Chopped Mexican Salad

I am obsessed with Mexican food.  Seriously want to eat it everyday.  Lately Matt and I have gotten into chopped salads.  For awhile we were making our Greek chopped salad once a week with Shrimp and decided to switch it up with this salad.  We chop everything up and then toss in in a big bowl.  After it is tossed we add ground beef to the top.  Honestly this salad is amaze without the ground beef, but you know my man needs meat so we add meat.  We add salsa to our bowls and mix before serving and use that as our dressing, but you could use any dressing you like.  We gobble this salad up once a week and best part it is not too bad for you.  It is filled with so many veggies and protein that are healthy.

 Enjoy!

 

 :: C H O P P E D   M E X I C A N   S A L A D ::

This makes enough for about 4 people

- 1 Head Romaine Chopped

- 1 tomato diced

- 2 jalapenos diced

- 2 scallions sliced

- 1 avocado diced

- 2 ears of cooked corn shucked

- 1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed

- 1 avocado diced

- Crumbled Cotija Cheese (Mexican Cheese)

- 1 pound ground beef

- 1 packet taco seasoning (we use homemade)

- salsa

- sour cream

Place finely chopped lettuce in bowl and top with next 7 ingredients.   Toss together.   Cook ground beef, drain and add taco seasoning + water.  Serve salad in bowl mixed with salsa and topped with ground beef and sour cream.

 

Mealtime How I Do It + Favorite Easy Meals

One of the number one questions I get is, how do you have the time to cook for your family and does Sterling eat what you cook. Here is the low down. 

Cooking is my passion, it makes me happy, so I make time for it in my life.  I most certainly do not cook every night but I would say 2-3 nights a week I try and whip up something tasty.  On the weekends we usually order pizza one night and then Matt helps cook something the other night, usually grilling out etc.   My happy place is in the kitchen whipping up something delicious and sipping a glass of wine.  Its how I unwind plus it gives me sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when I create a really awesome meal.

GROCERY SHOPPING AND MEAL PLANNING

 I am lucky because Sterling is in school everyday from 9:45-12:45.  Usually after I drop him off I take Frances and we head to the grocery store.  I still have not mastered the whole meal planning thing and truth be told I actually enjoy going to the grocery store.  It gets me out of the house and I love browsing.  We go almost everyday depending on what I need for our meal that night.  This week I actually cooked all four nights, but that was rare.   Usually I don't cook that many nights in a row but I was bringing a friend food who had a baby so I doubled it for us.

On the menu this week:
Monday- Gwyneth's Siriachia Lime Salmon + Quinoa, Mushrooms and Arugula + Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas
Tuesday- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs + Arugula Salad
Wednesday- Ground Beef Tacos
Thursday- Simple Baked Lasagna + Arugula Salad

You may wonder about leftovers.  If there is any type of meat leftovers Matt takes them for his lunch the next day. He eats lunch in his office everyday and welcomes the leftovers.  The salad stuff I eat, for example I had the quinoa and roasted cauliflower the next two days for lunch.  I also usually always make a batch of Tuscan Kale Salads for my lunch during the week.  If you need a quick easy salad we just toss arugula with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  Then we add fresh Parmesan.  It is a simple light salad we make often.

WHAT DOES STERLING EAT
As for Sterling, I do not cook him separate meals any more,  and yes he is a picky eater.  That being said on the nights I don't cook sometimes he will eat chicken nuggets, cereal, or whatever I have in the freezer.  We try every night to sit down together as a family.  This is hard because Matt doesn't get home til about 7 or later most nights. We usually wait and eat with him unless he is going to be later than 7:30.  I think family meals are are so incredibly important.   It is a time where we all sit down with no interruptions and I think as Sterling and Frances get older these dinners will be even more important.  Sterling must take one bite of everything on his plate,  after that if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat it,  but he is not getting anything different to eat.  If he eats well he gets to choose a dessert.  There are many nights he takes two bites of something tells us he hates it and goes to bed hungry.  Eating is a struggle but I do feel like slowly this approach is working as he is starting to eat more things than he used to.  I give him a multi-vitamin and probiotic everyday to help with nutrients.

WHEN I COOK
I wish Matt had one of those jobs where he got home at 5-5:30 and could help with the kids while I cook but that is not the case.  I am in charge of dinner and bath which can be tricky (not to mention exhausting).  I usually try and make meals that can be prepped early and then just popped into the oven or stove.  Luckily for me Sterling still naps most days and if he doesn't he still has to sit in his room quietly and play with the ipad or read.  Most of the time nap time is when I get down to business.  I do laundry, get our meal started, straighten the house, and work on my blog.  I cram alot into 2-3 hours.  The morning time when he is at school is usually spent running errands and hopefully soon working out again!   While Sterling naps I will get dinner at least started and do most of the prep work so when he wakes I can spend some time with him,    Around 6 I will start to finish up our meal.  This is when I allow Sterling to turn on the TV and watch a show or two while I finish up dinner (and drink a big ole glass of wine). I usually put Frances in her swing during this time.  While dinner is cooking we will go do a quick bath although lately Sterling has been showering in the mornings with one of us which opens up some time in the evening.  This way since Matt gets home later, when he gets home dinner is ready so we can sit down and eat and the kids are ready for bed.


EASY MEALS
I wanted to highlight a few of our favorite go to meals.  They are all relatively easy to prepare in advance or quickly.   I try and make at least one new recipe a week for blog purposes and because I love testing new things but these are tried and true favorites!

|| MEXICAN RICE BOWLS ||
You can precook your rice and have all the toppings pre-diced so all you have to do at dinner is cook the meat or you can go totally vegetarian and leave off the meat.

|| SPICY BLACK BEAN, GREEN CHILE + MANCHEGO ENCHILADAS ||
You can assemble this whole dish pretty quickly since nothing has to be cooked.  I assemble at nap time then just pop in oven to cook.

|| ROASTED SALMON WITH TOMATO BASIL RELISH ||
All you have to do for this is pre- make the relish, it is better the longer it sits anyways.  Then just cook your salmon.  Under a 20 min meal.  Sterling loves salmon or as he calls it pink fish- although we serve his without the relish.

|| CHOPPED GREEK SALAD WITH SHRIMP ||
Such a quick easy salad and the shrimp only take 5 mins to cook.

|| VEGGIE RANCH PIZZA ||
You can pre-chop all the veggies and then just assemble at dinner time.  Sterling loves this pizza, it is one of the only ways I can get him to eat broccoli and cauliflower.

 || SLOPPY JOES ||
These really only take 30 mins max to whip together,  best sloppy joes ever.  We serve with box mac and cheese for an easy weeknight dinner.

|| SIMPLE BAKED LASANGA ||
I actually just made this this week for my friend who had the baby.  As far as lasagnas go it is fairly quick to whip together because you use no bake noodles and only make one sauce and it is so good.  This can be made at nap time and just popped in the oven.

|| CHOPPED MEXICAN SALAD ||
Another easy salad you can per-assemble and put in fridge like this and then just toss together and add meat at dinner time.

|| BUTTERNUT SQUASH, ARUGULA + BACON QUICHE ||
I love any variation of a quiche they are always a quick dinner and one that Sterling will eat too.

I would love to know any favorite weeknight meals you have!
Have a fabulous weekend.
xoxo

Scenes From Our Weekend

Hello Monday.  Can you believe Christmas is 13 days away??  I have lots of shopping and wrapping left to do.  Hoping to knock it out this week!

Thursday was a long day after my girl's Christmas party.  Taco Bell was needed.  I know Taco Bell can be so gross but I secretly love it, especially a Mexican Pizza.

Later that night we met up with my parents for dinner. 

I had several questions about sizing for this sweater and it runs TTS, I am wearing a small.

Off Shoulder Top | Earrings (30% off with code LOVE30) | Jeans | Booties (40% off in a lighter shade)

For the next 2 days Baublebar is offering 30% off the site with code LOVE30.  This is a great time to buy gifts. These Crispin drops are my favorite.  They are light weight and come in so many great colors.  I am wearing the royal blue above.  

Multi-colored Drops | Blue + Hot Pink | Stripe

The Pinata tassels are another favorite of mine.  I wear my pink and ivory ones often but all the colors are gorgeous.

Tassel Earrings

Friday morning it was so cold here!  I loved how adorable Sterling looked in his cold weather get up.

My mom and I did a little Christmas shopping and stopped in Antiques of Windemere.  Frances was really trying to convince me she needed this leopard chaise.  It was pj day at school that day hence her Christmas jammies.  

Friday night we had our next door neighbors over for happy hour.   

My blouse has the cutest split back, I own the white version too.  They are great basic blouses to dress up or down.  

What I wore:

Blouse | Jeans | Necklace | Booties

I made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate and they had a blast! 

My neighbor Rick (he does amazing photography) entertaining the kids.

Saturday's outfit.  I ran a few errands and tackled laundry.

My sweater is now 40% off and only $23! 

Sweater | Leggings | OTK Boots | Purse

I whipped up a chopped salad for dinner.  This is my favorite chopped salad I make it frequently for lunch. 

I use a combo of kale/romaine then add toppings:  chickpeas + cucumber + cherry tomatoes + hearts of palm + yellow bell pepper + red onion + kalamata olives + pepperoncinis.  

I usually just mix olive oil and red wine vinegar for the dressing.  

Sunday I took the kids to see the Nutcracker with a few of their friends.  I had grand visions of a fun afternoon but the kids weren't feeling it.  They told me they were bored a million times and kept asking when they could leave.  Then Frances started making farting noises and Sterling was asking why the boy's pants were see through. It was then I decided we should leave:)  I thought Sterling would be old enough to enjoy it but I knew Frances would be a wild card.  I will say at the Gaillard before the show they had cookies, ornament decorating and pictures with Santa that the kids really enjoyed.

Frances Moon's dress is available HERE.  If you love smocked clothes Smockingbirds has a great selection and great prices too!!  I just love her Christmas dress.

Frances Moon and her best friend Anna Louis.

Sterling and his best friend Oliver.

We didn't want to spend a ton on tickets since we didn't know how the kids would do so we were pretty high up.  I still really enjoyed the performance.  My friend Sarah and I joked that next year we would leave the kids and come alone!

This face cracks me up.

What I wore:

Dress | Booties

Have a great start to your week!

Mini Greek Salad Bites + 18 Other Ideas for Super Bowl Appetizers

I love appetizers.  Like really love them, I could easily be content with that being my meal.  I have a fun new (and easy) app to share with you today plus a round of of some of my other favorite apps that would be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday next week- GO PANTHERS!

You may notice many are dips and many contain bacon.  It just so happens dips and bacon are two of my favorite things.  If you click on the recipe name it will take you back to the original recipe post.  for some of the other easy recipes I just listed the ingredients below the pictures.  Going back through all my appetizer recipes made me realize how many of these I need to make again.  They are all so darn good.

I love Greek Salad and I eat it several times a week, so I tried to rack my brain and think of an appetizer I could make that had similar flavors.   Behold the Mini Greek Salad Bites.  They are easy to assemble, require no baking, and are super tasty. The mini phyllo cups can be found in the freezer section.  The creamy hummus and tangy tzatziki paired with the crunchy chopped Greek salad topping make for an amazing flavor combination.  

Enjoy!

G R E E K  S A L A D  B I T E S

- handful diced cherry tomatoes

- 1 baby cucumber diced

- 2 green onions sliced

- 1/2 orange bell pepper diced

2 oz Feta crumbled (I like to buy the block kind and chop it, it tastes better)

- red wine vinegar

- plain hummus

-Tzatziki 

- Mini Phyllo cups

Remove Phyllo cups from freezer and let thaw.  This doesn't take too long maybe 10-15 minutes. 

In a bowl combine cherry tomatoes and next 4 ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with red wine vinegar.  

Take a phyllo cup and place a spoonful of hummus on the bottom, then a spoonful of tzatziki and then a spoonful of the Greek salad mix.  I found using a kid sized spoon made this easy since the cups are tiny.  Assemble on platter and enjoy!

S U P R E M E   P I Z Z A  D I P 

S P I N A C H  A R T I C H O K E   W O N T O N S

L O A D E D  Q U E S O   F U N D I D O  D I P

P I M E N T O  C H E E S E  B A C O N  B A L L S

L O A D E D   P O T A T O  D I P

P A R M E S A N  K A L E  C H I P S

S H R I M P  N A C H O S + P I N E A P P L E  A V O C A D O   S A L S A

7  L A Y E R  M E X I C A N  D I P

7 LAYER MEXICAN DIP

Layer one | Refried Beans 

Layer Two | Guacamole

Layer Three | 16 oz sour cream mixed with taco seasoning (I use our homemade kind but you can use a packet as well)

Layer Four | Shredded Cheese ( I grate my own and use Cracker Barrel Sharp White Cheddar)

Layer Five | Diced Tomatoes

Layer Six | Sliced Black Olives

Layer Seven | chopped green onions

 B A C O N  W R A P P E D  S T U F F E D   D A T E S

3 ingredients : Dates + Gruyere + Bacon.  Stuff the dates with the cheese and wrap with bacon and bake at 350 degrees about 10-15 minutes until cheese melts and bacon is crispy.

C O B B  S A L A D  D I P

K A L E + B A C O N   D I P

B L A C K  B E A N  L A Y E R  D I P 

5 ingredient app

Layer Cream Cheese | Onion Relish ( I actually used a local apricot jalapeno jelly that was awesome) | Black Beans | Crumbled Bacon | Chives

Serve with crackers

2  C  H E E S E  L O A D E D  V E G G I E   N A C H O S

S R I R I A C H A   R O A S T E D  C A U L I F L O W E R 

+ P E A N U T  B U T T E R   D I P P I N G  S A U C E

B A C O N  C O R N  D I P 

M A R I N A T E D  C H E E S E

A N T I P A S T O   K A B O B S

and last but not least you can never go wrong with a good ole cheese and meat plate.  Always a favorite of mine.

All this food is making me hungry and getting excited about the big game!