Taco Night

I don't think I've ever made tacos for our family before.  I think I've always shied away from the crunchy shelled mess that is a taco.  But then I saw the Pioneer Woman recipe for chicken tacos. 

The recipe is technically her brother's, and the tacos are technically fried, but I loved the concept.

Because of our "chicken issues", I decided to make steak tacos.  Kind of.  I'll show you what I did. 

First, I bought a flat-iron steak, about 1.44lbs.  I seasoned it with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and salt and pepper.  I doused it with mild taco sauce and baked it at 375 degrees, covered,  for about an hour and a half. 

The next step was to shred the meat.

I made the filling: cooked brown rice, shredded "mexican style" cheese, chipotles, salsa, and the meat.

I spread vegetarian refried beans on the bottom of a corn tortilla and topped with the filling.  I folded the tortilla in half and placed onto a baking sheet.  I then brushed the tops of the tortillas with canola oil - just about a half of a teaspoon each.

 I readied our toppings - shredded cheese, lettuce, and sour cream.  That's cantaloupe in the picture, but we just ate that on the side! 

I baked the tacos at 400 degrees for about ten minutes or until the shells were a little crispy.  This is what they looked like.  

To serve, I simply pulled apart the taco (it remains pliable to an extent) - and topped with lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and cheese.  

I think we may have found another meal to put on the [very small] list of meals we all love!  I'm glad I decided to bake the tacos, just because the deep-frying sounded messy and time-consuming.  I bet the deep-fried tacos taste better, but we'll probably never know what we're missing! 

Our tacos were not terribly messy to eat, but they had that nice crunch that I miss with the soft burrito-style tacos. 

Thanks, Pioneer Woman's brother, for the inspiration!  Click on the link at the top of the post to view the original recipe - it looks really tasty!

South Naples Citrus Grove

I love stumbling upon a little gem.  When I knew that Rob and I would be arriving to Florida in the midst of strawberry season and at the end of citrus season, I was excited.  I wanted to find farm stands filled with the jeweled colors of an early growing season (compared to Pennsylvania).  We had originally planned to pick our own oranges, but when we saw the sign for the South Naples Citrus Grove, we quickly made a u-turn.

Here is what we found....the following is from their website

Started in 1979, South Naples Citrus Grove is a family owned and operated business that has been growing and expanding over the past 20+ years. Our delicious oranges and grapefruits are picked daily from our own grove in Naples, Florida.

We are open from the middle of November through the beginning of May and we are located at 341 Sabal Palm Road in Naples, Florida. We retail bagged fruit and ship gift fruit boxes throughout the United States and Canada.

bagged citrus: grapefruits, valencias, tangerines

grapefruits

We also were told that the family who owns and operates the farm also own and operate a farm in Illinois, where they live in the summer (supplying the Chicago area with vegetables).  Can I just say that I want their life?


We bought a box of tangerines to send to my parents, who so nicely watched our three little angels.


We also bought a bag of grapefruits and tangerines to enjoy on the rest of our vacation.


But the big news - was the orange blossom honey.  Remember how Rob is a honey fanatic?  It might be his favorite food of all time.  We love those bees in South Florida.

yes, we were taking hits off of the honey bottle, why do you ask?

I Heart Yelp

Have you used yelp? I hadn't heard of it until this past summer when my sister introduced me to the site.  Basically, it's a referral site for services, restaurants, and businesses.  I find it invaluable when traveling - or even here in my hometown.  The reviews are usually spot-on.  Yelp was started in San Francisco in 2004.  I don't have an account, but if we start traveling more, I'll definitely consider it. 

Obviously, I utilize yelp for finding restaurants or markets.  I personally love reading reviews that contain words like: reasonably priced, authentic, large portions, off the beaten path.  I would much rather rub elbows with the common man and find ethnic food than in a stuffy restaurant eating food I can't pronounce. 

So, on our recent time away, we used yelp to the fullest and found some terrific places to eat!

There were a few places that we didn't take our camera - a pizza buffet that was $7 and surprisingly delicious, and a totally rockin Mexican tortilleria.  We will be visiting these restaurants again and we will be taking our camera (our camera is huge and it's mildly embarrassing to be taking pictures of your dinner plate).  The pizza buffet had homemade potato salad, pasta salad, split pea soup(all on their salad and soup buffet), and wood-fired pizza - all for $7 a person (oh, and some average-tasting soft serve was also included).

Can you see the line?  about 50 people were waiting to get in!

The mexican cafe was located in the back of a grocery store - and we were just about the only ones there who weren't bi-lingual (even though Rob lists himself as such on his resume...anyway).  It was so, so good.  And cheap.  We ordered the enchiladas with a red sauce (I voted for the green sauce - but Rob was scared there may have been cilantro).  We received five large pork enchiladas on a platter with rice and beans, lettuce, tomato, and mexican cheese - our total was $7.44. 

Next up on the docket: I had a hankering for some seafood.  I'd read on yelp about the Dry Dock.  Supposedly the lobster tacos were to die for. I had the grouper tacos and they were to die for.  And the views were phenomenal.  We were able to sit upstairs and had a vista of the bay.  The Dry Dock is connected to just that, a dry dock for boats (basically a storage warehouse).  We could have waited longer for seating outside, but honestly, our view was better.

as you can see, the boats are stored on "lifts", stacked about 4 high

the tacos - with a cilantro vinaigrette

our view from the upper story

the view for the outside seating

We did have a disappointing meal, though.  Rob wanted to surprise me and took me to Mozaic in Sarasota.  The reviews were great - but our review, not so much.  The food wasn't bad - but it was kind of an uppity place and the food was definitely overpriced.

my herbs and greens salad

Rob's roasted tomato soup - the best part of the meal, by far

I ordered the duck breast

Rob ordered Chilean Sea Bass

All in all, yelp was a great tool to find great restaurants in an area where restaurants are plentiful.  And, we have a list for when we return. 

Fire and Stone Pizza
10519 Cortez Rd W
Bradenton, FL 34210
(941) 792-5300

Acalpulco Mexican Restaurant
1833 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.
Bradenton, FL 34211
(941) 708-3308

Dry Dock Restaurant
Longboat Key, FL 34228
(941) 383-0102

Mozaic 
1377 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236-5619
(941) 951-6272

Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort

Rob and I have been blessed with generous family that host us when we travel.  We have rarely have had the need to stay in a hotel. Our recent stay at the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort was an exception.  Rob was invited to speak to a group of businessmen and explain the benefits of charitable giving and estate planning.  We were able to stay at the resort and it was fabulous.  I have never stayed in a nicer room and haven't had the luxury of staying at a beach resort since I was 18 (or 16 years ago, for you that must know!).

the view from our room

the view from the 7th floor

I am fully unfamiliar with the concept of being catered to.  We vacation often, but our vacations are similar to how we live at home.  This past week, though, we ate meals on a patio 200 feet from the Gulf of Mexico.  Our room was less than 30 steps from the beach.  It was something I could definitely get used to!

our room

The hotel has recently undergone a $225 million renovation.  The surroundings are lush.  There are two pools, three miles of white-sand beach and every amenity you could ask for.  The most impressive part, though, were the attitudes of the employees.  They were so service-oriented.  They were kind, hard-working, and friendly.

We saw many young families.  The resort certainly thought of everything you could possibly want in a perfect vacation.  It would be really fun to take our kids here - there are two pools, tons of activities, and the possibility for pure relaxation!  

And the food - I have no words.  Every bite was better than the last. 

eating breakfast outside on the 7th floor

look at this guy I picked up on the beach :)

dinner on the terrace - plantains, pork, steak, sea bass

soba noodle salad, kim chee, asian veggie stir-fry

dessert on the terrace

this was one of my favorites - macademia nut pie

coconut pudding with mango sauce

creme brulee

pineapple upside down cakes

a very happy camper!

A few sights from sunny Marco Island.....

Marco Island, Florida - off the coast of Naples and about 90 miles west of Miami - is paradise.  This island, four miles wide and six miles long, was purchased in the mid-1960's for $7 million.  Today, this island is upscale, without appearing haughty.  The beaches are pristine, the restaurants range from casual to gourmet, and the hotels cater to the whims of every guest. 

I'll tell you all about our hotel, the Marriott, on another post - today we're about 2 hours north of Marco Island and we're anxious to get to our "regular beach", Longboat Key.  

Here are a few pics from a morning walk on the beach in Marco Island - it was beautiful - briefly interrupted by some kid drama surrounding a soccer game, an early morning wake-up, and of course, some tears [up North about 1100 miles away].  But, with the push of a red button, we were back in Marco - soaking up the soul-lifting properties of the ocean.