Our Anniversary Dinner for Two

Sometimes when a very special day comes around, you celebrate with a very fun and memorable trip, which we did ... our amazing Pacific Coast Trip last month!

And sometimes when that special day comes, you take the whole weekend to relax and celebrate, which we did this past weekend. Our weekend included a day-trip to nearby Lincoln this past Friday, where we found the cutest little restaurant in the Haymarket, complete with outdoor seating, which we love.

And then sometimes when the very actual special day is here, you choose to celebrate quietly at your own home. Which is how we celebrated our 45th Wedding Anniversary on August 14, with a meal-for-two on our own patio ...

And if you're blessed with a loving, caring husband as I am, he'll wait patiently while you take photos of the special meal that you have prepared together as a couple ...

Grilled Spiced Salmon

We love salmon! I buy my salmon fillets in a 3-pound package at Sam's. It is perfect for the two of us, as the pieces are wrapped individually, and we can pull out just two pieces at a time to prepare. This recipe is our favorite way to prepare salmon ...

Grilled Potatoes

This is also a favorite way to grill potatoes. For this meal, I tried something new, and added some slices of summer squash and zucchini to the sliced potatoes. It was a success, and I'll be doing that again in the future ...

The Corn & Black Bean Salad was a new recipe to add to our plate. I picked it because my husband likes dishes with black beans. It turned out to be maybe my favorite salad so far with black beans. Here's the recipe if you are looking for a good black bean salad dish ...

Click on the Taste of Home link (below) to print recipe.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Source: www.tasteofhome.com

Course: Salads

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 20 min

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 medium sweet red pepper chopped
• 1 medium tomato seeded and chopped
• 6 green onions chopped
• ¹⁄₂ cup chopped red onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped, optional
• 1 garlic clove minced
• ³⁄₄ cup Italian salad dressing
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Directions In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing, cilantro, lime juice, hot pepper sauce and chili powder. Pour over corn mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 6-8 servings. Editor's Note: Wear disposable gloves when cutting hot peppers; the oils can burn skin. 

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And as we enjoyed our anniversary meal together on our patio, we shared and talked about sweet memories from 45 years ago! How can time go by like this, and it can already be 45 years?! 

As I am very s-l-o-w-l-y trying to put our memories into scrapbook form, it was so fun to be able to pull out the scrapbook from our honeymoon days, 45 years ago. To remember together, and to thank God for the great, priceless, wonderful gift He gave us in each other. 

Celebrating and thanking God for 45 years together!