Month: February 2016

I am working from home today which means trying to keep on a normal work schedule is hard! To help stay on routine I allowed myself a 45 minute break to eat and write this post. I wanted something quick and easy but also nutritious and delicious! I decided to go with a brown rice bowl with simple ingredients. If you ever find yourself at home with a short amount of time to eat; I encourage you to try this recipe! I was surprised at how little time it took to prepare!

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown rice

Chopped Spinach Leaves

Chopped Parsley

1 tablespoon of lemon juice (adds zest)

2 thin slices of chicken

1 pinch of garlic powder

Okay back to sorting out evaluations! Wish me Luck 🙂

There is an amazing restaurant in Ames called the Cafe and they serve lettuce wraps with Mongolian beef and rice. I have been trying to recreate the recipe and have yet to succeed but Megan, Mo, and I did create a twist to the delicious lettuce wrap. This is a quick and easy lunch that can be made in minutes to satisfy your hunger on your busiest days.

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce

Mexican Rice

Black Beans

Corn

Cheese

Onions

 Steps:

1. Stove top: Rice, beans, and corn
2. Saute onions
3. Combine all ingredients
4. Scoop a spoonful onto the lettuce

Tip: Roll the lettuce sideways to reduce the chance of breakage

Happy Sunday! Friday and Saturday I had the opportunity to assist with an Ag Leaders Session. The Ag Leaders Institute is a year long course for farmers to learn about cutting edge issues and leadership skills to address those issues. It was fascinating to watch the minds of 25 inspirational farmers connect and learn from one another throughout the weekend. Mary invited a local artiest from Boone, Iowa to speak with the group. David emphasized the idea of expanding creativeness and to use the resources we all have at our fingertips. He explained that our phones are like a advertisement agency. We can expand our reach with just one click of a button. He encouraged us to create a 6 word phrase that described what and why we do what we do. I began the process by jotting down words that remind me of the farm and in the end I came up with “Agriculture taught me freedom and knowledge.” Through this statement all things are true. I have found that I am truly happy connecting farmers to consumers. Before the Ag Leaders Institute on Friday we had a little incident at our apartment resulting in the fire department which is the real reason for this post!

Exactly one week ago, Megan and I decided that we were hungry for breaded cauliflower but trying to be the new, improved, and healthy us, we did not want to go into town. We found a recipe online and tweaked it to fit our taste buds. It started off as any normal cooking experience. I combined the ingredients and Megan cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces. I had Garrett put turkey burgers on the counter grill and I added oil to the frying pan. With in seconds the apartment was flooding with smoke and I began to panic. We turned on the vent and opened the sliding glass door but even with all our effort the apartment stayed smokey. We opened the door to the hallway hoping to release some of the smoke when immediately all of the alarms went off. It was so loud I just knew it had to be the whole building. Ah man was I mortified!!! I looked out side and everyone from the building was standing outside in their pajamas! I called the Ames police right away to let them know it wasn’t a fire but that did not stop the fire trucks from pulling up to reset the alarms. They asked us what happened and once we told them they laughed and asked if it at least tasted good. I should have offered them some but we had already ate it while we were waiting for them to arrive. Haha I have never been so embarrassed in my whole life!!

Here is the recipe if you are also in the mood for breaded cauliflower but please cook it in a deep fryer or an oven! I sure learned my lesson!

Ingredients:

– 1 head of cauliflower

– 1 tsp of garlic powder

– 1 tsp of onion powder

–  Egg yolks

– pepper

– salt

– sugar

– 1 cup of flower

Steps: 

1. Clean and cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces

2. Combine all dry ingredients into one bowl

3. crack 1-2 eggs into a bowl and whisk

4. dunk the cauliflower into the egg and then into the flower mix

5. Fry in oil for 2-3 min

6. Enjoy!

To modify for a healthier version- bake cauliflower in the oven with similar ingredients.

January 10th, 2016 marks my first post! I can not believe I am the owner of a blog. I have been inspired by other blogs over the past three years and decided it was time for me to start my own journey. It is the night before school starts back up again and while in the motivated state my sister and I decided to try a new recipe.

I had a great start to my morning, I attended Harvest Vineyard (a local church) where the pastor seemed to talk directly to me. He made a great point about relationships and belonging.  1st Corinthians 12:12-27 states that we are all one in the body of Christ. Sometimes I feel like society forgets this. Pastor Josh made a valid point that when he is in a fight with his wife and he wins the argument they both lose. It is not about what team wins or loses because we are all playing on the same team. We should be encouraging others around us and not only thinking about ourselves. As second semester kicks off, I am going to remember this throughout my relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.

Okay back to the recipe that brought all of you to this post. 🙂

Fish and Wine Night

I like to wing the food that I cook and this recipe turned out to be the perfect combination. The base of the meal was created with Tilapia and a lemon wine dressing. If you are making this with the ingredients in your home be creative and don’t be afraid to swap a few. I am going to list the steps Megan and I took but feel free to use what you have in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

Frozen or fresh Tilapia fish

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup white wine

2 cups brown rice

5 cherry tomatoes

3 sweet peppers

1/2 onion

3 garlic cloves

5 cilantro leaves

Steps:

1. In a large skillet, cook the fish in 2 T. of olive oil. Leave whole or cut into bite size squares

2. In a small sauce pan- combine the wine and lemon juice to a small boil

3. Add all vegetables to the fish and allow 15 minutes to cook into the fish

4. pour the lemon wine dressing over the fish- simmer for 10 minutes

5. Cook the rice on the stove or in the microwave and serve fish over rice

6. Enjoy!