rice pilaf.

i made this to go along with chicken pillows, which we usually have with potatoes.  this was a nice change and will be added into our rotation of regular recipes.  i did decide that next time i'm going to decrease the garlic and onion a little, so i have reflected that in my recipe. 

photo from {kelseys' apple a day}.

rice pilaf serves 6.
2 T. butter
1/3 of an onion, diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1 1/4 C. rice (can use brown)
2 1/2 C. chicken broth
can add in fresh herbs or dried herbs for color if desired.

1) melt butter over medium heat; add onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  stir until onions are soft.  

2) stir in rice until well coated; add broth and bring to a boil. 

3) cover, reduce heat and summer until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes.  fluff with a fork.

i got this recipe from the book The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner, pg. 213.

pineapple zucchini muffins.

a great way to use up some of that summer zucchini!

photo and recipe from {bless this mess}.

pineapple zucchini muffins: makes 18 muffins.
1 1/2- 2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. applesauce
1/2 C. canola oil (can sub all applesauce or 1/2 C. coconut oil)
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 C. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 C. shredded zucchini, drained well
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained well             

1) preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

2) in a mixing bowl add sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to combine. 

3) sprinkle flour across the top of the wet ingredients and the rest of dry ingredients across the top of the flour. stir everything together just until combined. 

4) add the zucchini and pineapple and stir to incorporate.

5) pour the batter evenly into 16 muffin cups (as close to the top as possible) and bake at 425 degrees for 6 minutes, then reduce temperature (without opening the door) to 350, continue cooking for an additional 12-14 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

NOTES:
if the pineapple or zucchini is not drained well the muffins will turn out gummy.

use the pineapple juice in another recipe or smoothie!

you can sub the white flour for whole wheat or do half and half. if subbing all whole wheat for the white, increase the baking soda to 1/2 tsp.

homemade yogurt in the crockpot. {part 2}. the recipe and fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt.

i got this recipe from{bless this mess}.

homemade yogurt in the crockpot: makes about 2 quarts.
1/2 gallon whole milk (8 cups)
1/2 C. plain yogurt (i like Mountain High)

1) pour milk into large crockpot.  turn it on low for 2 1/2 hours.

2) unplug crockpot and let sit for 3 hours.

3) stir in yogurt.  cover crockpot and wrap with 2 thick towels.  allow to sit out on the counter overnight or for 8-12 hours.

4) place in glass jars or large glass bowl and refrigerate; it will thicken a little more as it cools.

if you want to have the fruit throughout the yogurt, blend or whip it together for a creamy flavored mix.

photo from {the pea-pod}.

homemade fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt cups: makes 6 servings

1 1/2 C. fresh or frozen berries of choice
3 T. honey or maple syrup
homemade yogurt

1) in a small saucepan, add berries and sweetener.

2) heat mixture over medium heat; let the mixture simmer, stirring often, until the liquid reduces by half.  this should take about 10-15 minutes.

tip: if you're using fresh berries, mash them a bit in the beginning so they release their juices and don't burn.

3) divide the berry mixture evenly into 6 half pint wide mouth mason jars.  (these are so cute and handy!)

4) add yogurt on top of the berries (3/4-1 C. per jar). cover and store in fridge.


NOTES:
you can add more or less sweetener and berries according to your taste.

for a healthy boost, stir in chia seeds before eating.

homemade crockpot yogurt. {part 1}. the info.

photo from {live simply}.

did you know you can make homemade yogurt in your crockpot?  this has been on my TO DO list for over a year now.  my kids and i LOVE yogurt and spend quite a bit of money every month on the small walmart yogurt cups, my favorite Zoi honey vanilla greek yogurt and the larger "boring" (as my kids call it) tubs of peach, strawberry or vanilla.

although my kids still prefer the small flavored yogurt cups (and i love my Zoi), i am trying to tighten our grocery budget over here.  living in utah is quite a bit more expensive than idaho. we were really spoiled with cheap, good food in idaho!

a tub of yogurt here costs almost $5!!!

a gallon of whole milk cost around $3.15.  the yogurt recipe calls for a half gallon of milk and a half a cup of plain yogurt (i use Mountain High).  to get started you need to buy plain yogurt, but then you can save out a 1/2 C. from your batch of homemade yogurt to use for your new batch.

by your second batch you'll only be paying around $1.57 + tax for about 8 C. of nourishing yogurt!

photo from {may purr}.

it also helps to know that i know the exact ingredients in the yogurt we are eating.  no sugars, dyes and preservatives!

i know, you may be thinking. eww- plain yogurt is sour and disgusting.  i thought the same thing.  this homemade yogurt is still tangy, but it is much milder than store-bought.  i add some fresh berries and a slight drizzle of honey and it's a delicious snack.  add in some granola and you've got a healthy and filling breakfast!

my kids even ate this with fruit and granola! i was impressed. usually my kids are total yogurt snobs and can detect when i've tried to give them plain yogurt.

benefits of plain yogurt:
1) to quote fitness magazine, yogurt's got power-boosting protein and bone-building calcium.

when you eat yogurt, the calcium in it signals your fat cells to pump out less cortisol, making it easier for you to drop pounds and especially belly fat when you are following a healthy diet.  cortisol is the hormone that triggers your body to store more fat, specifically around the waist.  

2) yogurt has "live and active cultures," which means that it has probiotics, beneficial "bugs" that live in your digestive tract and help crowd out harmful micro-organisms that can cause intestinal infections.  the probiotics also strengthen your immune system

3) yogurt is loaded with vitamins.  one serving is a significant source of potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin, iodine, zinc, and vitamins B5 and B12.  an 8 oz. serving of yogurt contains about 60% of the vitamin B12 that an average adult woman needs daily. B12 is the vitamin which maintains red blood cells and helps keep your nervous system functioning properly.

4) a cup of yogurt a day can help you recover faster after a workout.  with the right ratio of protein to carbohydrates, yogurt makes an excellent post-workout snack.  eat within 1 hour of a work out and the proteins provide the amino acids your muscles need to repair themselves.  the carbohydrates replace your muscles' energy stores, which are depleted after a hard workout.  it's a bonus if you drink a full glass of water along with it; the protein in yogurt may also help increase the amount of water absorbed by the intestines, improving hydration!

5)not all yogurt is equal!!!  fruit yogurts have less calcium than plain because of the sugar content.  yogurt is NOT a healthy snack or meal when it has tons of sugar loaded into it!!! and light or sugar-free are not great options either; the aspartame or other fake sugars added in instead are even worse for your body than sugar itself!

6) yogurt may prevent high blood pressure.  every day, 70% of people consume more than twice the recommended amount of salt; over time that can lead to hypertension and kidney and heart disease.  the potassium in yogurt, almost 600 mg per 8 oz. may help flush out some of the excess sodium from your body!

7)a daily serving of yogurt keeps colds away!  the healthy bacteria in yogurt help to send signals to the immune-boosting cells in your body to power up and fight off harmful bugs. allergy sufferers may also find relief by adding yogurt into their diets.

8) the lactic acid in yogurt appears to give your gums protection and helps build stronger teeth.


in researching yogurt i have found so much information! according to the site {eat local grown}i found preservation of yogurt starter information and different ideas for flavoring yogurt:


how to preserve yogurt starter:
if you don't want to or can't make a new batch of yogurt every week or so, you can reserve your 1/2 cup of yogurt, or more if you cannot eat all of your yogurt before it goes bad and FREEZE it!!!

yogurt freezes well and the active live cultures in yogurt will survive for many months in the freezer.

simply freeze in a clean ice cube tray or small plastic container equal to a half a cup portions.


more ideas for flavoring yogurt:
flavor with the seasons!  flavoring plain yogurt is always to taste.  try adding seasonal fruits, cinnamon, honey, vanilla or other natural flavor extracts.

puree fruit in a blender or add in a bit of jam or even try blending it up with some fruit juice or concentrate.  you can add in chopped nuts, seeds, mini chocolate chips, protein powders, and coconut flakes.

photo from {paleo leap}.

fall/winter: apple, cinnamon/spices, peach, pear, apricot, cranberry, pomegranite
spring/summer: strawberry, pineapple, blueberry, cherry, raspberry, blackberry
year-round: banana

photo from {let the baking begin}.

if you preserve your own fruits you can enjoy them year-round as well!!!


there are tons of resources if you're interested in learning more about yogurt!!!

fresh apricot jam. {how i make it}.

                        

photo from {flickr}.

i like my apricot jam to be slightly tart with a hint of sweetness.  i don't want to follow traditional recipes of dumping in 6 CUPS OF SUGAR into 8 cups of pure fruit.

my recipe follows a low-pectin guide of 10 cups of chopped fruit to 2 C. of sugar; however, i do not add in any additional juices as the recipe suggests.  instead, i allow my chopped fruit to sit over night with lemon juice and 1 C. of the 2 C. of sugar sprinkled on top.  this allows the natural juices of the fruit to draw away from the fruit and soften the fruit a little.

oh, and don't think you have to pick a massive amount of apricots to make the jam!  a few buckets full goes a long way.  my family and i took 15 minutes the other night and picked off a low-lying tree.  the kids each had a sand bucket full and we had a large bucket slightly full.  all in all the apricots filled one side of my kitchen sink.

how much jam did this yield? 15 pints!!!!

photo from the {idea room.}

fresh apricot jam: yields 10 1/2 pints or 5 pints

10 C. chopped fruit

2 T. lemon juice

2 C. sugar

7 1/2 T. low-sugar fruit pectin

1) wash fruit well and pit.  

2) chop into quarters and put into a large pot.

3) add in lemon juice over the top and sprinkle with 1 C. of the sugar.  do not mix.  cover and allow to sit overnight.  

4) in the morning or the next day, bring fruit to a slow boil or med-high heat and add in pectin, 2 T. at a time, stirring to incorporate.  

5) add in 1 C. sugar, stirring to incorporate and allow mixture to thicken.

6) as it thickens, transfer large ladles-full to a blender and chop/puree until desired consistency.  add back into the pot and continue until you have the total desired consistency for your jam.

7) transfer jam to hot, sterile jars and top with hot, sterile lids (i boil mine to soften the gel and sterilize them).

8) process for 15 minutes for pint-size in a hot water bath canner.  adjust for altitude.  in utah and idaho for the elevation i have to increase my processing time by 10 minutes. so total process time is 25 minutes for pints.

9) after processing, remove from hot water bath and set on a single layer of towels on the counter top to cool for 24 hours. test lids for seal.  if unsealed refrigerate and use within 3 weeks.

tip: i would use old dish towels if you don't want staining from fruit when canning!  learned that the hard way!

in the end you have a beautiful, as-close-to-the-fruit-as-you-can-get, thick jam!

photo from {leites culinaria}.

photo from {love and olive oil}.

i love images of canned goods! they are so simply beautiful!

i'll continue to post a few more apricot recipes in the following days.  i like my recipes to be simple and as healthy as possible, so i don't get extremely creative or inventive.

because i'm about 3 weeks from my due date i'll be limiting my canning this year.  there are some things i MUST have, like peaches, pears and applesauce.  those are family staples here.

if you don't already follow my pinterest boards you can see other apricot recipes that i pin on there to maybe try next year. apricot jam is all this girl will be making for this apricot season.  next year i'd love to bottle a bunch of apricots, make apricot jabanero jam and do some baking etc.  eventually it would be wonderful to have my own apricot tree.  i can picture myself canning away and having the kids run a road-side stand to sell extra produce!

but there will be a few for you and yours to enjoy if you wish!

a little bit of lately. {dinosaur park}.

every once in a while this summer chris has gotten home from work early enough for us to take off and do something fun with the kids.  this particular evening wasn't dreadfully hot.  chris got home around 7:45, leaving us enough time to play at a local park for about an hour.  the evening is my favorite time of day.

zach has become quite the climber this past year.  he is very coordinated and loves to climb up, down and across anything.  there isn't very much that holds him back, and since he has become quite skilled he has never fallen.

we like this park the best because it's in a pretty setting, has fun exploratory playground equipment with a dinosaur theme, has walking paths and a fun laser light game the kids (and daddy) enjoy playing.  this park gets the wiggles out big time!!!

playing the laser game-

i can't get enough of this little guy lately it seems.  most of my pictures are of him- trying to capture this fun age of excitement and exploration.  he has the cutest mannerisms and little voice and i am reminded daily that {although i wish i could freeze him right here in this phase and age} that he is growing rapidly and learning how to stay up to speed with his big brother and sister.

pretty soon he won't be our baby anymore.  i think he is starting to grasp the idea that a new little person will be coming to live at our house.  he often says "i am big." "i am going to be a big brudder." (brother)

i love that he was potty-trained in 2 weeks.  he doesn't wear diapers or pull-ups at all anymore, not even at naptime or bedtime.  no accident in bed yet.  a {HUGE} blessing to a momma who DID NOT want two kids in diapers at the same time!!!

i also love that he gets himself dressed and more often than not his shoes are on the wrong feet and his underwear and pants are backwards.  he is fiercely independent; however.  as are ALL of my children.  so, wherever we go, he goes that way.  no worries.  he'll eventually figure out that the zipper goes in the front and not in the back and that it's actually much more comfortable to wear your clothes the right way.

he has his own sense of style too.  if he's not wearing his baseball cap then he usually requests to have his hair done (spikey, like you see it the most).  he also wears his shades all over the place, but mostly in the car so the sun doesn't bother his eyes.

he loves to brush his teeth every morning and night and WILL NOT let anyone help him, other than to put the toothpaste on his brush.  he will scream at you otherwise.  he will scream at you if he doesn't like anything you're doing to him.  this can be a good and a bad thing.  no stranger is ever going to get their hands on this child!

watch out for T-rex!

look who came to visit!

mom and dad graf came down the last weekend in july so we could all celebrate dad's birthday.  chelsae & spencer, shawnae & baby brielle came too!  it was fun having some company.  mom and dad stayed at a hotel so we enjoyed several hours in the evening and the next morning swimming at the pool.

we had a pool-side pizza and birthday party with cake and ice cream for dad.  don't ask me why i didn't take pictures....?  shawnae if you have any....

i got to hold this chubby cuteness while everyone swam!

chelsae and spencer entertained the kids for hours in the pool and grammie got in on a game of marco polo too!

the next day, on sunday we took a walk around temple square and visited the exhibits there. unfortunately later on in the evening both zach and grammie got really sick.  i think we had a combination of a stomach bug and some dehydration going on.  we had a long, hot weekend combined with not drinking enough water and swimming in the steamy pool room.

thanks for coming to visit!

a little bit of lately. {settlement canyon}.

chris worked saturday and got home at around 5.  wanting to take advantage of what time we had with him i packed the cooler and had everything ready to go for a dinner picnic up in the canyon. we drove up into Settlement Canyon where there is a reservoir.  the water was down quite a bit and the shoreline was rocky.  not much to be desired, but the view from that elevation was pretty.

driving in there are campsites all along the sides and a creek that runs the course of the canyon.  in many places the creek is down a steep ravine and all of the better spots were already taken. eventually we found an open field with a play ground along the creek.  it was a nice evening, not too hot, with a nice breeze.  thanks heavens for the breeze because apparently they don't mow the grass in the field and instead opt to free-range cattle there.  a few too many cow pies lay about (some fresh!)  you really had to watch your step!

the {beware of rattlesnakes} and {watch for cougars} signs also were a bit unsettling, however; there were plenty of other people all around so i felt confident we would be ok!

luckily there was one last fire pit available next to a picnic table so we set up our spot and chris and the kids ran off to collect firewood.  chris made an excellent "log cabin" style fire and showed brady how to build the fire and add wood in as the fire got going.  he explained how a fire needs air to "breathe" and grow.

next up....hot dogs!  who doesn't love roasting a hot dog over the fire?

the kids and their cheesy grins-

i took quite a few pictures of zach as he ate.  he was pretty funny about it.  i had packed everything we needed and was quite proud that i hadn't missed anything...until we realized we didn't have any paper towels!

zach is showing me his very messy fingers

no paper towels?  got to lick them off!

usually zach eats his hot dog like a piece of corn.  i was encouraging him to eat it from the end to try and not get so messy

apparently eating a hot dog like "normal people" is funny

what's a summer "BBQ" without rootbeer floats?!

and now the face is REALLY messy!  watching a 2 year old eat a rootbeer float can be very entertaining!

and a toothless girl too!

we cleaned up from dinner and packed stuff to the car, then sat in our camp chairs and watched the kids play.  they made some quick friends and had a game of tag.

olivia climbed all the way across the monkey bars for the first time

and we were there too!

on the way home we stopped at a house that had a full apricot tree. the owner was in the front yard painting and since it didn't look like they were using the apricots i got out and asked if they would mind if we picked some (offering to pay for some of course). she was more than happy to let us pick what we wanted off the tree.

in about 15 minutes the five of us picked enough apricots to fill half of my sink.  we would have stayed longer and picked more, but this little guy who is newly potty-trained "had to go!"

we'll see how much jam we can get out of this and maybe go back for more.

turned out to be a pretty good night!

36 weeks. {4 weeks and counting!!!}

unless you are me, and you usually go 2 weeks over...then you have 4 + 2 weeks and counting. blaaaaah!!!

i'm bigger than i look in this picture.  i strategically turned my body as to not show my also protruding pregnant booty!

i think these pictures that people take of their feet and bellies are funny...so i took one.  what the heck....

luckily the summer heat has died down a little and we've had some nice breezes.  last week it was rainy a good deal and all of the extra moisture in the air did not do too kindly to my poor sausage legs and cankles.

so far everything is good though.  not much hip pain this time around.  my hips went out of place repeatedly with my pregnancy with zach.  i'm trying to take things much easier with this guy.  i do a lot of sitting.  i don't like to sit.  i've kept myself busy with many projects though- tons of research on the internet and pinterest {my bestie} regarding many different topics i am deeply interested in.

more to come later on some of that...

i have felt very accomplished this past two weeks.  i finished several long-awaited projects.  that feels amazing.  check those off my list!!!

more to come later on that....

i started getting baby stuff ready.  still need to get the boxes out of the garage, go through things, evaluate needs, launder clothes and put things away.  got baby bassinet set up.  still need to make baby a quilt.  may or may not get to that.  probably not.  being realistic here!  still need to set up baby swing and shop for essentials.  like diapers, and onesies, and wipes.  finally got baby his very own car seat, cleaned and got it all ready with a brand-new head support.  it is happily awaiting his arrival in the coat closet.

feeling {almost} ready.  FOUR kids?! here we come...

grilled apricot chicken.

i got this recipe from a trainer i was working with last year.  it's yummy, everyone in our family likes it, flavorful and easy.

oh, and yeah- it's healthy.

apricot chicken: serves 4-8

4 chicken breasts, butterflied

olive oil

dry rub:

1 T. dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne (omit if you don't want a slight kick)

1/8 tsp. salt

apricot glaze:

2/3 C. 100% apricot jam (i make my own)

1-2 T. spicy brown mustard (can add more if you want more spice)

1) brush chicken with olive oil.

2) prepare dry rub by combining all spices together and season both sides of chicken. 

3) cover and refrigerate 15-30 minutes.

4) preheat grill.

5) grill chicken for 6 minutes on one side and 4-6 minutes on the other side, or until cooked through.

6) while grilling chicken, prepare glaze by combining jam and mustard in a small saucepan and bringing to a soft boil; then simmer until ready to spoon over chicken.

NOTES:

this recipe serves 4-8 depending on portion sizes. most people i know would eat a whole chicken breast.  my meal plan during weight loss calls for a 4 oz. portion of chicken, which is also about as much as my children eat.  so if you are eating less and serving children then it will serve 8.

i use the leftovers for chris' lunch and make a healthy salad for the next day with a little bit of sauce, rice and chicken with tomatoes and whatever other veggies i have and romaine lettuce. (salad in a jar...more to come later...)

i like to slice up my chicken and serve over rice with the glaze spooned on top.  we also like steamed broccoli on the side.

197 calories per 4 oz. serving of chicken with 2 T. sauce