Garden Broccoli

Cut today, cooked tonight!

Time for harvest!

Supper!

     Today we went out at lunch to peek at the broccoli and found that one was ready for harvest!  I also found that the weeds have taken over.  It rained just a little over an inch last evening/night and it was a beautiful day so I thought it would be a good afternoon to do some weed pulling.  Before I got started, the first thing I saw was a dead snake!  Ugh!  I mowed the other day and I'm wondering if it was in the wrong place at the wrong time or maybe one of the neighborhood cats that roams our backyard killed it.  Not sure.  Anyway, it wasn't even a foot long and it was pencil thin, but a snake is a snake.    So all the time I was pulling weeds, I was on the lookout for snakes.  I kept asking myself, "Is that a snake?"  I'd pull a weed, "Is that a snake?"  Uffda.  I didn't get very far in the weeding process and it started raining, so I came in! 

Menu: January 30-Febrary 5

Menu Week of January 30-Febrary 5

Monday

    Lunch:  tuna fish sandwich toasted-(5 points), pizza

    Dinner:  Enchilada casserole leftovers, Spanish rice, salad-(8 pts)

Tuesday

    Lunch:  Hamburgers, sweet potato fries-These sweet potato fries did not turn out well.  I'm looking for a recipe that makes them crispy in the oven.  Does anyone have one to share? 

    Dinner:  Makeover Sweet Potato Sausage Skillet-5 points 1 ¼ c serving

Wednesday

    Lunch:  cold lunch, grilled cheese

    Dinner:  Whole Wheat Spaghetti with meat sauce, green beans, leftover whole wheat biscuits (9 pts)

Thursday

    Lunch:  Turkey Salad (4pts?)

    Dinner:  Cordon Bleu Chicken Rolls, baked sweet potatoes, frozen sweet peas-13 points

Friday

    Lunch:  English muffin egg sandwiches

    Dinner:  Wild turkey, broccoli and carrots, baked white potatoes (5 pts)

Saturday

    Lunch:  sandwiches

    Dinner: Slow cooker Salsa Chicken

Sunday

    Lunch:  Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken leftovers

    Dinner:  waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs, grits

Precious Pictures

Little Rice Grain!  Isn't it the cutest little rice grain you've ever seen?!  

Our little jewel!

We get another sonogram picture on February 10th!  I can't wait to see how much our baby has changed.  We will be halfway toward holding it in our arms!

Scrappy Quilt Backing

When I bought the baby fabric, I didn't want to buy three yards the pattern required for the backing of the baby quilt.  I always have lots of fabric leftover from quilt patterns and it usually makes its way into my quilt stash where it stays for a long time.  I've been trying to use up the fabric from my stash and it's taking awhile, so I didn't want to add to it.  So, I thought I might see if I could use the leftovers from the quilt top for the back! 

A little close for comfort, but there was just enough for the back!

It looks pretty scrappy, but it works for me!  I don't think the baby will notice at all!  :)

I have the backing, batting, and top all pinned together and ready to go.  I'm not sure how I'm going to quilt it yet, but I might try and sew about a 1/4 inch from the applique.  I'm not sure how that will look though.  Any other ideas?

I really like the batting.  It's really thin-80% cotton, 20% polyester.  I thought it might be too thin, but then I decided that it's going to be a June baby, and it's not going to need a really thick blanket!  Thanks Mom for the batting, and thanks Amanda for saving it for me!  I really appreciate it!

Black Bean Brownies

You are probably really skeptical when you hear that black beans can be made into brownies.  But they can.  And you should try them before you turn up your nose anymore!  :)  They are so good.  Not to mention much healthier than regular, greasy brownies.  The black beans replace the flour. 

I found the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-brownies/

The only thing I changed in the recipe is added about a 1/2 Tablespoon of baking powder.  It makes them less dense. 

Really rich chocolate black bean brownies.  Mmm, mmmm, mmmm!

Quilt Top

I've finished the quilt top. Woohoo!  I am thinking now about how to quilt it.  Should I do random stippling, or do a pattern?  Should I use white thread, or clear?  I was thinking I might could sew simple animals onto it with colored thread but I don't know if that would be doable.  Any thoughts would be welcome!  The binding is going to be the brown material used in the quilt.

Finished quilt top. 

Border

Baby Squares

I have been working on and off on our baby's quilt.  The baby is due in June, but my thought is to make a neutral baby quilt and then one that is more gender specific when we know if it's a son or daughter.  Since we find out in less than three weeks, I thought I'd better get on the stick!

Finished square with machine applique.

All 25 squares done, but not sewn together.  I plan on working on it tonight!