When I met my husband many moons ago, I had quite a bit of baggage that I brought into the relationship with me. I will go into all of that another day, but I was pleasantly surprised when Nick’s family welcomed me in with open arms, not really caring at all about the baggage I had. They welcomed me without giving it a second thought. I can tell you this… they would have totally shunned the relationship if I was one thing, and that is a vegetarian! Being beef farmers, I think having a vegetarian in the family would have been a total deal breaker.
Last week I was contacted to be one of six food blog “ambassadors” for a new weekly challenge that has launched called “Beef – What’s for Dinner Wednesdays“. Each week, the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook fan page will be updated with a new recipe to make. The challenge is to make the recipe and post your results on the Facebook fan page. Each person who participates will be entered into a drawing to win one of several really cool gift baskets which include The Healthy Beef Cookbook (which I’ve been using for months now and love!), a set of Crate & Barrel Grilling Tools, Sur La Table mini steak thermometers, a reusable shopping bag and other items to help you shop for and cook healthy beef meals. These drawings are happening each week (with several winners chosen each week) so your chances of bringing one of these cool prize packages is great! Check out the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner fan page for more details!
This week’s recipe was a Cajun Beef Southwestern Salad. I made a few changes. First of all, we aren’t big fig fans around here, so I totally omitted that. Plus, I used sunflower salad nuts instead of pistachios, simply because that’s what I had on hand. Oh, and I used Romaine lettuce… again because it was what I had in the fridge. The salad had quite a kick to it and I loved it. The kiddos weren’t big fans, but I think that is because it was too zesty for them. I LOVED this dressing and can envision more salad creations to use it on!
Make sure you check out the Facebook fan page to read all the details about how you can start participating. Next week’s recipe sounds so delicious… East Meets West Burgers. Yum!
When you get a moment, head over to the other ambassador blogs as well!
- Aggie – Aggie’s Kitchen
- Amy – Dinner’s for a Year and Beyond
- Tiffany – Eat at Home
- Andy – Dinner’s On Me
- Kate – Cooking During Stolen Moments
- Heidi – Tried and True Cooking with Heidi
Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My daughter works at a butcher shop….wonderful to have access to such beautiful cuts of beef…had ribeyes for lunch today…yummy!
Fabulous photo, Kristen! Can’t wait to try this week’s burger recipe! Sounds delicious!
.-= Patsyk´s last blog ..Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Wednesdays. (Southwestern Steak Salad) =-.
Your salad looks great. I’m going to have to try the orange dressing. I skipped it on mine because I had tomatoes to use up and that didn’t sound like a good combo. I think it’s neat how everyone’s salad turned out a bit different.
.-= Tiffany´s last blog ..Blueberry French Toast Bake =-.
I’m going to have to order that book! I actually really enjoy beef, though I wouldn’t consider myself a “meat and potatoes” obsessive beef eater. That salad sounds pretty awesome! Looking forward to your posts on this challenge.
.-= Katie @ goodLife {eats}´s last blog ..Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal =-.
Fun idea! I’ll check it out.
.-= Amy J´s last blog ..Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps =-.
That sounds like a great and fun blog event. I’ll have to check it out on FB. Unfortunately, I don’t eat beef that often-maybe once a month. I am an embarrassment to the State of Texas…not b/c of the taste but for health reasons. Though, I do enjoy a good juicy burger once in a while.
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..I’ll Be Your Huckleberry (Crisp) =-.
Must feel so good to be welcomed by the in-laws. I’m sure anybody would like you. Great meal you made 🙂
.-= Hélène´s last blog ..Maple-Roasted Root Vegetables – Epicure Selections =-.
I agree with Helene – baggage or not, I can’t imagine in-laws not liking you! And let’s be honest, we all have baggage!
.-= maris´s last blog ..Worknight Dinner Recipe: Eggplant Parmigiana =-.
the salad looks great!
with such good cooking hands, i cant see why your in-laws dont love u!
.-= lululu´s last blog ..Ragu alla Bolognese (Bolognese Sauce) =-.
The salad looks great. I’m not a huge blue cheese fan (gives me migraines), so I think I’d use goat cheese or feta! I’m heading over to the Fan page now …
.-= Liz´s last blog ..Healthy Meal with Kid Appeal Award: Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy =-.
That salad looks like an interesting combination of flavors and your picture is absolutely mouthwatering!
That photo is making my mouth water! Yeah, my sister and her family are vegies and my folks (big meat eaters) certainly don’t make things easy on them!
.-= Deanna´s last blog ..Coconut Macaroons =-.
YUM! Kristen, that looks great. I am such a sucker for warm steak and creamy cheese on a salad.
And seriously? Someone not liking you? Nah. Wouldn’t happen. 🙂
.-= Sarah Caron´s last blog ..Fertile Friday: Back Again =-.
This is a wonderful looking salad, Kristen! I love your changes ( I wouldn’t want to use figs, either).
.-= Lynda´s last blog ..Four Layer Pudding Dessert (Family Recipes) =-.
Oh, I know about the baggage. That is, my baggage, not yours… ha ha, of course…
And, that is one good looking salad.
.-= Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food.´s last blog ..Sisters =-.
Oh, and I have added you to my blogroll.
.-= Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food.´s last blog ..Sisters =-.
Oh, what I would to do have convenient access to beef here in Kuching. It’s quite expensive because everything has to be flown in from Australia or the US. And the restaurants don’t know how to cook beef properly – they cut it too thin and cook it to death!
Your beef salad looks so tasty, I could tuck into it right now!
.-= Nate´s last blog ..Kuching Food Blogger Meetup @ My Restaurant (Sama Jaya) =-.
My wife isn’t the biggest beef fan but there are some things that she will try. I think this is something I may have to throw at her. It looks so delicious and it includes salad! She may love it and it become a regular meal around here.
Thanks for sharing this
– Bill
that looks so great! I want it for lunch now!
.-= oneshotbeyond´s last blog ..Coming Soon: Pop Warner-Hawkeyes =-.
Oh, and I have added you to my blogroll.
.-= Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food.´s last blog ..<a href=”http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamilyFriendlyFood/~3/YfeTc0kp5Rw/” rel=”nofollow”>Sisters</a> =-.
Thanks for lettin gus know about this!
Thanks for letting us know about this! We love beef and getting adequate amounts of protein is so important, but I’m definitely not an expert on preparing beef and could use some new recipes!