Steak Tacos with Cilantro-Radish Salsa + 30 Days of Dinner!!

This just might be the summer of the taco for us. From veggie to fish to meat, they are always a crowd pleaser. And they are super weeknight friendly. I made this steak version for a neighborhood barbecue and served them with all kinds of easy accoutrements so people could customize their own. It's such an easy recipe I was able to mix it up while talking to people during cocktail hour.

The rest of the month is a mixed bag of dining out, old family faves, and new meal kit options. Enjoy!

Steak Tacos with Cilantro-Radish Salsa 

(4 servings, slightly adjusted from Epicurious)

Ingredients 
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb skirt or flank steak
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems, divided
- 4 radishes, trimmed, chopped
- 2 spring onions or 4 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
- 1/2 serrano chile or jalapeno, seeds removed if desired, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 8 tortillas (corn or flour -- I like flour better here)
- 2 oz. queso fresco or Cotija cheese, crumbled (Feta also works)

Directions 
1. Heat grill. Season steak with salt and pepper and grill about 4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let steak rest 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, chop half of cilantro and toss with radishes, onions, chile, lime juice, and 1 tbsp oil in a medium bowl. Season radish salsa with salt and pepper.
3. Warm tortillas on stovetop until they just start to blister. Slice steak and serve on tortillas topped with radish salsa, queso fresco, and remaining cilantro.

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Day 1 (Sat) -- dinner at NJ shore - BBQ with friends
Day 2 (Sun) -- dinner out at the NJ shore

Day 3 (M) -- dinner out at the NJ shore
Day 4 (T) -- dinner out at the NJ shore
Day 5 (W) -- One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet 
Day 6 (Th) -- Plated Grilled Chicken Souvlaki
Day 7 (F) -- Plated Grilled Pork Chop
Day 8 (Sat) -- sushi out with Cam for girls night
Day 9 (Sun) -- hosted neighborhood BBQ: Steak Tacos with Cilantro-Radish Salsa; Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos (delish!); Mexican Rice; and Roasted Corn with Manchego and Lime 

Day 10 (M) -- Plated Salmon with Salsa Verde
Day 11 (T) -- Plated Vietnamese Pork Bun
Day 12 (W) -- dinner out
Day 13 (Th) -- dinner out
Day 14 (F) -- Beef and Bean Chili (my kids never met a chili recipe they didn't like, but particularly liked this one!)
Day 15 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 16 (Sun) -- Chicken with Red Onion and Lemon (I still leave the sugar out)

Day 17 (M) -- Plated Grilled Fish Tacos
Day 18 (T) -- dinner out
Day 19 (W) -- Plated Beef Bolognese
Day 20 (Th) -- Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Blue Cheese Coleslaw (a runner-up for the featured taco recipe this month); sweet potato fries
Day 21 (F) -- dinner out
Day 22 (Sat) -- Lamb Meatballs with Feta, Olives, and Lemon; green salad
Day 23 (Sun) -- dinner out

Day 24 (M) -- dinner out
Day 25 (T) -- Plated Blackened Cod
Day 26 (W) -- Plated Chicken Burrito Bowls
Day 27 (Th) -- leftovers
Day 28 (F) -- Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes 
Day 29 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 30 (Sun) -- Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (everyone loved!)
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The Friday Five!!

We've been having a great week. The kids are back at one camp, which makes for a much easier dropoff/pickup for me. I've been cleaning and purging the house like a madwoman. AND it's Shark Week, which always makes everything better in our house. Here's what's been going down .... 

Playing -- we're having a pool playdate for some of Kane's classmates this weekend and it happens to be float day at the pool, so we had to test out our new floats! Kane picked out a lobster float, Cam went with an emoji, and we had to get a ride-on banana float for good measure. 

Making -- we finally got around to doing our annual collective mural. I love this fizzing sidewalk chalk paint recipe and we use it for the mural even if we don't do the second fizzing step because it dries very quickly and has some staying power! 

Reading -- we've been on a kick with Wonder-esque reads, but I decided to kick it old school and start A Wrinkle in Time this week. 

Cooking -- these Lamb Meatballs with Feta, Olives, and Lemon are a serious family fave. I always double the recipe, but this week I also tried making them without browning them and was still pleased. The browning adds more flavor, but cooking them completely in the sauce makes for a little less mess. 

Wanting -- I always start back-to-school shopping right about now (yes, I know it's July) and that always makes me excited for fall. I wear my skinny leather pants constantly in cool weather and I'm in the market for a new pair. I love AG jeans, so I'm wanting these! 

2017 Summer Bucket List Update #1

We're a little late with our Summer Bucket List update this year, but we've been knocking things off in a somewhat more random haphazard way this year. The weeks the kids have been home from camp or we haven't been traveling had been filled with absurdly hot weather and other extracurricular  activities, so we simply haven't had a whole lot of down time to really get at our list. Plus, now that the kids are older and more independent, it's easier to just kind of putter about. We don't seem to need our bucket list to spur our every day activities. But, we've still tackled a good number of things so far this year ....

1. Summer playlist -- the kids are killing me with our playlist on repeat. Despacito needs to die. But we can cross that off our list!

2. Unplug for a day -- ironically the kids have had a lot of technology-free days this summer as a result of losing technology privileges for what feels like constant squabbling. They currently have audiobook privileges only, but they're always hopeful.

3. Buy lots of peonies -- I got a big bunch of beautiful peonies for my birthday -- thanks fam!

4. Cook together -- the kids have really bumped up their helping around the house game this summer and have actually been helping me cook quite a bit. I think their chocolate chip cookies were insanely good.

5. Go running together -- they are both into cross-training and strength and conditioning for their various sports, so we've been running together a bit (although not so much now that it's hotter than hell in DC!).

6. New hike -- when they are home from camp, they must assist in Penny duties. So we picked up a Rock Creek Park trail map and have been discovering all new hiking trails.

7. Water balloons -- easy fill water balloons are a total game changer. We had an epic water balloon fight over July 4th.

8. Sparklers -- the kids' grandparents put together a stunning display of sparklers and fireworks for the holiday. Penny was not happy.

9. New art museum -- we LOVED our visit to Artechouse.

10. 1 new science experiment -- we had a blast using saline solution to make a whole new kind of slime last week!

11. Family olympics -- our friends returned for another epic family olympics over July 4th. This year we had a bucket-filling contest, an unwind-a-streamer race, a shaving cream head/cheetos toss, a three-legged race, and the water balloon fight. And everyone cheated.

12. Swim club cookout -- the kids love our new pool and the swim team! Every Tuesday the pool lights up the charcoal grills for you, so that's when we grill :)

13. New sewing project -- Cam has been taking sewing lessons and made a quilted pillow and is working on a backpack now.

14. 1 new service project -- the kids accompanied their grandfather on one of his Meals on Wheels deliveries and got a big kick out of helping him. I hear they were a big hit too.

15. Chase fireflies -- we had a great dinner with the kids at our friends' house and the kids spent a lot of time debating the best way to catch but not kill fireflies. They caught at least a few when they stopped talking.

Summer Workbook Fun

We haven't been crushing our Summer Bucket List in our usual fashion this year (although I promise an update next week!), but I am so proud of the fact that we've managed to make time to get a little math, reading, and writing in almost every week day. Sure, summer is about not-school, but also we really needed to be better about avoiding the seasonal slide. In any event, we're sharing our ways to make summer workbook time more fun over on the OOLY blog today -- check it out for a little colorful inspiration! 

Saltwater Taffy Slime

We've seen all kinds of recipes lately for "fluffy" slime. Mixing up mysterious compounds and potions is always really high up on our kids' fun lists. And, as I mention in Banish Boredom, I love how much we get out of sensory play -- from the making to the playing to the cleaning (everybody and everything else) up, sensory activities are always a good solid chunk of play time. Plus, I really love any activity that incorporates both science and art. Anyway ... we decided to try out a fluffy slime recipe ourselves (thanks to Little Bins for Little Hands!).

After watching the kids mix, shape, and play for the better part of a morning (including taking a break to shower up!), I decided that we'd have to call this Saltwater Taffy Slime! Watching saltwater taffy being made along the New Jersey boardwalk is one of our fave summer vacation activities and this reminded me so much of the sweet treat. And since the recipe we followed uses saline solution, the saltwater idea really stuck.

It was an incredibly messy activity, but the kids loved every single part of it. The slime we made ended up being really, really sticky for much of the mixing process. But the kids actually been bickering a lot that morning, so I got a huge kick out of them two of them being literally stuck together while they worked to make the slime. It was perfect!

They let the slime sit for a bit while they cleaned up and it got less fluffy, but also less sticky. It turned much more like flubber than slime, but they loved that too. They popped air bubbles, rolled it out, and even bounced it.

If you're in need of a good mid-summer activity, give this one a try!

The Friday Five!!

We are supposed to be at the beach right now but calamity after calamity struck this week and we are sweating it out in the oven that is D.C. instead. BLAH! We were hot, we were cranky, but the week went on ....

Playing -- with all our lounging and waiting around, the kids have busted out several old favorite games. No Stress Chess has been in serious rotation.

Making -- even though I have a separate "cooking" link, I feel like I have to include these chocolate chip cookies the kids made. I am an awful baker, but they put there heads together to make these chocolate chip cookies.

Reading -- we've been on a roll with great audiobooks this summer and, so far, Hello, Universe is holding its own!

Wanting -- I need a pedicure in the worst way and I'm pretending the excellent base tan I got over July 4th will still be glowing enough to work with a metallic coat.

Cooking -- I didn't cook much of anything this week because I kept thinking we were headed out of town and didn't want to waste groceries. The only thing I made were the dinners we got from Plated -- fortunately everyone loved this Vietnamese Pork Bun dish!

Summer Camp Organization

We're hitting our summer stride and finally have our camp organization pulled together! Head over to Honest to Nod to see how I help the kids avoid losing their goggles (again. and again. and again.).

XYZT: Abstract Landscapes Exhibit at ARTECHOUSE

D.C.'s art museums and galleries are among my favorite city destinations, but we've never seen something quite like ARTECHOUSE -- a new, interactive digital art gallery located just off the mall. If the gallery's first exhibit, XYZT: Abstract Landscapes, is any indication of what's to come, ARTECHOUSE's large scale interactive exhibits almost guarantee an amazing art experience for families.

The Friday Five!!

We're back in town for a little bit and are wishing we were still at the beach! This whole week has been hot, humid, and rainy in D.C. Ugh. We're making the best of it and doing lots of lounging around, reading, playing games, etc. Here's what we got into ....

Playing -- Kane pulled Longhorn back out this week and they can't stop playing it.

Reading -- we started Because of Winn-Dixie this week and have been cracking up over how much the doggie reminds us of Penny (who completely and totally smiles just like Winn-Dixie). I also started The Long, Hot Summer after starting two or three other books -- still searching for an easy but good summer read for the beach!

Making -- all this rain is no problem with OOLY's gel crayons -- Cam has been drawing all over our windows (which I allow because she then cleans the whole window when she's done!!).

Cooking -- I'm still not 100% sold on the Plated service yet. I decided to bump us up to four full portions because the kids actually eat a full serving, so I don't how cost-effective it is. But the printed instructions with photos and easy steps mean the kids have been able to help cook easily. Either way, everyone loved this Grilled Chicken Souvlaki dish!

Wanting -- our backyard is teeny tiny and mostly taken up by an unnecessary garage. We're thinking about leveling and patio'ing it. I'd like an outdoor kitchen, an eating space, and a bar. Unlikely, but a girl can dream.

Hawaiian Pork Bowl and 30 Days of Dinner!!

I just wrote a nice long intro to this month's 30 Days of Dinner and then lost it. I'm at the beach, so I'm not inclined to rewrite the whole thing. The gist is that it's summer for us, we're not on much of a schedule, and our dinners are all over the place. Plus, I tried Plated this month and am still deciding whether I want to continue with that a few nights a week. Some really tasty new recipes in the mix though, including this Hawaiian Pork Bowl that everyone loved! Happy summer, all!!

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Day 1 (Th) - BBQ Salmon Burgers
Day 2 (F) - dinner out
Day 3 - (Sat) - Slow-Cooker Orange Chicken with Potatoes; green beans
Day 4 (Sun) - dinner out at friends

Day 5 (M) - One-Skillet Steak and Spring Veg with Spicy Mustard; brown rice
Day 6 (T) - Grilled Scallops with Creamed Corn 
Day 7 (W) - Chicken Spiedie Skewers with Italian Dressing
Day 8 (Th) - dinner out
Day 9 (F) - Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Day 10 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 11 (Sun) - dinner out at friends

Day 12 (M) - Salmon Citrus Salad with Avocado 
Day 13 (T) - BBQ'd burgers at the pool
Day 14 (W) - dinner out at Nat's game
Day 15 (Th) - Skillet Pizza Chicken
Day 16 (F) - Chicken Meatballs with pasta
Day 17 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 18 (Sun) - Massaged Kale Salad with Cherries, Pistachios, and Grilled Steak 

Day 19 (M) - Halibut with Spicy Sausage, Tomatoes, and Rosemary; green beans; roasted potatoes
Day 20 (T) - dinner out
Day 21 (W) - BBQ at swim meet
Day 22 (Th) - Grilled Chicken Breasts with Grapefruit Glaze; Southwestern Brown Rice Salad
Day 23 (F) - Grilled Skirt Steak Salad with Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce; sweet potato fries
Day 24 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 25 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 26 (M) - Hawaiian Pork Bowl
Day 27 (T) - Plated Green Chile Chicken Tacos
Day 28 (W) - dinner out
Day 29 (Th) - Plated Seared Steak with Cherry Tomato Viniagrette
Day 30 (F) - Grilled Chicken and salad