Roasted Cabbage Wedges

When we went apple picking yesterday, I picked up a HUGE head of cabbage at the orchard for only .69/lb.   I decided I wanted to find a new recipe to try out with it, and had heard of roasting cabbage from somewhere recently, so I did a quick search and stumbled upon "Roasted Cabbage Wedges" on a site called group recipes.  This individual says they got the recipe out of an issue of Cook's Country, but did not cite the date. So, that's the best I can give you for the original source! This is my new favorite veggie recipe! Super easy, beautiful, and delicious!

Ingredients

-1 t. salt

-1/4 t. pepper

-1 t. sugar

-1 medium head green cabbage (in my case, I had a HUGE head, so I used more of everything else ;)

-3 T olive oil

-2 t. balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper middle position.  Place rimmed baking sheet on rack and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine salt, pepper, and sugar in small bowl.  Quarter cabbage through core and cut each quarter in to 1 inch wedges, leaving core intact.  You'll have about 16 wedges.  Brush cabbage wedges all over with oil and sprinkle with salt mixture.

Arrange cabbage wedges on hot baking sheet and roast until cabbage is tender and lightly browned around edges, about 25 minutes.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Just~us Apples

We made our annual family trip to the mountains today to go apple picking--and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather! We left here at 7:20 and made it to Justus Orchards in Hendersonville by around 9:30--(perfect timing because as we were leaving the parking area was packed and a couple of cars were vying for our parking spot right up front!) I love this orchard because they are SO friendly, help explain the different types of apples, provide samples of slices of apples so you can try which ones you like best. They also have donuts, cider & even barbecue plates if you want to stay and eat lunch in their covered picnic area! We didn't stay for lunch, as we continued our day by going to O.P Taylor's toy store in Asheville (the 2nd part of our annual tradition!) But, enough of those details as I know how much you really just want to see pictures of the kids ;)

 Family Picture Take 1

 Got out of the sun, Take 2

 Best as it's gonna get- Take 3

 Brilee got to take a ride in the wagon back up to the barn

 "Just Us" Apples!

 Brilee was not going to have any part of the "How Tall this Fall?" sign!

 And as Jon got her to stand still, Sean was preoccupied with his apple...

 Well, we get the general idea of how tall they are this fall!

New Mop!

So, you read that right...I'm blogging about a mop! But it's only because it is the most wonderful mop I've ever used, so I had to share it with you!

http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091920

The features that make this mop incredible?
1) It has an EMPTY bottle for you to mix your OWN cleaning solution in!  None of those refills that cost $
2) It comes with 2 washable microfiber cleaning cloths!  None of those disposable pads that cost $!

And on a side note:  Yes, even though Jon used to work for Rubbermaid and he lost his job there only TWO months before Lilly was born, I still love their products ;)

So, if you were like me--I got tired of my mop that used the expensive refills, so I switched to an old school mop.  However, that one was still less than desirable since it remained wet after using it  and wasn't washable---this is the perfect mop for you!

The price listed online says $25, however, I only paid $9.99 for it at Sam's Club!  It comes with 2 washable microfiber cloths which I simply washed in my sink instead of the washing machine.  It said it will last up to 100 washes in a machine, but I figured it would last longer if I hand wash!  Try it out, you'll love it!

Mother & Son Date "Knight"

Sean and I enjoyed a special date night tonight at Chick-fil-a!

 Take #1 of date night...

Take #2 we actually got him looking at the camera!  (A very difficult feat for an active little guy!)

 Lilly wanted her picture taken with mommy too ;)

One more reason to love our favorite place to eat--they planned a very special night for mothers and their sons--including a peaceful ambience not typical of Chick fil a during daytime hours--tablecloths, candles & extra, extra special service (because they already have great service for moms with kiddos during the daytime!)

Sean drew a special picture for me on a knight shield (he was supposed to draw a "family crest" but he wanted to draw me and himself together, so who was I to argue?!)  They also gave him a balloon sword and a long-stemmed rose to give to me ;)

 My favorite part of the picture is "mommy's VERY long hair" (that looks more like a big spider on the top of my head ;)  I love that he was paying attention to the details, though!

 Our activity brochure that gave ideas on saving memories and finding fun together

 My long-stemmed rose

Sean's favorite part of the evening by far, however, was the bounce castle they had outside.  He jumped and bounced to his heart's content and I think he enjoyed the fact that ALL my attention was on him for a change instead of being divided amongst his sisters!  He popped out of the opening once and I asked him, "Are you done already, buddy?"  to which he replied, "No, I just came to give you a hug!"  Be still my heart!  How sweet!

I sure hope they have a Daddy/Daughter date night sometime soon at Chick-fil-A!  I'm sure Lilly & Brilee enjoyed their time with daddy tonight, but Lilly sure was sad she wasn't going tonight ;(

Thanks, Chick-fil-A for the wonderful memories with my little guy!