Parenting 101

Today during the boys nap I was reading a parenting book. Weston came out to the couch, crawled in my lap and asked what I was reading. I told him it was a book to help me be a better mommy to him. I asked him what he thought I could be doing better as his mommy and this was his reply:

1. Bounce a ball better
2. Lift heavy rocks better
3. Poop on the grass

There you have it, I have a lot of work to do ;)

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Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Risotto - GF and Dairy Free

 

3 of the 4 of the Gutierrez family are sensitive to dairy so I am always looking for ways to make yummy meals with little to no dairy products. This recipe tastes so rich and creamy without any of the milk or cheese that is usually found in a risotto. Risotto has the most wonderful silky texture that comes from slowly cooking the rice while stirring the whole time. I had a giant organic head of cauliflower that I had roasted and thought that it would go great in a risotto... so I threw this together and loved the results. 

I LOVE roasted cauliflower! Steamed cauliflower is bland and mushy but when roasted it magically caramelizes and has a nutty sweetness to it that is wonderful! The other main ingredient in this risotto is a vegetable pureed soup base from Trader Joe's that contains no dairy but gives it the rich consistency that cream would. Any pureed soup would be great in this recipe.

Roasted Cauliflower Risotto

1 large cauliflower roasted- (cut into bite sized pieces and roasted in a large rimmed baking pan at 375 F drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with garlic salt, paprika, parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper) set aside half of the roasted cauliflower for the risotto.

12 oz. Arborio rice

1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

1/2 large onion diced

4 cups  pureed soup base

4 cups chicken broth

4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

2 T. fresh chopped parsley

In a large pan saute onion and rice over medium heat until translucent, about 5 min. Add one cup of the chicken stock stirring until absorbed. Add soup base and remaining stock one cup at at time, stirring each addition until almost absorbed before adding the next cup. The key is to keep the heat at a simmer and to stir continuously until the rice is soft and creamy but not mushy(20-30 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in pine nuts and parsley and top with crumbled bacon. Enjoy~ serves 4

Fans in the Making

Poor Andrew, he married a girl who's only true interest in sports is the food that goes along with a game :) I do enjoy a baseball or basketball game, but that's only if I am actually sitting in the stadium, but as far as watching sports TV, I'm WAY not there. And football is the absolute worst for me. I honestly don't understand the game and trying to find who has the ball on the tiny screen is almost torture. But I do love my husband and his passion for competition is so fun and now he has 2 boys who get excited with him! So for Father's Day one of his gifts was a "guys night" inviting friends over to watch a game and I would make the kinds of snacks that I normally wouldn't here :) He finally cashed in on Saturday for the 49er game and it was so fun! ( oh, and they won!)

Our friends the Ames came over with their 2 little boys

I bought this amazing dip from Trader Joes- Spinach and Kale Greek Yogurt dip. It was so delicious and way better for you than the normal chip dip

Cheddar cheese stuffed dogs wrapped in pastry? Yep!

BBQ turkey meatballs

And my personal favorite- real homemade potato salad. I'm always sad I didn't make more

Had to throw these in for good measure :)

Bunny Love

Well it seems we can't pass up a free pet, so we have added again to our family a baby bunny that Weston affectionately named "Bananas"! She is precious and the boys just love her already. Maybe Bananas and Henny will be good friends :) The boys love animals and are very sweet and tender with them, so we thought a bunny would be a good first pet for them. Our neighbor has a ton of rabbits and were looking to get rid of the new babies so we agreed to try it out. Lots of lessons can be learned through taking care of a pet and I really like that bunnies are silent. So meet Bananas- she's pretty sweet

Happy 2013

We had a wonderful relaxing Christmas visit with Andrew's family and a quiet New Years celebration at home with appetizers and games. And as always the time went by too fast. 

One special evening Uncle Brian treated us to a very fancy dinner with all the courses! Papa stayed home with all the kids so we could really enjoy the night. It was wonderful.

One morning Weston and Daddy went to the local barber shop for a trim and a treat afterwards. We were so proud of our little man who normally wouldn't go for such an adventure

During our trip Andrew and I actually went to the movies! It had been over 2 years! After the kids were in bed, we snuck out to see Lincoln. 

Gabriel and Weston seriously love their girl cousins and seriously LOVE all their girly things...Dad does not share the sentiment :) 

One morning my mother-in-law and I got coffee and pedicures (also had been 2 years since I had one of those!) So relaxing and I felt so spoiled. Now we are back home to life, ministry and lots and lots of laundry...but in all honesty I love being back home in the busy routine with a million little socks to match and crumbs to vacuum. We are so blessed with enough clothes to wear and enough food to eat and to have each other with the Lord as our Guide. 

Happy 2013!