The 7 Series: [1] Food [Goat Cheese Risotto Recipe]

So I recently got an Amazon gift card for my baby shower.  This already excites me to no end, I'm one of those people with an Amazon wish list constantly in the making, that falls asleep to images of strollers I can't buy or random iPhone accessories I don't need.  So when I got the gift card, along with a note from my sweet friend that said I could *gasp* spend it on myself!  I did just that.

I mean seriously, this little girl already has everything in the world she could need, and Mama's not gonna lie.  She likes to spoil herself sometimes.  So with my $25 burning a hole in my pocket I ordered a DicAPic waterproof case for my phone, I am constantly death-gripping my phone at the beach in order to get pictures of the kid's swimming while hopefully not losing my uninsured phone in the abyss & a book I had seen on another bloggers IG [crunchy_candid]

[Me reading my book at Pokai Bay this last weekend.]

The book is called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.

It's written by a Christian Mother of 3 and is basically about how she reduced 7 areas of her life down to 7 things each for a month.  I've just started reading Chapter 2 and I really dig it so far.  Since I'm trying to become a blogger with more purpose, and less scatter-brained rants about my children's bowel movements I decided I'd try and do a small series following along with her 7 things.

So first up, Food!  In the book Jen narrows down her food choices to just 7 things.  I will go ahead and put a disclaimer right now that I'm not going to do as she does.  Do not ask a 35 week pregnant woman with already finicky eating habits to now narrow down her choices to just 7.  If I was forced to choose tho my list would look something like:

1. Dr. Pepper

2. Coffee

3. Chocolate Milkshakes

4. Cereal

5. Bread

6. Smoothies

7. Pork Belly

So you see, not very healthy and more than half of those things are drinks.  I'm not going to put myself in that position.  I am a lover of food, but also, I hope, learning not to be a person of excess.  We start each Monday with a full fridge and by Sunday it's pretty bare bones.  I like it like that.  It keeps my fridge clean, I can see what we have & most of the things in our fridge are fresh foods.  

I have lost over 50 lbs. in the past 6 years, even AFTER having 3 kids.  Ok, right now I'm up 16 pounds but I have the baby to blame at least.  I attribute most of that to learning to eat better, loving my body, and wanting to give my kids a healthy attitude about the food they eat.  For the most part, we try. We also live off a budget of $60 a week for food for a family of 5.  While I would love to feed my family only organic vegetables, free-range chickens & grass-fed beef I live in reality.

  I do what I can while being thankful for everything we have, knowing how blessed we are.  

And I guess that's where I will go with food, that my family understand it's purpose.  We know food is nourishment for our body's, we don't waste it, we don't complain and we certainly don't turn down free food.  But food is not our everything, the amount of whole grains we eat does not effect our worth as humans.  Drinking water from the tap will not kill us, in other places it might.  We are blessed beyond belief to never go to bed with empty stomachs and if Oliver smashes one more Go-Gurt into his hair & carpet I will scream.

The end. 

Just for the purposes of this blog I will give the prices I paid for the food here, 

just in case you're wondering what a meal like this does to my budget. 

Plus this recipe is SOCLOSE to being 7 ingredients, I thought it fitting. 

Goat Cheese Risotto

1 cup short grain rice [.25]

2 Shallots, diced [.99]

1/2 cup Goat Cheese [1.50]

1 lemon [1.75.  Seriously? wtf lemon.]

Thai Basil, minced [Free from our Garden]

4 cloves of garlic, minced [.25]

2 1/2 cups Chicken Stock [1.25]

1/2 cup White Wine [.50]

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper 

Grand Total: $6.50 Serves at least 2 adults who eat a lot!

And 3 kids who would rather eat toast. :/ 

[1] In a large saucepan heat olive oil on medium heat.

[2] Add the onions and cook until translucent.

[3] Add the garlic and cook one more minute.

[4] Add your rice and stir for about 90 seconds, toasting the pieces, 

make sure you have enough oil to coat the rice.

[5] Add your white wine, stirring until it is all absorbed.

[6] Add your chicken stock,

 1/2 cup at a time making sure each addition has been absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. 

[7] When all your liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender,

 grate in the zest & add juice of your lemon.

[8] Stir in your goat cheese and season to taste with salt & pepper.

[9] Plate & sprinkle with Thai Basil!  Enjoy! 

Brave Review & Yogurt Avocado Dip

Took Lily & 3 of my younger sisters to see Brave today.

And I must say I was pleasantly surprised!  It was so good, and I am not one for kid's movies in the slightest.  If we ever attempt to watch one together at home I end up getting up about 20 minutes into it to start cleaning the kitchen or something, I just can't focus that well on what I feel is "kid stuff."

I can barely focus on adult stuff so I guess thats a whole different story.

I really had no idea what the story was about, just that she was a little red-headed archer who liked to get into trouble.  Little did I know that it was a perfect Mother/Daughter movie and was so happy that I got to take Lily to see it.  We've been having some screaming matches lately, which I do admit start on my end and maybe she's just now getting old enough to be able to yell back.  My short-fuse is something I struggle with everyday and I hate the fact that my kids will come to know that about me.  

I am constantly praying for patience and restraint, my weakness being taken out on my children never feels good. 

It was a great wake up call, and being pregnant & hormonal didn't help add to the dramatics of it all.  But I am truly blessed to have such a loving, spunky, kind, and yes, brave daughter.

The story was cute & presented in a way that I liked.  Neither the mother or daughter were in the wrong but each had a different way of thinking & were in a different place in their lives.  In the end all that mattered was the love they had for one another.  

It will definitely be one we buy, Pixar never seems to fail!  

[My happy crew after the movie!  They loved it!]

And now for the food!  This recipe doesn't really tie into the movie at all but the color did remind me of all the beautiful scenery in Scotland.  Either way, it would make a great movie snack....if you can just find a way to sneak it in.  

Yogurt Avocado Dip

adapted from www.twopeasandtheirpod.com

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 ripe avocados

1 jalapeño

1 small handful cilantro

2 cloves of garlic

Juice of 2 limes

Cumin, Salt & Pepper to taste

I used our Ninja for this but a blender or food processor works the same!

[1] Peel & seed avocados.  Add to blender with Greek yogurt.

[2] Roughly chop jalapeño, cilantro & garlic.  Add to blender.

[3] Blend on high until everything is blended & smooth.

[4] Season to your taste with lime juice, salt, pepper & cumin!  

Serve chilled with pita chips.

Side note:  If you don't like spicy you can omit or seed the jalapeño.  We love spicy in our house so I did not! 

Red Velvet Brownies & Mewithoutyou Ten Stories Review.

I love love love Red Velvet.  If I pass by a cupcake shop I have to stop and see if they have it, I try it anywhere I can find it so when I came upon this recipe on Pinterest...of course I had to try it!

I think these would be good with Cream Cheese frosting or even just a sprinkling of powdered sugar, I was just out.  I also have the awesome super power of being able to resist baked goods once I've made them.  I tried them, they were delicious.  And the kids ate the rest. True story, I swear.

They come out redder than they look in this picture and the original recipe had DOUBLE the amount of red food coloring.  If your going for that I'm sure it would be fine.  In case your wondering this is definitely NOT one of my healthier recipes, but hey, they all can't be.  Happy Baking! 

Red Velvet Brownies

adapted from www.newlyweds-blog.com

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tubes red gel food coloring, about 1 oz.

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups AP flour

6 heaping tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tbs. milk

Before you begin:  Butter a 9x13 Cake Pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

[1] Cream butter & both sugars in a mixer.

[2] Add eggs one at a time, stopping and scraping down sides of mixer when necessary.

[3] Add vanilla, milk, and red food coloring.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl......

[4] Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

[5] Slowly add dry mixture to wet  until combined, use your spatula to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom.

Pour the mixture into your pan and bake for 35-50 minutes depending on how gooey you like your brownies.  Now devour! 

And now for some music.

Ten Stories- Mewithoutyou

I have recently re-discovered Mewithoutyou.  I liked them before, I LOVE them now.

The music is awesome, interesting and just something as a musician I can never really grasp at how they came about their radness.  The lead singer, Aaron Weiss, has such a unique voice and their lyrics simply blow me away.  While not really considered a Christian band it is refreshing to hear what I consider Christian music but not have to necessarily listen to Top 40 type stuff all the time, I'm not that old yet!

I have only heard 2 previous Mewithoutyou CDs, Brother, Sister and It's all crazy!  It's all false!  It's all a dream!  It's alright. [They have 4 albums]

Hearing their newest CD, which has been called a cross between the two albums I love and their earlier work I am really inclined to go buy the other 2 right now.

Musically wise I think it's comparable to the other CDs I love, this being my first CD review I'm not even quite sure how one goes about describing music in words?  You just feel it man, or other hippie references here.  Is indie a style of music or just lesser known music?  Either way I'm probably not qualified to even have an opinion on this. 

BUT I do like this CD.  One of the reasons I like Mewithoutyou so much are there lyrics, they ask real questions I think most Christians have asked at some time or another, they question God, his plans and life but somehow always come back to the fact that they trust in him. This time around it's their first concept album?  It tells the story of a traveling circus and the animals on the train. 
I'm having a hard time finding the lyrics on-line and even after more than a dozen listens I'm trying to figure this CD out, but I guess the conclusion is that this CD makes me want to do just that.  I won't stop listening anytime soon. 

One of my favorite lyrics from Mewithoutyou.

Pretty sweet tattoo design as well.

“The LORD is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 15:1-3

Mom's Day Out [w/ What to Expect When You're Expecting review]

So, I'm new to the blogging world.  Kind of.  I've always loved to write in journals and then on-line. 

I was a big Myspace fan, yes I'm dating myself but it is true.

I had a TEEN Live Journal, super cool and a few other Blogger blogs along the way that I've kind of just forgot about, or forgot the password to.  But this time I'm committed!  I swear.  I would love to be able to look back at this 10 or 20 years from now and remember the things going on in our lives, my kid's when they were little and it's kind of like a virtual scrapbook, something I use to enjoy doing when I was younger, like high school, if you haven't gathered I was/am a nerd. 

That was a long winded explanation as to what this blog will be about, while I would like to envision sharing my wisdom, reciped, diy, cleaning, perfectionist tendencies with the masses I would also like this to be a personal journal of the things I enjoy, the people I enjoy doing them with & the God that lets me enjoy them at all. 

Had a great Mom's Day Out yesterday! 

Since getting to Hawaii I haven't really been able to connect with anyone too much despite having lived here before.  For me, that's hard, I'm a people person and while I do love my computer as much as the next person I like BEING with people.  Actually being with them, letting our kids play together, talking, eating, and more often than not drinking coffee.

So when the opportunity came up to spend the day with a new friend from church I pounced on it!

I met up with K at Ala Moana Mall in Honolulu, it was a perfect timing since she's actually in the hospital today delivering her 2nd baby, a sweet girl named Noel, by C-Section today.  Many prayers and birthing dust sent her way!

We're both bargain shoppers, I love a good deal and really try to teach my children the true value of money.  So we shopped around the mall for a bit, I found the perfect kitchen table for us at Sears for $89!

I'm really excited for this one since we've been using a folding table and chairs since we got here.  The benches open up for storage which is also a huge plus for me!  I've also started Christmas shopping as well, in May, I know.  But with 4 kids this Christmas as well as everyone else I try to pick up a few things here and there that I find for cheap so it's not overwhelming us towards the end of the year.  I don't believe Christmas is something to get in debt for!

Got Lily a "My Dad is Rad!" shirt, Thor & Hulk Ugly type Dolls at the Disney Store for Jonas and an adorable yellow plaid jumper for Tulip.  Also my beautiful friend K brought me a bag of brand new clothes for Tulip!  It amazes me how God can provide so much through the people that truly care about us.

After some very fun shopping we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen.  Food is one of my greatest pleasures, both cooking it & eating a great meal someone else prepared!

                              Small bites! Asparagus & Arugula Salad with Korean Beef Tacos.

Our preggo lady fancy drinks for lunch.  Peach & Raspberry Italian Sodas with cream.

The food was great and the conversation was even better.  It has been so great to find some really good Christian women friends in that we can encourage and support each other without gossip or negativity, two things that I really cannot stand in my life anymore.  It has been hard lessons learned that these things we're not doing anything for me.

After lunch we ended our wonderful day out with a trip to the movies!

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Pretty fitting if you ask me, although if you ask me I would also not recommend that book to anyone pregnant woman!  We do not need a scare manual, pregnancy is a beautiful, natural process that we as women are blessed to get to experience. <3

The movie follows 5 couples as they go through the journey of being pregnant.  

I thought it did a really good job in showing the many different sides of pregnancy, they depict a miscarriage, someone that ends up getting a C-Section & an adoption.  All sweetly and without too much drama.  I read some other reviews that talked about the thin plot line, etc. And yes it doesn't have the most in depth stories ever but they are all done well and my favorite part was the Dudes Club, a group of Dads that like Moms complain about their kids and how challenging it can be at times but also love them and feel happier than they have every been in there lives.  It really reminded me of my husband and what a great Father he is, if you've seen the movie the Chris Rock character reminds me of him the most! 

Maybe I'm getting older, or maybe life has been harder on me where I don't want to see fights, back stabbing, affairs, or maybe I have gotten *gasp* more conservative but the light hearted story line was exactly what I was in the mood for. It is definitely one I will buy when it comes out, plus anytime I see a newborn I pretty much bawl. 

All in all a great day, awesome deals, good lunch, and a cute movie.  

Can't wait to do it again!

My beautiful friend K, the day before she gave birth to her daughter Noel & me at 21 weeks with Tulip!