Grilled Burgers with Tahini Sauce

We had these tonight to rave reviews! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did...

Grilled Burgers with Tahini Sauce
(from Southern Living "All-Time Favorite Recipes")

1lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 tsp. Greek seasoning
4 pita rounds
4 lettuce leaves
8 large tomato slices
4 thin red onion slices
feta cheese
Tahini Sauce (recipe to follow)

1. Combine beef and Greek seasoning. Shape into 4 patties.
2. Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 5-6 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink.
3. Cut off and discard 2 inches of bread from 1 side of each pita round, forming a pocket. Line each with 1 lettuce leaf, 2 tomato slices, and 1 red onion slice. Add burger. Drizzle each with 2 tablespoons Tahini Sauce; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cheese, if desired.

Tahini Sauce

1/4 cup tahini paste
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together all ingredients. You can make this sauce several days ahead if desired.
   

Swagger Wagon

I'm not sure if this makes it any better to be a minivan owner now, but it is funny! :)

Our New Van!

I can't really believe that it's taken me a week and a half to post up a picture of our new minivan, but here she is!

We ended up getting a 2004 Nissan Quest and so far we really are enjoying it. The van has all the bells and whistles-- leather, sunroof, sky view panel roof for the passengers in the back, and best of all (in the kids opinion) the DVD player. It definitely has some quirks including a CD player that doesn't seem to work, but so far it seems to run great and that's what we're most concerned with.

Interestingly enough, now that MOPS is done for the year and we have a van in our driveway, I seem to be sleeping a lot better! I'm still getting pretty worn out mid-afternoon on, but other than that I'm hanging in there. Less than three weeks to go until we get to meet our sweet baby!

A day in the woods

Last week we met another family out at the Cradle of Forestry for a walk in the woods. It has been so nice getting out and enjoying the nice weather--though it's getting a little less comfortable walking and pushing a stroller all the time! I just keep telling myself, "You're walking the baby OUT! You're walking the baby OUT!" That's pretty good motivation!

All along the trail we took they have stations for kids to explore nature. I made the kids saddle up on this log at one of the stops! Max looks like he's more concerned with what his friend, Eden, is doing than Mommy trying to take his picture-- pretty typical!

We got all three kiddos to sit on the hearth of this old fireplace. Eden really knows how to mug for the camera-- wish some of that would rub off on my kids!

After a picnic lunch at the Cradle, we drove up on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few miles up to Mt. Pisgah. Ruby was thrilled that I let her stand on the other side of the road to snap this picture of Max and I! A lot of the trees were bare and/or snapped. I think that the harsh winter with all that snow and ice must have really taken a toll on the forest. Looks like it will be a long recovery at the higher elevations.

One final photo looking out over the mountains. This picture doesn't really even show how brilliant the green hills looked under that perfect blue sky. We sure are thankful to live in such a beautiful place! Now all we need are some visitors to enjoy it with us!

Rhubarb Strawberry Crunch

I haven't been doing a lot of creative cooking these days, but this recipe was a BIG hit at Daddy's Disciples a while back, so I thought I'd share while strawberries and rhubarb are still so plentiful!



Rhubarb Strawberry Crunch
(printable recipe at allrecipes.com)

1 c. white sugar
3 T. flour
3 c. sliced fresh strawberries
3 c. diced rhubarb
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. rolled oats

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl, combine white sugar, 3 T. flour, strawberries, and rhubarb. Pour into 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with butter, brown sugar and oats with a pastry blender or knives 'til crumbly. Crumble on top of the fruit mixture.
4. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven until crisp and lightly browned.
5. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. YUM!

Mother's Day!

I am so thankful to be a mom. And I'm so thankful for a hubby that works so hard and supports us so that I'm able to stay home with our kiddos.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This life was not my plan, but thank God it was HIS! He knew exactly what I needed and was made for and here I am!

Mother's Day weekend was filled with activities and fun-- just the way I like it! We spent Saturday around the house: cleaning the Subaru in preparation of selling it and planting lots of flowers in my flower boxes and pots. Between the new flowers and all of the blooming irises. dogwoods, and azaleas things are looking pretty great around here!

Sunday, Jared and the kids had a fun day planned. We started the day at church where we heard about a recent missions trip to Haiti and an encouraging Mother's Day sermon.

Next, we went out to a delicious brunch at a local restaurant. I was so proud of the kiddos for being on their best behavior and even eating their food! It's a Mother's Day miracle--we were able to eat somewhere other than McDonalds without a bit of complaining!!

The remainder of the day was spent at Chimney Rock Park. We had hoped to hike to Hickory Nut Falls, but everyone was a little too tired for much of a hike so we took it easy and just went up to the Chimney Rock lookout over Lake Lure and the the surrounding hills (they even have an elevator to get most of the way up!). It was the perfect day. Breezy, in the upper 60s and clear, blue skies.

As you could see in the first two photos... it looks like the newest Nutty Nelson should be making his or her debut sometime soon. We still have 3 1/2 weeks left 'til my induction date, but maybe I'll be surprised with a baby who comes early for once!

I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who makes every day so special and my two and a half happy and healthy kiddos. Truly, God has blessed us greatly.

Five and Fabulous!

Miss Ruby turned FIVE yesterday!! We have been so busy celebrating birthdays around here that I just haven't had a spare moment to do a blog post. Here are a few shots and memories from our weekend!

The fun actually began on Saturday when we had a joint birthday party for Ruby and Maxwell with several of their good friends. I don't have any photos of the party, just videos, which I may share later in the week. A fun time was had by all with games (Pin the Fish on the Hook and Magnetic Fishing), two pinatas (that were apparently reinforced for all-star hitters!), dirt pie complete with gummy worms, and oodles of presents. I think the parents even had a good time-- I know Jared and I did anyway!

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to open gifts before church. One of Ruby's favorite gifts were her "fake fingernails"! Here she is checking them out! She realized pretty quick that while they are pretty they are far from practical.

After church, we headed out to Ruby's choice for lunch-- Cracker Barrel, of course! She cannot resist the shopping experience... Mommy even found a few good buys out on the porch sale-- 70% off, yeah!! We squeezed in a little bit of car shopping (still no luck) before heading home to frost her birthday cake and make ice cream cone cupcakes for preschool today. The combination of America's Funniest Home Videos and birthday cake made for a pretty fabulous evening!

Today, Ruby celebrated for the third day in a row with a party at school! She had a great time and told me that her smile was SO BIG the whole time they were singing to her.

You're pretty fabulous, Ruby! We love you more every day and couldn't be more thankful that God blessed our family with you! You are a smart and sweet girl. Beautiful as can be. A wonderful big sister and friend. I can't wait to see what wild and wonderful things God has in plan for you in the coming year!