It’s a cold, rainy day here today ~ much like Ireland, so it’s perfect.
The kiddos started out the morning in their Old Navy {lucky charm} jammies from last year and had Lucky Charms and green milk for breakfast…a must for leprechauns!
I braved the storm and went to gather ingredients for this evenings dinner with neighbors ~ Steak & Guinness Pie
Spotted this on Pinterest and thought it’d be fun to do a little something different than the usual corned beef and cabbage.
We’ll have it with a little {green salad} and Jalapeño Popper Dip as an appetizer.
The beer glasses are in the freezer and the food coloring is ready and waiting to tint our pale ale a festive shade of green.
For dessert, I’m going to make some Lucky Charms marshmallow treats…
Just prepare as you would regular Rice Krispie Treats, but sub Lucky Charms for the rice krispies and add a couple drops of green food coloring to the marshmallow and butter mixture!
Done.
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Off to do some food prep and take a look in my closet for a green somethin’ to wear.
I just realized that I haven’t really been posting much on the weekends…not my intention, but I guess it’s OK because that means that we’ve been busy and still enjoying summer even though school is definitely in full swing again.
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Today marks day 28 of my 30 Day Shred.
I have to say that I have been MUCH better this time around. I did take a couple days off due to my knee bothering me, but I did something in lieu of the DVD those days ~ either biking or walking the big loop in our development at night. I love that the DVD is only 30 minutes and I really try to give it my all and make the most of the half hour with Jill and her girls. Also, I’ve been using 4 pound hand weights and I can probably go up to 5 pounders. Today the kids did it with me and used the Handy Manny plastic tools as their hand weights…yes, Squeeze, Pat, Felipe and Dusty joined in on today’s shred ~ WHATEVER works.
I feel great, though and can tell a difference, but I certainly need to tighten up the eating. I was doing great with that for the first two and a half weeks and then got a little lazy.
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Speaking of eating better, I have a couple healthy recipes to share since the last couple were far from it…
Spicy Honey Lime flank steak and this quinoa salad from Pinterest {thanks Erma for pinning it!}…
I marinated the flank steak in 1/4 cup honey, the juice of 3 limes, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp Sriracha for about an hour and a half, flipping from time to time. Jay grilled for about 6 minutes on each side. Will make great salads and sandwiches throughout the week.
It’s verrry healthy if you don’t put anything on it! She topped it with some polenta croutons which looked amazing. I, however, threw on some cheese & garlic croutons from my pantry. Would also be nice with a little dollop of light sour cream and some crushed tortilla chips.
The perfect summer soup since it’s served cold and has a nice refreshing kick to it.
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LOVE this pic of Holden and me taken this weekend at the concert in the park…
{yes, I am fully clothed and no, Holdy is not drugged}
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This week is a jumble of the new school schedule, homework {already!}, pool time {if they behave!}, park play date, dance class and two birthday parties this weekend.
Jay wanted meat and potatoes for lunch and dinner yesterday, so that is what Jay got.
We had a little hiccup along the way and discovered his first lunch choice, Irv’s Burgers, is closed on Sundays. So we decided on runner up, Umami Burger in Los Feliz.
Fortunately we were seated immediately and got to ordering…
Tempura Onion Rings with Jalapeño Ranch & Sweet Potato Fries with Roasted Garlic Aioli
Jay had the Manly Burger {of course} ~ beer-cheddar cheese, smoke salt onion strings & bacon lardons
I had the SoCal Burger ~ butter lettuce, slow-roasted tomato, house spread, house-made american cheese & caramelized onions
For dessert we all shared a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff moon pie {OMG!} and a peanut butter chip ice cream sandwich. Gone in a flash!
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In between our two meat and potato meals, we visited The Grove where I made a little dent in the niiiice Crate & Barrel gift card Jay won in a raffle at work and he and the kids went to the Apple store and fiddled with the iPod Touches and spotted Stevie Wonder!
{sorry Stevie, this is probably the worst ever picture of you…I mean not YOU, but the picture quality!}
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For din din, his choice was chicken fried steak and garlic roasted mashed potatoes with blue cheese. I made Sonoma salad for a little something green!
Thanks, P-Dub for helpin’ me out with this one. I had NO idea how to even begin to make this….
And there you have it…meat n taters with a little speck o green peeking out in the background ~ a MANLY meal!
{for the mashed potatoes I just boiled up three large taters that were peeled and cubed until fork tender. then i melted half a stick of butter and about 3/4 cup milk and added it to the potatoes. i roasted a whole head of garlic [cut about 1/4″ off the top, drizzle with EVOO, salt and pepper, put cut side down on a large piece of foil and wrap the garlic in the foil. roast at 350* for about an hour. the garlic will be soft and spreadable! squeeze out the cloves and add to the potatoes and butter/milk mixture]. use hand mixer to blend until smooth. also added a little blue cheese.}
I was a little nervous about this meal since it’s something I’ve never made and wouldn’t ever order at a restaurant…but it was quite good. The cube steaks were very lean and I used just a little canola oil to pan fry them. The pan gravy turned out very well, too, since gravy is not one of my strengths.
{side note: Pioneer Woman mentions that her favorite way to eat chicken fried steak is between two slices of soft white bread with mayo. In the recipe she mentions Miracle Whip and I had to laugh because, I too, can not stand the stuff! When I was about 6 years old, I vividly remember being at our neighbor’s house and the mom serving me some kind of sandwich with M.W. ….. I must have said I {didn’t care for} it because I recall her saying, “Oh, no honey, it’s not Miracle Whip!” UM, YES IT WAS! Remember that commercial where the guy goes to the store in the middle of the night because he ran out of it? Yeh. NO thanks! I’m not a picky eater at all, but if you really DON’T want me to come over for lunch, just serve sammies with [the whip] AND alfalfa sprouts. Blech!}
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I am addicted to making these gift caddies! This was the one for our hero…..
{a couple Seattle’s Best iced mochas, Peanut Toffee Buzz CLIF Bar [with caffeine!], Carmex 3-pack and some shower gel}
{a nice big Hefeweizen and an orange to float in it}
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It was the perfect day even though {we} forgot the camera, Irv’s was closed and it took 15 minutes to park at The Grove.
Next time I will for sure make the green chile pesto to go along with the flank steak. I must say I loved the espresso rub ~ not over-powering in the least bit ~ very subtle coffee flavor and an unexpected kick from the chili powder.
The green beans are a WW recipe from a million years ago…
1.5 pounds green beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
6 cloves garlic, minced
1. In a large pot of rapidly boiling water, cook green beans until just tender, 4-5 minutes.
2. While beans are cooking, in small bowl combine soy sauce, oil and sugar; set aside.
3. Drain beans; set aside.
4. Spray wok or 10″ skillet with nonstick cooking spray, place over med-high heat. Add garlic, cook, stirring constantly, until softened, 20-30 seconds. Add green beans; cook, stirring and turning constantly, until well coated, about 2 minutes.
5. Add soy sauce mixture; continue to stir and turn until most of the liquid is absorbed, 1-2 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.
1 point per serving.
68 calories, 2.4g fat, 4g fiber
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Just a friendly reminder to Tiffany, the winner of the Havaianas…
please, please send me your address by tomorrow evening or I will have to find a new home for the silver flops.
