Living Locurto - Free Printables, How To DIY Ideas, Crafts & Party Ideas.» cooking

Beef Tenderloin, Cranberry and Pear Salad

Amy — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:28:37 +0000

Recently, one of my favorite bloggers, invited me to attend a cooking event sponsored by The Texas Beef Council. Beef and bloggers? I’m so in!

A big bonus was when Chef Richard Chamberlain from Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House came out for a cooking demonstration. He explained all about cooking beef and shared some recipes from his book, The Healthy Beef Cookbook.

I also enjoyed meeting Angela Lemond, from Mommy Dietitian, who spoke to us about healthy eating options for kids. My favorite advice she gave us was to take the fruit and vegetables out of the refrigerator crisper so they won’t be forgotten! Move healthy foods to the shelves and put items like eggs and condiments in the crisper. Angela will be happy to know I spent Sunday cleaning out my fridge and now the eggs are in the crisper!

Angela also inspired me to get back to my weekly meal plans. YAY! So look for some new meal plans in the next few weeks.

After drooling over the food, {and the chef} I promptly got my photo with Chef Richard!

Then we were sorted into teams to make fabulous beef recipes.

My favorite dish of the day… so easy and so yummy!

Tenderloin, Cranberry and Pear Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients

4 beef tenderloin steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (approx. 4 oz. each)
1/2 tsp. coarse grind black pepper
1 package (5 oz.) mixed baby salad greens
1 medium red or green pear, cored, cut into 16 wedges
1/4 cup dried cranberries
salt
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Honey Mustard Dressing

1/2 cup prepared honey mustard
2-3 Tbsp. water
1-1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. coarse grind black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt

Instructions

Season steaks with 1/2 tsp. pepper. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place steaks in skillet; cook 7 to 9 minutes for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk Honey Mustard Dressing ingredients in small bowl until well blended. Set aside. Divide greens evenly among 4 plates. Top evenly with pear wedges and dried cranberries.

Carve steaks into thin slices; season with salt as desired. Divide steak slices evenly over salads. Top each salad evenly with dressing, pecans and goat cheese, if desired.

Be sure to visit the The Texas Beef Council‘s web site for all kinds of great recipes.

This event was sponsored by The Texas Beef Council who gave me a nice goodie bag and lunch.

Be sure to visit these sites for yummy recipes or to add your own: Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, and Tuesdays at the Table

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Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Amy — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:43:27 +0000

Here is a yummy recipe for you to try. It’s one of my favorites!

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Chicken Breasts
1/2 Cup Diced Onion
10 oz. Can Enchilada Sauce
10.5 oz Can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles (Rotel)
Corn or Flour Tortillas (I like corn, hubby likes flour. I do half and half)
1 Bag of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Handful of Crushed Tortilla Chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in pan and cook chicken
Remove chicken from pan
Add the remaining oil to pan and cook onions 1 minute.
Stir in enchilada sauce and soup
Fill empty soup can half full of water and stir that in too.
Add Rotel, stir the mixture and let stand on low heat.
Shred the chicken with two forks while the mix is warming up.
Add shredded chicken to pan and stir.
Coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray.
Rip up small pieces of tortillas for your bottom layer in the dish.
Add a layer of chicken mixture, Repeat this twice.
Sprinkle the top with cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
Cover with foil and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove foil and bake another few minutes until cheese is melted and it’s bubbling.

Download and print the recipe to put into a 3 ring binder:

Easy to Roll Out Pie Crust

Amy — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:35:33 +0000

I made Grandma Chunkie’s Chocolate Pie for Thanksgiving. It turned out so good! Each kid got their own pie and were in heaven:-)

I usually don’t make pies because I can never roll out the dough! I’m a pie rolling dummy. It gets all sticky and I end up super frustrated. Well, not this year! I came up with an idea and wanted to share my tip. Who knows, this may already be something you do, or some fancy product sold at Williams Sonoma, but to me, it was a new idea:-)

I used Glad Press’n Seal to cover the dough and roll it out. I had some left over from Halloween, which I used to cover tables when the kids painted their pumpkins at my Pumpkin Painting Party. (Love this stuff!)

I added a little flour on both sides of the dough. Rolled it out.

Then turned the pie plate upside down over the dough, flipped it, pulled off the Press’n Seal and walla!

It really was easy as pie! Saved me so much pie rolling frustration. Happy pie making!

Labor Day Weekend

Amy — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:49:29 +0000

I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! This was a fun family weekend at the Locurto house! Friday night, we kicked the weekend off with a kid friendly make your own pizza party.

I’ve been using Pilsbury’s Pizza Crust and it’s really good!

Notice my kid is wearing his typical super hero costume.

I think it’s a hit! The super hero and neighbor boys were so excited!

Too bad they didn’t care to eat… everyone ran off to play right after this photo. ha! It’s too much fun at the Locurto house to eat right?

My new favorite fast dessert is two-bite brownies with icing and sprinkles!

Always a hit with the kiddos. Especially our mini Christopher Walken!!!

(See his hair in photos above. His big brother fixed it!)

This got the parents to laughing. ha! Then, we had to get online to watch the “More Cowbell” skit on SNL. This cracks me up every time I watch it!! When the actors can’t keep from laughing, you know it’s hilarious!

Do you have a favorite SNL skit? I think More Cowbell, anything Rosana-Rosana Dana and the The Spartan Cheerleaders are my favorite.

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Saturday, we discovered a beach at a nearby lake. I can’t believe I didn’t know this was here?? Luckily we’re in Texas and should have another month of swimming.

Here’s my crew. How nice! We had most of the beach to ourselves.

Then to end a perfect afternoon, we hit the nearby Pirate Themed McDonald’s. What a night of discoveries! This place was so fun! Notice everyone was way too hungry to smile for the camera. Little piggies! Pirates, salty fries and Star Wars toys… HEAVEN!!

These are my “tall friend’s” kids. See the little boy sipping milk on the right? He’s only 4 and the size of a 7-8 year old! At the age of 4, he’s already pretty awesome at sports. Someday I hope to be in a basketball suite watching him slam dunk!!!

Thanks friends (tall, medium and short) for helping us enjoy the long weekend. We love you guys!!

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What does your family do to connect? Check out some fun ideas at Whittaker Woman.