Recipes Galore!

Well I promised that I would give you some yummy recipes. These are easy and great to take along for all of those parties this month! Recently I was chosen to host a "MyGetTogether" party courtesy of General Mills. To join "Pssst" to get a chance of learning more about these special offers, click on this link

They provided me with coupons for Pillsbury crescent rolls, a baking pan, apron, recipe cards and many other goodies. My friends and family were anxious to grab up the extra coupons that were sent along as well as a recipe card highlighting the following recipes. The following are the recipes we tried out and they were great (these are my own opinions). Here's a picture of some of our goodies:Crescent-Wrapped Brie*

Serve this elegant, yet easy, appetizer with one or more of the following toppings: chutney, jalapeño jelly, fruit preserves or salsa.

Prep Time: 20 Min

Total Time: 1 Hr

Makes: 12

INGREDIENTS:

-1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet

-1 round (8 oz) Brie cheese

-1egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate crosswise into 2 sections. Pat dough and firmly press perforations to seal, forming 2 squares. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut crosswise into 2 rectangles. Pat dough to form 2 squares.
• Place 1 square on ungreased cookie sheet. Place cheese on center of dough. With small cookie or canapé cutter, cut 1 shape from each corner of remaining square; set cutouts aside.
• Place remaining square on top of cheese round. Press dough evenly around cheese; fold bottom edges over top edges. Gently stretch dough evenly around cheese; press to seal completely. Brush with beaten egg. Top with cutouts; brush with additional beaten egg.
• Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm

Mini Crescent Dogs*

Mini sausages are all wrapped up in flaky crescents in an all-time favorite appetizer.

Prep Time: 15 Min

Total Time: 30 Min

Makes: 48

INGREDIENTS:

-2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

-48 cocktail-sized smoked link sausages or hot dogs (from 16-oz package)

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll both cans of the dough; separate into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles.
• Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point; place point side down on 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, switching position of cookie sheets halfway through baking. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.
  

Crescent Layer Bars* (these were a HUGE hit)

Refrigerated crescent rolls form the crust for bars stacked with chocolate and cashews.

Prep Time: 25 Min

Total Time: 2 Hr 20 Min

Makes: 36

INGREDIENTS:

-1can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet

-1 cup white vanilla baking chips

-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

-1 cup slivered almonds

-1 cup cashew halves and pieces

-1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark pans). Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.
• If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough into 2 long rectangles. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough. Place in pan; press over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust. Bake 5 minutes.
• Remove partially baked crust from oven. Sprinkle vanilla chips, chocolate chips, almonds and cashews evenly over crust. Pour condensed milk evenly over top.
• Return to oven; bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.

Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheels*

Ranch dressing perks up a crowd-pleasing, cheesy crescent appetizer.

Prep Time: 15 Min

Total Time: 35 Min

Makes: 16

INGREDIENTS:

-1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet

-2 tablespoons ranch dressing

-1/4 cup cooked real bacon pieces or 4 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled

-1/2 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

-1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 medium)

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut lengthwise into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle.
• Spread dressing over each rectangle to edges. Sprinkle each with bacon, Cheddar cheese and onions.
• Starting with one short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices; place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

***ALL RECIPES COURTESY OF PILLSBURY

Thanksgiving 2010

Woohoo, we survived! I have to admit, just like I said in the last post, we LOVE hosting Thanksgiving but boy it is a lot of work! My dream kitchen will have double ovens :)

We couldn't have had a better time with family and friends; there were 14 of us total. The turkey was great and Tommy did a great job with the pig. All of the sides came out perfect and everyone raved about how good the food was. Needless to say, we were wiped out last night but the time spent with those we love was well worth it.

Of course with all of the running around and cooking, I didn't even have a chance to take one single picture. My Grandma, who will be turning 79 this week, was here and we surprised her with a new digital camera. Her old one broke and she was giving my Grandpa a hard time about buying her a new one. My parents and Tommy and I went in together and bought her one last weekend and we knew she'd want something to take pictures with for Thanksgiving. She was so excited she almost cried. It was so sweet. I can't wait for our baby to meet this precious woman of God. I'm thankful she's still here!

So now, we are back on the WW wagon and exercise routine! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

"May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from His glorious power,...while joyfully giving thanks to the Father." Colossians 1:11-12

Awesome testament!

I just finished typing this email but thought it would serve as an encouragement to some here.

You all know our dear friends in Florida, K&D. Many of you also know that they are in the waiting stages of adoption. They've had 2 failed adoptions and were chosen last weekend by another birthfamily. They were really nervous after the meeting on Saturday because the birthmom made several references to things and it happened to be some of the same things that one of the birthmoms from the failed adoptions had told them. We talked Saturday evening and I could tell K was really worried about jumping in again and taking the risk but she said there are always risks with adoptions, you either have to take it or get out. So they accepted and were waiting to hear ultrasound results from today.

She called this afternoon to tell me a little story. An older couple at their church had seen them after baby dedication in May and told them that they seemed sad. The lady told K that they wanted to pray for them. K was appreciative of this act from this lady. She said as time has passed, every time they see them, the lady tells her-we're still praying and we're praying that God will bless you double.

Well they found out today that the birthmother is pregnant with TWINS! A boy and a girl, due in January. My words fall inadequate when I say how in awe I am of this and how awesome our God is. Of course, nothing is final yet and I told them that we would be praying for them and I would ask all of you to pray as well. I told her to also tell the lady at their church to pray for us :)

Thanks for praying for them (and for us)!

Our God is awesome!

What a thrill!

What a thrill! Woohoo! We had so much fun today at the Paraclete SkyVenture. It really was quite a thrill! We had planned to do this in September for my best friend Ashley's birthday. They had to reschedule us because they were doing work on the tunnel. I really had no idea of what to expect. Tommy was uncertain he was going to do it because he has a huge fear of heights.

Ashley and I upon arrival :)

We were early so we got to go up and watch a group of guys from France; they are the "champions" with their tricks and movements. Some of their stuff was crazy to see but they made it look so easy!

Here's a shot of the main part of the wind tunnel; it goes up 60 feet from this point

While we were watching Tommy was a bit nervous not knowing if he was going to be able to do it. You actually go into the tunnel right through the door (towards the right side of the picture). You stand there and basically fall right into the air, it's not like you're dropping 60 feet and then stopping. Ashley and I finally pressured (ha ha) him into doing it. We then had to go for our instructional class so we'd know the hand signals and what to do with our bodies :)

Demonstrating proper technique

Then we were equipped and ready to go!

With the flight time we had today it was equivalent to skydiving from 13,000 feet and we did it twice. I actually didn't do bad. The instructor said we all did really well for our first time. He had to spin Tommy and Ashley to get them in the "spinning mode" but for some reason I just had this au natural spin. When we were finished, Tommy said, I want to do it again---he loved it! Actually, we all did. We have a video of it too, we weren't allowed to bring the cameras into the holding chamber for obvious reasons, and if we can get it uploaded, I'll post it for you to see.

Taking things for granted

My eyes were opened yesterday. My heart was filled with sorrow and regret at all of the things I've taken for granted. I'm very blessed and often times I go through life and don't realize just how fortunate I am. Almost 8 years ago, Tommy went into cardiac arrest and I was blessed that his life wasn't taken. After some time had passed, you tend to "forget" about those feelings because you get consumed with the day to day. Yesterday that reminder came back.

Our hairdresser is a great friend. We love him just like he's a part of our family. We learned yesterday that his co-worker, she's in the booth right next to him, was tragically killed in a car accident. 30 years old. Her husband is fighting for his life, in critical condition with possible brain injury and he doesn't even know that his wife is gone. I can't imagine. We would often talk to her when we were getting haircuts and she was so sweet. They were trying to have a baby. Like a lot of us, they had problems and she had just begun taking fertility drugs. All of that doesn't even matter anymore.

Even though we really weren't that close to her, it made my heart hurt. It made me take a close look at my life and realize just how blessed we really are. I'm so, so thankful that my Tommy is still here. I can't imagine my life without him.

I think we get so bottled down in the day to day, whether it be wondering when "the call" is going to come or that positive pregnancy test or a new job, that we forget about the blessings. We forget to just stop.......and realize what we really do have.

Hug your family a little tighter tonight and bask in the blessings God has given all of us.

Feeling great!

I think I've mentioned before that Tommy and I have been on a quest to lose weight! While it has been challenging, at times, we have stuck with the plan and it's starting to pay off. When we weighed last night, I was down .6 and he was down .2. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but his total is 12 pounds and mine is 21 (I started way before he did). I'm glad that those numbers are starting to go down! We'll have to see what next week holds.

Last weekend we had a really great time hanging out with friends and family. Tomorrow looks like we'll be heading out in the boat for a relaxing "day at sea"! I'm really ready for the weekend. Why is it that 4 day work weeks always seem so long?

We've decided against the cruise for now. Mainly because adoptions aren't covered under anything (and I mean anything) so if we were chosen during that time, we'd lose any money we had already paid. I think we're going to do some "little" trips just to give us a break from the day to day things. We are thinking about going to Savannah, GA for our anniversary in November.

School is still going great so that's a plus! I always forget how tired it makes me though. Tommy and I were joking around last night when I asked him what was going to happen when we had a baby in our house and we'll have to get up during the night :) Also last night, Tommy had to go back out to work, the phone rang (our caller ID pops up on the TV) and I realize that I don't know the number (it just said cell phone). I immediately think, "oh my, wonder if it's our social worker?"; it's the first time I've felt like that. Needless to say, it was a friend from church calling to give us her new cell phone number :) Oh well, maybe we'll get that one soon!

New beginnings

Well today is it. The last official day of my summer vacation (insert a very sad girl here) :) I can't believe it's over. This has to be one of the fastest summers I have had in a long time! The good news about that is that I haven't driven myself crazy thinking about the adoption. I've even refrained from emailing our social worker this month. Last summer we were busy making sure all of the paperwork was complete and waiting to hear on approvals from our applications. The summer before that we were totally involved with the IVF and then the miscarriage. This summer was just about having fun! I really think I needed it. I've gotten to spend time with our amazing friends, go to the beach, sleep in (oh how I will miss that one), shop, and travel. That's probably why the summer has felt so short.

But a new school year brings a new beginning. I'm able to start all over again. I teach 7th and 8th graders. Half of the 8th grade I taught last year so I already know them (I know almost all of them because our school is so small). The one great thing about the beginning of the school year is reconnecting with those kids and having the opportunity to start fresh, not just me but them as well.

Who knows what this year will bring! Of course I'm praying my heart out that I won't be able to finish the year out because we'll be bringing home a baby, but that's not in my hands either. So for now I'll just keep on keeping on! Here's to the 2010-2011 year! **You guys will be in for a treat once school starts back and I have middle school drama to share with you!

Fun times!

We've had a great time over the past two weeks. From our little getaway to Myrtle Beach and then a great visit with our good friends K and D from Florida, it's been the perfect ending to a great summer!

Sometimes these distractions are great, especially when waiting! It gets your mind off of things and really lets you enjoy life and all of the blessings we have been given. K and D are also waiting to adopt domestically so it's nice to have some friends to walk alongside us in this journey. As we were walking on Saturday, we were talking about how God works and how He's placed all of us doing things and it's by no mistake. Tommy and I are active in a new church plant. It's by no mistake He's placed us there. They don't know it (well they will now) but keeping us busy with set-up and outreach projects has really helped us. Not only have we grown and seen how blessed we really are but it has also helped to keep us busy doing work for our Savior. There's no greater work than that!

So without further ado, here are some fun pictures of our latest adventures.

The water park Tommy and I visited in Myrtle Beach. I guess the lifeguard was afraid she'd get wet! Good thing we weren't drowning :)

Lazy river riding!

Dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse

Our very musically talented friends, K and D. What a blessing they are to us!

New creation

Last summer, my best friend and I took a Cake Decorating class at Mich.ael's. We had a lot of fun and learned how to do all sorts of things (watch out cake.bo.ss) :) I love to cook and bake but during the school year, there's not a lot of time for "playing" in the kitchen. I've made several cakes for birthdays and things like that but it's been a while since I've created anything recently.

My best friend had to go to some other offices today and she usually brings them "treats." I told her I would make something for her to take this week. I made chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing. Then I decided I would try making chocolate candies. I had a mold with different shells so that's the one I used. Here's what the result looked like:


Hopefully she gets a good response from them today!

Weekend fun

We had a great weekend! There's just something "magical" about summertime and living at the beach! It has been so, so hot here with high humidity and no rain. It's almost scary because we usually have really bad thunderstorms. We're hoping that doesn't mean a hurricane is in our future.

This summer has gone by so fast. I'll be going back to work in another month or so, but that's something I don't like to think about! Anyways, Tommy has a co-worker that goes shrimping and he invited us to come along with him, his wife, and son. We met them Friday evening and set off for the shrimp! When I was a kid, my Dad had a shrimp boat and he, my mom, and my sister would all go. All I remember is knocking the crabs back in the water with paint sticks. Tommy had never gone before so this was his first time.

With shrimping, you put your net out and you also put out these two small wooden "doors", that's what they look like, and then you just drag the net very slowly. The first "drag" we pulled was about 30 minutes. Tommy's co-worker B told him how to pull the door in and then what to do with the net. Here he is in action!
Then you have to shake the shrimp and fish and everything else in there, into the bottom part of the net. There's a rope that holds it closed. Then they bring the net to the "culling" table. Culling is where you separate the shrimp away from everything else. B's son, he's 7, went with us. He was so funny. He told me, "we keep 3 things: shrimp, crab, and squid; everything else goes back in, unless we catch a 14 inch flounder."

So they dumped the net and then my job began! It's always amazing to see all of those things that end up in the net. We caught shrimp, baby flounder, crabs-a small one pinched my finger, robin fish, puffer fish, butter fish, baby sharks, baby stingrays, croakers, and squid. Here was our first "drag."

We made three pulls total and ended up with about 55 pounds of shrimp. We would have stayed out there all night though :) However, here, on the weekends, you have to pull your nets in by 9pm on Friday night and you can't shrimp again until 5pm on Sunday.

Saturday we did some things around the house and went carpet shopping. We're trying to decide on a good carpet that Bailey won't pick with her nails. Saturday night we met my best friend for dinner and then went to see Despicable Me in 3d--yes because we are still kids at heart :) It was a cute movie though but I was disappointed in the 3d, it's not like it used to be.

Sunday we went to church and had a great time. We spent the afternoon at the beach house with some friends and did a little fishing. It was a nice, relaxing weekend. I think we both needed it!

Girls Night

Last night my best friend from high school and I went to see Eclipse. Yes, we are reliving our middle school days and I have to confess that we're hooked! It's funny when you look around and there are more middle-aged women there instead of teenagers! The movie was really good and we had a great time catching up.

On adoption news, our social worker emailed yesterday and things have picked up a bit in the offices (there are 3 in our state). We don't know if anything has gone on with our profile but I'm ok with that right now. Hopefully we'll receive a quarterly update from them soon. She did tell us that her longest waiting family (right at 2 years), received their baby 3 weeks ago. So that's great news to hear.

The waiting has been a bit difficult this week but I know it's because I've been at home and not really doing anything. I continue to remind myself that this is all in God's hands and He will provide when the situation is right for us. This was in my devotional this morning: "There are times I think it might be better to have my future predictable, but looking back, I'm always grateful God didn't tell me ahead of time."