BLP (Bacon, Lettuce, Peach) with Basil Mayo

We made it back from San Francisco! If you follow along on my instagram and especially my stories, you would have seen that last weekend we were there for a short getaway. It was a last minute adventure after we found a bundle deal through expedia for hotel and flights, and had some points ready to use from our credit card. While I would not recommend our hotel (haha), it was affordable and in the middle of the city so we made it work. We walked everywhere mostly, went to a lot of bakeries, and enjoyed the cooler weather. San Fran post with photos and recs coming soon!

Kyle started optometry school Tuesday and I have been busy getting back into the swing of things with work, but it hasn't been that hard adjusting to reality because it was nice coming home to the pups and eating home cooked food again.

Speaking of home cooked food, right before we left I made this sandwich for dinner one night. We are not really sandwich people, and we both blame this on eating packed school sandwiches for lunch almost everyday since we were in elementary school. But a BLT? That is a sandwich I can have pretty much anytime.

While I often replace mayo where I can, due to being married to a husband who normally can't stand the stuff, for a BLT (or BLP) you have to stick to what's classic. Since it's made up of essentially 5 ingredients and I had already swapped out one, the rest had to be true to the original. I did jazz it up though and make it a little fancy by adding fresh basil and lemon juice. Exciting news: the mayo-hating-husband loved it!

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BLP (Bacon, Lettuce, and Peach) with Basil Mayo

makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bread
• 6-8 tsp. olive oil
• 4 slices bacon, cooked
• lettuce (I used romaine)
• 1 peach, sliced
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 2 tbsp diced fresh basil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drizzle 1-2 tsp. of olive oil on each slice of bread, and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can toast the bread in a toaster.)

In a small bowl combine the mayo, basil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Spread the basil mayo on at least one or both slices of toasted bread, and layer with bacon, sliced peaches, and lettuce. Enjoy!

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Chicken Fried Steak Fingers and Gravy + Links

I know this is a bit out of the ordinary for this blog. It's not very healthy, and it's fried! But, when one moves back to Texas and has access once again to some of the other good things in life, such as Chicken Fried Steak, and begins watching too much Pioneer Woman again, cravings begin to happen and thoughts such as Why haven't I made this at home yet? Luckily, my brother and sister texted me mid-day earlier this week and said they were coming over for dinner. I knew this was my chance to make this because then it would hopefully be gone in the same day.

Everyone came over, and I had asked my brother Donald to bring whatever drinks he wanted. Not only did he do that, but he also brought vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookie dough. Kyle came home completely surprised to a feast, and what may become a new weekly (or at least every other week) tradition. My Lolo also came over because he is currently staying with my parents; he is pictured below and is the cutest! 

In other news it's been raining literally all week, everyday, and I have been loving it. For some reason it did not thunderstorm in NYC like it does in Texas, and I have been enjoying it and the cooler weather it has brought with it. Now let's just hope it stays this way and fall comes early. I'm already thinking of pumpkin season and sweater weather.

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Some Links I've been loving this week:

• Loved loved loved this post on Hummingbird High on blogging and social media
• a pretty strawberry pie by Constellation Inspiration
• These quinoa stuffed bell peppers by Faring Well are so colorful and healthy!
• Wasn't sure what a grandma pie was before Cook Republic, but now I want to make one.
• Pretty much everything Alana on Fix Feast Flair makes I want to eat. Including these stunner fig tarts!
• I've been secretly making food recipe videos for the past month for Bloglovin'! Check out this Hummus Veggie Wrap, this Chocolate Chip Cookie one, or my personal favorite--the Avocado Rose Toast!

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Chicken Fried Steak Fingers and Gravy (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. round steak, tenderized
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper chili flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• oil and butter for frying

for gravy:

• 11/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions: Cut tenderized round steak into 1-inch strips. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside on a plate. Whisk together eggs and milk in a bowl. In a separate dish, mix flour, more salt and pepper, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and red pepper chili flakes.

Prepare the dipping station with all three dishes side by side. Begin by dipping one steak strip into the flour, then into the egg and milk mixture, then back into the flour again. Set aside on a large plate. Repeat until all are breaded.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in 1 tbl. of butter. Fry steak strips without overcrowding the pan, about 3-5 minutes per side. Flip when steak fingers are golden brown on one side. Place on a cooling rack, and keep warm with foil or in the oven at 200 degrees F.

To make the gravy: Depending on how much grease is left in your pan, either add more or remove some so there is approximately 1/4 cup of grease in the pan. Sprinkle in 2-3 tbl. of the flour mixture into the skillet, whisking constantly until it becomes a paste. Let cook over medium-low for a minute until it is a golden brown. Pour in milk, whisking constantly. Add more milk/more flour depending on consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste!

Serve with a salad and french fries, and if you're extra naughty, some Texas Toast.

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Notes: If you can't find round steak that is already tenderized, you can do so with a meat cleaver. If you don't have a meat cleaver (like me), feel free to use a rolling pin and a layer of saran wrap to pound the meat thinner. Then, pierce it with a knife. This part was really fun to me!

Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

We ate pizza and black and white cookies and drank wine and sang karaoke. The best part was when all of the guys sang "I Want it That Way" and knew every word!!! Then we went to Brother Jimmy's where Kristen knew most everyone there so we got half off our loaded nachos and got free pickleback shots. Basically, New York City is insane on Halloween! The subways were completely full like they are at rush hour, but it was 2 AM, and almost everyone was in costume!

Mac and cheese falls into the category of one of my favorite foods of ALL time. I love making quick stovetop mac and cheese, like this one, but if you have time baked mac and cheese is even better. The butternut squash adds the flavor of fall and adds a touch of sweetness to the mac and cheese. It also allows the recipe to be slightly healthier than normal because it contains less cheese since the squash replaces it. This was so yummy and if you love mac and cheese, you should try it!!

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Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• ½ butternut squash
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 tbl. butter
• 2 tsp. flour
• 6 oz. cheddar
• 8 oz. pasta shells
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp. paprika

Directions: Slice butternut squash in half, and remove outer skins. Dice one half of the squash into small cubes. In a large skillet, drizzle olive oil and cook butternut squash over medium heat, stirring periodically, until lightly browned on the outside. While squash is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside. Season squash with salt and pepper to taste, and mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth. Remove from pan and place in small bowl.

In same skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour until thick. Add milk, paprika, and bay leaf, and continue stirring. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Slowly add in cheese, a little at a time, and continue stirring until melted, for a few minutes. Remove bay leaf. Add mashed butternut squash to cheese mixture. Combine pasta with cheese-squash mixture, and top with fresh herbs of choice!

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