Cilantro Lime Rice with a bonus Guacamole Recipe

This is by far my favorite rice recipe.  By itself it is yummy but what I love to do most with it is make it into rice bowls.  They are amazing!  I add in my own homemade guacamole, some sort of spicy grilled chicken, Mexican cheese, fresh tomatoes and you could add what ever else you enjoy!  Mix it all together and you have an incredible meal.  You are going to want to send me gifts of thanks for this one.   

1 1/2 Cup Basmati or Jasmine (I usually use Jasmine for all my recipes because I buy it in large bags)
1 Tbsp butter
1 small lime
1/2 tsp sugar
Fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Rinse the rice or soak for a few minutes.  This is suppose to make your rice less sticky, but I am not sure I can tell the difference.  Try it and see what you think.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan and then add the rice and sugar.  Stir around coating the rice and letting it get aromatic.  Yes, aromatic.  Squeeze the lime juice into the rice and stir a bit more.  You can add another lime if you like.  Add in 3 cups of water and the amount of salt you like.  Cover and bring to boil.  Do not stir and do not remove the lid after you add the water.  Reduce to simmer when it starts to boil and cook 15-18 minutes until done.  Add in the cilantro at the end.  I usually use about half a bunch. 

I am going to throw in a bonus recipe because this rice gets even better mixed with fresh guacamole.   I tried out a few different mixtures to get this one right, but it is easily adapted to your own tastes.

2-3 ripe avacados
1/4-1/2 Cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic minced
1/2 red onion, chopped small
1-2 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
1tsp cumin, salt and pepper
2-3 romas diced

Mash up the avacados and stir in all ingredients, saving tomatoes for last.  Fold in the tomatoes at the end so they don't get too mushy. 

Awwwwww!

I am not one to brag about how beautiful my children are, or maybe I am, but who could resist such sweet little blessings.  We recently had an evening out exploring and picture taking.  Here are some of my favorites. 

My littlest love taking the time to smell the flowers. 

My lovely little wild flower



And last but not least, my handsome little fellow



This picture below is my smallest showing me how she raises her shoulders.   Serious cuteness follows:

 

 

These little folks light up my life!



Botanist Extraodinaire!

This past year I have finally gotten around to working on the landscaping near our house.  Prior to this we had a "multi-purpose area".  That is a nice way of saying one section was a sand pit for my children to drive their trucks in and in the other part, 8 foot weeds for lurking snakes.  I admit, not the most desirable arrangement unless you are a snake.  I am finding that I have had so little success with planting in the past that I am not quite sure what to do with the plants that are flourishing.  I had no idea how much there is to know about maintaining them.  A friend told me I should give them plant food so I bought a watering can and fed them.  Several had an adverse reaction and it killed large sections of some of the plants almost immediately.  Oops.  Yesterday I decided it was time to trim back some of my over grown plants but I don't actually own any gardening tools.  I had to trim them with my kitchen scissors.  Then the scissors broke in half so I switched to a knife.  Despite my every effort to kill all my plants, these fellows are quite hardy and looking lovely still.  The best part is all the flowers.  Right now my Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas are blooming and they are beautiful!  Nothing brightens up a filthy home like a vase full of flowers, at least that is what I tell my husband when I explain why I don't need to clean.  

Happy Homeschooling

Since today was our first official day of school I thought it would be a nice time to reflect on some of the reasons our family loves homeschooling!  

One of the best things about homeschooling is being a part of a community of people who prioritize family and relationships.  I am very lucky to be a part of a group of other Christians who have chosen homeschooling.  Our being home affords us the opportunity to develop friendships with these other families.  Though diverse in specific beliefs, I know that they all love the lord and actively pursue God and that makes all the difference.  When we get together for various events we can pray together, laugh, work through troubles and just share our lives together.  It isn't something many people are lucky enough to be a part of, but we are and I don't take that blessing lightly. 

Being with my children all the time.  Yes, this also falls under the category of the less fun things about homeschooling but it is more often than not a great aspect of homeschooling.  I am there for everything.  I get to see where they need more help, share in their victories, teach them everything I know, help them find their passion and pursue it, snuggle as we read and watch them blossom.  There is no way to describe how this feels, it is far to complex for words but I am so grateful that I do get to experience this. 

I get to relearn everything I have forgotten, which is more of it than I care to admit.  I love reading books that I read as a child and many more that I never did.  I am learning right along with my children all day long and loving it. 

My children have hours a day to explore the world around them.  In today's activity filled schedules this can be hard for parents to squeeze in.  Our being home allows us to have time, every day and often hours a day, to be outside exploring.  I personally believe this is such an important time of development for them and am so thankful they will have all these tree climbing, swimming in the lake, hiking through woods, riding bike, snow fort building, bug catching memories.  In fact as I write this the older two are laying high in a tree laughing together.

These are just some of the many reasons I love the choice we have made to teach our children at home.  I know every family has to do what works best for them and that this choice isn't for everyone, but I am so happy that it works for us!

Rice Pilaf

I have decided to continue on with my rice theme and post a recipe for pancakes.  Only kidding, more rice of course.  This one is for Rice Pilaf and it is a very versatile rice.  It goes great with most anything!  I will sometimes makes a bigger batch of this and use the left overs to make up a casserole or a fried rice.  My friend Lisa does a similar recipe and pre-measures her rice and seasonings into a baggie so that she only has to throw it in a pot when she is ready.  Clever Lisa!

1 1/2 cups long grain Jasmine
2 Tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced small
3 cups chicken broth

Heat the butter up in a pan and saute the onions for 3-4 minutes.  Add in the rice and garlic and cook for a couple minutes until the rice is fragrant.  Add in broth, cover and bring to boil.  Without removing lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 15-18 minutes until done. 

Farmer me

My sister was out of town recently and I, as selfless as I am, decided I could handle doing her chores for her one day.  She has a sheep farm, how hard could it be?  I found the hopper which is where the grain is stored.  There is a small trap door in the bottom and all the grain sits above it in a giant steel drum.  The little trap door was stuck so I yanked which opened a flood gate of grain.  I had the standard farmer response....screaming, because as everyone knows screaming slows down a Niagara Falls of grain.  You would think a bin whose only job is to dispense grain would be more user friendly.  When I finally figured out how to get the door unstuck and close it, I had dropped a small field worth of grain onto the ground below.  My son and I got to spend an hour scooping it into buckets.  The highlight for my son was watching me accidentally pick up a dead rat with my bare hands.  That experience will be seared in my brain for some time to come. 

We then got to hop on her 4 wheeler and drive out to another pasture to feed some sheep.  She assured me the rams wouldn't bother us when we went out there.  She was wrong.  All my talk to my son about staying away from them because they are dangerous must have worked.  They chased us while he screamed "THEY ARE COMING AFTER US" and "THEY ARE GOING TO EAT US", repeatedly.  I may have to tell him that sheep don't generally eat people.

The final task was untangling their 100 pound monster of a dog.  She had wrapped herself around a crab apple tree which had very low branches.  I had to crawl under the tree, nearly losing an eye to all the sharp branches, on my hands and knees while the grateful giant molested me. 

My sister should probably not leave town again. 

School days, School Days Good Old Golden Rule Days

I got very motivated last night and planned out much of our upcoming school year with the kids.  I was very excited and decided to have a little test run today.  Do you think it is too late to enroll them in public school this fall yet?  Alright not really but it was eye opening.  Not sure if it is them not used to a scheduled day at home or my 4 year olds many meltdowns or their ages or lack of sleep or the 20 month old who is so jealous she won't allow me to look at her siblings or my crazy hormones.  There were approximately 17 meltdowns, and that was just me.  It can only get better from here, right?

Mexican Rice

I am a lover of rice.  More specifically, flavored rices.  Coconut, cilantro-lime, a nice pilaf.  This is my go to rice for most of my Mexican dishes.  Go head, try it.  I promise you will like it.

3Tbsp butter
1.5 cups long grain jasmine rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can Rotel with green chilies
1 (4oz) can green chillies
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 small onion minced
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1.5 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

Heat the butter and minced onions for 2 minutes in sauce pan.  Add in Jasmine and garlic and cook a few more minutes until fragrant.  Add in all other ingredients except cheese.  Put lid on the pot and bring to boil, then reduce heat to low for 15-18 minutes.  Do not remove lid or stir.  Mix in the cheese at the end.