just bought a new house and everything in it is beige, beige, beige. I struggle with committing to any bright color to give it that little “pop” it needs. It’s cozy, but it’s still missing something.
I struggle with the bedrooms. It seems like they always turn into the catch all.
I always struggle with creative things to put on the wall!
I struggle with making things comfortable. I want others to be comfortable and I would love my home to be clean and inviting. It is but I have little storage .
I struggle with wanting everything to be perfect!
I struggle with the finishing touches: drapery, rugs, accessories. That and keeping the kid “stuff” from exploding ev- ery- where!!!!
I struggle with paper clutter too but have found “clever” ways to hide it. I also struggle with simple decorating. What’s in my mind never seems to be the end product. :)
I struggle with the living room….making it a balance of functional and pretty. With 3 little ones I don’t want them to feel like things have to be in perfect order. – I don’t want to have to constantly nag them to clean up. I try to make areas that the clutter can be hid….but it’s always a work in progress.
I think, after so many years of having children in the home (get rid of all breakables!) and farming (decorate with mud boots, coveralls, etc.), I’ve come to a place that I don’t recall how to streamline (get rid of excess) and create a home that is welcoming and attractive to the non-farmer/without-kids crowd.
I struggle with everything being “perfect” in order to entertain! your blog has been a blessing in helping me believe to just “do it”! i am progressing but think of all the beautiful moments that probably have passed me by because everything wasn’t “perfect”. oh…and $$$ is always in the mix when trying to decorate or renovate! : )
Keeping kitchen free of clutter!
I think my biggest struggle is knowing how I want my home to look but not having the resources to get it to that point or the “evils” lol of technology that allows us to see all the amazing homes out there and ours just don’t measure up..we always see the “best” of what others want us to see and can quickly compare and feel inadequate.
I struggle with kitchen clutter. I love a simple, streamlined kitchen but I also love kitchen gadgets. Living in the city, our kitchen is pretty small and it’s getting overrun with all my cooking gear and recipe books and ingredients and blog equipment.
I struggle with figuring out how to make all the disparate things I have seem cohesive in my rather small living space. And I also struggle with believing people when they tell me they find my home charming or pretty, when I look around and just see flaws.
I really struggle with all the kitchen clutter as it seems that every piece of paper and magazine ends up there. Then the piles begin – piles of magazines, bills, recipes, things to do etc.! It gets over-whelming as I have a small kitchen!
My biggest struggle is being frustrated at the fact that housework is never done. And even when it feels done, with 3 young kids at home….and we homeschool, so we’re home a lot… it feels like it’s not done for very long. I sorta know that things doesn’t need to be perfect to be beautiful, but boy wouldn’t it be nice if it were perfect? I don’t want to be the mom that’s always fussing about pick up this and pick up that, and I don’t want to beat myself up for the mess that is always waiting to be tended to…
I want to be content and give myself grace and stop living life so frustrated by my imperfect lived-in surroundings.
I struggle with upkeep of my yard..:(
I would love to entertain – have people over for dinner, drinks, but get very nervous about it. I always feel my cooking and hostess skills never measure up to others.
I struggle with making my living room comfy and homey feeling and on budget. We don’t have a den or family room so our living room truly is where we live. And I currently hate it :(
I make the stuffed mini peppers often, with a mixture of goat cheese, cream cheese, fresh basil, and salt and pepper. I do’t have any reluctance to having folks in my home. I have a rule for myself to keep the dining table clean, and the couch sitting area sorta neat, and I don’t worry about the kitchen. I cook and bake, so it can be a disaster, but good things come out of there, and anyone who really counts knows that.
I am a passable home entertainer that struggles with perfection. Help me to be able to accept that I don’t need to have everything perfect to entertain by awarding one of “The Nester’s” books to me! Thanks so much for this opportunity!
I would love to have the book! Thanks for the chance!
I struggle with clutter, too, and the fact that housework is never done!!
thanks for the chance to win!
Suzanne
Beautiful giveaway. I too have to remind myself it doesn’t have to be perfect…sometimes I set myself up to be “stressed” by thinking that it does… the older I get the better I am at just letting it be… the doing is the fun part.
Happy Day
Clutter. Need I say more? Sometimes I feel I may drown in it. And so, I do not feel I can entertain in my home because it is all too much to run around stashing things when people are expected.
I am terrible at hanging pictures, and blank walls feel so sterile. I know photographs and wall art would make my house more homey. I just don’t know where to get started!
I struggle with not having “my own home.” My family has been missionaries in Europe for 15 years, always renting places. Now, I am full-time in the states in an apartment, soon moving to a completely furnished missions house. I am stationed here to be with my last child as he completes his last two years of high school, while my husband travels back and forth to Belgium.
I must admit, I’m not very good at making a place that doesn’t belong to me “mine.” Most times I don’t even get more than a picture or two up on the walls–I will just have to take them down again in a years’ time.
During the years my kids were growing up, I was pretty much okay with that. Now, I would love to make my space feel like a home. It’s difficult to welcome people into a place that doesn’t feel that way–there’s just something awkward and empty about it. Temporary. Going into a fully furnished place (down to the pictures on the wall and the dishes in the cupboards), can be a blessing. It can also mean living another year in someone else’s house. Maybe this book would give me some ideas…Thanks for the giveaway!
We have two little girls and while I would like a clean, tidy house, there are always toys everywhere!!! We have sorted, organized, and weeded out but the kids stuff is still everywhere! I know it is a stage in life and our home is loved and lived in but it never ceases to drive me nuts!
My living room we don’t have a family room or den so this it, I have the basics in basic colors this I’m good with but only one picture on the four big walls and ever tine I pick up something at a store I over think it to much and either put it back or buy it and not use it ugh. My style is calm, organic, rustic and simple. This could have the answer for me. Those peppers look amazing my boy would love them!
I would love to win this book! It looks great and I am sure I could learn a lot! I always struggle with clutter. I no sooner get one spot cleared and then another cluttered area pops up.
Right now, I live with my significant other in a tiny apartment (our first place). There are so many ways I envision “our first place” to look like, but I keep holding out until we have more space in a “real house.” I’m stuck in between the phases of hanging-on-to-old-college-decor and wanting-to-be-a-stylish-grownup. I want to find all the future home decorations and furniture now, but I feel like a lot of those things you find along the way – with souvenirs from trips, family gifts, and wedding gifts I’m assuming.
I need to get over “it needs to be perfect” way of thinking.
I struggle with making our home warm and inviting. I don’t like a lot of knick knacks and stuff on tables and ledges, so its pretty bare bones in there.
Like many others here, paper clutter is a problem at my house, too. I am pretty good about not expecting (nor even wanting) everything to be absolutely perfect.
I struggle with changing my decor. Once I get a room decorated in a way that I like, I almost never change anything. I’d like to be able to switch things up a bit more with the seasons, holidays, etc.
I struggle with feeling like my house has to be perfect to have people over. I am so jealous of people who are relaxed back about it. I am working on it though!
I struggle with putting everything together in my home and in entertaining…I think I worry about everything being perfect too much and then I am afraid to start projects.
Keeping my upstairs reasonable while construction is happening downstairs. It is a balancing act at times!
I struggle with keeping my son’s toys organized and to not take over the house!
I struggle with keeping up with the house. It is a small house and I love it but I work a couple of jobs so I find it harder to keep the house as clean and organized as I want it to be.
My bedroom. I want it to be a respite but it is a mess of ‘where stuff stops’ with my pretty bed in the middle.
Itching to read her book!
Clutter! We have way too much stuff. My guys hold onto everything (not me, of course) and it gets very frustrating trying to clean. We are working on it but it’s a battle. Thank you for your blog and the motivation to entertain while keeping it simple and people focused. You have been an inspiration.
Perfection is overrated, it’s so boring! But it is ironic because this appetizer looks pretty perfect ;)
The one area I struggle the most with is my bathroom, it’s small and I have to share it with 3 men.
Hmmm.. I seem to have trouble knowing how to make our home cozy. How to make it feel unique and welcoming. It probably stems from the fear of not wanting to get it wrong.
I struggle with decorating. With adding character that is more than Lego and dolls and books. I want a beautiful home I just don’t know how to get there and how to arrange what we have.
I have 3 boys and lots of clutter! I cannot keep up with all their stuff. So instead of dealing with it on a regular basis, I let it build up until I explode. Kind of like a volcano! Then I make everyone miserable, they pick up their stuff for a little while, then we are back to square one. It’s an non-ending cycle that I really need to find a solution to. Maybe The Nester can help me out!!
Oh, the book looks lovely. I need a calm, restful bedroom, but I seem to spend all my time on the “public” areas of my house and never seem to get to the bedroom.
I struggle with decorating. I always love how other people decorate theirs, but I don’t have an eye for that sort of thing in my own home.
I struggle with being in the habit of regular clean up. After a long day of graduate school and homework, it’s easy to ignore the laundry that needs to be put away and the dishes that need to be washed! But then it builds up and feels like a big task to get back to “normal”.
I can’t wait to read Nester’s book! Her belief in imperfection has really been an encouragement to me.
Clutter seems to be a problem in our house.
I am currently in the truly fun stage of mothering a young boy and a toddler boy. My struggle is just keeping things tidy to allow for a relaxed environment for my husband and me…and our kids. I’m sure this season will pass too quickly. :)
I struggle with too much clutter- papers I need to organize, drawers I shove things in, having emotional attachments to things that I probably need to get rid of, and then getting frustrated with myself that I don’t stay on top of these things. I enjoy entertaining and cooking for others, but would probably do it more often if my house felt like it was in order.
Small dining room… so our company meal has to be split between that room and the kitchen nook.
The spots that come to mind for me are probably our walk-through laundry room that gets so much traffic and daily wear&tear/dumping ground…and a front entry that just pops you right into the main living area. I waver between trying to make them more homey, useful, beautiful — and on the other hand — just being satisfied the way they are!
I have a small kitchen making it kind of hard when others are in it and cluttered areas for storage
These sound wonderful and look beautiful!
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes and entertaining ideas. We are in the middle of a big remodel in our home and that has made me reluctant to have people over – and a pack of seating that goes with no furniture. I look forward to the end of this season! Thank you for the chance to win Nester’s new book! Maybe I’ll be able to use some of her ideas in my house once we are ready to decorate!
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes and entertaining ideas. We are in the middle of a big remodel in our home and that has made me reluctant to have people over – and a lack of seating that goes with no furniture. I look forward to the end of this season! Thank you for the chance to win Nester’s new book! Maybe I’ll be able to use some of her ideas in my house once we are ready to decorate!
Clutter is my problem.
I love this! I struggle with confidence in how I choose to decorate. I feel like I always need someone else’s opinion/validation.
Being able to make decisions about what to buy!
Too much stuff. I moved into the house I grew up in, and now have 2 homes worth of stuff. It’s been more difficult then I thought to weed through it all.
My boyfriend and I moved in together six months ago and we’re still figuring out what our joint decorating style is, which means we’re living with our mismash of styles until we do!
Made these peppers tonight for a party and they were a big hit! Thanks for sharing!