Autumn Risotto with Chicken and Cranberries

The air is beginning to get a little bit cooler here in Japan……less humid.  I can’t wait to take the girlies down to the Tama River and get another great photo like this one…..

Or this one....

What is wrong with my family?

This weekend though, we have a swim meet (GO STINGRAYS!) and another typhoon headed straight towards us.  So, no autumn walks along the river for us.  I think I am just going to have to hunker down and bake….or cook…..or bake.

This recipe is simply perfect for fall.  Savory with a hint of sweet…..rich and creamy with a nutty crunch. 

Autumn Risotto with Chicken and Cranberries

(via my friend Anna and Pampered Chef)

For this recipe you may very well need a Pampered Chef Deep Covered baker.  You can order one HERE.  It is made entirely within the Baker in the microwave.  I suppose you could finagle a way to do it in the oven, but why?  Just get one!  You will love it, I promise!

Printable Recipe Here

Ingredients:

1 cup dried cranberries

2 cups hot water

1 med. Onion

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

1 tbsp olive oil

2 ¾ cups chicken stock

¾ cups dry white wine

½ tsp each salt and pepper

½ cup blanched slivered almonds

2 stalks celery

2 oz cream cheese

2 cups cooked chicken or turkey breasts (I use a pre-cooked deli chicken)

¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Combine cranberries and hot water in a small bowl; set aside.  Coarsely chop onion and combine with rice and oil in the Deep Covered Baker.  Microwave uncovered on HIGH for 2 to 4 minutes or until onion is translucent.  Add stock, wine, salt and black pepper; microwave covered, on HIGH for 13 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

Meanwhile, toast almonds in a pan, stirring frequently until golden brown.  Slice celery into small crescents.  Cut cream cheese into cubes.  Drain cranberries in a strainer.  Carefully remove baker from microwave and add chicken and celery; stir.  Microwave covered on high for 3 to 8 minutes or until rice is and risotto appears creamy.

Carefully remove baker from microwave.  Add cream cheese and almonds; stir until cheese is fully incorporated.  Fold in cranberries.  Garnish with parsley if desired.

How'd I Do That????

So I was riding in the van with the hubs and I saw a VERY cool cloud.  And sometimes you see people take super awesome cloud pics, right?  So, while we were moving I attempted the shot, right through the window.  This is what I got…..

A Wizard of Oz type shot with the cloud, the side of the road, and the reflection of a building, a car driving by, and the clouds, on the OTHER side of the street.

I know.  I am pretty awesome.

Except then we went to the bowling alley and I bowled a 69.

How does a person even do that?

Back to School 2012

The girls just headed off to the first day of school this morning.  Curly hair, the perfect outfits, and heavy backpacks.

My baby Amber isn’t really this old…is she?

Since when did my sweet Allie girls start caring about what her hair looks like?

Is Abbey wearing my black tank top?

Usually I am ready for school to start, but this year the summer went too fast.  Or could it be that my girls are just growing up Waaay too quickly?

As I MADE them turn around for one last picture I couldn’t help but think, I can’t wait till they come home.

Dead Crabs and What Not

It’s a busy busy life at our house these days.  We have been babysitting a guinea pig, eating donuts, and cooking with wine.

And don’t forget the golfing, complete with new golf shoes and a new golf skirt for myself. 

Golfing is all about fashion.  Just ask my husband and his Gorton’s fisherman hat.

Abbey got her braces this week.

Allie is growing out her hair.

Amber made a dinosaur out of clay, tape, and tinfoil.

Actually, Amber had a rough week.  Moo Moo the hermit crab passed out of this world and she had a little funeral.

As for me, I had a girls night out with my culture club and took pictures of sake, beer, and the sink in the bathroom.  Don’t ask me why.

In just two days it is off to America I fly without the kiddos and the husband.  It’s been two years since I have stepped into a Target.  I am peeing my pants with excitement!

What have you been up to this week?

4th of July and Cooler Stuff

I am love, love, LOVIN’,  my camera phone.  Just having it with me all the time and being able to take pictures of whatever is soooo fun!  My girls tell me, “Mom, that’s so random.”  It doesn’t matter.  I totally fascinate myself.  For instance, I found a butt chair at a thrift shop.  Who could resist a picture like this?

Then I found some aliens outside of a gift shop.  I think they have been married for a long time.  Aren’t they sweet?

Seriously though, I am just having fun documenting our family during day to day life.  Abbey and Amber finished two weeks of dance camp.  I think my baby Amber looks so grown up in this picture it makes me want to hyperventilate.

All three girls finished their golf clinic with Kyoko…..the most fabulous coach!

We had great 4^th of July…..complete with patriotic crackle nails.

Amber and Allie each entered a contest that had them building boats out of cardboard and racing across the pool.  Amber and her friend Audrey, made it safely across!

Allie’s team…. didn't fare quiet as well!

Brian and I took Abbey to the golf course for some Goofy golf…

You could only use two clubs and had to tee off with only a putter.   I think we all know who was the goofiest.

We ended the day with a fun barbeque with friends and fireworks.  We love that we can celebrate America even though we are so far away!  Amber said it best and wrote it on her cardboard boat….. “God bless America the beautiful!”

Summer Bucket Lists

I like to make lists.  Things to do, stuff I need, or maybe something like 101 goals I have.  I guess it makes me feel good to accomplish something and then check it off the list.  “Look what I did world!”, I can say….and then everyone thinks I’m awesome….or so I want to believe.

Lists work for me.  I accomplish things with them, and I feel good when I get things done.  It goes without saying then, that I think my three girlies should make lists too.  You know, have some goals…..get them done…..feel good about themselves.  So, we tried……

This is how you do it:

-Buy some nice, big, white, poster board.  A plain old piece of paper won’t do.  These bucket lists are a BIG DEAL.  Remember, this will be a, “Look what I did world!” moment for them.  It needs to be written on something nice and big.

-Buy the kids some new markers or crayons.  There is something about a new palette of markers that makes kids want to do their best.  What kid wants scummy old peely crayons that they have been using all year at school, when they can open a brand new box of shiny new markers?  It’s inspiring!

-Give them a lecture.  Tell your kids WHAT a bucket list is, WHY people want to make them, and HOW you are going to help them accomplish what they want to do this summer.  Help them make their goals reachable.  For example, you son may have one of his goals as, “I want to go to the moon this summer.”  Okay…..probably not going to happen.  But, you can visit a planetarium, stick glow in the dark planet stickers on his bedroom ceiling, go camping with a telescope…..ANYTHING.

-When their posters are finished stick them up in a visible area so you can look at them all the time.  A list doesn’t help much when you don’t look at it and remember, these are a BIG DEAL.  The kiddos will be happy to know that you think of their goals as important!

-Lastly, make a list for yourself.  Stay-at-home-mom……working mom…….whatever.  Can you come up with 10 things to accomplish by the time school starts?  I bet you can.

Here’s a little re-cap of our summer bucket list adventure!  I am so excited these turned out as well as they did.

Abbey is my artist and set her goals pretty high.  My favorites include, learning how to play a song on the guitar, making a fabulous new dessert (YUM), and taking a new picture every day and making a collage.

Allie’s goals were full of energy.  A few of them were things like, do 50 sit-ups a day, watch every single episode of MLP (My Little Pony), and pull an all-nighter. (Not sure what I think about that.)

Amber wrote hers all in cursive very carefully.  She wants to draw a cool picture and make a robot.  But my two favorite goals of hers were to be nice and have fun!

I hope my girlies really do have fun trying to check off goals from their summer bucket lists.  I think they just might!

Grilled Garlic Butter Salmon

Really…..this is soooooo easy.  Hello summer grilling.

Line a grill basket with some foil, and lay some lemon slices inside the foil.

Lay about 12 to 16 ounces of salmon on top of the lemons.

Schmear the salmon with a mixture of butter and crushed garlic. 

I used about 1/3 cup butter and 3 or 4 garlic cloves.  Go ahead.  Butter it up good.  You will be glad you did because most of it’s slides off while grilling.

Lightly salt and pepper if desired.  Add sprigs of fresh rosemary or other seasonings.

Grill for about 7 to 9 minutes over low heat, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. 

Super easy and delish!