Broccoli Bites

We recently had a get together with friends where everyone brought either an appetizer or a dessert.  I made these - they were awesome!!  We brought ranch for dipping, and it was good, but unnecessary since they were delicious on their own.  :)  In our house, we call these Broccoli Balls!  Even Lila (14 months) enjoyed them, but I think she would have liked them more if I'd steamed the broccoli a bit longer.  It was still crunchy, which is how I like it, but she has no molars yet so crunchy is a little difficult for her.  :)  I actually doubled the recipe in the hopes that I could freeze leftovers for an easy/quick healthy snack.  However, there were no leftovers to freeze so I'm not sure how they hold up in the freezer yet.



Ingredients

1 medium head of broccoli, cut into very small pieces
1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
1 garlic clove, pressed
¾ cups cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup of panko or bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper taste

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam broccoli pieces for a few minutes, until they turn a nice bright green. Let cool.
2.  In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
3.  Shape into bite size broccoli balls.
4.  Bake on parchment paper for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Spring is on it's way

We went walking at Kensington yesterday  and took these pictures.  It's hard to believe there's still so much snow on the ground when it's been in the 50's for a few days now!  Granted, it does get down into the teens each night still...but I'm sooo ready for the snow to all be gone so I can start working in my gardens again!!!  The geese are coming back and I swear we heard a sandhill crane - I had no idea the cranes came back this early!

Kittie Relaxation

Things just keep improving between Mia and Tux. :) They're now to the point where they'll even relax near each other! Mia also waits outside Tux's door in the mornings to play with him. She gets annoyed sometimes, but that's to be expected with as much energy as he has! Here's a cute picture of the kitties snuggling with my husband. :)

Mia & Tux

Tux and Mia are getting along better! Right before this picture was taken, Mia was looking out the window with her tail hanging down...and Tux was ferociously attacking her tail. :) She pulled her tail up, turned, and gave him a look of "WHAT are you DOING???" She's still not completely sure about him yet, but there is a lot less hissing and she's out and about with him more. The only time she's hissing now is when he's all up in her face trying to get her to play. We still lock him in a different room at night to give her some time to herself (and to keep him from keeping US awake!). I keep hoping she'll give him a good slap one of these days to teach him to give her some space, but she hasn't yet done this.

New Kitten

We got a new kitten over the weekend. :) His name is Tux and he's 6 weeks old. We think his dad was a Manx because he's only got a half a tail, his sister has no tail at all, but his brother has a full tail. He's an adorable little trouble maker. His big (adopted) sister Mia isn't too sure about him yet. She keeps an eye out for him and hisses if he gets too close, but he's not at all afraid. I think with time she'll accept him. Here's some pictures of Tux and his new sister Mia:

Freecycle Offer - Magazine Rack

This is being posted so freecycle users have an easy way to view pictures of this item. If you want this and could pick it up from South Lyon, let me know! :)

socks and gardens, what else? :)

so the pink socks are done.  :)  This first picture is a good shot of the stitches, but a bad one of the actual color....

Here's a more accurate picture of what the color is.  I need to figure out the settings on my camera and how to get both in the same picture...  :)

The current project - I actually finished p the toe on this sock last night and have it off the needles.  I'll be casting on the mate tonight!  :)  it's hard to see the pattern, but it's a cabled one called "dragonfly"

The cutest cat ever, Mia, wants to say hi!!!  :)

And now for some more garden pictures!!!  Its so amazing how much things can change over night!!!

I noticed these growing this weekend - I'm not sure what their "official" name is, but we called them coin plants when I was a kid.  They must have come with something that I transfered from mom's garden because I didn't plant them.  I decided to leave them since I had so much fun playing with them and the "coins" when I was younger.  :)

more and more peonies keep opening up! 

Paul and his dad are going to rip this bush out for me in a few weeks.  It's so ugly and overgrown.  Whenever I cut it back, it just turns brown...so it's time to say good bye!  :-D

mmmm....irises!  These are the ones from mom's garden.  There's two colors- this light color and a darker one.  Only the light ones were open last night, but I noticed some dark ones that were opening this morning!

Strawberries!

Radishes in the planter box.  :)

Lettuce!

Spider wort! I LOVE this plant. Only a few of the buds are opening, but in a few days they all will be and it will be QUITE the sight. These open each morning and close each evening.

front yard:

back yard: