Blue Ridge, Doctor News, and a Recipe!

I feel like a lot has happened since I last updated. We spent this last weekend in Blue Ridge, GA with my step-family. We had a great time and our cabin was GORGEOUS. It had a wonderful view of the Toccoa River from our 3(!) backporches. We spent a little time in downtown Blue Ridge and visited Merciers Apple Orchards. That was my favorite part. We ate a lot, talked a lot, and Colt was in Heaven surrounded by so many who love him. On Sunday, we went fishing in the Toccoa and Colt even got in a little "swim." He's not much of a car sleeper, but he slept all the way from McCaysville to our neighborhood! That was a good sign that he was exhausted. :) Here are some of my favorite pictures:

 

"Swimming"

Triumphant

Gran, Judy, and Amie making gravy

Our family.

Cousins.

Learning about leaves.

Teaching his Granddad about the iPad.

Throwing rocks with Daddy.

Tanner caught a trout!

Playing Dominoes with Tucker.

 



Yesterday, we had our Post-Op visit with Dr. Peterson, Colt's eye doctor.  He agrees that now Colt's eyes are back to "going out" just a bit.  Before surgery, they were out at a 35 degree angle and now they are at a 10 degree angle.  The good news is that they are intermittently out and in, and they are also alternating.  This means they are not always out, a lot of the time they are straight, and both eyes do it.  That's good because it means he doesn't prefer one eye over the other.  If he preferred one over the other, we would have to go back to patching.  You know how I feel about that.  Anyway, we will go back on November 30 to check for sure, but if they don't change or get worse, he won't have another surgery until he is 4!!!  I want to be excited so badly, but the doctor warned us that Colt has not fit the mold yet, so we can't be sure that it won't change again.  Honestly, I am hopeful this time.  I just kind of feel like this is it (until 4, at least). 

I have another cute picture to share, just because I love it. 

Two Bowls of Spaghetti Later...

 



Okay, I am finally going to post a recipe.  Funny, I thought we had NOTHING in the house to eat, but discovered a pork loin in the freezer, so I looked up recipes on AllRecipes.com.  I found one that sounded good, had excellent reviews, and I actually had the ingredients!  It was called "Herb-Roasted Pork Loin."  I should have taken pictures for this to be a legit food blog entry, but hey, I was busy chasing the boy around.  Okay.  This dinner was TO. DIE. FOR.  I seriously might make it two or three times a month.  I served it with homemade mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.  It makes an unbelievable gravy that was excellent with the mashed potatoes and over the pork loin.  After reading the reviews, I decided to follow some of the tips mentioned and tripled the gravy recipe, switched brown sugar for white, used balsamic vinegar, and added some rosemary to the herb rub.  We have some leftovers and I cannot wait to eat them again tonight.  Even Colt liked the pork and he is not a meat-eater!

Herb Roasted Pork Loin   Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

1 teaspoon of rubbed sage (Again, I added rosemary too)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 fresh ground pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 boneless pork loin (recipe says 5 lb, mine was 1 1/2 lbs!)

1/2 cup of sugar (I used brown!)

1 tablespoon of cornstarch (I used flour, no cornstarch at home!)

1/4 cup of vinegar (I used balsamic)

1/4 cup of water

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. In a bowl, combine sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Rub thoroughly all over pork. Place pork in an uncovered roasting pan on the middle oven rack.
3. Bake in the preheated oven approximately 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees F depending upon your desired doneness. Time depends on size of pork loin.  Mine was done in a little over an hour.
4. Meanwhile, place sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, and serve. Like I said, I tripled the glaze recipe, and saved a lot for the potatoes. :)

Enjoy!!!! :)