A Dinner Al Fresco with Fred

As a family, we LOVE to eat out on our patio! Dinner is always a great time to bond with family and when you do it outside, it adds a great element of fun for everyone! Tonight we decided on a simple steak with brussels sprouts and a caprese salad. Can I share a recipe with you? Great!

The filet we cooked tonight comes from a friend of ours. A while ago, we went in with a friend and purchased a side of beef from a local farm. After hearing of this, my daughter decided to name our cow "Fred". Every time we have any sort of beef in our house, we all know that we are having some Fred. Fred is super delicious and very lean. All we used to make these awesome filets was salt, pepper and butter. That's all it needed. Jay popped these babies on the grill for a bit and we had wonderful medium-rare steaks in no time! 

This caprese salad was AMAZING! I found some high quality mozzarella at the market and used basic roma tomatoes. The thing that makes this salad so amazing is the oil and vinegar. Last year, Jay and I went on a long tour of the Mediterranean. While we were in Tuscany, we stopped at a wine tasting shop to sample amazing wines, olive oils, and balsamic vinegars. We ended up coming home with an amazing array!

On the far right in the picture above is our balsamic vinegar from Tuscany with the olive oil in the center. Let me just say, any good quality oil and vinegar would be great if you don't have any Tuscan lying around ;) On the far left, I give you our wine pairing for the evening. I stumbled upon this brand while shopping in my local liquor store. "Chime" Cabernet Sauvignon-2012 was the perfect red to add to this meal. It was light and went down easily with the steak. 

The other uber-important part of the salad (and mostly because I want to show off my green thumb) was the basil. I grow this basil right in the window in my kitchen. It is very fresh an flavorful! The best part is, it gives my daughter the very important job of picking the basil,crushing it up and sprinkling it on top of the salad! (How else would I get her to eat it?!)

The brussles sprouts have a few more steps involved, but is still a super simple side dish to make. Lucky for you, I have provided the recipe below!

(PS... Did I just make you a fancy dinner in 30 minutes? I think so!!!)

Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10mins

Cook Time: 30mins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of Brussels Sprouts

5 Strips Thick-Sliced Applewood-Smoked Bacon

1 Yellow Onion

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF

2. Cut the base part of all of your Brussels Sprouts off and discard. Cut the sprouts into halves. (If small leaves come off of sprouts, GREAT! Those pieces become super crispy and make this dish even better!) Lay on a large ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Slice the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces, add to Brussels Sprouts.

4. Slice Onion into large pieces, add to Brussels Sprouts.

5. Drizzle Olive Oil on top of Brussels Sprouts, Add Salt and Pepper to taste (I prefer pretty generously)

6. Using your hands, Mix all ingredients together coating thoroughly.

7. Bake for 30mins or until leaves become golden brown.

These sprouts are so good, my 9 year-old finished them first!

Do you love to eat outside? What is your go-to recipe for a night under the stars? I also want to know, what crazy food is your kid in love with? How do you get them to eat it?

Tell me your story! Leave a comment!

Freezer Meals

The other day I took 2.5 hours out of my day and I made some of my Freezer Meals! It was super easy and I have 6 extra meals to make when I am in a tight spot. 

Here's the thing about freezer meals. A lot of them you have to thaw overnight so there is a little bit of thought that goes into them. As a stay-at-home-mom, if I know the night before that I need something for dinner the next night, I'm going to just go to the grocery and get the things that I need.

When I make my freezer meals, I want stuff that I can take out a few hours before, thaw in the microwave, or just cook from frozen.

I always pick a few recipes and make multiple of each. I like to use these Chinet bakeware containers. They freeze really well and they can go directly into the oven. 

Also, I always make sure to properly label all of my meals. I can see what it is from the side of the container when I open my freezer, and I can see the cooking instructions on the top of the container for easy access!

First, I went with my trusty Steak Stir-Fry! I posted the recipe on my very first blog post entitled "Welcome Friends!". I made 2 of these in gallon sized bags so they lay nice and flat in my freezer. 

Second, I made a wonderful Chicken Enchilada recipe that I found on the Thriving Home Blog. It's so hearty with the black beans and full of wonderful flavors! This recipe takes only a few minutes and it's one of my family's favorites! On the site, it calls for a 9x9 baking dish. Since I use the above 8x8 dishes, I usually put about 4-5 enchiladas in one dish, therefore I can make 3 dinners out of this. Keep in mind, these enchiladas are BIG. One is plenty for one person for dinner. 

Third, I went with a basic Ravioli casserole. Here is my recipe:

Ravioli Casserole

1 package pre-made Cheese Ravioli
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, separated
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 can italian-style diced tomatoes

1. Grease an 8x8 pain lightly. Heat oven to 350.
2. In a medium pot, brown the ground beef. Drain and return to pan
3. Add the spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and diced tomatoes to the beef. Heat thoroughly.
4. Pour a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of uncooked ravioli on top of the sauce. Continue to layer the sauce and ravioli until gone. Make sure the top layer is sauce. 
5. If you are going to freeze this meal, now is the time to freeze it. If you are going to make it now, cover with foil and place in the over for 35 minutes. 
6. Remove from oven, take foil off, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese, return to oven and cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  
7. Let cool 10 minutes and enjoy!



Do you have any recipes you like to freeze? Or some "go-to" recipe you like to use when you're in a pinch for dinner? Share them here! I'd love to know what kind of trick you have up your sleeve! 

Welcome Friends!

(oh my gosh... how exciting?! My FIRST POST!!!)

HELLO FRIENDS!

Welcome to Happy Choices

 ...and our daily doings!

I am Shanna and I am here to blog about all the things in life that put a smile on my face and happiness in my heart!

For my very first post, I'd like to talk about the small things. Don't you find it interesting how its always "the little things" in life that really keep you going? And I really find it inspiring when that little burst of happiness comes from a fellow human being. It's a win-win! You get all mushy inside and truly appreciate another person while that person really feels pride in themselves for making a noticeable change in someone's day.

Like the old man at Costco today, who took 2 seconds out of his day to thank me for putting my cart back at the front of the store. I felt amazing for doing something that I really thought he would appreciate and him acknowledging my efforts was just the icing on the cake. Now I can't speak for him, but I would hope that seeing the smile he put on my face when I said, "you're welcome" would make him smile too.

Another small thing I am happy for today is the fact that dinner is only going to take me 6 minutes to make! 

(whaaaaa?!?!?)

That's right peeps! Once in a when-I-feel-like-it, I will take a Saturday and devote it to freezer meals. So tonight I am taking out my trusty Stir Fry.

Want to know how you can have dinner in 6 minutes?

Well you just so happen to be in luck, recipes make me happy too!

Steak Stir-Fry

For 4 Servings, you will need:

1lb flank steak, cut into 1" strips (remember, against the grain!)

3 cups stir-fry vegetables (any mix from the grocery will do)

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp stir-fry sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 peanuts

1 packet Udon or Ramen noodles

So, here's what you do:

1. Combine all of the ingredients down to the ginger in a gallon size freezer bag. Now, this is where you decide if you are going to make this now, or put it in the freezer for later. If you are going to make it now, place the bag in the refrigerator for 1 hour. If you are going to freeze it, it will keep in the freezer for up to 5 months. 

(If you make it now, process takes about 15 minutes... sorry for the convenience)

2. Place entire contents of bag into a large skillet or wok. Saute' on medium high for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, boil your noodles for 4 minutes, drain.

3. Place your noodles in a bowl, top with peanuts and cilantro.

4. Enjoy those noodles covered in that sauce and awesomeness!

BOOM! Amazing and it sorta looks like I know what I'm doing!

Well, that's me for today! 

Thanks for checking out my blog.!

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and please comment!

I would love to hear your feedback, how did I do?

'Til next time!