Darling Nightingale

View Original

craziness with a side of pesto

Good morning!  We have arrived to Virginia!  Some of you may or may not have noticed my lack of pictures or posts, but that is because I totally went over my data on my phone & so I was off social media for a week.  Not going to lie, I only missed it a few times, but I actually enjoyed the social media free time too!  Plus, we have been so busy!  Unpacking, running errands, went to ikea (which we were there for 7 HOURS!!!) & trying to organize our chaotic mess while juggling a needy one year old.  Seriously, he is at such a sweet stage, but on the flip side, he cannot be left alone!  Not alone as in by himself in a room, but alone as in he has to be touching you at ALL times!  I guess I should soak in all of this attention he has been giving me, because it will only last a bit then he will be wanting to leave the house!  I will try not to get ahead of myself here...

Right now, Oliver is taking his morning nap & I am sipping on homemade iced coffee & trying to figure out what to do first: shower or clean.  Decisions, decisions ;)  Plus, today is Matt's first day at college!  He has orientation all this week, then school starts Monday.  I am so proud of him!  These past few weeks, road tripping & moving, have been really crazy.  I am so thankful where we are at right now & that Matt has this great oppurtunity to go back to college.  With all the crazy, we have seen the Lord work in such marvelous ways!  There have been so many times these past few weeks where we had to throw up our hands and let the Lord take control.  Why do we think we know everything & that we can do it all on our own without the help of the Lord?  Matt & I gave this trip to the Lord & everything has gone so smooth when we finally let go of ourselves & gave it all.  We saw some amazing places on our road trip & I can't wait to share with you guys what is was like for our little family to move across the country!

The other day we went to Trader Joes & I bought a basil plant.  For $3.99 it is a very good deal!  I decided to make homemade pesto last night & since we are on a tight budget, I decided to make the pesto with walnuts instead of pine nuts.  To be honest, I have always made my pesto sauce this way.  This recipe is also dairy free, but you can totally add parmesan if you want!  So here is the quick & easy recipe.  


Dairy-Free Pesto Sauce

2 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup raw walnuts
5-6 cloves garlic

Put all ingredients in your food processor & chop away!  I had to stop and scrape the sides down a bit, but just pulse for a minute or two & voila!  Pesto sauce!  I added gluten free penne pasta & lemon chicken to my pesto & it was really good!  For an added punch, add some red pepper flakes.  Enjoy!