Sam's Original Fiesta Salad

It might be the dead of winter, but this mouth-watering salad will instantly perk up your day. This colorful, flavorful and healthy salad is super easy to make and will be a hit at your next picnic--err, fireplace gathering.

Makes 3-5 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 package grape tomatoes
• 1 lime
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 3 bell peppers, preferably of all different colors. Chopped.
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 avocado

Lime Vinaigrette Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 bottle lime juice
• 1 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Instructions:

1. Slice grape tomatoes in half
2. In a large bowl, add tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and onions.
3. Drain black beans. Add to salad mixture.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a separate bowl, add avocado. Stir. Add avocado to salad and stir well.
6. In another bowl, mix salad dressing ingredients. Add to salad.
7. Add sliced limes on top as a garnish
8. Serve or refrigerate

Delicious Stuffed Flank Steak Recipe

I served this on a recent Sunday night and it was a big hit. I have not had much success in the past with stuffing meats (mainly due to lack of cooking string) but I managed to pull off this recipe without a hitch! I served this entrée with fettucini noodles and used the leftover spinach as a side dish. The steak paired well with a large glass of cabernet sauvignon from a local vineyard.

Ingredients:

• 1 flank steak (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
• 1 cup crumbled bleu cheese
• 1 package thawed frozen spinach
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons dried Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Lay steak on covered work surface. Starting at a long side, cut steak in half to opposite long side. DO NOT cut steak all the way through (I almost made this mistake). Proceed to open the steak like a book.
3. Pound steak down to desired thickness
4. Drain liquid from spinach. In a large bowl, combine spinach, peppers, bleu cheese, egg, bread crumbs, and half of the garlic salt and pepper.
5. Season steak with the other half of the garlic salt and pepper.
6. Stuff filling into steak. Leave at least one inch from the border to prevent overflowing while cooking.
7. Roll up steak to enclose filling.
8. Tie steak with cooking sting. There should be one tie per inch of steak.
9. Rub outside of steak with oil. Add more garlic salt and pepper to season.
10. Roast at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Then broil for ten minutes, turn once.
11. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Pair with merlot or cabernet sauvignon, and serve any leftover spinach as a side dish.

Welcome to my new blog!

Stop by soon for more updates!