Steak and Potato Salad

Our favorite guest blogger Kate is back! Today she is sharing with us her steak and potato salad!

This is a great salad for a weeknight dinner. It has a few different steps but comes together pretty easily and is hearty enough to fill you up. Adapted from this recipe, with potatoes, green beans and the addition of some steak tips its like a whole meal in salad form!

For the Walnut Dressing...

• 2 TB Vinegar
• 2 TB Plain Non-Fat Yogurt
• 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/3 C Walnuts
• 2 TB Walnut Oil

The original recipe called for white wine vinegar, I didn't happen to have any and used regular white vinegar. I also used plain Greek yogurt. I found walnut oil with the olive oil in my regular grocery store, if you can't find it you can probably substitute olive oil you may just lose a little walnut flavor. 

Preheat the oven to 400 and toast the walnuts for about 6 minutes, until they are fragrant. Meanwhile in a small mason jar combine the vinegar, yogurt, mustard and salt, and give it a quick stir. Roughly chop the walnuts and add to the jar with the walnut oil. Place the cover on the jar and give it a good shake. Set the dressing aside or place in the fridge.

For the Salad...

• 3-4 Red Bliss Potatoes
• 1 C Green Beans
• 3-4 oz Arugula
• 1/2 lb Steak Tips

Serves 2

Preheat the oven to 400 (or leave it on if you have just made the dressing). Dice the potatoes into bite sized pieces, toss lightly with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 45-60 min until cooked through and lightly browned. The timing may depend on how large of a dice the potato is and how brown you like them.

While the potatoes are roasting  bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Trim the green beans then cut them in half or in thirds, so they are also bite sized.

Once the water is boiling, drop in the green beans and cook for about one minute. Then drain and transfer the beans to the ice bath to stop the cooking. Once the beans are cooled drain on paper towels.

Once the potatoes are done roasting let them cool slightly and prepare your steak tips to your liking. I used an Italian seasoning and grilled them. When the steak tips are cooked, let them rest while you assemble the salad. Toss the arugula, potatoes and green beans with the walnut dressing, divide between plates and top with the steak tips. Enjoy!

How delicious does this look? I can't wait to make this. Let us know if you try this recipe and how you adapted the recipe. 

Happy Pinning!
By Kate Lindsey

Hawaiian Pork Chops and Tropical Rice

Hilton Head was awesome! I was even able to accomplish 3 out of 5 of my to dos! The only things we didn't get to do were go to Savannah and the Skullcreek restaurant. However, we did eat at The Old Oyster Factory, The Smokehouse, and a Italian Steakhouse which I can't remember the name of! Definitley recommend Hilton Head if you haven't been there yet! 

Lately I have been eating so much chicken and beef. I tend to get in these little routines and forget about all the other options out there. The other day I was at the grocery store deciding on what we were going to have for dinner and I saw boneless pork chops. BINGO! So of course that sent me right to Pinterest to come up with some ideas for dinner. 

I found a recipe via Pinterest that originated cristinecooks.blogspot.com for a pineapple honey marinade. The only ingredient I had to buy was some fresh pineapple. Below is my version of the recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• 4 boneless pork chops
• Fresh pineapple (I bought the sliced version at the store to use the fresh pineapple juice for the marinade)
• 1/3 cup honey or agave
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper (I used enough to lightly dust the pork chops)

Directions: 

• Prepare marinade. Whisk pineapple juice, honey, dijon mustard and salt in a small bowl. 
• In a freezer bag, put pork chops in bag and pepper the pork chops. Pour marinade into bag and make sure that all pork chops are well coated. 
• Refrigerate 45 minutes to an hour. 
• Start prepping Tropical Rice (see below)
• Heat grill, and grill chops for 4-6 minutes on each side. 
• Add pineapple splices to grill in the last 5 minutes and make sure they cook on each side. 

Of course we needed a side dish for our pork chops and I was trying to find something a little different that incorporated some type of fruit. I found a recipe via Pinterest from Hannaford.com for Tropical Rice. I decided that this was a great compliment to the pork chops. Not to mention with Uncle Ben's 90 second rice this side dish takes minutes to prepare!

Ingredients: 

• 2 bags of Uncle Ben's Brown Rice (cooked)
• 1 large mango diced
• 1 medium red pepper diced
• 1/2 vidalia onion diced
• 1/2 cup dried coconut shavings
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Directions: 

• In a bowl, mix all ingredients and serve! Could that be any easier? 

I also served a Asian slaw salad and Hawaiian rolls along with the dinner!

This is such a simple meal to serve! Great for guests! Next time I make this I am definitely going to have a tropical theme and serve the rice in hollowed out pineapples! And maybe some Mai Tai's! Here are some inspirational ideas for my next dinner party using this menu!

Pineapple Serving Bowl

Pineapple Flower Vase

Mai Tai

Happy Pinning!

By Jennifer Shelton

Five on Friday - Hilton Head

We are in Hilton Head for a long weekend getaway! So excited to be here for the first time.

It took us almost 6 hours to get here (traffic, lunch breaks, Le Creuset factory store (no good finds), gas, etc!!), so after checking in we had the concierge make us reservations at the Old Oyster House.

Luckily we left the hotel when we did, after we sat down we had a lightning and rain show. Don't get me wrong our entire meal was soooo good! But my dessert was absolute heaven. I ordered the ice cream sandwich and asked them to use salted caramel instead of vanilla ice cream.

Did I mention that they served it in a "moat of hot fudge sauce"? The ice cream was made by Hilton Head Ice Cream shop and so delicious. I now have added Hilton Head Ice Cream Shop to my to do list to try more.

When we were leaving the restaurant I was able to capture this photo of a rainbow! Not every day can you see palm trees and rainbows!!

Here are the 5 things I am looking forward to while we are here. In addition to laying on the beach and relaxing poolside!!

1. Take the ferry to Savannah

Okay probably shouldn't start off with this one since it is my first time in Hilton Head and I am looking to leave. However, I have never been to Savannah and figure this is the perfect opportunity to get a quick glimpse! I also want to eat at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room. Does anyone have any recommendations of other things to do while we are here? 

2. Sunset and dinner at Skull Creek Boathouse

I was reading reviews and this place looks awesome, and not to expensive in terms of prices. If you have been here let me know what I should order!

3. Harbour Town Lighthouse

We need to make sure we get some type of exercise/historical/scenic excursion into the vacation mix! This lighthouse is a landmark and we definitely need to make sure we go and take some pictures!

4. Hilton Head Ice Cream Shop

So after sampling the salted caramel ice cream at the Old Oyster Factory, I need to sample more ice cream from Hilton Head Ice Cream Shop. Not to mention we are on vacation so I plan on having ice cream every night. AND they have a cat as their logo (i am obsessed with my cat Armondo) Haha! I will be sampling the bananas foster and peanut butter ice cream definitely!

5. Mini Golf

So my husband and father-in-law will be playing real golf, I need a few more lessons before I start playing courses in Hilton Head. But I definitely want to get in some mini-golf! I am thinking Pirates Island but looking for recommendations. I need to show my husband that I might not be able to drive the ball 300 yards but I can putt! 

I am still looking for other things to do and restaurants that are a must see! So please let me know of any!! 

Happy Friday!! 

By Jennifer Shelton

Passion Iced Tea Sparklers

Happy Thirsty Thursday!

Nothing is better than Passion Iced Tea from Starbucks in the summer. However, now living in the suburbs I can no longer walk out my front door and grab an iced tea from Starbucks across the street. The other day I was at the grocery store and saw that TAZO came out with passion iced tea bags. What is great about these bags is that you only need one bag to make 4 quarts of iced tea.

Of course I couldn't just have plain iced tea, I had to spice it up a little to make it perfect for sitting on the back porch.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tazo Passion Iced Tea Bag
• 1/4 cup agave or honey
• Ice
• 2 cups sparkling sater or seltzer
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• Strawberries

Directions: 

• Boil water for iced tea and add agave or honey; once boiled add tea bag and steep for 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on how strong you want your tea!). 
• Remove tea bag
• Fill glasses with ice and mint leaves
• Pour iced tea over ice filling half way
• Top iced tea with sparkling water and stir
• Garnish with strawberry

And most importantly enjoy!!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Blueberry, Strawberry, & Jicama Salsa

In my Five on Friday Memorial Day weekend post I mentioned a few Pinterest that I planned on making over Memorial Day weekend. Both recipes were great (with modifications) and I wanted to share.

The first recipes was for Blueberry, Strawberry and Jicama Salsa. This recipe was adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod. This recipe makes SO much salsa, not only did I use it on salsa but I also used it on a salad with grilled chicken. I followed the recipe for ingredients, however I ended up making up my own measurements.

Also, most grocery stores sell jicama. It is usually found in the potato, garlic, onion area. If you can't seem to find it make sure to ask a store employee.

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of blueberries
• 1 pint of strawberries - diced
• 1 jicama - diced
• 1/3 cilantro - chopped
• 1/4 red onion - finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño - finiley chopped (stemmed & seeded)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• salt, to taste
• tortilla chips for serving

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients, and salt to taste. 

Stir until well combined. 

Serving Suggestions: 

 

• Serve with scoop tortilla chips! The blueberries don't stay on flat chips. Make sure you use scoop chips. 
• On a bed of mixed greens, spinach, baby kale, etc with grilled chicken or fish. 
  

Let me know your thoughts on this recipe! Would love to hear how you served the salsa!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Free Printables!

So I recently stumbled upon a site via Pinterest that allows you to print free monograms! I am slightly obsessed and keep printing out all the free printables (printable monograms.com). I don't know what I am going to do with everything, but I guess that is for another blog post to figure out!! Make sure to also follow Jenny Bevlin on Pinterest. She has some great ideas on how to use the free printables and love all of her pins.

Basically Jenny has 3-4 sites that offer different types of free printables. Everything from parties, to weddings, and stationary. WARNING it is slightly addicting and I now have to order new cartridges for my printer. If you want to save on the cartridge ink you can always buy Jenny's products on her website.

Below are some ideas of what I am going to do.

Make monogram bows for gifts...

I printed this out this monogram for my office, and am going to use an Ikea Ribba frame.

Love the calling cards/luggage tags! I just need to head to Staples and get some business cards to print on.

I can't wait to have a party to use the mason jar decorations!!

Okay, enough of me thinking about what I am going to do and time for me to start doing! Off to Michael's and Staples to pick up more paper and ink cartridges!

Happy Pinning!!
By Jennifer Shelton

Pasta Puttanesca with Fried Capers

While on vacation last week, my husband ordered chicken piccata. Since then I have been thinking about capers lately! I was on Pinterest and saw a recipe for Pasta Puttanesca with Fried Capers over Linguine that I thought looked perfect for summer and satisfied my caper craving. Not to mention this dish is extremely fresh and you can use ingredients from your local farmer's market or backyard.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times (I bet you can tell what ingredient I added below that isn't included in the recipe!!!) My husband always wants more substance with his pasta so I added some grilled chicken. Thinking grilled shrimp could also be a great substitution as well.

Ingredients:

• 1lb chicken cubed
• 2 tablespoons of lemon pepper (I used William Sonoma Meyer Lemon Peppercorn rub)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of capers, drained and patted dry with paper towels
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic/1 tablespoon
• 1lb cherry tomatos, halved
• 1 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 1/4 kalamata olives, chopped
• 12 oz. linguine
• Fresh parmesan to top pasta

Directions: 

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with lemon pepper. Place in skillet and cook until done. Take chicken out of pan and carefully wipe pan to use for sauce, or use a different skillet. 
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add capers, and fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until capers start to pop or split. Remove capers from pan and place on paper towels. 
• Add onion to skillet, cook 3-5 minutes, and then stir in garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for one minute more. 
• Stir in tomatoes, and cook 5-7 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to break down. Stir in 1/2 the basil and all of the olives. Remove pan from heat. 

• Boil pasta and cook according to directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add drained pasta to skillet, and toss to combine with sauce, adding some pasta water if needed.
• Serve garnished with remaining basil and capers. Top with parmesan cheese if desired. 

So I totally started to serve the pasta before I got a picture!! So the picture below does not do the pasta dish any justice. 

For that added Mediterranean feel you can also decorate your table like my mother-in-law did! She bought flowers at the grocery store and then added greenery from the lemon trees in the garden. I just love how summery the dining room looks for dinner! 

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Five on Friday - Favorites

This was such a busy week and I can't believe it is already Friday. I seriously can't tell you what I did this week. Monday we drove back from the beach, Tuesday I had a few appointments, Wednesday/Thursday was filled with errands. And that brings us to Friday! Of course I would love to say I am doing something fabulous today but I have about 2.5 hours to spend at the car dealer for our tuneup/oil change, followed by a trip to the airport to pick up the hubby. He has been in Boston the past few days for work and I can't wait to have him home.

With being so busy I did find 5 things that I am currently obsessed with!!

1. Blink Buggy
Have you tried this? Blinkbuggy was started by an ex-Google employee and it is a way to document and share all of your child's milestones. Your family can even sign up for a e-mail that is delivered every Tuesday that recaps everything you posted. Not to mention they even have a phone app so you can document on the go as well. I am definitely going to sign up for this. Not to mention they even have a feature where you can print your uploads into memory books. Of course I have a traditional baby book I bought from Anthropologie which I love, but this is a great way to share with all my family members and friends who I don't see daily.

Did I mention this is FREE?? So stop what you are doing and sign up if you have kids! If you are currently using Blink Buggy let me know. Would love to learn the tips and tricks.

2. BlaBla Dolls
I love these dolls! I bought these for a few friends from a local store when I was living in Boston. I always couldn't wait for the day to put these in my own nursery. Again, I am slightly obsessed with my cat Armondo so I need to have all the cat BlaBla dolls! Specifically Splash the cat, and the rattles!!

You can find these at small boutiques, online at blablakids.com, and Anthropologie even sells them too! I feel that these will be childhood keepsakes and not to mention class up the babies nursery!

3. Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream

We visited Jeni's ice cream with friends while in Atlanta and I can't stop dreaming about the Buckeye State flavor. It was so good! I ordered first and got 2 scoops, while everyone else we were with got 3 scoops. I was so upset when I finished and everyone else still had more. It has been over a week and I am still thinking I should have gone back and gotten one more scoop. 

Jeni's has store locations in Ohio, Atlanta and opening in Charleston. Check out the website if any local groceries store have it. I just found a location close to us and will be heading there tomorrow after our car tuneup! Not to mention they also ship!! I am extra excited for Charleston because we are planning a trip there this fall. Don't you worry I will definitely be getting 3 scoops of ice cream and may even splurge on hot fudge as well. 

In the meantime, I might buy the cookbook. We love using our Cusinart ice cream maker and thinking I can definitely impress our guests this summer making these recipes. Jeni is also doing a book tour so if you are in the area check it out! 

Have you tried Jeni's yet? Let me know what flavor you love. Since they carry products in local grocery stores and you can buy online I may be willing to sample a new flavor!!

4. Sweet Paul Magazine

A few months ago I stumbled upon Sweet Paul on Pinterest and basically started pinning everything on the boards. I then found the magazines at Anthropologie and fell in love. Recently they came out with a new cookbook that I must have! 

I can't tell you how amazing all the recipes and ideas are. They sell the cookbook at Anthopologie, Crate and Barrel, Amazon to name a few. I feel like I retweet one of their posts daily. Follow me on Twitter and you can see how I am slightly obsessed with them. I highly suggest following Sweet Paul on Pinterest and Twitter. Next week I am debating on making either the Lemon Ricotta Asparagus Tartlets or the Supremely Simple Strawberry and Rhubarb Tart. 

5. Austin, Texas

My sister-in-law and co-blogger is heading to Austin Texas for a Bachelorette party this weekend and I am so excited for her. Austin is on my places to go list and I can't wait to hear all about her trip and then start planning my own trip. Check out Erin's blogpost on what she has planned! 

Have a great weekend and Happy Pinning!

By Jennifer Shelton

Coconut Lime Cilantro Cooler

Happy Thirsty Thursday! I just came back from my morning walk and it is going to be a hot one today. I decided I wanted to make something to drink that was refreshing and hydrating! So I found this recipe on Pinterest for a Coconut Lime Cilantro Cooler. I figure when it is a more appropriate hour to have adult beverages you can add vodka.

Adapted from Momontimeout.com

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Coconut Water - I used Vita Coco Pure Coconut Water
• 1/3 cup Club Soda (recipe calls for ginger ale or sparkling water, however ginger ale would take over the coconut taste, and sparkling water doesn't have enough fizz)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice (recipe calls for 2 tablespoons, you can always add more but you want to make sure that the lime doesn't overpower the coconut water)
• 1 tsp chopped Cilantro

Directions: 

• Stir all ingredients together
• Pour into glass filled with ice
• Garnish with a slice of lime and cilantro

ENJOY!!! Also, you may have seen my metal straws in pictures. I am obsessed with them. They keep your drink cold. You can find them at William Sonoma or Crate and Barrel! I have both kinds and love them equally. The Crate and Barrel straws are great for smoothies or frozen drinks.

And I also have to call out that Rue La La has Lilly Pulitzer on sale too! If you are not a member you can sign up here.

Happy Pinning!!
By Jennifer Shelton

Summer Flowers

So my planters are finally finished! And really the credit goes to my in-laws who finished everything while we were away on vacation. How awesome are they?

A few weeks ago you might remember I posted some ideas on what I wanted to do! I still haven't painted the mason jars but it is definitely on my to do list! But we did accomplish flowers in the wagon, repainting old planters and a herb garden.

In the herb garden we are growing basil, chives, tarragon, sage, mint, cilantro, rosemary, oregano, and I know it isn't a herb but a jalapeño too! Everything is doing well except my cilantro. Not sure why but it looks so limp!

It is awesome to walk outside to the patio and grab some mint for my Mocktails or some basil for my salad!

We were even able to recycle some wedding decorations! Here are some pictures from the wagon we used at my wedding. To see pictures of how we used the wagon on my wedding click here. I love how this looks at the front of the driveway. The neighbors have even complemented!

Here are some of the planters we painted for our back patio!

And last but not least I have to show a few of the planters that we have around the yard and patio! I will make sure to post more over the summer. I love looking out at the backyard and seeing everything in bloom!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton