Showing posts with label seafood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seafood. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Seafood & Sandcastles: Our Trip to Destin, FL

The view from our Majestic Sun unit
I can't even tell you the last time that Ryan and I went to the beach... felt the sand between our toes and got some much-needed sun. It's been a while. So, when our good friends, Justin & Marli said they were taking a vacation to Destin with their sweet little girl, Presli, we jumped at the chance to join them! We just got back and boy, do we wish we were still there! The weather and the company were perfect. :)

The Majestic Sun - where we stayed.
DAY ONE:
There's Ryan - blowing bubbles with Presli on the balcony.
Ahhhh.... the beach :)

We ate a delicious lunch (fried oyster & shrimp po' boys, seafood nachos, and a blackened amberjack sandwich) at The Back Porch - right on the water. Perfection! :)

Here is the view from our table:



And who would eat right on the beach without taking a stroll through the surf?


Time for a bit of BABY SHOPPING! I had not purchased one item of baby clothing for Baby Girl Smith... and I thought it was about time! So, Marli and I went to the outlets and she bought clothes for Presli and Baby Paxtin while I was overwhelmed by all the baby girls stuff...

Presli was a bit overwhelmed as well...

Oh dear... I knew this would happen!
Then it was off to the beach for some lounging and sand castle building! Ryan and I took a lesson from a guy at Frito Lay and so we came prepared! We had an assortment of equipment and tools ready to make a kick-ass castle. Ryan and Justin did all the hard manual labor...


It's a tough job...

Adding some details...
Loving the staircase!

Not a bad place to be hanging out...
If you can't take the heat...
It's getting fancy!

Ta dah!

The finished product! 
Time to go in and get some rest for tomorrow's castle!
DAY TWO:
Another day... another adorable outfit!

We set up camp in the same spot this time... and made another sand castle!
This one got more attention than the last one...

We think the stone work really added something extra...

And there we are with our creations! (the sand castle and the fetus... lol)


Any excuse to show off that bump!

Add caption

We even signed our creation!
For dinner we went to Dewey Destin - another local seafood spot on the water. Before dinner, Ryan and I took a walk down to the dock and we met a very tame blue heron...



There's the restaurant!

The perfect sunset!
 DAY THREE:


We had a very fancy lunch of hot dogs and friend okra... ;)
For our third and final day (boooo), we decided the beach was the place to spend it. So, we set up our little camp again and went to work!

Sand Castle #3 

Someone got a bit sleepy after playing in the sand!

Can you even take how precious she is?
With Presli sleeping, the boys got to work!
We didn't think the bridge would hold, but Ryan proved us wrong!


We decided we definitely got better with practice...




With our final sand masterpiece!
We had a great time and were sad to leave the beach and our friends...



Thanks for looking! :)

~ Mari



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

One-Pan Meal: Broiled Salmon with Mango Salsa and Broccoli


It's mango season, folks! Who's excited? The Smiths, that's who. I made this yummy (and easy) meal tonight and thought I'd share! The best part? It only uses one pan to cook in! (Ok - technically there is also a pyrex baking dish involved, but most of the cooking is done in one pan) The salsa is sweet and tangy, the salmon is moist inside and crispy on the outside, and the broccoli is fresh and crunchy. It's a good mix, I must say.

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1/4 cup salsa (I used the Publix brand... it's delish)
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.


Have I mentioned how much I love mango?

Broiled Salmon

1 large salmon filet (with skin on one side)
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 limes, juiced
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate (I always keep a can of this in the freezer - it's great stuff!)

Combine all ingredients (except salmon, of course) in a gallon ziploc bag. Swish them around to mix. Put salmon in the bag, skin side up. Allow to marinate 10-15 minutes on the counter. For the next steps, look at the broccoli recipe below.


Let's make a marinade!

Just like a bubblebath...
Crispy Broccoli

1 large head broccoli, washed and cut into florets
salt & pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Put broccoli in a microwaveable dish (I used an 8x8 pyrex). Put about 1/8 inch of water in the dish. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with cling wrap and microwave for about 1.5 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green and crunchy.

McSteamy
Prepare a sheet pan with two pieces of aluminum foil. Turn the edges up on all sides so that the flavors won't combine in the oven. Put the broccoli on one side and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Take the salmon out of the bag, slice it in half (lengthwise) and place it, skin-side down, on the aluminum foil.


It's almost like two mini sheet pans in one!
See? One pan?

Preheat the broiler (on high). Put the pan in the oven and check the broccoli after about 7 minutes (it's fast, I'm tellin' ya!). If it's browning nicely, just pull the mini aluminum foil pan out with the broccoli on it. Let the fish cook a few more minutes (maybe 3) and check it. When it's really browned on top, take it out and let it rest for a few minutes.
Browned tips = deliciousness
All that's left is to... eat it! Get that salsa out of the fridge and plate it up! I served mine with some crispy flour tortillas (I literally friend strips of flour tortillas) and we were happy campers!



I love making things that taste so good and aren't rough on the waistline! Speaking of waistlines... did you notice no starch in this meal? That's my new thing. I'm trying not to make a starch for dinner because I figure we get plenty during the day (cereal for breakfast...sandwich for lunch...granola bars for snacks... you get the idea).

Hope you enjoy it!

~ Mari