Since retreating to the suburbs last year, our family has been enjoying the convenience of more space, the luxury of our own yard and even, the simplicity of having a dishwasher!  As awesome as city living is, enjoying life’s little luxuries within your own home, I have to say, is a little more than awesome.

For our first summer in the suburbs, one luxury that I’ve probably enjoyed the most has been grilling in our backyard.  After 10 years of city dwelling and not being able to grill out, I’ve made up for lost time and have been grilling, what seems like, morning noon and night…and even in the rain.

Not only is grilling much more convenient in the summer, it keeps the house cooler.  And since I’ve become quite the grilling queen this summer, I’ve had a great time experimenting with recipes and techniques. So, when I was asked to participate in Lawry’s Fabulous Summer of Flavor, thanks to my friends at The Motherhood, I happily obliged!

So, for this assignment, our NYC team was tasked with creating recipes that incorporate Lawry’s newest marinades–Balsamic Herb and Original Seasoned Salt– as well as Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.  My family has long considered Lawry’s Seasoned Salt an essential kitchen spice, for as long as I can remember.  And when I was first learning to cook back in my high school and college days, I became fast friends with the convenience of Lawry’s marinades.  You can’t beat the 30-minute marinades, not to mention the savory selection.

To go hand in hand with my grilling obsession, I came up with two summertime recipes that incorporate the grill, convenience and kid-friendliness.  For my Lawry’s Summer of Flavor recipes, I came up with Grilled Steak Quesadillas and an Easy Steak Salad.

Grilled Steak Quesadillas

For the quesadillas, I included steak cubes that were marinated in a mixture of Lawry’s Original Seasoned Salt marinade and the Chipotle marinade that I already had onhand.  I also made a super easy, super fresh pico de gallo to sprinkle within the quesadilla.  And, of course, cheese!

What I love about quesadillas is that they’re filling enough to be served as an entree for lunch or dinner, or if you like, they can be served as apps.  Quesadillas are perfect kid-friendly meals because they’re finger foods and like my guy reminded me, Dora (as in Explorer) likes to make them.  Um, okay!

As much as I love to cook, I refuse to cook more than one meal.  I don’t agree with special meals for kids, but I do believe in getting the kids involved during mealtime.  I thought getting the kid to help out with the quesadilla-making was great.  Even though he insisted he does not like tomatoes, he still spread some pico de gallo amongst the cheese and ate it too.  From my experience, getting kids to help out, not only curbs pickiness, but it gives kids a sense of achievement, in that they created what they are eating.

This was the second or third time I’ve done this recipe, and it really is such a fun outdoorsy, grilling-type of food.  From the freshly made pico de gallo to slicing up the grilled steak, I love sitting out on the patio putting it all together.  And the flavors when all put together are so, so good.  Serve it all up with some guacamole, salsa, chips, and it’s a fiesta!  Only thing that would’ve made this meal better would’ve some Margaritas and Sangria! YUM!

Easy Steak Salad

This Easy Steak Salad is exactly what it sounds like!  I marinated some steak cubes with Lawry’s Balsamic Herb marinade. And I also marinated some veggies with the same marinade.  I grilled it all up and served the grilled steak and veggies on top of a fresh green salad.

For the salad, I incorporated a few different lettuces, cucumbers and shredded cheese.  I then served the grilled steak and veggies on top of the greens.  The marinade was so flavorful, that none of needed more dressing.  It was so good—perfect for a fresh summer lunch.

See below for the recipes and a giveaway!

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