Date Night In with Cattlemen's Finest Grill It Up Campaign #SummerGrilling

I'm excited to share with you a great date night in idea for you and your spouse! Usually with date nights you think of always going out, but we hardly think that we can have great date nights at home. Don't get me wrong a love a good date night, but sometimes we can't always get out due to lack of childcare. So I like to take these opportunities to make great date nights that we can also do at home.

We headed to Smart & Final to look at their selection of Cattlemen's Finest beef and pick something out to grill up for date night. Also, I think it's awesome that I can show you another way to grill up for the summer! We have a regular gas grill that we use often, but sometimes when we don't want to turn on the grill or when it's cooler out we like to use our grill pan inside on our stove. This is also a great alternative for those who may not have a gas grill of their own.



I was really surprised at the great selection they had to offer. Everything from roasts, sirloin cuts and rib eyes all for really great prices. I also loved the great little tags on most of the cuts that told you what each cut was best for like; roasting, braising, or grilling. Which is handy if you aren't familiar with different cuts of meat and what they are best for. That makes it simple and easy, and that's really great for #SummerGrilling.

We chose a sirloin cut that was big enough for the two of us to split. We also picked up some potatoes for roasting. As well as squash and zucchini for grilling as a side.

When we got home I was able to prep everything and get it ready. Turn on your oven to 400 degrees. I chopped up the potatoes and seasoned them with olive oil and Italian seasoning, garlic salt and pepper. Throw these on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 30 minutes.



I also chopped the veggies and added 1 yellow onion to the mixture, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Set these aside until after you grill your meat.



Next I generously seasoned the steak on both sides with pepper and a little salt. Then I got my grill pan screaming hot, and seared my meat on each side for 3 minutes.



See those awesome grill marks? Yes, that's what you want on each side. Once you're done searing place the meat onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 12 minutes for well done. If you prefer your meat medium or raw you'll want to cook it for less time than this. Adjust accordingly.



While your meat and potatoes are in the oven, wash your grill pan and then start grilling up the veggies. Take out your meat, and let it "rest" for 5-7 minutes before you cut into it.

You can also let your Hubby help and get in on the grilling too! 

Cut up your meat, plate your veggies and serve! 

Enjoy the date night with your love. We put our daughter to bed, and then had dinner alone just the two of us! 

See more of my shopping experience in my Google+ album.

Take some time to visit these great links to find out more about Smart & Final and Cattlemen's Finest:

www.smartandfinal.com

http://www.twitter.com/SmartFin

http://www.facebook.com/SmartFinal

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are 100% mine. 

Book Review:: Mission Motherhood

I finally finished this book that I started over Christmas. It's not a big book, but reading these days takes me a little longer maybe than most. It's a great book, and I wanted to share with you why I loved it so much. If you're looking for a book to take a Godly perspective about motherhood and its mission this is a great book.

Her book really encourages stay at home motherhood, I know this might turn away some of you from reading this book. There's always much debate about working moms vs. stay at home moms. And here's the only thing I'll say about the subject, is that every family has to choose what works best for their family. And us Moms need to be more supportive and encouraging of one another.

With that said said don't discount reading this book, here's some key thoughts that I took from her book. I really encourage you to read it no matter what kind of mothering situation you are in.

* We mothers have the opportunity to influence eternity by building a spiritual legacy in the lives of our children.


* Accepting the call of motherhood doesn't mean giving up ministry, in fact it is your ministry. 


* Write down goals for your family and how you will accomplish them.


* Making disciples of our children is certainly part of the mission of motherhood.


* Diligent parents do battle for their children's souls. 


* Our vision for our family defines the decisions we make, the priorities we keep.


I would really encourage you too pick up this book, it's a great read and very encouraging for a mother's heart.

You can find it here on Amazon.

Have you read any great books on parenting or motherhood lately? I'd love to hear your recommendations. 

30B430: Have Ava's Party Featured on a Party Blog

#16: Have Ava's Second Birthday Party featured on a party blog. 

I'm excited to cross another goal off my list for the year! I worked so hard on this party, and it was such a celebration of Ava and her second year that I wanted to show it off! I met Toni at SNAP! this past year, she runs a popular children's party & decor site called Design Dazzle! 

Ava's party has been awesomely featured on her site this week! Go here and check out the full feature. Thank you Toni, for sharing her party with your readers! 

You can view the original 30B430 list here. 

Ava's Special Announcement

Ava's has a special announcement to make. 

She's pretty excited about it.

Can't stop smiling.

Coming December 15th, 2012.

Peace out.

Happy Monday Friends.

*this also completes #3 off the 30B430 list. 

Gramp's Biscuits & Gravy

There's a few smells and tastes that remind me of home, and there's nothing quite like your Grandfather's Biscuits & Gravy to bring you back. They say a lot of our traditions are built around food and the dinner table, and this for sure is one of those meals. 

I grew up listening to my Gramps whistle while he cooked this dish up for breakfast for the masses. It took me a while to get it down, but after years of watching him and with a little help from the man himself I am now happy to make this for my own family. 

This is not a healthy breakfast what so ever. But it's good, oh so good. And that's all that really matters right? You can work it off later.  ;)

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. pork sausage (I like Jimmy Dean)

Milk

2 tablespoons Wondra Flour (found in the baking aisle)

Bisquick

12 inch skillet

Here's what you do:

Cook up your sausage in the 12 inch skillet, make it into crumbles like ground beef. When sausage is cooked through add your milk to the skillet, add enough milk to skim the top of the sausage. You'll fill pretty much the entire skillet at this point with milk. Stir together, and then add your 2 tablespoons of Wondra Flour. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. 

While you sausage mixture is coming to a boil prepare the biscuits using the Bisquick recipe on the box, but instead of using a biscuit cutter drop the batter by table spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for the time it says on the box, usually 10 minutes. 

While biscuits are cooking continue stirring your sausage mixture till it thickens, this process will probably take the longest. I usually hold off on making my biscuits till I see this has started to boil. You can prepare the batter but just don't throw them the oven. 

If you need to thicken your sauce still add more Wondra flour to the mixture till it's thickened to your liking. 

Plate hot, and serve. It's pretty good, you're family will love you for this one! 

Whole Wheat Pasta with Sausage & Veggies

I've been cooking a lot lately, trying new things and trying lots of new recipes. Some have been hit and miss with my family, but this one was a hit so I thought I'd share it with you. 

These flavors came together as well on the plate as they did in my mind when I was coming up with this recipe. This was one of those use "what you have already" on hand to make something yummy. Enjoy!

Here's what you'll need:

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 Kielbasa Sausage, quartered 

1 package whole wheat spaghetti

1 jar marinara sauce

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Here's what you'll do:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In another pan cook the sausage till cooked through. Then add the peppers and onion to the same pan and cook together. You'll add the sauce next and the seasoning and stir together. Cook till just bubbly and warm. 

Plate and serve. 

Enjoy! 

Yummy Summer Salad

This has easily become one of my favorite "go to" summer dishes to make. It's super easy to make, really yummy and filling enough to make a whole meal. My husband loves it too. We had it again last week and I thought I'd share it with you. 

It's from a website called Skinny Taste, which I love. Gina has some great recipes on her site. 

I like making the dressing from scratch, but I've also found a great alternative to it that tastes just the same; Annie's Organic Honey Mustard is a good one! I also use chicken breasts instead of tenderloins for this recipe. 

Here's the recipe from Gina: (click here to visit her site and see the recipe.)

Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 3 • Serving Size: salad with 2 chicken tenders • Points: 8 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 397.6 • Fat: 11.0 g • Protein: 26.8 g • Carb: 32.5 g • Fiber: 4.4 g • Sugar:10

• 6 (about 12 oz) chicken tenderloins
• 6 tbsp shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 2 tbsp crushed cornflake crumbs
• 1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
• pinch salt
• olive oil spray

• 6 cups mixed baby greens
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 small cucumber, sliced

Vinaigrette

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp white vinegar (balsamic would work too)
• 2 tsp dijon mustard

Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients; set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine coconut flakes, panko, cornflake crumbs and salt in a bowl. Put egg whites or egg beaters in another bowl.

Lightly season chicken with salt. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture. Place chicken on a cookie sheet lined with parchment for easy cleanup. Lightly spray with olive oil spray and bake for 30 minutes turning halfway, or until chicken is cooked through.

Place 2 cups baby greens on each plate. Divide carrots, cucumber, tomato evenly between each plate. When chicken is ready slice on the diagonal and place on top of greens. Heat dressing in the microwave a few seconds and divide equally between each salad; a little over 1 tbsp each.

What summer meals are you cooking up to beat the heat? Tell me in the comments below!