Make new friends and keep the old....

...one is silver and the other is gold...

Our Officer's Christian Fellowship group is growing in more ways than one! Each week we seem to have new families moving into the area and joining the group- which has been great! In addition, one of the couples is about to have their first baby!

Today we hosted a baby shower for Sara, who is due any day now. It was a small gathering, but a great time of getting to know one another better, as many of us are new to the area.

We played a few games, talked a lot, ate some delicious food, opened gifts, and prayed together.

(before the rest of the food arrived- I had SOOO much fun using many of our wedding gifts- many of them I hadn't had a chance to use yet!)









(pin the clothes on the baby)

Teddy slept most of the shower- he was getting a little depressed that all of the gifts and food were not for him :)



(we turned "can you taste what baby food this is?" into "can you smell what baby food this is?" for obvious reasons-yuck!)

Tallahassee

This Friday I had the opportunity to meet up with one of my dear Pensacola friends in Tallahassee (about halfway between Jax and Pensacola- 2.5-3 hr drive). We met up for coffee at a sweet little shop called "The Black Dog Cafe" and then went out for lunch. Little did we know the coffee shop would be conveniently located on a pretty lake in Tallahassee! Before heading our separate ways we took a walk around the lake loop to walk off our lunches :). While it has been exciting and great to meet new friends in Jacksonville, it was refreshing to kick back with an old friend and not feel like I have to "start over"- we could just pick up where we left off- it was such a blessing!

Woods Walk

Saturday we enjoyed a brisk walk at the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens. It has been a bit chillier the last several weeks, but the sun has been shining and the cold has not kept us from enjoying our walks and bike rides. There are so many beautiful spots and neighborhoods to take afternoon bike rides and walks around here.














(Teddy attempting to go for a swim)







(Teddy thinking about how he will get into the water- although we did not allow him to swim on this walk, he did go swimming at the dog park today rather impulsively and jumped out of the pond freezing cold!)



(Palm trees at the very end of our walk reminded us that yes, although we were walking through the "woods", we still live in Florida!)

After an outdoorsy afternoon we enjoyed making a "Valentine's" dinner together. While I highly recommend the summer roll recipe we tried, it is definitely more of a summertime recipe to try for all you northerners ;). I guess you can say we were in the mood to chop and assemble, as we also made some bruschetta to munch on while we made our summer rolls.

See Recipes Below :)

CHICKEN SUMMER ROLLS WITH HONEY-LIME DIPPING SAUCE (from Shape Magazine)

A key ingredient, rice paper, is found in the Asian section of the supermarket.

(picture of rice paper)

Serves 4

Prep time:20 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup lime juice

2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

FOR THE SUMMER ROLLS

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

8 8-inch round sheets rice paper

8 romaine lettuce leaves, sliced into large strips

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

In a small bowl, whisk together honey, lime juice, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken, lower heat to a simmer, and poach about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. (Chicken should be tender but have no traces of pink when you cut into it.) Place chicken on a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken with your hands.

To assemble rolls, place rice paper in lukewarm water until flexible like a tortilla. Place on a plate, at the ingredients, and wrap it up like a burrito. Serve immediately or refrigerate (covered with plastic wrap) for up to 4 hours and serve cold. Place sauce in a bowl alongside rolls, or drizzle it on top.

Bruschetta recipe compliments of my dear Pensacola friend Ashley ;)

Bruschetta:

1 loaf of french bread, sliced into 1/2" pieces

3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced finely

1 bunch of spinach or arugula, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, cut in half

1/4 cup olive oil (more if necessary)

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese*

preheat oven to 450* F.

While oven is preheating, combine tomato, spinach and mozzarella in a bowl, along with equal amounts of salt and pepper to taste.

Once oven is preheated, place sliced bread on a broiler pan or cookie sheet and put in oven for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown on top. Do not let the bread burn.

Once you have removed the bread from the oven, turn the oven down to 200*F.

After removing bread from oven (while still hot), take the halved garlic cloves and rub them across the top side of each bread slice. Amazingly, the aroma & flavor of the garlic will saturate into the bread just by rubbing it across each bread slice. Throw the cloves away when done. Brush half of olive oil over the top side of the bread slices. Add the tomato/spinach mixture and finally, drizzle remaining olive oil over each top.

Stick the bruschetta in the oven for a minute or two to melt the cheese. serve & enjoy!

* note: you can use smoked mozzarella or cubed mozzarella in this recipe as well. I just use the shredded kind because its cheaper & I usually have it on hand- it still tastes just as yummy!