Tequila Lime Flank Steak Salad with Copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa

I’ve always said “salads aren’t boring” and this salad only further proves that statement.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that on Sunday I was putting a recipe to the test that involved limes.  Lots of limes.  Well now I’m here to tell you that the tequila lime marinade for the flank steak is worth making twice.  I was working on picking out a marinade for the flank steak that Big Guy will be grilling up next weekend for a party we’re helping to host for one of our favorite couples, Kristen and Adam (heeeey, KP!).  Well, this will be the marinade we use.  No need to try any others.  It’s easy and doesn’t have a long ingredient list which is awesome when you’re cooking for 40 people.

We threw our tequila lime flank steak on a salad along with a healthy helping of Copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa.  This salsa will also be making an appearance at the par-tay.

Y’all – this stuff is insanely delicious.  Forget needing a chip, I could eat this stuff straight from a spoon (or fork).

On top of my not-boring salad:  flank steak (cooked to perfection by Big Guy), avocado, grilled bell peppers, corn salsa and drizzle of the chile lime vinaigrette.  (For the dressing, I used red pepper rice vinegar instead of the red pepper oil – why?  Because it’s cheaper.  Just keepin’ it real, y’all.)

I can’t get over how good this salad was.  So many textures.  So many flavors.  A little heat – but not too much.  Tons of freshness from the corn salsa and the creamy avocado.  I’m sure that cheese, black beans and chips would be an awesome addition but I didn’t miss ‘em.

Wedding Wednesday, Celebrate!

 

Celebrate we will!  This past Saturday night, we were the “guests of honor” at a party in Lumberton.  We are so blessed that Chris’ parents friends love them enough to want to host a party to celebrate us.  Not only was it great to see people we haven’t seen all year but my parents loved putting faces with names that they’ve heard over the years.  To say we had a blast is an understatement.  The company was fun, the (live) music was such a great touch and the food was delicious (especially those lamb chops!).  Here are some pics from the par-tay…

 

 

 

 

 

A HUGE thank you to all the folks that put so much thought into the party.

But the celebrations don’t end there…this weekend is my bridal shower (kitchen themed) and I’m soooooooo excited!!!!  Can’t wait to share more on that next week.

Celebrating 5!

As I mentioned last week, Friday was our 5-year “date-iversary.”  So of course we celebrated.

On Friday evening, we kept things low-key.  I chose to make a stir-fry because it’s one of Big Guy’s favorite dinners.  The Szechuan Chicken Stir-Fry was super easy to pull together once all the ingredients were prepped.  The fresh ginger is a must! So much flavor along with a little heat from the chile paste.  I served our chicken stir-fry over Jasmine rice – one of our favorite rice varieties.  On top of the stir-fry, I sprinkling of green onions and peanuts.  Love the salty crunch the peanuts add.  And for once, I didn’t change a thing in this recipe – well, I might have added a little less chile paste.  So delicious!

 

For dessert, we shared a Mini Cheesecake that I had picked up from The Fresh Market.  It was perfect with a glass of bubbles.

On Saturday, Big Guy took me out to dinner to celebrate.  Instead of trying a new restaurant (though we have a long, long list) we went with a tried and true place.  We knew that the food would be amazing and that the atmosphere was what we were looking for.

We were not disappointed.  I didn’t take any more pictures – in fact, as soon as this pic was posted on Instagram, I was banned from taking my phone out of my clutch the rest of the evening.  It was a lovely dinner with the best date I could ask for.

I cannot wait to see what the next 5 years has in store for us.

Happy Monday to you all!

 

5 years.

I only have one Friday Favorite this week.

And it’s Big Guy.

Today marks five years of dating for us and I can’t wait to have an “official” anniversary come April 27.

But March 1st will always be our “date-iversary.”

 

It’s hard to believe that this “little thing” called love started five years ago.

But I can honestly say it’s the best thing to ever happen to me.

He’s my best friend.

Big Guy,

You’re the bubbles in my champagne.

So this weekend we’re celebrating!  Even though it’s not a “real” anniversary to the rest of the world – it’s where we started…

Five years ago.

Monday Confessions.

1.  I wrote this post on Friday.  (The weekends are just too precious to be blogging, folks!)  So you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to hear about my weekend…unless you follow me on Instagram.

2.  I made an Apple-Stuffed Strata weeks ago when my family was visiting.

 

3.  This breakfast bake is the perfect lazy Sunday breakfast because you make it the night before.

4.  I didn’t eat the breakfast bake because it had good ole bread in it.  But it did smell incredible in the oven.  Just what I wanted my guests to wake up to.

5.  I don’t normally make Big Guy breakfast in the mornings.

6.  He doesn’t really like breakfast.  Though he’s digging Chobani lately.

7.  Big Guy pronounces Chobani differently every time he says it.

8.  Don’t get him started on trying to pronounce Fage.

9.  According to Big Guy, Chobani > Fage.

10. It’s only Monday and I’m wishing it was Friday.

Fig Jam and Sweet Potato Stacks

“This is a perfect Sunday night dinner.”
- Emily

“This is a perfect Monday night, Tuesday, night, Wednesday night, even Friday night dinner.”
- Big Guy

Those words made my heart smile.  Cooking for other people is what I love to do.  It’s my hobby.  I throw together simple (and random) meals when it’s just me eating.  But when there’s someone to enjoy the meal with, I would spend 3 hours in the kitchen.

The menu:

Pork Chops with Fig Jam

Roasted Asparagus

Sweet Potato Stacks with Blue Cheese.

For the main dish, I chose to cook pork chops (bone-in) instead of the pork tenderloin since it was just the two of eating dinner.  Also, I simply love a bone-in pork chop and The Fresh Market had two gorgeous chops on Saturday that I couldn’t resist.  The chops marinated in fresh orange juice, orange zest, grated garlic, olive oil, honey, rosemary and salt for about 6 hours.  The marinade smelled so good – there’s just something about orange zest and rosemary!  Once it was time for dinner, we seared the chops in the cast iron and then placed them in the oven to continue cooking (please, please, please don’t overcook your pork!).  The chops were served on top of a dollop of fig jam (homemade – from Granny!!!!) with a seared orange slice on top.  It was super fancy looking.  (wink wink)

The asparagus were simple tossed with EVOO and a salt blend from Trader Joe’s (it included bay and thyme in the mix).

And for the sweet potato stacks, sweet potatoes were sliced with the skin on and tossed with EVOO, salt and pepper.  They were then roasted at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Once roasted, the oven gets turned to broil and you top the tator rounds with blue cheese.  Broil until it gets melty and delicious.

Ohhhh myyyy.  Sunday dinner doesn’t get better than this!  The hot pork chop literally melted the fig jam making a lovely sauce for everything on the plate.  The blue cheese actually became milder when broiled and was the perfect topping for the potato rounds.  I could have eaten the whole batch!  The combination of flavors was unreal!  Sweetness from the fig jam, tartness from the orange, herby rosemary, succulent pork that was perfectly cooked, salty asparagus and melt-in-your mouth potato rounds.  Seriously good.

Like Big Guy said, you can eat this “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.”  (Not really sure what happened to Thursday and Saturday).

Wedding Wednesday, Invitations Sent!

No turning back now!  On Monday night (way past my bedtime at 10pm), my Momma sent me a text message with a picture of the invitations and one word, “Done.”  The invitations are so pretty and I can’t wait for our family and friends to start RSVPing.  We didn’t really have the intentions of having them addressed by a calligrapher, but as we got deeper into the process, we ended up having to find a calligrapher.  And I actually couldn’t be happier that a little glitch happened and we had to hire a calligrapher.

We also picked up our rings this past weekend!  Eeeeek!!!!!  Too bad I had to try on my bands and then give them back.  Sixty six days and I’ll get to wear them forever.  And wanna know a secret – even Big Guy is excited about wearing a ring.  His first piece of man jewelry- hah!  He’s just not sure how I got three rings out of the deal and he only gets one.

What else is on the horizon to mark off the list:

- Ordering the favors
- Finalizing our bridesmaid and groomsmen gifts
- Programs for the ceremony
- Bridal portraits
- A walk through at the venue with our wedding coordinator
- Gift bags for out-of-town guests
- Finalize Big Guy’s attire for the wedding
- Among other details 

So so so excited!

Oh, and I promise to post a picture of the invitation once our family and friends receive them!

Fat Saturday

Last week was Mardi Gras but I didn’t get a chance to celebrate until Saturday.  Big Guy and I decided to have a Mardi Gras/Cajun-themed dinner Saturday and called it Fat Saturday.  Hey, better late than never, right?

 

We started off the celebration with a cocktail!  Fresh mango chunks, blood orange juice, lime juice and a little agave are muddled together and then combined with light and dark rum to make a Maelstrom.

For dinner, Cajun Crab Dip and Spicy New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp.   I was shocked when Big Guy suggested the crab dip since he’s not a seafood lover but I didn’t ask any questions because I was excited to make a new dip.  The crab dip was awesome!  Best served with veggies and bagel chips (gluten free – Glutino makes awesome ones).  The only change I made with the crab dip was leaving out the panko on top.

 

As for the spicy shrimp, prep them ahead of time.  They can even marinate over night – just make sure the marinade is cool before adding the shrimp or it will start to cook your shrimp.  The only change I made to the shrimp recipe was not using as much butter (ran out) and I used half the amount of liquid smoke the recipe called for.  I find that my taste buds are very sensitive to liquid smoke.  The shrimp are roasted in the oven until perfectly tender.  Finger lickin’ good!

 

The perfect Fat Tuesday Saturday!

10 Fridays

I just realized (well, I actually just counted) that there are only 10 Fridays between now and my wedding week!  That really put things into perspective.  Holy cow.  Where has time gone?  And can I just say that those 10 weekends between right this minute and our wedding weekend are packed.  Thankfully they’re packed with fun stuff…showers, parties, Easter, and I’ve packed one full of nothing for sanity purposes.

So what’s this weekend going to be packed with?  Well, tonight I’m kicking off the weekend with a girls night!  The snow ice cancelled my plans for a date with my Buttercream Queen a few weeks back so we’re making up for lost time.  And Saturday is full of fun!  I’m spending the whole date with Big Guy and I couldn’t be more excited.  We’re going to try a new-to-us restaurant for lunch, run a few errands and cook dinner fit for “Fat Saturday.”  A weekend with no where to be is just what the doctor ordered.  I’ll catch you up with all the details on Monday.  But for now…my Friday Favorites of the week.

Favorite Computer Nook:  I can’t see this as being Big Guy’s office but I can totally see myself in this space, blogging and pinning away.

Favorite Covered Dish:  If I was invited to a family reunion this weekend, this trifle is what I would take.  Peanut Butter, bananas and brownies.  Shut up.

Favorite Garden Tip:  Painted strawberry rocks in your garden chase the birds away from your strawberries. They hate pecking on stones and assume that all the strawberries are hard.

Favorite Use of a Cast Iron Skillet:  PIZZA!!!  And the toppings sound amazing, too.  Brussel sprouts and bacon.  I’m sold.

Favorite Bag:  Are you not obsessed with this bag from Cole Haan?  If Big Guy can have 4 pairs of his shoes, can’t I have one bag?  (kidding, Big Guy, kidding)

Favorite Salad:  This salad makes me crave warm weather, grilling outside, cocktails on the deck and fresh veggies from the garden.

Favorite Boozy Dessert:  So I kind of love Amaretto.  And I’m not sure where our love affair began.  And then it was taken to a whole new level when combined with chocolate.

Favorite Quote:  All I can say is “Amen.”

Make this weekend fabulous!

February 14, 2013