Hiiiiii, Caroline! We can't wait to meet you!

Saturday we drove down to Greenville for Alissa + baby Caroline's shower. Aus drove Abi and me down and he hung with his dad and brother while all us ladies did our thing. Liss looked so so pretty and everything was perfect.  Her due date is October 5th so that means little Caroline could be here in 6-8 weeks! AHH! So soon!   

 Abi practicing!

 Liss and the grandma's :)

Our boys! 

Such a fun day and I can not wait to be an auntie!!! :)

We went to Danville last Saturday- Aus played golf and I went to a little wine festival at the Tomahawk Mill.  It was SO SO SO hot.  Those little things around our foreheads? Amazing. Filled with some cold beads that kept us nice and cool - well, as cool as could be at 2pm in 100+ degree weather.  Katie also told me (we didn't know this at the time) that grapes and wine prevent the chemical reaction that causes your skin to burn. Amazing! We were hot but we didn't leave with sunburns. I think I've found a new SPF...

Love her!

Post dancing in the rain. Alone. Don't judge.

Sweet little Isabella!

Mm-mmm Good!

I've been a cooking mama-jama lately (no worries, this is sure not to last much longer)and I've got a few more recipes to share.  Last night I made a meatloaf, (without following a recipe!!) an onion casserole, red skin potatoes and corn on the cob. I made this because Austin loves meatloaf and is aaaalways wanting me to make one.  When we were eating this I asked, "you really love meatloaf that much?" He replied with, "Basically it was my birthday meal request from ages 4-9." I guess he really does love meatloaf.

Meatloaf

What you will need: 

1.5 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 cup (about 3/4 sleeve) Ritz crackers, crumbled

1 cup tomato sauce (1/2 into meat loaf and another 1/2 for sauce on top) 
1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp minced onion
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine all above ingredients except for brown sugar, worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup tomato sauce.  Mix everything well and place in meat loaf pan.  Then mix tomato sauce, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce in small bowl and set aside.  Bake at 350 for about an hour then add sauce and bake another 15 minutes.  Delish!

Vidalia Onion Pie

What you will need:

1 1/2 cups Ritz crackers (about 1 sleeve)

6 tbsp butter, unsalted

2 eggs

3 cups Vidalia Onions, (about one onion) *I read this wrong and thought it said 3 onions, ha, oops.

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crush Ritz while in sleeve. Mix crackers and 4 tbsp. butter in a bowl until well blended.  Press the mixture on the bottom of a pie plate. (I used a casserole dish and I don't think it worked so well.)

Melt remaining 2 tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until tender.  Add onions on top of Ritz crust.

Beat milk, eggs, and salt and pepper. Pour over onions then sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 30-35 minutes.

*This is suppose to be a pie, not so much a casserole.  Mine didn't turn out so well (although it tasted delish)

For the potatoes I just chopped 3-4 red skin potatoes and brushed olive oil and various seasonings on them and into the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. Bon appetite!

Wonderful Wednesday--blogging just to blog.

 Random tid bits going on in the Green house--

• We have an appointment for Molly to be spayed August 4th.  She spends the first night at the vet and then I'm taking the next day off from work to be at home with her. I'll get to play nurse with my pooch! :)

• I'm still liking my job at WakeMed a lot. I'll still say it is very different than Duke, in good and bad ways. I like the excitement of coming into work and not knowing which unit I'll work in.  It's kind of like, who cares how awful this day and these patients have been I won't be back tomorrow!  I've been all over this hospital - from the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit "recovery room" after surgery- and personal fav) to all the ICU's (Neuro, Cardiovascular, Surgical, Medical and Cardiothoracic) to the Observation units (patients coming in with minor issues) and even sometimes I'm on the telemetry floors (rare and NOT a fan).

• UNC hospital called me back about the job (Documentation Specialist) I interviewed for back in February. They called to offer me the job - which was exciting at the time but given how I'm feeling about my job at WakeMed and the salary I have now I had to decline. It's nice to be wanted, tho.

• We are headed to the OBX with my family for a week in 23 days!! Counting down!

• All is well in Windy Peak world.  Aus is pretty much running our business from his current job and it's working out great for us.  Fingers crossed we stay this fortunate!  

• Speaking of Windy Peak, we are about to hit our huge wedding season.  Starting August 13th we have 6 weddings in 7 weeks.  I'm super excited - but pray for us. 

• My sister-in-law Leila turned me onto this blog and I'm completely obsessed. This woman is HILARIOUS hil-ar-i-ous!  Please start by reading this post, and then this, and let me know watcha think! 

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it was sooo yummy. Again, super easy and delicious! I made it ahead of time so Aus could pop it in the oven while I was at work.

What you need:

2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken, I used 1.6 lbs chicken breasts but you can use thighs, chicken pieces etc.

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 10oz pack frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)

1 6oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1/4 tsp (or more) pepper

1 8oz container sour cream

6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1 cup parmesan cheese

3/4 cup pecan pieces (I'm not a fan so I skipped out on these)

In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, soup, spinach, cheese, mushrooms, pepper and sour cream - stir all together. After cooking and draining noodles, lay 3 noodles down in 9x13 or 11x7 dish. Layer half of mixture on top of noodles then repeat with 3 more noodles and second half of mixture. Sprinkle parmesan and pecan pieces (I put a little cheddar too) on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until bubbly. If you let it sit a while it will be easier to cut.  Makes about 6 servings.

HAHAHA this happened when I was defrosting the spinach. I guess I let it go a little too long :)

good little wife! :)