Gone Coconuts

Last night we had a coconut inspired meal. It was sooo delish, so easy AND pretty healthy so I thought I would share the recipes.

Coconut shrimp is about as good as it gets for me, but it is usually soooo high in fat and calories. This one? Not so! Only 1 point per shrimp if you are thinking Weight Watchers.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Fiber One Original Bran Cereal
1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut (next time I think I will add a little extra)
3 tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Dash salt
12 oz. (20) raw shrimp, peeled, tails removed, deveined
3 tbsp. fat free liquid egg substitute

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place cereal in seal-able plastic bag and crush. Add coconut, breadcrumbs, chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. Shake to mix. Transfer to large plate and set aside.
3. Spray large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Pat shrimp with paper towel to ensure they are completely dry.
4. Combine shrimp with egg in a bowl and toss lightly to coat. One at a time, shake excess egg from shrimp and transfer to the coconut-crumb mixture and place evenly on baking sheet.
5. Bake until outsides are crispy and insides are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Yum.

We ate it with key lime mango salsa, but I think next time I will make a sweeter sauce...perhaps orange marmalade based?

Coconut Rice
This was so easy, I just tossed everything in the rice cooker and called it good.

2 c. white or Jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
2 c. water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture)
2-3 tsp. white sugar
Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onion tops for garnish (we’re using the whole animal here…)
Black pepper to taste


Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.


We actually combined the shrimp and the rice together with some fresh limes and it was divine really. Super quick and easy! Give it a go!

Give a hoot!

This summer has recently turned magical. Allow me to explain why at the risk of sounding whiny. You see for the past several summers things have interfered with my summer fun (my own fault I recognize). For the past 3 ish years Ryan has worked at a job that has required him to work most nights until 10:00, Monday through Friday in addition to whatever school load he was carrying. As for me, I either went to school or worked at the salon Tuesday through Saturday. So the problem? Sunday was the only day or night that we were both home (and even that was only when I didn't work on Sunday). SO what am I getting at with this pathetic sob story? Well. This summer is different. Ryan got a new job, and just finished his only summer class, and I create my own school and work schedule essentially meaning that we have at least a few evenings together AND Saturdays! This opens up so many Summer fun opportunities. Weekend camp outs, evening swims, and so much more are now possible and we are trying to take full advantage since we know it will not always be this way. Now don't get me wrong, I am fully aware many people have a far more strenuous schedule than we had, but I just need to say that because of what we were used to, all this time we now have together seems like a dream come true. So we are thinking Summer 2011 might just be our favorite yet!

So an incredibly long intro leading to our latest Summer outing. I am not a Utah hater in the least. I love living here. But I do think there is one major flaw of this wonderful state: no major league baseball team. Yes. We need one. As far as I am concerned the Beez are a snooze...BUT the Orem Owlz? Totally entertaining. SO when ya can't have major, or minor...grab a hot dog and cheer on the Owlz. It is more fun that you think I promise! A group of us headed on over to enjoy the summer evening.

 Loges and E

 K enjoying the eve.

 The men

 Mel and E (Riley had to work, but he will join us next time I am sure)

 Mare and Chris

 My lil fam

 Kyle discovering E's foot brings great relief to his poor mouth which has 4 teeth about to bust through. Emmett is such a good friend already (have you seen the lil man's eyelashes? wow!).

 Kyle looking suspicious

Poor Emmett. My son is a bully. (He also bit a nephew this weekend and left a mark...out of control)

Oh what do we do in the summer time?

We go camping, swimming, and celebrate our anniversary and Father's Day, among other things of course. I was considering breaking these events into separate posts, but why not put them all together? We had a JAM PACKED weekend. Jam packed with awesome things really.

It all started Friday when we decided we would go camping. After a few road blocks like our tent going MIA...we packed up our tiny car and headed for the mountains. We went to Tinney Flat campground up Santaquin canyon. What a hidden gem! It was SO beautiful up there I couldn't even believe it. We got a fabulous spot and had so much fun. We have been camping many times but never on our own. We most often join Ryan's parents, who camp in a different world than what I grew up doing. They have a trailer nicer than most of the places Ryan and I have lived complete with beds, bathroom, kitchen and satellite. While this is a fun way to camp, especially for extended periods of time, I thought it was time to show Ryan the Taylor way. Now don't get me wrong, Ryan is fully aware of how to "rough it" but I grew up camping A LOT and have many traditions that go along with it. So I couldn't wait to share a few. And what better way to celebrate our third anniversary? Of course, I took 5 million pictures. So enjoy!

 Kyle was quite snug packed in the back with all our stuff. Good thing we only have one kid!

 Watching us set up camp

 Relaxin while Ry got cooking

 Our humble abode. We still haven't found our great and spacious tent, so my Dad's two man worked out nicely!

 Founder of the feast.

 All the essentials for a proper trip. Mint Oreos are a Taylor must have, so I thought I would pass that tradition along.

 Ryan grilling up some steaks on his new lil grill he got for Father's Day. Worked perfectly by the way.

 Kyle enjoyed the great outdoors.

Before our hike/walk

After.

 Roast your whole smore after assembling with a roasted mallow. Melts the chocolate so it is SO much better.

 Our deer friend that kept visiting.

 Mallow on fire.

 All snug and ready for bed!

 Good morning!

Ryan mastered the dutch oven. Breakfast was delish.

 Beauty.

Another tradition. Throw an entire bag of mallows on the fire and watch it burn. It really puts on a show. 

Our biggest regret? Not having done this a million times before now. We had such a wonderful time. Kyle was a trooper and seemed to enjoy himself, and he slept great...sprawled out and took WAY more than his share of that tiny tent. It was such a dream to get away.

So when we were heading back home we started listing all the things we needed to get done that day...then I said, "Or we could go to 7 Peaks?". And so we did! It was way more fun than all that other stuff we had to do. We have been a few times before but I think this trip was the best so far. Kyle went crazy splashing in the water and couldn't seem to get enough! Did I take any pictures? Need you ask?

After returning home from all our fun, it was time to prepare for Ryan's first Father's Day! I love holidays. Any excuse to celebrate is ok with me. So celebrate we did! After church I made the dinner Ryan requested...Tacos al pastor, lime cilantro rice, and a huge fruit salad followed by chocolate cheesecake for dessert. I am not a cook, so this was a challenge. I am elated to say, it all turned out! I believe in miracles. It was a fabulous relaxing day. And yep, I documented the men before church. These boys are such good sports, they have to put up with a lot living with me. I really couldn't ask for a better Dad for Kyle. Ryan is a PRO. 

Ok this endless post is almost over I swear! If you are still reading I am really impressed. I never make it this far into people's novel long posts. Monday was our THREE year anniversary! SO naturally we had to celebrate! After work we dropped Kyle off to play with some cousins and headed to Cheesecake Factory. After going twice on our honeymoon in CA the tradition has just sorta evolved. We always go. It is the only time we go. It is always so fun and so delicious. Last night did not disappoint! Last year I was in Australia for our anniversary, so this year it was nice to be together. It has been a crazy year for us, so many things have changed, but we wouldn't change any of it. I can honestly say I can't remember one single day in three years that Ryan hasn't made me laugh. Really laugh. And that my friends, is all I have ever wanted. Aw. So there! Our jam packed weekend of fun! Now it is back to reality (clients, work, and shots for the lil buddy...so sad).

Half a year

I know what you are all thinking. Kyle is six months,...where is the post!? Well the wait is over, here it is! Half a year has come and gone and the little guy is more entertaining than ever. So here are some of my favorites from the last month.

• He like to roll over quite a bit, though he prefers going from back to tummy...the other way is still a bit of a struggle.
• He can do a full push up with his arms fully extended.
• He think a lot of things are hilarious and loves to laugh.
• His top two teeth are JUST about poking through. He is quickly becoming a teething expert.
• He prefers real food to his bottle any day.
• He sleeps a lot on Mondays-exhausted from the weekend.
• I love his sweet little voice that he is using more and more.
• I love his high pitched squeal.
• He kicks his legs like a mad man when he is excited.
• he prefers to be left alone with his bottle rather than held (sad day).
• He LOVES toys. He always wants something to play with at every moment and constantly needs to be chewing.
• He no longer likes pacifiers. Ever.  More of a chewer than a sucker I guess.
• He still loves his elephant and Cardinals blanket. Can't sleep without them.
• He can pretty much sit up but gets a bit tipsy.
• He likes the pool.
• We found out he loves dogs.
• He is extremely observent...just likes to watch what is going on. 
• He likes to stand up.
• His feet are super tiny, I don't think they have grown since birth.
• He is getting quite a fuzzy head, not enough to call it hair just yet though.
• He LOVES attention.
• If you play with his foot and then stop, he is stick it back up until you continue.
• He has graduated to an umbrella stroller!
• He can make the B sound.
• He is still very smiley.
• He saw his first fireworks and seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
• Loves his own reflection.
• Loves being outside and going on walks.
• Enjoys being tossed around (oh so gently of course.)
• He seems to prefer his tummy to any other position.
• He can scoot himself...mostly backwards and spin in a circle.

Well as always I know I am forgetting things. When I look at picture of him when he was new I get a little sad the time has already passed, but at the same time each new stage is so much fun and it is fabulous to have an interactive, happy little man around. Love him. Pictures? Sure.(the good looking professional ones are by Amanda Peterson, who so kindly did a free mini shoot of Kyle one night).