Birthday Bistro

This weekend was my husband's birthday and to celebrate we went to his favorite restaurant: Lemongrass Bistro. If you live in Kona and you have never been to Lemongrass, well you are missing out! And if you ever plan to visit the west side of the Big Island, then you definitely need to try Lemongrass Bistro.

If you've never eaten here don't feel too bad. I have never been until I started dating my husband. But now that I have tasted its deliciousness there is no going back!

When we went for dinner on Saturday night it just so happened to also be happy hour. (Who doesn't love a good happy hour!) On top of their regular menu they had some discounted pupus. We got the shrimp and veggie tempura. Mmmmm, I love me some tempura!

One of my husband's favorite appetizers here is the macadamia nut crusted tofu. Trust me, it is also delicious! This crispy, crunchy tofu delicacy comes with an awesome thai peanut sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking of it!

Isn't it pretty!

When it comes to the entrees my husband has two favorites. The last couple of times we came he has gotten the crispy duck. For his birthday dinner he went with his other favorite: Crying Tiger NY Steak. I got my new favorite: Massaman Curry. I get mine with the shrimp, but you can get it with chicken, fish, beef, or tofu. 

                                        

The best thing about eating at Lemongrass Bistro is that everything is fresh and light. When we were done eating we definitely felt full, but we sure didn't feel weighed down by a heavy meal. So the next time you are in for some super yummy and completely satisfying food you got to check out Lemongrass!

                            

Big Island Budget

Living on a budget can be tough, and that budget gets even tougher living here in Hawaii. We have the highest cost of living in the whole country. (I'm not complaining though! I'll gladly pay more than 5 bucks for a gallon of milk if it means I get to live where it's summer year round.) Over the past few years I have found some pretty creative (and pretty fun!) ways to get the most out of my money here on the Big Island. If you want to try any out for yourself, just click the links below!

A few years ago I discovered a wonderful app called Shopkick. I get points or "kicks" as they call it just for walking in to stores. Those "kicks" can be redeemed for all sorts of different gift cards. You can also get extra kicks just for scanning the bar code of certain items when you are at the store. It's like a scavenger hunt!

http://get.shopkick.com/triangle9583

I've found that the best place to buy groceries here is Target. I use my Target RedCard every time I shop there and get an automatic 5% off every time! I also use my Cartwheel app! Cartwheel is an app that saves all your target coupons on to one barcode. The cashier will scan the barcode on your phone at checkout. Almost all the Market Pantry items are at least 5% off with Cartwheel. The app even has a feature where you can scan the barcode on an item and it will tell you if there is a coupon for it! It is SO easy to use.

                                                      http://cartwheel.target.com/

My absolute new favorite shopping trick it Ebates! My mom introduced it to me this past Christmas holiday and I am hooked! Ebates gives you CASHBACK on your online shopping. Our stores don't carry all items here on the Big Island, and there are a lot of store that we don't even have. So if there is something you really want it has to be ordered online. I've even used Ebates for stores like Target and Macys, which we do have here. I place my order online through Ebates, I choose "Pick up at store" (which saves a ton on shipping!), and then later that day I just go to customer service and pick it up. I save time and money! The best is when my husband and I used Ebates to buy some items from Lowes. It always takes me forever to find whatever I need there. But with Ebates, we just walked to the front desk, picked up our items, and actually MADE 5 bucks in the process.


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My latest discovery is Inbox Dollars. It doesn't involve shopping or coupons. It's what I like to call free money. With Inbox Dollars you earn money by taking online surveys. You can also earn money just by searching the internet and checking emails. I haven't been on it very long and I've already made $12!

http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref19351110





That pretty much wraps up how I get the biggest bank for my buck! As they say, you can only spend a dollar once. And I like my dollar to go as far as possible!

Family Dinner

About a year and a half ago my friends and I began what we call "Family Dinner".  None of us have any family here on the big island, so we have created our own family nucleus. The initial instigator of our family dinners is our matriarch. We lovingly refer to her as "mom" (even though she is the same age as us). I got coined grandma (cuz let's face it, I've been old since I was 20). Once we got married my husband unfortunately became grandpa :) 

This week for family dinner I said I wanted to bring crab rangoons. This snowballed in to a Chinese food theme!

The recipe is fairly simple, and fairly healthy as it calls for neufchatel cheese in place of cream cheese and the wontons are baked, not fried. Our family consists of some men with healthy appetites so I doubled the recipe... EXCEPT for the crab. I'll double it with imitation crab, but when it comes to the real stuff the taste can be quite over powering. 

I first mixed everything up in a bowl...

Placed the wontons in a cupcake pan and added small spoonfuls of the mix. 

I tried to get them to look like the Panda Express ones so I pinched each corner. They aren't quite as pretty, but they tasted pretty good :) 

After only 20 minutes at 350 degrees I had happy, healthy rangoons! Mmmm mmmm!

Here is the recipe I used if you'd like to try yourself. Remember, double everything EXCEPT THE CRAB (unless you really like crab, but let's face it, we all just eat these for the warm, gooey cheese!)

Baked Crab Rangoon Recipe