Crescent Cinnamon Rolls

Made these easy and delicious cinnamon rolls yesterday.

I buy the crescent rolls on sale for $1(Usually at Aldi)

They're quick, and there's very little clean-up.

Ingredient:

1 tube crescent rolls

1/2 Tb butter

Cinnamon sugar

2 Tb tub butter

3 Tb brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tb milk

1/2 c powdered sugar

*I did not measure anything- these amounts are approximate!*

 Melt butter and wipe around bottom and edges of muffin pan.

 Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

 Divide crescent rolls into four rectangles.

Here's a tip- microwave rolls for 10 seconds to make them more pliable.

Pinch together seams.

Spread with butter.

Divide brown sugar, cinnamon, & vanilla mixture evenly over rolls.

 Rolls up starting with short end.

Cut into thirds.

 Bake 12-14 minutes.

Don't overbake them!

 Mix milk and powdered sugar.

Drizzle over rolls.

 Perfect breakfast for the first snow of the year!

Love Couponing! 37 Items for $37!

If I had to choose my favorite place to coupon it would have to be Hy-Vee.

I find this is the store I go to every single week for great deals.

And I love supporting them, rather than Wal-Mart!

And they take care of their employees, customers and our new store is so nice!

(And now I can save cents off gas for my purchases!)

Here is a haul I did just the other week.

Shopping sales and using coupons got me this haul of 37 items for $37.

It includes:

 Three things of Kemps Frozen Yogurt for $1 each!

On sale for $1.99 plus three $1/1 coupons.

 Six bags of Golden Puffs for $.09 each!

On sale for $.59 plus three $1/2 coupons.

Folgers Gourmet coffee for $3.99!

On sale for $4.99 plus $1/1 coupon.

But it's like I got it for $1 with the average of my trip.

Gerber baby food for FREE!

On sale for $1 each plus two $1/1 coupons.

I find a lot of my coupon match-ups at

PennyPinchinMom.com

She does a wonderful job posting deals for lots of stores including local ones like Hy-Vee and Price Chopper.

 And I store my coupon inserts right by the computer for easy access.

Like when the match-up says I need a coupon from the SS 11/11/12 (Smart Source)

Happy couponing and happy savings!

Time Lapse Pregancy Pictures

I just want to say thank you to my wonderful husband for taking these pictures every four weeks! He is so sweet that he was willing to take them in the same spot, at the same angle so they'd all look the same... guess I can be a little picky sometimes... :D

Fabric Labels, Burp Cloths and Wet Bags!

 Just look at these beautiful tags hot off the press from France! They were just calling out to me to sew them onto something. They need a home, snug in the hem of blankie!

 There's just something magical about seeing your name in print- looks so professional! I'm hoping to work on my crafts for sale now that I'm no longer working full time. And my baby boy has inspired a whole new line of crafts! Not planning on making many dresses or flower headbands right now (might get into that when I have a baby girl). Now in store are cute appliqued burp cloths, chenille blankets, security blankets and tummy time quilts. :D

 

My baby brand is Joe & Sallie. And the story behind this name is that I loved the Mandie series when I was a child. And her two friends we Joe and Sallie- so, being an artist I started tagging my paintings and drawings with two birds in the horizon. I named them Joe and Sallie. As I got older, and more into sewing, I appliqued the birds onto my crafts. And now, Joe and Sallie fit a baby line for both boys and girls!

 

 I even have the care instructions on the back!

 

These burp cloths are ready for their letter applique!

The left burp cloth is Gerber and I don't like it as much.

From now on I'm going with a brand I found at BuyBuy Baby.

And I'm going with a square corner because it looks cleaner.

  

 Also, I made a wet bag! And Levi thinks it's super cool!

 It's lined with PUL fabric so we can put soiled clothes and reusable diapers in it.

And I'll leave you with a sweet picture of my Drool Monster!

Vegan Grilled Asparagus Wraps

    Ok, so I'm not really vegan, and even when I made this today, they ended up not being vegan because of the mayonaise I added in. But I tucked this recipe away in my folder months ago when my husband and I looked into this thing called Forks Over Knives. But at the time I was 8 months pregnant and had no desire to do a complete overhaul of our diet. Maybe one day we'll look into it more, but for now we'll enjoy our meat and animal products- and enjoy some vegan and vegetarian meals thrown into the mix.
    And yes, hello blog world, I'm back! I'm back during the last week of my 12 week maternity leave. This is the week I either do everything I meant to do during my leave or I do nothing but enjoy the last week with my sweet baby boy. I can only imagine that you're wondering why I returned to blogging with a post on a meal I made and not cute pictures of my boy... I don't know why myself. But, they will come. :D
   You might think this recipe and picture look way too healthy but let me assure you that my husband loved it! He kept telling me they were "really, really good" and "one of his top 5 recipes". (Sidenote: I want to do a Top 5 series and might do one on his top 5 favorite meals). I unfortunately halved the recipe so when he wanted seconds there were none...   Following is the original recipe and my version-

Vegan Grilled Asparagus Wraps (Serves 4)
     from VeganCoach.com

• For the Vegan version please see their website.

Roasted Asparagus Wraps
My Version (Serves 2)

1/2 c uncooked quinoa
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 Tb lemon juice
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tb mayonaise
12 medium asparagus spears (I used frozen)
1/4 vidalia onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 Tb exra-virgin olive oil
2 tortillas
1/2 c spinach

1. Heat a large skillet. Add quinoa and toast until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup water and stir. Bring to a boil. Cover, and lower heat to a simmer until quinoa is tender and quinoa filaments are visible. Turn off heat, and drain quinoa, if necessary. Stir in lemon juice, mayo, and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with lid to keep warm.
2.  Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with foil. Place asparagus and onion on foil and spray or drizzle with oil. Roast 10 minutes or until onions have softened.
3. Spread 1/2 of the quinoa over a tortilla. Place some onions and 6 asparagus spears on the quinoa. Top with spinach. Roll each sandwich tightly and cut in half, using wooden skewers or toothpicks to hold together, if needed.

Enjoy!

I Love Food!

I love to try new recipes and cook up old favorites. Throughout my pregnancy I've maintained my very healthy diet and it's good knowing that what I'm putting into my body is helping our baby boy grow big and strong. Here are some of the yummy things I've made in 2012 so far...

 Broiled Tilapia, Kashi 7 Grain Pilaf and Asparagus.

My husband loves this meal!

 Huge hit at a family get-together!

Layers of vanilla pudding, cool whip, Nilla wafers, bananas and caramel syrup.

 I made this recipe off of a dish I had at Zio's Restaurant.

It's pasta, alfredo sauce, wilted spinach, bacon pieces and cubed chicken.

 A super yummy snack! I love fruit and could eat it all day!

Plain yogurt topped with strawberries, blackberries, kiwi and a cherry on top. :)

 Mom gave me a cucumber pickle from her garden.

I'm attempting to make pickles. 

I tried one today (they've only been in the fridge two days...)

and it tastes a little too much like vinegar still...

 Oatmeal every single day! 

I never have to think about what I'll have for breakfast.

Organic oatmeal, flax seed & wheat germ, blueberries and bananas.

 Hubby and I love salads!!

Mine is spinach, strawberries, wheat thins and raspberry walnut vinaigrette.

His is spinach, cheese, crackers and honey mustard dressing.

We're attempting to incorporate some vegan meals into our diet.

I've actually made these for many years. You won't even miss the meat.

Taco Salad!

Instead of meat I use lentils, rice and black beans with homemade taco seasoning.

I like to cook up big batches of all of these ingredients on one day. I put a serving of each in the fridge to use later, and freeze the rest in freezer ziplocks. Lay them flat to freeze and they store wonderfully!

And... we have just over 5 weeks to go until our little guy is due! My husband and I cannot wait! I'm overjoyed with the privilege of being a Mommy. Every moment of being pregnant has been worth it- and wonderful!

Diaper Changing Pads

I made these super cute and waterproof diaper pads for my cousin's little baby girl. Beautiful little Claire was born just last Thursday!

I purchased the waterproof fabric at JoAnn's. They have a Babyville Boutique section. (Just discovered this!) The material is called Boutique Waterproof, Breathable PUL Fabric. You can also make diapers from this material. (I'm not going to that extent)

I bought coordinating flannel fabric for the back and binding. I quilted the two pieces together and sewed a decorative stitching around the outside to attach the binding. Super easy and useful! I'm going to be making some for my little boy on the way!