A Recipe, Or Two

I am, like, on a blogging role or something.  However I better not speak too soon and jinx myself!

A while back (over Memorial day) we went to a little BBQ at some friends house.  One of the gals brought a salad that I just couldn't get off my mind.  I recently asked her for the recipe so I could make some here at home...and she was kind enough to share!  Since I am not sure what the official name of the salad is, I will call it the Jana Salad (since Jana is the name of my friend who made it), clever I know.   Anyway, if you make this - I can pinkie promise that you won't regret it.  Seriously. It's really good.

Jana Salad
Romain lettuce, cleaned and chopped
cooked and crumbled bacon (I used turkey bacon, but either way is still delish!)
dried cranberries
fresh, sliced avocado
candied almonds
Brianna's poppy seed dressing

Candied Almonds
2Tbsp Butter
Approx. 1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup white sugar

Melt butter in pan over medium to medium high heat.  Add almonds and sugar...stir continuously!  If you leave them for even a second they will burn (trust me).  They will begin to brown quickly.  Cook to a nice dark golden color.  Spray a plate with cooking spray and sprinkle almonds on plate to cool.  Once cooled crumble up and add to salad.

As Noah would say, 'ummy ummy ummy'.  I ate some of this for dinner last night and again for lunch today.  Andy and I both love it and even Noah ate some (it may have been because Andy told him that the almonds were candy, but we take what we can get).  

You can also find the roll recipe HERE at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  They were great, except I left out the cheese in the middle...I am sure they taste wonderful both ways.

Enjoy!

Photo-A-Day Dropout

So remember in my summer to do list, how I said I wanted to take a photo every day of Noah and Clare?  Well, I've already failed...but not by much - and I have been trying harder to take more pictures.  SO, I thought I would share the ones I have captured from the last week or so, just so you (and the grandmas) can enjoy them!

Bubbles Bubbles.  I decided to invest (a whole $7.99) in a bubble machine for Noah.  I guess I should say it was more for me, so I didn't have to keep blowing bubbles out of that silly little stick anymore.  It was a worthwhile purchase, and has proved to be a hit!

Clare got some enjoyment out of it too, or at least she appeared happy!  I will take that as a yes!

This is what happens at 6:45pm when Noah has missed his nap for the day.  Nothing could wake him at this point, and I am perfectly ok with that. 

Clare on the other hand is enjoying a tasty treat of sweaty palm and finger lint (you know, when babies get fuzzies in between their fingers).  Not my thing, but she sure likes it! 

Noah loves to crawl on things he shouldn't, and loves to get caught.  It's happened several times (as my regular readers know)...some things never change...

Later in the day we went to a little birthday party at the lake...we sure had fun.  Noah played in the dirt and took a little dip (and a couple slips) in the water ...hence his dry shirt in one picture and wet shirt in another.  Silly boy.

And Clare, our sweet Clare.

Lastly, I actually caught some pretty cute pictures of the kids before church.  Since we have 9am meetings you can see just how amazing that is.  They both were tolerant of me, even though there are a couple pictures where you can see how Clare really felt about it all...