"I used to think basil was my favorite spice, but now I KNOW it is!"

It was my last night at home tonight, which meant I got to cook dinner for everyone! And I actually used my Pinterest account to make a few scrumptious recipes that I was dying to try. The best part of all -- I only spent $21 on a relatively extravagant meal. I even had leftovers, so I figure I had about 5 servings total. That I means I spent about $4 per serving. I don't think there's a single restaurant in the world where you could get something including shrimp for that amount.

Ahh...the joys of home cooking!

And now, for the main course: Pesto Shrimp Pizza
I used the idea from the link above, but made some modifications.

Ingredients

• Jiffy Pizza Crust (2 boxes)
• Knorr Pesto Sauce Mix 
• Mozzarella Cheese

Here's the great news. All of this cost only about $4 and tasted AMAZING. It was super easy to make, too!

First, follow the directions on the back of the box to make the dough. Add in some basil and oregano for extra fun.

Slice the cheese into ribbons or chunks. 

This is really important: make sure you flour the counter or cutting board before trying to knead the dough, otherwise it turns into a big BIG mess.

Knead the dough for a few minutes and then flatten it onto a foil lined baking sheet.

Bake it for about three minutes.

Top with pesto, shrimp, and cheese (which isn't pictured).

And bake for 15 minutes.

Along with the pizza, I made a side salad. I'll call it Garbanzo Bean Tomato Salad. Clever, eh? 

Ingredients:

• One can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
• 6 basil leaves
• A light sprinkle of garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

First, cut the tomatoes in half. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Chop the basil leaves as fine or as chunky as you want. Put everything into a bowl, toss it around a bit, and eat up!

My family gave encouraging feedback. My mom was ALL about the fresh basil. In fact, I believe her direct words were, 

"I used to think basil was my favorite spice, but now that I've tasted it fresh, I KNOW it is!"

They're pretty much begging me not to leave. I'm not sure if it's because of the cooking, or because they will miss me. I'd like to think it's both :)

Get Inspired.

For the past week, I have really been testing myself. By that, I mean asking myself tough questions, doing things I normally hate, and reading things I know I should read but haven't gotten around to. In the mean time, I have had the privilege of hanging out with my friends that I haven't seen forever.

My two best friends from high school and me, soaking up the few days we have together before going our separate ways again. I'm super lucky because Kasey will be moving to Davenport, and Brooke will be visiting frequently!

As for "doing things I normally hate", I went to hot yoga at Root Down Yoga in La Crosse. This is where I should mention that I hate hate HATE yoga. My lack-of-elastic hip flexors and short body do not fold into those nice poses that all the tall, thin Bohemian people can. In addition to that, I hate hate HATE hot weather. I turn into this sweaty, messy, whiny version of myself every time there is a heat wave over 85 degrees. So, in the spirit of challenging myself to new things, I decided to go with my mom just once. 

Never have a I ever felt more like I jumped in the shower with all of my clothes on. I mean - yuck. The studio was cranked up to a soul-melting 96 degrees and I'm pretty sure I lost 6 pounds in water weight. But guess what? I LOVED IT. I mean, absolutely loved it. Brooke and I even went back the next day. I felt like a very strong, very sweaty ballerina. (And if you know anything about my childhood, that's what I thought I would be when I grew up.)

The part I loved most about it was although I felt at times like I was being pushed to my limit, the only person pushing myself was me. I mean, there was the encouragement from the instructor, but I found that I have a lot of internal motivation. This is why I hate yoga. I am too much of a perfectionist (and frustrated because I can hardly ever achieve perfection) to really appreciate the relaxation part. 

Then, the instructor said something that helped me to let go of that need for perfection: 

Sometimes you're so focused on getting to where you think you should be that you don't take time to focus on the journey to get there.

This is true in a lot of things in my life. I sure hope that I can remember this from now on. When life is moving too fast, I want to remember this. 

With all this motivation going on, there are a few videos I have to share with you. This commercial sums up my feelings for the day. I also found another video to be totally inspired by. From my understanding, this couple traveled around and documented their trip. It honestly made my eyes all teary because it made me want to do something that made me this happy.

However, I'm sure that this summer will bring a ton of opportunities to find that...because guess what???

MOVING DAY IS FRIDAY! 

The Beauty of Bagged Lunches and Family Dinners

Today I was presented with my first project as at-home-almost-dietitian: make lunch for my sister. She goes to school for cosmetology and goes out to eat a lot on her breaks. So I pretty much begged her to let me make it for her instead. 

I told her I would hit up all the food groups, so luckily my mom's fridge was well-stocked. First, I made what I like to call a Strawberry Fields Forever salad, a combination of strawberries, lettuce, sliced almonds, cucumbers drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Actually, if you make this for a bagged lunch, I recommend keeping the dressing in a separate little container so the lettuce doesn't get soggy.

Britt's yummy Strawberry Fields Forever Salad.

Here's a fun fact. If you soak strawberries in one part vinegar, ten parts water, it prevents them from molding quickly! Thanks for the tip, Mom!

Here's the rest of her lunch: baby carrots, a ham and cheese on whole wheat bread, pretzels, and yogurt. All food groups represented? CHECK!

And for my own lunch? Ham and cheese wrap with regular salad: lettuce, cucumbers, chow mein noodles, and a little bit of cheese with ranch dressing.

And now on to dinner. This recipe was easy, super fast, and most of all -- tasty!

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, diced
• 8 cups noodles (I used elbow noodles)
• 2 tomatoes, fresh
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon basil (or more if you wish!)

It always helps me to see things, rather than only reading or only hearing them. So here is a demonstration of what to do!

Fry up the chicken. Use olive oil for grease.

Boil the water and toss in the noodles.

First you take the tomatoes.

Now for the tomatoes. Here's a nifty little trick I learned so they are diced well!

Then you slice them one way...

And then slice them perpendicular to the last slice.

Then separate them and put them in a bowl.

I should mention that when I was taking pictures, my sweet yellow lab Cheyenne totally photo bombed a bunch. Therefore I let her have her own close-up. 

Work it, Chey!

My little baby wanted to help cook!

 Ok, back to the chicken. (Seriously, I almost forgot about it.)

Once the noodles are done boiling, put the Parmesan cheese on top of the hot noodles so it melts.

Add 1/2 cup olive oil to the noodles.

Put the chicken in with the noodles.

Stir in the tomatoes.

Serve it up!

Get it while it's hawt y'all!

10 to 1 Killer Workout

I tried out a new workout yesterday because I was feeling extra creative. I went to the gym and ran into my dad, who must have gotten up earlier than me. He was done with his workout so when he said goodbye to me he said,

"You know how everyone always says, 'Don't work too hard'? Well...work hard."

 I'm not sure why that motivated me so much, but it did. So with that in mind, I decided to try out something, inspired by my dear friend Lisa at Grub for Gratitude. (Seriously, if you want a tough workout, try this: 45 Minute Total Body Butt Kick.)

Here's what to do. Choose a few exercises that you would be willing to do lots of reps of. Then go through the list doing each exercise 10 times, then 9, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, ... until you get to one. When you're on the set where you do one of each, try to do it as fast as you can while maintaining proper form.

I didn't have Lisa's nice list of exercises in front of me, so I picked a few that I thought would work the major muscle groups.

This is what I chose:

• Chest: Bench press, 40 pounds (two 20 pound dumbbells)
• Extra: Overhead tricep extensions (one 20 pound dumbbell) - I know triceps aren't a major muscle group. This one was for definition :)
• Upper Back: Seated rows (60 pounds)
• Quads: Front squats (45 pounds) - these are just like regular squats, but you put the bar in front of your chest instead of on your shoulders
• Core: Burpees - the very best exercise ever. They kind of suck to do, but trust me, it's for a good cause!

It took me about a half hour to complete everything. I rested for 30-60 seconds between the burpees and starting the cycle over so it could be more like interval training, but feel free to rest longer or not at all, depending on your abilities! 

Recommendations: 

1. You can choose whatever exercises you want, but I recommend sticking with 5 or 6. I found that when I tried to do it with more, I got tired really quickly!

2. Try to do exercises that work your whole body. For example, front squats are great for the core, legs, and booty, while the tricep extensions really only worked my triceps. 

3. I recommend doing exercises that will keep your body in balance. For instance, if you choose to do something like bench press (which only works your chest), you should do seated rows (which work your upper back). 

Dear Family, Meet Marinades

I guess I probably should have mentioned the fact that I'm not in Iowa yet. Because our lease doesn't start until June, Josh and I moved to our parent's homes for the two weeks between graduation and move in day. So I decided to take advantage of this separation time to really try to increase my cooking repertoire. I'm hoping for success on the first recipe!

Today was a big day at the Wright family household. I used a marinade other than Dale's sauce. Now don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of the very delicious sauce that my mom slathers on steaks every time we eat them, but I thought we should branch out and try something new. (Don't know about Dale's sauce? Look for this in your grocery store!)

Let me just say I have never tried this combination of spices and sauces, but if you asked me, it turned out pretty yummy.

For every two steaks, I combined these ingredients:

• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 6 drops hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Let the steaks swim for at least 4 hours (but overnight is better!)

Because of the beautiful day, we're gonna fire up the grill and cook them to each person's preferences. Usually it takes 5-8 minutes on each side to cook them to how our family likes them, but cook it longer if you want it done more thoroughly.

The finished product. Enjoy!

Willkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome!

Hello blog world! I am excited to get back into blogging. The last time I had one was when I went to Alaska for an AMAZING internship, but I stopped after about two months for a number of reasons (although mostly I just got lazy!). So here is a new attempt to blog about a big life change and I hope it goes a little better this time!

I am moving to Iowa for an internship, so I am excited to see what this next chapter in my life will entail. I'm hoping to share the new things I learn in my internship in addition to other tidbits along the way. Mostly, this blog will tell you what I'm making for dinner (or lunch or snacks or anything really), my faith walk, and my favorite workouts and inspiration.

I hope this will inspire you, too--to try new food, learn a new way to get in shape, and most of all: LOVE GOD. 

So here's to the next step!