Warm White Bean and Steak Salad

I saw this recipe on Mexican Made Easy on the Food Network. (Get it here.) It was a really yummy, quick and light (even though there was steak involved). The only thing I did different was to actually warm the beans in a small saute pan on the stove before putting them in a bowl with the other salad ingredients. Just a note - the rinsing and draining of the beans is super important - it cleans a lot of the excess starch and salt off the beans. We also got to use the cast iron pan again for the steak. No steak photos but here are the beans...

Southwest Turkey Burgers

I made these yummy red-meat alternative burgers over the weekend using lean ground turkey breast. I topped whole-wheat buns with the turkey burger patty, mixed Mexican cheeses and a couple of slivers of avocado. We served with them Alexia Sweet Potato Fries (love!) and had great supper cooked on our new cast iron skillet courtesy of Nick and Erica. Thanks guys!

Southwest Turkey Burgers
1.25 pounds ground lean turkey breast
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 egg white

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until incorporated (I use a fork... it easily breaks up the meat and mixes the seasonings in well). Form into 4-6 patties... we made 5 this time. Cook about 5 minutes per side on medium heat or until cooked through. Place patty on warm bun, top with cheese and avocado. This could also be served wrapped in a tortilla!

Other topping ideas: corn or black bean salsa, pepper jack cheese, fresh cilantro, salsa, chipotle mayo

On another note... we are pretty excited about the cast iron pan! There are so many things you can make in them! And it can be used on the stove for indoor grilling, in the oven or on the grill... really versatile.

Bishops Arts District Play Day

Mike's two sisters and mom came into town to celebrate with us at our couples shower. The next day we took them to the Bishops Arts District, show them some local sites and do some shopping!

Couples Shower - Luau!

Our ever-fantastic friends threw us a couples shower with a luau theme! The backyard was filled with tiki torches, orchid leis from Hawaii, paper umbrellas, pineapples... you get the idea. We also had lots of family join us from Texas, Hawaii, and California. Mike and I had such a great time! We couldn't ask for better people to celebrate with us!

A weekend's worth of recipes!

Our great friends threw us a luau shower over the weekend (stay tuned for pictures) and we had lots of family in town to celebrate with us. I made lots of yummy things to have on hand for our visitors including classic chocolate chip cookies, salsa, sonoma chicken salad (I actually swapped out 2/3 of the mayo and used low-fat greek yogurt to decrease the fat content), pancetta and green onion tart and finally buttermilk cheddar biscuits made mini-style.








Ok - that sounds (and looks) like a lot. But I planned ahead and got to spend lots of time with the fam while having a kitchen full of goodies. I prepared the cookie dough the weekend before, rolled it into an easily sliceable log and froze it. Thursday night, I sliced the dough into about 3 dozen cookies and baked them. I also made the salsa Thursday night. Saturday morning before our company arrived, I chopped and crisped the pancetta, chopped green onions, grated cheese for both the tart and biscuits and chopped the butter for biscuits. I put all that back in the fridge (all measured and ready to go!) All that planning made Sunday morning much easier on me. I woke up and was able make a great brunch for me and Mike; my parents, sister and her boyfriend; my grandparents; my aunt, cousin and baby G; and Mike's mom and 2 sisters! We definitely had a full house!

Thanks to everyone for coming to visit and making the shower special!

The next 67 days.

Thanks to any and all (basically daily) communication I receive from either the knot or Bed Bath and Beyond, I'm reminded that the big day is 67 days away. Meaning, honeymoon in 78 days. Meaning, house shopping in 84 days. (Think I'm excited much?)


Now - the to-do list for the big day and honeymoon is big. Not unachievable but big all the same. And while all this is going on, I can't lose sight of all the other GREAT things going on in the next 90 days or so. So, after reviewing my calendars (yes, plural) I've come up with a "short" list of things I'm eagerly anticipating...

1. Couples shower + family visit this weekend
2. Birthdays - MANY - Kelley, Maren, Kristin, Sonja, Ann, Paige, Kaili and finally baby Grace (almost within 90 days so I'm counting her anyway - its the big ONE!)
3. Bachelorette weekend
4. Jen's bon voyage
5. Cuban cooking class
6. Jack Johnson concert
7. Trip to Austin to see family, choose wines and visit the best man
8. Flea market outing to see Ann & sister's booth
9. And, a staycation scheduled somewhere in the midst of all of this - thankfully

Lots going on but loving it all!