Far Enough Along!

Well the excitement is spilling out from everywhere!!!! And I am far enough along that I feel comfy saying  Woohoo! The hubs and I are expecting our first little miracle! I have been told since I was 18 I would never have children and we had even tried fertility treatment before and failed. After a break of trying for a while we were going to re start treatment when I randomly took an extra preg test I had laying about. After my messed up surgery I am always sick and tired so I didn't think anything of being so tired. So Memorial Day morning I took the test and started hollering for the hubs because the test said pregnant before the control lines even appeared. My hubby thought I was dying or there was a spider on me...same thing in our house haha. Anywho. That weekend I took 2 more tests and that following Tuesday when the DR office was open I took a blood one to confirm...Sure enough! We had a baby on the way! An I hadn't even known it for months! I was almost 12 weeks out by the time I got in that following week with an OB appointment. We are so excited and so blessed its insane! I am still labeled as high risk but all is well there :)

Our little bundle is Due December 18th and we found out 2 days before my birthday we are having a little girl! I swear I have rainbows shooting out of everywhere. That day we went and bought her first little girl outfit to celebrate!

I am trying to be crafty and make a few things for her like burp cloths, changing pad, nursing scarfs, and a couple baby blankets.
Well I made 2 nursing infinity scarfs  and my first baby blanket. The scarf was amazing and I think I will wear it now haha and so easy one seam! You take jersey knit fabric a piece about 30 inches wide and 60 inches long....I found this that was 58 wide and so I just had her cut a little over 30 long to save some cash and not have left over fabric.  Fold the long way in half and sew the two ends together...that's it! Here it is...

 

Here is a pic of the simple blanket I did...

 



Moroccan Bulgur Salad

For the salad

½ cup bulgur, uncooked
½ cup pitted dates, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup pistachios
1/2 can mandarin oranges in water drained, optional
2 cups baby spinach leaves

For the dressing

1 can mandarin oranges in water drained 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2  tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, packed
1-2 tablespoons water to adjust consistency

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the bulgur according to package directions, adding the dates and salt just at the end of the cooking time. This helps soften the dates a bit and gives the bulgur good flavor. Cool the bulgur for 20-30 minutes for a cold salad.In a food processor, combine all the dressing ingredients. Puree until smooth. Toss the cooled bulgur and dates mixture with the other salad ingredients. Drizzle or toss with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Vitamix Fruit Smoothies

I make one of these just about every day! They serve 2 to 3

Best cheese sauce of your life!

2 tbs butter
1 tablespoon heaped flour
2 oz cream cheese
1 heaping cup sharp white cheddar
Dash mustard powder
Dash white pepper
Few dashes salt
1 to 1.25 cups milk.

Make a roux with butter and flour. Whisk in milk until all the lumps are gone. Add everything else and whisk until thick and bubbly!

This is so good I could eat it with a spoon no joke. And creamy....mmm so versatile too. Serve over veg, pasta, chicken, rice you name it!

Thankful for good friends and pretty gardens!

I have a friend who's hubby is gone so I thought hey lets have a girls lunch and catch up! I have to say living here it has been hard to find a really great friend who is there for you when you need it. Most people just want a friend when it's convenient or when they need something from you. It makes me sad. So when my hubby and I became friends with this couple it was such a blessing. Prime example. When our ride  from the airport canceled on us and left us stranded with no ride home they came to our rescue extremely last min! I wanted to do something nice and have some girl catch up time so I made my delicious skillet chicken pot pie and apple crumble. We of course ate the dessert first. It was a girls day after all :). The beauty of these 2 recipes was that I could prep everything for the trip. The pot pie I assembled and tossed in her oven when I got there while we snacked on the fresh from the oven apple crumble. We were going to be healthy and have a salad with the pot pie but somehow that didn't happen haha! Great food, Great company. Such a blessing to have her as a friend and get to spend some much needed girl time with our busy hectic schedules.

And for our garden...We are trying a container garden this season. Our deck will hopefully be a veg paradise in a few months! We have veg, herbs, fruit, and flowers! After a few more seeds we started sprout we may be adding some more! Can't wait to reap the benefits of home grown goodness and a relaxing place to spend some time. God is so good!

Brocolini Pesto Rolled Crescent Rolls

Brocolini Pesto Rolled Crescent Rolls

1 pound brocolini rough chop
1/2 pound deli provolone (in one large chunk)
olive oil
salt
red chili paste to taste (1 tsp)
cayenne (couple dashes)
1 roll crescent rolls

Tear the cheese into large chunks add your chili paste about a teaspoon, add your brocolini and drizzle a fair about of olive oil in. pulse your food processor to help move things along. then begin to drizzle in a bit more until the get a thick paste. If not spicey enough add the cayenne and salt to taste. pulse to mix.

Roll out your crescent dough and pinch into one sheet on a lightly flowered surface. Place your pesto mixture in the center leaving a 1/2 in border on all sides. Roll so that it makes a long tube. slice off into muffin tin sized rolls and place in the tin. Depending how large you cut them you will get 9-12. I did 9 and next time I may stretch it out to 10-11 so they were a bit smaller. 9 was perfect though I just like dainty rolls hah! Bake at 350 about 30 min until all golden brown. Let sit a few min before removing from the pan. EAT!

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

FOR THE TOMATOES

3 large tomatoes on the vine, or 5 romas 1/4-inch slices1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped, 2 cloves chopped garlic Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE POTATOES

3 to 4 medium potatoes, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped1 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley, bunch of chopped chives 2 tablespoons

TOMATOES

Preheat oven to 325°. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet with a wire rack. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with oregano, garlic  season with salt and pepper.Roast for about an hour.

POTATOES

Preheat the oven to 400°Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, add the olive oil, salt, pepper and sprinkle with rosemary and chives , massage them with your hands to combine all the ingredients.Roast the potatoes and onions until they begin to become tender, about 20-30 minutes.Add the tomatoes and keep roasting until the potatoes become golden brown (watch not to over cook 5-7 min is all ).Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley.Serve immediately.

They were gone before I could get a picture!