Mango-Avocado Salad, Dwight Style

I finally got around to making the recipe from the last posting from Fresh365Online. If you know me, or have read this blog, you probably realize by now that I NEVER follow recipes exactly and this was no exception. So, let's call this new recipe, Mango-Spinach Salad. I also added chicken, and white rice, and I didn't have any cilantro (although, I almost went to the store JUST for that but I am glad I didn't because it was fine without it!) and I used some other substitutions. See below!

Ingredients:

A handfull of spinach, chopped

1 mango, sliced into small cubes

1 avocado sliced into small cubes

1 can of black beans drained and washed

1 baked chicken breast (seasoned with salt and pepper) and cut up into bitesize pieces

I used a pepper from our garden rather than a jalapeno pepper. I'm not sure what type it was, but it was a sweet pepper, similiar to a banana pepper. Anyway, I used one of these, remove the seeds and dice.

1 T Lemon juice from a lemon

1 t sugar

2 T olive oil

black pepper to taste

salt to taste

cooked white rice

In a bowl, combine spinach, mango, pepper, black pepper, a dash of salt, half of the lemon juice. Mix together. Gently add avocado.

In another bowl, mix up the sugar, rest of the lemon juice, a little bit of black pepper, and olive oil. Add the beans to this mixture and coat well.

To serve, put white rice in the bottom of dish, add black bean mix on top, add chicken pieces, add spinach-mango mixture on top and garnish with fresh black pepper.

Steve calls this meal a hit!

Mango-Avocado Salad

My friend Heather, posted this recipe on her blog today and it made my mouth water! I am going to try it this week! YUM! See original post from Fresh365 Online.

Mango-Avocado Salad with Black Beans and Lime Vinaigrette

adapted from Whole Foods . serves 4
2 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
3 T lime juice
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 t grated lime zest
1/2 t salt
1/4 t sugar (or agave nectar)
2 T chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
4 T olive oil
1 15.5-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, toss mango and jalapeño with 1 T lime juice and salt. Add avocado and gently toss to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining lime juice, zest, sugar, cilantro and oil. Toss the black beans with the vinaigrette. To assemble, spoon the black beans with vinaigrette into the center of a serving platter. Top with the mango-avocado mixture. Garnish with chopped cilantro and black pepper.

Anniversary Celebration

Earlier this summer, we celebrated our 2 month anniversary with Jillian and Chris, which just so happened to be their 4 year anniversary! ;) We were visiting them for a night in Vacaville and celebrated by going to a really hip tapas restaurant in Winters. We tried so many different dishes - steak skewers, tacos, bread and cheese, sliders, chicken, stuffed bell pepper, and on and on..top that with a huge glass of sangria to help us cool off in the 100+ degree summer evening. It was the perfect dinner with amazing company. 

After dinner, we stopped off at the Nugget Market to pick up some desserts to go with a special anniversary champagne toast!! Guess who's dessert is whos and I will give you twenty bucks.

Pretty Lady

While visiting my friend Joanna in Santa Monica last weekend, we went to a rooftop bar called Shangri-La. As we were at the bar perusing the drink menu, this rather drunk girl couldn't stop cheering about a drink that the bartender made her that was "the best drink ever!" (and she is hard to please!) So, we asked the bartender what drink it was and he said it's called, "Pretty Lady" with champagne, vodka, fresh basil leaves, strawberries, and "love". So, we tried it, and although it may not have been the best drink we ever had, it was pink and made with LOVE. Heaven!

Shane got a rather spicy drink that burned his lips (YUCK), and Jo is drinking the Pretty Lady.

Quick Biscuits

One of my favorite little additions to a meal is (semi)homemade biscuits. I use a recipe out of my Bisquick Cookbook that Steve's mom got me for my birthday last year. It is a great cookbook to go along with a Costco size box of Bisquick.

Tonight I made the bisquick biscuits to go along with a salad for dinner. They take about 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake, so they are the perfect quick addition to any meal to give it that special cozy touch!

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup shredded Italian five-cheese blend (I use whatever cheese I have on hand)
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed (I used fresh rosemary from our garden and chopped up the leaves)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Heat oven to 450F. In a medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, cheese, milk, and 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by the spoonfull.
2. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, mix butter, garlic powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary. Brush over warm biscuits. (I left out this last step and the biscuits still tasted quite good!)