savory beef tenderloin

garlic might could become its own food group. sauteed with a little butter and herbs, this simple little steak topping found its place on our new favorites list. 

while we were all trying to be nice and polite and share, we noticed Little had grabbed the bowl and was happily dipping his steak (which he's taught himself to cut solo now, by-the-way and thank-you-very-much).  

a buttery pan-fried steak - next time i plan to serve this with a tomato-avocado salad with a lemony dressing.  i think the creamy avocado would compliment, and the tartness of tomato and lemon would be the perfect foil, for the rich garlicky steak seasoning.

find the recipe here.  enjoy!

this month as an allrecipes allstar, i've been trying out some goodies from Goya.

the recipes we chose have fit well with the way we're trying to eat these days: food that's simple to prepare, but full of flavor, and focused on fruits and vegetables, quality meats and healthy fats, including nuts and seeds.

this recipe for roast adobo pork loin fit the bill.  the "secret" addition of cinnamon added the perfect amount of sweetness, and i think it might be a great autumn dish.  we served our with sweet potatoes and onions that we roasted right in the pan.

true confession: i've had a tendency to overcook my pork lately.  don't do this.  :)

it makes it dry and unappetizing!  although i wish i'd left this one a little more pink (note to self: if it seems like it's been a while since you checked the timer, it has), the flavor was still good!

having a Mexican-food-loving husband has made testing these Goya recipes easy.  he even forgave me the over-cooking.  next time, i'm trying this one in the slow cooker.  with the longer, slow-cooked method, i think it might be even better.

curious your thoughts...

i'm a chipotle girl. i'm a mojo girl. i like hot-and-spicy. but i have to admit, i didn't fall in love with the new Goya Mojo Chipotle. i'm going to try it again to see what i think, but next time i think i'll do a recipe with some maple syrup and lime added.  this was our first run with grilled pork chops with onions.

you can find the recipe in the Goya hub at allrecipes.com, HERE. 

we served ours with roasted green beans.  it was just a bit more spice and a bit less flavor-depth than i like - i think i like the more traditional mojo.  and last time i shopped, i saw a bitter orange variety.  i think i might give that one a try, as well, just for kicks!

give it a try - what do you think? 

after a full week of being "back in the saddle" of choosing my foods for nutrition and flavor, i'm excited to partner with "Beef, It's What's For Dinner," to feature some delicious and nutritious recipes. 

as i've worked toward increasing our protein and whole foods, including lots of fresh produce, i found this little tidbit to be very educational...

 

over the next few weeks, i'll be sharing some delicious beef recipes, and this was really helpful to me, to see all the good stuff they'll contain.

do you have a favorite beef recipe?

 

 

summer grillin'

it's summer, and the grillin' is fine. except i'm no grill master, and i'd like to be! i enjoyed this lil' post with some basic tips. maybe i'll steal the grill tools from the men in the house and give it a go! i've been dying to try my hand at cedar planked salmon... 

for more grillin' tips and recipes, visit allrecipes.com at the grilling recipe hub!

 

spicy not-beef kabobs {perfect almost-grain-free summer dinner}

these were good. after we spent a day in the sun, and before we spent time with our friends/mentors, they were the perfect hearty but still not heavy, summer dinner.

here were my tweaks (because of course there always are some) to this recipe at allrecipes:

used venison instead of beef.

marinated the meat for several hours (venison needs it) before adding to the skewer with veggies, and drizzling more marinade over the top.

veggies we used were par-cooked sweet potato chunks, baby peppers, stems removed, quartered onions, and fresh zucchini.  

 in another-more-organized-life, with a little more planning, i'd have made cauliflower "rice" to serve with these.  instead, fresh fruit and sugar cream pie rounded out the meal.  (80/20 did NOT happen this evening.  :)  )

i should have remembered the venison can get tough if it cooks too long; i might consider skewering the veggies separately next time so i can pop the venison on at the last few minutes.

still, we'll make this again.  it was good!

fast and decadent {butter rum} caramel corn

getting real here - there's not much i've found to satisfy the craving for caramel corn but, well... caramel corn. this recipe from allrecipes.com - my australian fellow home cooks - fit the bill for a saturday afternoon splurge. indulging in this and a little pioneer woman, quickly followed by a swim to make myself feel more productive burn off some sugar high, and my weekend's been off to the sweetest start.

so i did tweak it a bit (don't i always?!)  by swapping half the vanilla for rum extract.  except the rum extract (read the label, silly girl!!!) turned out to be mint.  so we called it "buttermint caramel corn."  and made another batch.  :)

you're feeling crave-ish, no?  find the recipe here.  you're welcome.  :)

nourish and delight

"You're not really the athletic type." The voice of a parent whose own insecurities led to the unintended insecurities of her oldest daughter rang in my head often enough that it was eventually replaced by my own head-voice. I believed the voice, convinced that I could sing, write, entertain, yes, but I wasn't really "built" for the training of muscle, the straining of lungs. 

Over time, the belief-seeming-truth caused fear in public situations. Can't join the youth group after church; volleyball "isn't my thing." Must dress in shower stall after gym class; I don't have a body that should be seen. Won't dare try on the two-piece swimsuit; my curves aren't the muscled, beautiful type earned by runners and ball players. 

Social gatherings in the grown-up world center on food or sports. I stay in kitchen, fearful my lack of coordination will deem me awkward. I chatter, fluent in lighthearted banter and polished at deep and meaningful conversation, avoiding beach, pool, court, race. I master knife, mixer, measure, and stove, using flavor to feed the need for interaction, herbs and spices to mask the inner taste of discontent. But inside, I long to flex and stretch, to push muscle and lung beyond their comfort zone. I dare myself to be brave and urge myself to push. 

Still, over years, the self-dislike means trying to feed the hunger for approval, and baking and shopping often means choosing temporary "pleasure" that leads to long-term regret. Some foods that soothe temporarily bring dissatisfaction and harm to this body I can't believe beautiful. But over years, I bear five babies, each time, my body crying out, "I can! I'm strong!" 

 Inside, a cocoon begins to crack, with each child unraveling a bit more, daring the critter inside to break forth. Those babies grow, and without the voice to tell them "no," they run and climb, breathless with joy for all their bodies can do. 

And one day, one tells me I can, too. I am not bound by past nor fear, but freed by youthful innocence and well-loved and loving courageous hearts. And one day, with trembling legs, I draw a breath and take a step, and I run. Not far, but enough that breath burns and muscles ache and the silken strands of inner doubt shatter and in heart and mind and body I am FREE. 

At thirty-nine years old, I joined two of my children in my first 5K. It wasn't dramatic for the bystanders on the course, but for me, it was a step toward discovering that I am beautiful, and my body was created for more. An Olympian, I am not. But I am a strong woman who is capable of "keeping up" with my amazing children (almost!). I am well able to push beyond what is comfortable and find joy in what isn't. The food I create can be an expression of joy and freedom and at the same time nourish palate and body, and it is my goal to share that nourishment with the ones I love... part of our journey to embrace the amazing bodies we've been given and push them to do all they can!

This year, Sargento dared me to create a recipe and tell a story of personal accomplishment.  I take credit only in accepting the call to more. My Papa made me, and He made me beautiful.  This story is my dare to go higher up and further in.  This recipe is one of many I hope to share to nourish the body and delight the palate!

The protein muffins are a power-packed nod to comfort food, and spinach salad a sweet memory of meals with my mom, whom I gained by marriage, and who poured her love and encouragement into me every second she got!

Cheesy Grain-Free Protein Muffins

4 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup almond flour

1/4 cup ground flax meal

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup Sargento Chef Blends 4 State Cheddar shredded cheese, plus a little extra to sprinkle on top

2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in middle of oven.

In a medium bowl combine the eggs, butter, water and salt and using a whisk, combine well.  Stir in the almond flour, flax meal, and baking soda and keep mixing.  Then add in the cheese and dried herbs until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Spoon batter evenly into muffin pan.  Sprinkle each muffin with extra cheese.  Bake for 13-14 minutes until just golden on top (watch closely: nut flours burn easily).  Let cool and devour with fresh butter!

Serve with Mom's Strawberry Spinach Salad.

Mom's Spinach Salad

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 bag fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve 1/2 tsp fat)

1 cup strawberries, sliced

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/2 cup Sargento Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1 Tbsp real maple syrup

1/2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Saute shallot in bacon fat and 1/2 tsp olive oil.  In a large serving bowl, layer spinach, and strawberries.  Whisk together vinegar, oil, maple syrup, rosemary, thyme salt, and pepper and let flavors meld for five minutes.  Toss salad with dressing, then top with walnuts and cheese.  Finish with fresh cracked pepper.

{special note: sargento provided the allrecipes allstars with samples of their product to use in creating our recipes.  though their gift was gracious, all opinions are my own.  You can view my recipe at in sargento's online cookbook here and at allrecipes.com here.}

an evening at the park {tampa food photographer}

the idea was a kernel of inspiration months ago: how fun to do a family afternoon at the park? each family would come geared up to play old-fashioned games and enjoy generations and ages celebrating the everyday over food and laughter. 

when mccormick gourmet asked if we'd like to host our second "dinner party chain" dinner party for them to feature, it was our chance to make the vision happen!  we invited some sweet friends and the plan began to unfold.

we shopped days before the party.  then to stay relaxed (i may or not be the mom who gets a wee bit crazy-grumpy overwhelmed when i need to rush to "get it all done..."
  

want a tip my mom-in-law taught me?  lay out the serving dishes in advance, complete with serving utensils.  she'd even put little notes in the bowls so she'd remember what dish went where.  especially important for this outing, because i wanted to pretty it up.  no average day at the park for us.  we hit up dollar tree and bought a roll of pretty kraft wrapping paper and some sweet little vases.  publix had baby's breath (apparently, my daughter is a little deprived in the floral department; she'd never heard the name baby's breath before!)  i had cheap plastic storage totes for the dishes and the white stoneware was packed up for transferring once we safely arrived at the park.

a. is such a natural teacher.  she had the boys in giggles as they measured and whisked.  early on as a mama, i relished my time alone in the kitchen.  though it makes for a bit more chaos, i find that having my children alongside me is not just joy and learning for them, but help i have come to depend on.

prepping the ingredients for each dish in advance helped us sail through preparation and photographing so we'd have the memories to hold on to.

friends around make it even more fun, and making messes is easier to clean up when there are extra hands on deck.  :)

 i'm not gonna lie.  it was a mad dash of craziness bit hectic getting out the door with two huge rolling crates, three coolers (we were packin' for a crowd!), and six kids.  trying to heave all that food without dripping raw chicken juice onto fresh shaved brussel sprout salad and keep track of vases and baby's breath and... well - we really needed everyone on hand.  but having a little bit of elegance and interactive meal was so worth it!

the menu:

 Orange Spiced Grilled Chicken

i can never leave anything as-is.  we used a beautiful pork marinade from this recipe from McCormick Gourmet to season our chicken breasts, then grilled them on-site along with the corn.  which, by-the-way, would be my exception to never leaving a recipe alone.  make this corn NOW.  as-is.  and don't hate me when you want to devour the entire recipe yourself.

Grilled Corn with Smokehouse Maple Chipotle Butter

(to be honest, most of us could've made a complete meal of this one. insanely. amazing. side.)

Vanilla Slaw

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Strawberries

Green Beans & Grape Tomatoes with Caramelized Garlic

Tina's Zucchini Salad

(such a surprising and delightful fresh salad made with zucchini instead of cucumber!)

Rosemary Macaroon Thumbprints

a little tip: be sure to use the sweetened, packaged, baker's coconut for this recipe.  we use dried raw coconut that hasn't been sweetened.  4 extra egg whites and 1/4 cup of maple syrup later, we still had more of a savory coconut crouton than a macaroon.  these still managed to all but disappear.  :)

Maddie's Peanut Butter Bars & Cake Pops

(how glad am i that now our kids' friends bake, too??...)

these were so good!  i'll have to ask her for the recipe.  :)

  food always tastes better warmed by spring sunshine and shared with friends.  :)

as our kids have gotten older, we are even more convinced that spending time with every age is a vital part of growing into an amazing person.  we love that our kids have other adults we respect to look to for wisdom, and that they know the importance of serving a little person who needs help.  we're making it a point to carve out more time for just "being" with other families so that kinship builds.

these kids have been prayed for, loved on, and are growing into people we respect as our friends.

"come on, sis... try and beat me!"

it's been a long day.  take me and my full belly home for a hot bath and a bed.  :)

we were all happy-tired when all was said and done.  but friends pitched in together to load cars and caravan out of the closing park as the sun dropped below the horizon.  we can't wait to do it again.

how have you been inspired to carve out your legacy?