Crystal Clear As Mud

Chicken Salad Avocado Boats

2011-04-08T09:00:00.011-05:00

That's not actually what Emeril calls them, but that's what they look like to me. I made my version of this recipe, technically called Chicken Salad with Fresh Herbs, for lunch yesterday and it was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s. I found this recipe in my Food Network Magazine in the April edition of this year. David's not a fan of cold salads...or avocado...so, this was all on me. My mom came to my house and we shared this dish...and we both loved it. When she was leaving, she told me, "THAT'S definitely a repeat."

Chicken Salad Avocado Boats
adapted from Emeril

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup mayonnaise
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup finely diced celery stalks
1/4 cup chopped celery leaves
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 avocados, halved and pitted

Preheat the oven to 400 degress. Rinse the chicken briefly under cool running water, then pat dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof sauté pan over high heat. Add the chicken and cook 2 minutes. Turn the chicken over and immediately place the pan in the oven. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, celery, celery leaves, red onion, parsley, celery seeds and cayenne pepper. Mix well.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Add it to the mayonnaise mixture and mix well.

If not serving immediately, transfer to the refrigerator to chill.

Serve in avocado halves. Enjoy!

Are you interested to know what ingredient I used up with this recipe? Mayonnaise. Now, if I can use up at least one ingredient with every meal I prepare, then maybe I won't have 15 boxes of food to move...

Take a Walk on the Orient...

2011-04-07T13:27:00.000-05:00

Or something like that. I'm currently in the mode of "use up everything within this kitchen" since we'll be moving in less than one month. It's official, our move date will be May 6th...and today is April 7th. Can we say YIKES?! One of David's favorite meals to prepare himself (which does happen from time to time) is General Tso's Chicken. This means I have a few oriental oils, seasonings, etc. in my cabinets.

Luckily, I was able to use up one of the bottles of oil with dinner last night. And dinner was SO good. When I saw that the PW had posted this recipe last week, I knew I had to try it soon. Rather than prepare rice noodles with these Beef and Peppers, I decided to give PW's Sesame Noodles a go. This was a good decision. Honestly, how could a meal that starts out with the ingredients looking this good go bad?

Try these recipes today! Below, I've shared the links to the original tutorials and printables. Good and good for you...which you can't always say about PW recipes...

PW Beef with Peppers

PW Simple Sesame Noodles

The Forgotten Garden

2011-04-07T13:00:00.001-05:00

I have mentioned recently that I've been in a reading funk. Everything I've read has been pretty mediocre with no real winners. The last couple books I've read were good, but I really hope this book has broken my cycle. The Forgotten Garden. It was really, really good.

I don't want to give too much information away about this story, but I'll give you the basic set-up. Nell Andrews learns on the night of her 21st birthday that she's not who she thinks she is...her father informs Nell that he found her on a ship dock when she was a small girl. At the time Nell didn't know who she was or how she got there...so they just raised her as their own.

This story is written in three different time periods... #1 the story of what actually happened before Nell was discovered on the dock, #2 the story that Nell is trying to piece together years later and #3 the story that Nell's granddaughter finishes solving because Nell died before ever finding the truth.

There were times when I became frustrated with reading in the section of #3. From the point of view in #1, everything is very fascinating and intriguing and the other two sections can drag at times. However, I loved the story. There's a good twist at the end that I didn't see coming and was glad occurred.

If you're into historical fictions, mystery, intrigue, familial betrayal, a good dose of weirdness and innocent hope, this is a good one to read! So far, both people I know who have read this loved it!

The Widow of the South

2011-04-06T08:30:00.001-05:00

I have a few books to review before I can start reviewing the books from my personal challenge made earlier this week. The Widow of the South was an audiobook I picked up a few weeks ago at the library book sale. The backcover was intriguing and the more I listened, the more interesting this story became. Classification for this book is somewhat difficult because it's considered fiction...however, the basis of the story is true.

The basic gist of this book concerns the life of Carrie McGavock. Mrs. McGavock's house was converted into a hospital by the Confederate army during the Civil War...specifically during the Battle of Franklin. This was one of the bloodiest battles of the war and many, many men were brought to the Carnton Plantation, the McGavock household.

Carrie is not a perfect woman, but she has a soft spot for the numerous men that are wounded and die within her household. There are descriptions within the book that are astonishing, it's no wonder McGavock has a hard time not getting attached. For example, amputations occurred upstairs and it is said that the pile of limbs thrown from this window reached that second story window before the house was turned back over to the McGavocks.

The incredible thing Mrs. McGavock did at the end of this novel is this... Rather than letting someone plow over the dead bodies buried in the spots where they died on the battlefield, she had them moved to her property...to her own personal cemetery. From there, she tended the graves and corresponded with the mens' families for the next 40 years of her life. Incredible.

A lot of historical literature is quite dry. And though this is not truly historical...there were a lot of holes in the documents and historical files so Hicks had to piece bits together...I would still consider this a good historical narrative. Robert Hicks does a very good job of melding facts and patching holes in information so that the story weaves well. I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a true (to a point) tale that you don't hear every day.

"Regular" Pizza

2011-04-05T16:06:00.000-05:00

Last week I made pizza. Twice. The PW basic pizza crust makes two crusts, therefore we always have pizza twice in one time frame. When it came around time to make the second pizza, I intended to make this one. David loves it (what man doesn't love BBQ?), but I guess he's tired of it...he asked for "regular" pizza. Even in my short period of being married, I know this is one of those times when you're supposed to read your spouse's mind. And if you get it wrong, there are dire consequences. So, rather than guess at what "regular" pizza is, I asked him to drop by the grocery store on his way home from work that day and get "regular" toppings. This made for a very happy husband, toppings-wise.

Now, the challenge was to find the perfect pizza sauce. I had the crust and toppings, but what to smack between them? I found this recipe by simply googling "pizza sauce" and perusing the search results. This is from the allrecipes.com website. I tweaked it a tiny bit, but the result was quite tasty.

Regular Pizza

To start, prepare a pizza crust. Here (scroll to the bottom of the page) is my ol' standby and it comes out perfect every time. Good ol' P-Dub.

Now for the pizza sauce...

Exquisite Pizza Sauce
modified from allrecipes.com

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp honey
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors. Spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

So are you prepared to see what David considers "regular" pizza? Well, we start off with some yummy veggies...

I would have been happy to pile on the cheese at this point...but, my "something's gotta die" husband had to add some meat. He decided instead of sausage to slice up some cooked brats to go alongside some pepperoni.

But, hey...I didn't realize this until after I'd already piled them on. David did try to be a little healthy in that he purchased turkey pepperoni. It was quite good, actually!

Here's the final product after I baked it at 400 degrees until the crust browned and cheese melted (approximately 20 minutes).

Can we say yum?? This "regular" pizza will be making a repeat appearance around this house soon! Try out the crust and sauce. Both are scrumptious, then load up your favorite toppings!

Personal Challenge

2011-04-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

Due to our move, I will be spending the next month packing a lot of my house down. As of this past Thursday at 5pm, I became unemployed. This is all in preparation for the official move, but I know I will eventually get tired of packing things up and determining what to purge...

As you already know, I love to read...and when attending my book club, I have a tendency to grab a lot of books. The amount I currently have borrowed from the club is a little insane. So, I'm challenging myself...my next book club is on April 22nd...the same day that this wonderful movie will be released, based upon one of my absolute favorite books!

Before I go any further...if you haven't read this book yet, pick it up today! It is f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!

OK, back to my challenge...my challenge to myself is to finish all of my borrowed books by my next book club. It's not like I don't have some extra time on my hands. Do you want to join me? Here's what I've got...

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin (this is becoming a movie this summer too!)

Something Blue by Emily Giffin
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
the entire Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham
A Woman In Berlin by Anonymous
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Just Breathe

2011-03-31T09:00:00.001-05:00

Are you looking for a good chick lit book? Well, here's a good one, Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs. There are no real dark issues, no twists or turns in the plot...just a fun, light, romantic read.

Sarah Moon is a comic strip writer and finds out within just the first few chapters of this book that her husband has been cheating on her. They've been through some serious stuff in their marriage and each have taken a different route to cope...Jack, Sarah's husband, decided his coping method was to sleep with another woman. So, Sarah leaves Jack and "goes home" to find herself...kinda like everyone other woman in every other chick lit book.

This was a nice, light read. No great, but not bad...just good. And exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up. I haven't read a really good novel in a while and was getting tired of picking up mediocres, stinkers and snoozers. I would recommend this if you're looking for exactly what this book is...some good chick lit.

Wacky Wednesday Walk Mix

2011-03-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share another one of the shuffles mixes from my iPod today. This one was from a walk last week where I walked 6 miles and felt pretty darn good around the end of it. I've shared the videos from a couple of my favorites on this list.

Still - The Commodores
Inside Out - Eve 6
PYT (Pretty Young Thing) - Michael Jackson

Won't Go Home Without You - Maroon 5

Unknown - Lifehouse
Prayer - Disturbed
Be My Baby - The Ronettes
Upside Down - Diana Ross
You Save Me - Kenny Chesney
Watch The Wind Blow By - Tim McGraw
Ticks - Brad Paisley
Runaway - Linkin Park
Voodoo Lady - Live

The World - Brad Paisley

Room 21 - Hinder
Duck and Run - 3 Doors Down
Music - Madonna
Separate Lives - Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
Dip It Low - Christina Milian
Drunker Than Me - Trent Tomlinson
Feels Like Today - Rascal Flatts
No Excuses - Alice in Chains
For the First Time - Kenny Loggins

Periodically, I'll shop the iTunes shop and add to my music library. Here's what I've decided to add this week...I had a little throw-back I wanted this week... Do you have any suggestions that you feel I should add to my library? Feel free to share!

Through Glass - Stone Sour
I Like It - Enrique Iglesias
Lovin' You - Enrique Iglesias
No One - Alicia Keys
More - Usher
S&M - Rhianna
Hey Baby - Pitbull
Everytime I Close My Eyes - Babyface

Giving Him Something He Can Feel - En Vogue (I LOVE this video, it totally takes me back to grade school)

My Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It) - En Vogue
Free Your Mind - En Vogue
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Let Me Be Myself - 3 Doors Down
Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

Mary Stuart - Queen of Scots

2011-03-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

Mary Stuart - Queen of Scots, is a biography of the deceased queen. Mary has been known as a bit of femme fatale and Guy was intent to write a accurate and highly-researched biography of said queen.

This book is not for everyone. Unless you are interested in reading about this type of subject...HISTORY...then, this might be a bit of a snooze fest. However, I really enjoyed it. Ever since my mom had me listen to The Six Wives of Henry VIII, I've been very interested in the different monarchies and how everything played itself out.

I would definitely recommend this book, if you are interest in learning more about the Queen of Scots. I would also recommend The Six Wives of Henry VIII, in case you haven't read it either!

Salisbury Steak

2011-03-28T16:05:00.000-05:00

What are your memories of salisbury steak? Perhaps not good ones...a lot of school cafeterias attempt this dish and it doesn't turn out so well. That was David's thoughts last night when I told him that I was making salisbury steak. But, when the smells wafted into the living room from the kitchen, he immediately came to investigate the tasty aromas. I tried this recipe from my Food Network Magazine (thanks for the subscription, Nicole!). It was very good, so give 'er a go!

Salisbury Steak
Food Network Magazine

1 pound ground beef
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup) (I used two shallots)
7 saltine crackers, finely crushed (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage (I used dried sage)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces sliced mixed mushrooms
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used dried parsley)

Gently mix the beef, egg, onion, cracker crumbs, sage, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl using your hands. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into oval patties, about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the patties, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet and cook the mushrooms until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper to taste, scraping up any browned bits. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, then stir in 2 1/2 cups hot water and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, about 2 minutes (it took longer than 2 minutes, at least 5). Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, swirling to combine.

Return the patties and any juices from the plate to the skillet. Simmer until the sauce thickens and the patties are cooked through, about 2 minutes (I cooked longer than 2 minutes this time as well, try 5-10). Sprinkle with parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Per serving: Calories 352; Fat 21 g (Saturated 10 g); Cholesterol 141 mg; Sodium 428 mg; Carbohydrate 11 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 27g

The recipe suggested serving with buttery egg noodles. I'll probably try that next time, but I served it with mashed potatoes and broccoli last night, yum! This was definitely a winner, try it!

Crystal's Stuffed Peppers

2011-03-25T10:47:00.001-05:00

Every so often I get a craving when I'm reading a blog. This occurred earlier in the month when I read this blog post from How Sweet It Is. I hadn't eaten stuffed peppers in...like...forever...when I read this. I honestly probably had not had them since high school or longer. And these looked so...stinkin'...good. Mmmm...peppers...

OK, back to the subject at hand because my mouth started to drool a little bit in remembrance of this meal. In fact, this became a Dave's Fave right off...with this being only my first attempt at this meal. Do you know that David told me way back when he was a kid and didn't like peppers, his mom would just give him the filling? Not that the filling isn't good, but isn't that the entire point of stuffed peppers? Spoiled...that's all I have to say. Rotten...spoiled rotten. And still is by me and the other women in his family (and mine too). OK, I've gotten it out of my system.

Basically, when I threw this dish together I included section's of the How Sweet It Is recipe along with a couple of others. I, pretty much, took what I liked about each recipe and made it my own. Here's what I came up with.

Crystal's Stuffed Peppers
Adapted mostly from How Sweet It Is

6 bell peppers (red, green, orange or yellow-I think red is best)
1 pound ground beef
olive oil
2 shallots, diced
1 head of garlic, minced
red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
parmesan cheese, to taste
1 can Rotel
1/3 cup cream
basil, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the peppers in half (vertically) and remove the ribs/seeds. Place in dish(s) with innard side facing up (like a bowl).

In a skillet over medium heat, head olive oil. Add diced shallots and minced garlic, saute until soft and fragrant. Add beef to the skillet and cook completely. Drain fat.

While the meat is cooking, mix the Rotel and cream over low heat. Stir in basil, to taste.

Add rice, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese into meat mixture, mix. Then add approximately 1/2 cup of tomato cream sauce to meat mixture, only adding enough to moisten the mixture.

Add the meat mixture to the halved peppers, stuffing them as full as you can get them. Pour the rest of the sauce over the tops of the peppers.

Bake for 20 minutes uncovered. Cover and bake for another 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Now your problem is figuring out what side dish to make...because this dish has it all...meat, starch and vegetable... Hmmm...a quandary.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

2011-03-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book...The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I wouldn't say it was bad, but I wouldn't say it was good either. The premise is good, but in a story like this I'm not sure there is a good way to finish it without a sad ending.

Dr. David Henry is driving his pregnant wife, Norah, to the hospital on the night of an intense blizzard. Caroline Gill, Henry's nurse, meets them at the hospital where David is forced to deliver his own children. Norah gives birth to healthy twins and while Norah is lucid as her son is born, when her much smaller, weaker daughter is born the drugs have already started to drift Norah in and out of consciousness. David notices immediately that his daughter has Downs Syndrome...and makes a life-changing decision based upon his childhood growing up with a sister with Downs Syndrome.

David's own family was torn apart when his sister died young, therefore he thinks that his wife would be better off never knowing the true fate of their daughter. He asks Caroline to take his daughter away to an institution for such special needs persons and then proceeds to tell his wife that Phoebe, their daughter, was stillborn...a blue baby.

Caroline follows Dr. Henry's instructions at first...until she gets to the facility. It's awful; there's no way she could leave this sweet baby girl in such a place! So, Caroline makes the decision to run away and raise the child on her own.

The rest of this novel details the effects that David Henry's decision makes on everyone's lives.

The main question that I think this novel asks is Norah's predicament:

Is it worse to lose a child at birth

to have a special needs child?

Which would you think is harder? I think the answer to this question depends upon who you ask and can vary based upon that person's circumstances. Regardless, I think this should have definitely been a choice Norah Henry was offered. Everyone in this novel's life would have been dramatically different if Norah had been given a choice.

The Lifetime channel made this book into a television movie. I have it recorded on my DVR and intend to watch it soon. If you want to know what happens and don't necessarily want to read the book, check the Lifetime website and you can find out when the next showing is. Here's the preview:

Now, back to the actual book...would I recommend it? I don't know...like I said at the beginning of this review, this book left me feeling unsure. This is definitely one of those topics that is very hard. Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? If you haven't and decide to read it...let me know. I'm still a little "hung in the balance."

Apple Cinnamon Chip Muffins

2011-03-23T10:40:00.001-05:00

I was looking for something new to make for David's breakfast treats and found this recipe. The first time I made these Apple Cinnamon Chip Muffins I actually forgot the cinnamon chips. Oops. To be honest, though, you could make them with or without the cinnamon chips. They give a little "umph" to the flavor, but the muffins aren't totally lost without them.

On another note...have you ever eaten these straight from the bag?

If not...you should, they're delicious! I kept taking little nibbles throughout the baking process...I might have a new obsession.

I made a few changes to this recipe, simply because I don't bake with whole wheat flour...not because I'm against it. It's just hard to have 15 different types of flour (i.e. all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, self-rising flour, cake flour, etc.) in your pantry. I'll just stick with my regular ol' all-purpose flour. If you want to try the original true-to-the-blog recipe, please click here. My adapted version is listed below...

Apple Cinnamon Chip Muffins
Adapted from Multiply Delicious
(above pic is from Multiply Delicious as well)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple pie spice
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1 ½ cups tart apples, chopped (such as granny smith)
½ cup mini cinnamon chips

Topping and Middle Layer

½ cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, cold and cut in cubes

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray or use muffin liners.

In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla and oil. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Fold in cinnamon chips. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture is like coarse crumbs.

Spoon ½ tbsp into prepared pan and top with cinnamon sugar mixture. Then top another ½ tbsp into muffin cups and finally top with more of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

These freeze great!

Enjoy!

The Corrections

2011-03-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

It is very, very, very, very, very rare that I can't finish a book. In fact, I can't remember the last book that I tried to read and couldn't finish. Well...I can no longer say that...

I made it about 100 pages into this 500+ book and I could go no further. It wasn't so much the writing style as the actual story/plot-line that did me in. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I know it's a national best-seller and is in the Oprah Book Club...but, no thanks!

Same Kind of Different as Me

2011-03-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

I was in the perfect place when I read this book. Literally. And when I picked this book up, I didn't think I would like it very much. I'm probably guilty of that old sin of judging a book by it's cover. It's not the most appealing cover, am I right? But, let me tell you...this book does not disappoint.

This is basically a sort-of Cinderella-story type memoir. An international art dealer, Ron Hall, and a homeless man, Denver Moore, give a little bit of background about themselves, then you read about how they develop a lasting friendship.

Why was I in the perfect place when reading this book? When I was halfway through, I attended the annual Hearts of Hope Tea here in Oklahoma City. What is the Hearts of Hope Tea, you ask? Well, the local homeless shelter, City Rescue Mission, has this annual tea to share with women of Oklahoma City what the Mission is accomplishing and what future plans are. I was lucky enough to attend this tea with some of my favorite ladies, members of Junior Hospitality Club. The entire presentation was very heart-warming, not to mention the food was good! I feel honored as being one of the donors at the end of the tea that raised enough money to refurnish the Women's Center this coming year. To learn more about this click here!

With that being said, you can probably understand why I was really "in tune" with this book while I was reading it. In fact, that night after the tea I immediately went home and had to finish this book. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for something that you will feel good about when you close the back cover.

Beef Taco Skillet

2011-03-16T10:18:00.000-05:00

Campbell's has some of the easiest and yummy recipes if you ever take a glance at the back of those cans. Never pass up checking those out because most of the time these are "tried and true" recipes. Kinda like the pumpkin pie recipe on the back of the Libby's pumpkin can. And Lord knows my mother raised me on the Campbell's Chicken and Rice Bake dish.

Here's one that I found in a coupon flyer that was attached to the tomato soup coupon. This is the perfect recipe if you're home and want to make dinner in under 20 minutes. And even though the recipe says it makes four servings, ummm...David and I scrape the skillet clean.

Beef Taco Skillet
Campbell's recipe

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
6 flour tortillas (6-inch) , cut into 1-inch pieces (I use 4 whole grain tortillas)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, salsa, water, and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

Creamy Mexican Fiesta: Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream with the soup. (I like it this way)

The Heretic's Daughter

2011-03-15T10:25:00.001-05:00

I'm on a little bit of a non-fiction streak (as you'll see when I post my next review) and honestly, I didn't even realize it! The majority of the time, I do my research when reading a book...I, unfortunately, did not do that in this case.

I own The Heretic's Daughter in audio version because I picked it up at Half Price Books after noticing a paperback copy circulate through our book club. At the time, nothing more was said within the club other than the reader enjoying it. It wasn't until after I finished it, passed it along to my mother and she researched it, that I learned this is a true story!

Frankly, I thought this was a historical fiction novel that was reasonably accurate with what actually occurred back during the Salem witch trials. There are so very many books about these trials, that I didn't think much of it. Kathleen Kent, the author of The Heretic's Daughter, is a 10th generation descendant of Martha Carrier, the true heroine in this story. Kent retells this story that has been passed down to her through the generations...

Martha was one of the first women accused, tried and hanged for witchcraft. Her story is told through her daughter, Sarah, (hence the title) and what is truly amazing about this story is the bond the mother and daughter form. In the beginning of the story, the two do not have the best of relationships...but, as the story progresses, Sarah learns how strong her mother is and how admirable. In the end, Martha has Sarah perform the unthinkable to save herself and little brother...and, the bond between mother and daughter couldn't have been stronger despite appearances to the public.

This story is hard to listen to at times. Conditions in general and treatment of the accused is rather disgusting. However, I do think this story is very enlightening though sad. It's truly tragic the horrible events that have occurred in the past simply because someone didn't like someone else. Very good read and I would definitely recommend.

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

2011-03-14T10:15:00.003-05:00

I found this recipe a long time ago on the Tasty Kitchen website. However, like many recipes, I wanted to mix it up a bit. Make it mine, you know? With that said, dinner last night was a resounding success! I will definitely be making this again in the future...and I have to say, the sauce with the shrimp is so good that I'm not sure you even need to add anything to the pasta.

Spicy Shrimp Pasta
Adapted from jaymielo on Tasty Kitchen

8 ounces whole wheat thin spaghetti/angel hair pasta
salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 head garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 whole red bell pepper, diced
½ cups white wine, plus more as needed
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Italian parsley
1 cup Mozzarella, shredded
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Fill a large saucepan with water, generously salt and add pasta when it begins boiling. Continue to cook until al dente.

While the noodles are cooking, put a large saute pan on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the minced garlic with a dash of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring as needed, for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add in the diced red bell pepper and cook for another minute. Pour in the white wine and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan. When the sauce has thickened, add in the peeled shrimp, spreading them in a single layer and flipping as soon as they start to get pink. Finish the sauce by mixing in another tablespoon of butter and some Italian parsley. Add more wine until the sauce is the desired consistency and turn the heat to low while you finish the pasta.

Using a glass measure, remove 2/3 to 1 cup of water from the pasta saucepan and then lightly drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the sauce pan; add in most of the grated cheese, the cream and the reserved pasta water, stirring quickly to melt the cheese and coat the pasta.

Place a generous serving of pasta on a plate. Serve the shrimp over the creamy pasta and enjoy!

Shuffling Up My Walk

2011-03-11T16:27:00.000-06:00

Right now is one of my favorite times of the year. Why? I love to walk at the park and shed those recently gained winter month pounds. You know, those pounds you gained from Thanksgiving and Christmas and being locked up in your house from snow days.

I have an elliptical at home, but it's just not the same as a fun walk in the park. First of all, how many times have you actually used that clothes hanger...errr, I mean piece of exercise equipment since you bought it? Riiiight...that's just about everyone. Actually going to the park makes me more accountable because I'm making that extra effort PLUS, I can't just jump off the track at any point. I have to actually make it all the way around the track before I can get in my car to drive home. At home, it's so easy to just say, "Ehhh, that's good enough" and hop off.

When I lived back at my old single abode, I had this great walking track nearby that was 1.5 miles. I'd lap it a couple times at first, then would add an additional lap per week until I made it up to 9 miles. I really miss that park, but I found one almost as nice up in my new married neck o' the woods. This track is 2.8 miles and I'm lovin' it already. Last night I walked one and a half laps (there's a trail back to the parking lot once you make it to the 1.5 marker) and I feel great today!

One blog post a friend of mine did a while back was sharing their work-out mix. This is a pretty common thing to post as I've seen it on a few other blogs as well. However, like my friend, I tend to keep my iPod on shuffle a lot...having 1,246 songs gives me a pretty random mix. What's funny is, I am totally all over the place with my music selection...I have everything from country to 80's to pop to rock to even some gospel and some of my mom's 70's easy listening. Music tells you a lot about a person...and I guess I'm a spasdic weirdo. So, here's last night's random mix, let me know what you think...

Wild West Show - Big/Rich

Heart of Glass - Blondie

Winner at a Losing Game - Rascal Flatts

Lips of An Angel - Hinder

When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down

U + Ur Hand - P!nk

Never Gonna Feel That Way Again - Kenny Chesney

All I Want to Do - Sugarland

One More Girl - The Wreckers

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - Lenny Kravitz

My Immortal - Evanescence

Back in the Saddle - Aerosmith

Sleep Tonight - Tim McGraw

Crush - David Archuleta

Break of Dawn - Michael Jackson

By The Way - Hinder

I might share again in the future if you guys like seeing my weirdo shuffles.

Now, here's a question for you...do you throw your iPod on shuffle or do you have a specific "work-out" mix?

A Long Way Gone

2011-03-11T12:20:00.000-06:00

I have recently finished A Long Way Gone, which is the memoir for Ishmael Beah. Beah was a young boy who was involved in the Sierra Leone civil war. The tale that this young man tells is a sad, graphic story about the brutality and unbelievable brainwashing that can take place in war.

This story starts out with Beah on a quick trip with his friends to perform in a talent show/concert just a few villages over. Each of them listen to rap music and love to break dance, but little do they know that their lives will never be the same...

Just a short time after they leave their village, it is attacked by rebel soldiers. Beah and his friends flee...the next few months of their lives are simply an attempt to survive. Some do...and some don't.

There were literally some parts of this book that turned my stomach. Between some extremely graphic scenes that entail, essentially, cold-blooded murder and the drug utilizing to brainwash young men to become these cold-blooded killing machines...I almost couldn't take it. I do, however, believe that this is definitely an important read. You learn about how very non-peaceful the rest of the world can be, which can be enlightening in a country where our lives are pretty sheltered. Give this one a try, but be ready for the content!

Big Changes...Coming Soon!

2011-03-08T12:19:00.000-06:00

I've been quite...quiet lately. And I've been quiet because I've been trying to figure out what our (David's and mine) life will be like in the very near future. I know that I alluded to some changes in a previous post, but recently those changes have become more than rumblings.

To be blunt, David's job is transferring him out of state. This is a temporary move...when I say temporary, I mean approximately two years. So, depending upon your definition of temporary that term may or may not seem appropriate.

Regardless, we're leaving...for a while anyway. And the date is approaching...even though we don't know the actual date yet. A couple months out. And I've officially given notice at my place of business. As of the end of this month I'm out...adios! One of my co-workers thought it would be a funny joke to come in the following day and say, "Haha, just kidding! I wasn't really quitting!" This would be a great April Fool's joke, but I think I'll pass on giving everyone a heart attack.

So, where are we going? You're probably dying to know, right? Well, our future temporary home will be located in San Antonio. Approximately ten hours away from my family and thirteen hours away from David's. Yea, this has gone over well...not. But, like me, everyone wants what's best for David's career and we're all excited for what new opportunities arise based upon the new experiences he will gain.

Pray for a smooth and easy transition for us!

The Host

2011-02-11T12:18:00.000-06:00

So, I finally got around to reading The Host, Stephanie Meyer's first adult novel. I loved the Twilight series, so I knew I would more than likely enjoy The Host...even though science-fiction is not my favorite genre of books. I wasn't disappointed; I really enjoyed this book and have read about some sequel rumblings that I would be excited to read.

The premise of The Host is that an alien race, from the planet Origin, has infiltrated Earth and are inserting themselves within humans. These aliens are much more peaceful and focus on preserving the planet. While most humans have been inserted, there are a select few that haven't and these aliens are intent upon finding and inserting within these rebel humans. Wanderer, the main character, comes to Earth after living on eight other planets and has been selected to be inserted into a particularly difficult human, Melanie. Usually, once insertion occurs the human fades away and the alien becomes dominant over the physical mind and body. This does not occur with Wanderer/Melanie. Melanie will not go peacefully into that good night.

The story follows Wanderer and Melanie's struggles to co-exist, including a love triangle that entails Wanderer falling in love with the man Melanie has loved... The two work to find Jared, Melanie's love, and make sure that he and Melanie's brother, Jamie, are safe. But, then once Jared and Jamie are found, will they accept Wanderer/Melanie as the dual person that they are?

I wasn't quite sure how this love triangle...which developed beyond even a triangle...was going to sew itself up, not to mention all the other plot hiccups along the way. Meyer was very creative in how the story unfolded and I would definitely recommend this book, even to a non-sci-fi reader like myself!

Donna's Corn Casserole

2011-02-10T12:04:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd share one of my mother-in-law's family favorite recipes. Everyone in the family loves this recipe, myself included. I made it a few weeks ago to go alongside chili and it was great. This recipe is super easy and super yummy, try it while all this cold weather is still hanging around!

Donna's Corn Casserole

1 can cream-style corn
1 8oz. package Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 cup of grated colby or jack cheese

Mix well and top with cheese. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

The casserole should have a pudding/bread consistency so don't worry if it's not completely firm. Yum, enjoy!

Jane Eyre

2011-02-10T11:06:00.000-06:00

I have recently finished Jane Eyre, and I have to say that I really, really enjoyed it. There is definitely a reason this novel has stood the test of time. While there were a few slow spots within the book, the rest of it well made up for those short slackened sections. I initially started this novel because there is a new silver screen version coming soon and now that I've finished the book, I can't wait for this new movie version!

This book was originally published as an autobiography, but under the pseudo-name Currer Bell. I had heard that this book was a "sort-of" autobiography for Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is one of my mother-in-law, Donna's, favorite novels of all time and she informed me that Bronte heard this story from a classmate while in school...and it was that classmate's story. I cannot find anything via the web to corroborate this version...everything I've read said that Jane Eyre was partially autobiographical. Perhaps, one of my next non-fiction readings will be about Miss Bronte herself to try and find the truth. We'll see, considering my book list is always growing!

The story of Jane Eyre begins with Jane living with her widowed aunt and three cousins. Her aunt has no real care for Jane and only keeps her because of her husband's dying wish to "care for Jane as for her own children." Jane's uncle held a soft spot in his heart for his niece and wished only the best for her, but with him gone Jane did not receive the best of care. In fact, one of her cousin's routinely abuses her both physically and emotionally. But, Jane fights back and this comes to a pinnacle within the household...and Jane is sent off to an orphan's school, Lowood.

Lowood is not an expressly happy institution due to the cold-hearted clergyman that runs the school, but the teachers are fine educators with a warm heart for their students...even if some of them show it in odd ways. Jane completes her education at Lowood and even teaches for a time once she has finished. However, she wishes to see a little more of the world and with two of her best friends from the school gone, Jane sees no reason to feel tied to the institution.

Miss Eyre receives notice of an opening for a governess ship at a Thornfield Hall after placing an ad for such a position. At this point the real story begins... Jane arrives on the grounds of the beautiful Thornfield Hall, makes nice with the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax, and proceeds to bond with her student, Adele. The master of the estate, Mr. Rochester, is not home for a time when Jane first arrives, but soon appears. He and Jane develop an...interesting...relationship, especially considering Mr. Rochester's cold demeanor and the age difference between the two. What Jane does not know, however, is that Mr. Rochester is hiding something at Thornfield Hall...a very large, very dangerous secret...

And I'm going to leave the book review at that...if you want to know where this story goes, read Jane Eyre! I really, really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the movie coming on March 11th! I'm listing the preview below, which really shows a lot of the darker aspects of this book. Trust me, this book isn't quite this dark, though there are definitely darker parts. Read it and watch the movie when it comes out! I highly recommend!

I Am Number Four

2011-02-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

I Am Number Four has made it's way through my book club...I'm one of only three of four girls that hadn't read it by the last meeting. This book is a fictional story about nine young aliens (that look very similar to humans), called Loriens, that have been brought to earth in hiding so that they may grow up and develop their natural powers...which are much like super powers here on Earth. Then, they shall return to their home planet and fight the aliens, the Mogadorians, that banished/murdered them from their own planet, Lorien.

When the young aliens left Lorien, they had a spell placed on them that stated that they could only be killed in order (of the nine)...that is, unless any of them were ever to be together. Therefore, each of the nine are hidden in different places on Earth. Also, each has a guardian that cares for them and helps them develop their powers.

This story, obviously, is about Number Four and his life once he realizes that the first three have been murdered by the Mogadorians. There is a ton of action and "high stress" moments. For what this book is, a young adult science fiction novel, it's very good. I enjoyed this quick read and cannot wait to see the movie, which I believe will be very similar to the X-Men and the Transformer movies. Here's the preview (c'mon February 18th)!

Gilead

2011-02-08T12:00:00.001-06:00

This review is going to be short and...not sweet. I'll be honest, I had to drudge through this book and I don't think I would have made it if it hadn't been an audiobook.

The premise of this book is good...it is a fictional autobiography of an old man writing to his young son. He won't have much time with his son and he wants to make a good impression and share his life with the boy...a life that takes place in Gilead, Iowa. But...it's a major snooze fest. I'm sorry...that's really all I want to write about this book because I did not enjoy it AT ALL. This is definitely NOT one I would recommend.

Balsamic Chicken Spinach Pasta Salad

2011-02-07T15:27:00.000-06:00

I found a winner last week and I'd like to share it with you! I originally found this recipe on the Multiply Delicious blog...but, I subtracted one tiny ingredient. My husband, David, does not like fresh tomatoes...though he does like cooked, such as spaghetti sauce...don't ask why because I haven't been able to figure it out either... So, I removed that particular ingredient and voila, perfection! This recipe is a definite repeat and is still quite good the second time around, yum, yum!

Balsamic Chicken Spinach Pasta Salad
adapted from Multiply Delicious

1 (20-ounce) package cheese tortellini
1 pound skinned and boned chicken breasts
1 ½ cup Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing, divided
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups firmly packed fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag and pour 1 cup of balsamic vinaigrette in bag with chicken. Marinate for at least 2 hour, but best if marinated overnight. Take chicken out of zip-lock bag and discard marinade.

In a grill pan, grill chicken breasts, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side until cooked through. Place yellow bell pepper slices in grill pan and grill about 2 minutes on each side. Once cooled, dice chicken up in small bites.

Whisk together remaining ½ cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing and mustard in a small bowl.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Let cool 10 minutes.

Toss together pasta, chicken, balsamic mixture, spinach, and remaining 2 ingredients in a large bowl. Enjoy immediately!

As Nature Made Him

2011-02-07T15:18:00.000-06:00

Every year the Oklahoma City metro library system has a library book sale. This is to raise money for the library system by selling all the superfluous copies of new-that-year books as well as older books to make way for the new purchases of the following year. Last year, I bought a handful of books, this one included. Since I had yet to read one from last year's sale, and since the next sale is within the next month, I decided that I needed to get crackin' on my current books purchased in this way.

As Nature Made Him is a biography about David Reimer, the very first boy that was surgically changed into a girl as an infant. This occurred in the mid-1960s when the nature versus nurture topic was in full swing. Reimer suffered from a botched circumcision that scarred him as well as his family. For months his parents couldn't decide what to do...every time they changed his diaper, they were brutally reminded of the flop procedure.

What Reimer's parents ended up doing was following the advice of John Money, an overly-confident psychologist that was an ardent supporter of the nurturist approach. He promised the Reimers that David...then called Brenda post-sexually reassigned surgery...would identify as a girl as long as they made this life-changing decision immediately.

Throughout David's childhood he (and his twin brother) knew something was amiss...even at age 4. Meanwhile, Money and the Reimers were grasping for any clue that David was developing mentally as a girl. For example, in one therapy session Money asks David what kind of animal he might want to be...David says a monkey...Money asks what kind of monkey...David was recorded as saying "grrl." With the poor quality of tapes and David's accent, Money believes that David had said "girl" and continued to consider this case a success. As an adult, David looks back at the therapy session and says that instead of "girl," he was saying "gorilla."

This book is an enlightening story about what effects different psychological theories, and even surgeries, can have on people. When I finished this book, I looked up more about David Reimer to see what had happened since this book was published in 2000. Sadly, David Reimer died four years after this book was published. His brother committed suicide in 2002 and after experiencing unemployment and an emotional separation from his wife, David committed suicide as well. I believe every bit of these tragedies could have been prevented if David's botched incident could have been handled differently at the time. But, the problem is, it's hard to know what the 'right' thing to do is at the time...and hindsight is always 20/20.

I really enjoyed learning about a lot of the different points of view in this debate...I'm just sad that it took messing with someone's life to bring the debate to where it is today. I was also interested to learn the vast number of different types of gender ambigious persons there are. It's really quite sad and I feel for those affected. I would definitely encourage people to read this book if this is a topic that interests you.

A Reliable Wife

2011-01-31T17:20:00.000-06:00

I was really looking forward to reading this book, A Reliable Wife. My mother reads about five books per year and when she finds a good one, she always gets excited to have me read it. While I was holding on to her copy, a few of the girls in my book club came up with this book as well. My mom really like it while the girls in T3 (my book club is "Tolstoy to Twilight") gave it a decent review even though none of them were doing backflips over it.

The basic storyline involves an older man, Ralph Truitt, placing an ad for "a reliable wife"...hence the title...and what ensues when this woman, Catherine Land, replies in the affirmative to the ad. Both have ulterior motives for the arrangement...but, neither one knows the other's designs.

I have to honestly say that I was greatly disappointed in this book. Don't get me wrong, the writing style is very good and the plot twists and turns well...even though I saw the twist coming from a mile away. What bothered me was how sexually graphic, violent and disturbing it was. And I was not happy with the ending, I kind of had the feeling of, "That's it? Well, that's messed up."

Would I recommend this book...as you can probably already guess, no.

Her Daughter's Dream

2011-01-28T14:43:00.000-06:00

Do you guys remember back when I read Her Mother's Hope? This was a Francine Rivers book that I thought would make an excellent mother-daughter reading experience. Her Daughter's Dream rounds out Marta and Hildie's relationships problems and brings two more generations along the line.

About one-third of the way into this book, I have to admit that I got a little frustrated. There were three generations of women involved at this point and their relationships were completely messed up...and all in one simple way...their communication structure. None of them tell their mothers how they truly feel, therefore, encouraging the system of miscommunication.

Another problem with this miscommunication is that, each daughter has an excellent relationship with their grandmother; Marta has an excellent relationship with Carolyn (Hildie's daughter) and in turn Hildie has an excellent relationship with Dawn (Carolyn's daughter). It almost appears sometimes that the grandmothers do not want to share their granddaughter with their own daughter...very weird.

This level of disfunctionality continues all the way down the line to Dawn...until Dawn gets a canful of it. She recognizes what this is doing to her family and wants to put a stop to it. I really, really liked Dawn's character...in case you can't tell.

Overall, I liked this book, but I will admit that I didn't like it was much as Her Mother's Hope. Rivers is usually very good about writing a Christian novel without getting too preachy. She doesn't fully succeed in that this go-around...I felt a little preached at about halfway through. However, I like the way this story develops and eventually completes itself...even if the ending did not come about in the way I would have chosen. I would highly recommend this set of books, especially for a mother and daughter to read and discuss with each other!

Matched

2011-01-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

Matched is a futuristic want-to-be utopia for a country kind of like ours...called the Society. This story follows Cassia, who is supposed to be "matched" in the beginning of this novel. Within the society where Cassia lives, everything is decided for you...what and how much you eat, how much you exercise, where you live, who you marry, etc. This has all been pre-determined by other members of the society that study you and statistics about you to decide what is best-suited for your person.

Cassia is very excited about her Match Banquet, which will decide and introduce her to her match...whom she will marry in a few years after chaperoned courting. While at the banquet, Cassia is matched with her best friend from childhood, Xander. When you are matched, you are given an information chip that you plug into to a view screen at home to learn everything there is to know about your match. Cassia puts this off for a little while...after all, why does she need to read Xander's interests and things such as his favorite color when she already knows them all? But, when Cassia does put the chip in, something disconserting happens...Xander is not listed on the chip...Ky is, a classmate who also happens to be an adopted orphan that has been already pre-determined to be a single (a member of society who will never marry, based upon some reason or another).

At this point, Cassia becomes very unsure of herself and the Society itself. If a mistake like this could be made, what other mistakes have been made? She understands that these decisions are made so that people can live out their lives to their fullest potential as well as being able to live a long and healthy life. But wait, even that long and healthy life is cut short when her grandfather is put to death at the age of 80...when all members of the Society die.

This book reminded me a lot of 1984 by George Orwell. Other members of my book club say it's like the Hunger Games series as well...I don't know since I have yet to read those (they are on my to-read list, though!) I do think that perhaps 1984 is the basis and origin of a lot of these types of dystopian novels since it was the original of these pieces of literature. Matched is an excellent young adult novel and made for a quick and easy read. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the rest of this series!

PW Baked Beans

2011-01-25T15:16:00.000-06:00

I tried out the PW recipe for baked beans last week and it is now a favorite within our household. Ree calls it "The Best Baked Beans Ever" on her blog and she is not joking! After David tried these, he said, "This is how all baked beans should be made." Needless to say, this is now a Dave's Fave.

The link to the original recipe via the Pioneer Woman is here, complete with how-to pics and step-by-step tutorial. However, since I do not have 58.2 mouths to feed like Ree, I reduced the recipe to approximately one-third. Some of these measurements don't reduce easily, but on this recipe...as with many when cooking...exact measurements aren't as big of a deal. It's not like this particular recipe is creme brulee or meringue.

Best Baked Beans Ever

via PW who used Pam Anderson's recipe

3 slices bacon, halved

1/3 medium onion, cut into small dice
1/2 medium green pepper, cut into small dice
1 large can (28 ounces) pork and beans
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons (approximately) distilled or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons (approximately) Dijon mustard

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.

Fry bacon in large, deep sauté pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and released about 2 tablespoons worth of drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels.

Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer.

Pour flavored beans into a greased 8x8 (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours.

Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

And of course, like all beans, the second and third day tastes even better because the beans have had a chance to soak up more of that tasty, saucy goodness!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

2011-01-25T13:50:00.000-06:00

This book...ahhh...let me count the ways I love thee. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is probably going to be bumped up to one of my favorites...the more I think about it, the more I like this book. Jamie Ford is an award-winning short story novelist and this was his debut novel...I cannot wait to see if he writes more novels!

Here is the gist of this book...Henry is walking by the Panama Hotel in the old Japantown area located in Seattle. The hotel has been vacant for over 40 years, but recently it has been purchased by a woman that wants to restore it to it's former glory. When the construction workers break ground on the project, they find boxes and boxes of Japanese families' belongings in the basement. As Henry is walking by, different news channels and media are covering this find. The owner pops open a beautiful Japanese parasol...a Japanese parasol that Henry recognizes from long, long ago...

Throughout this book Henry flashes back and forth from his life as a twelve-year-old boy in Seattle's Chinatown to present day (for him-1980s). As a young boy, Henry was raised by very old-fashioned Chinese parents that want him to recognize himself as Chinese, but also as an American. At all times, Henry's father has him wear a button that says, "I Am Chinese." This is because the setting of this novel is during WWII...and many Americans cannot tell the different between Chinese and Japanese Americans. Honestly, I have to say that I'm one of them...even today. And saying that makes me feel a little guilty.

Regardless, while Henry's parents are old-fashioned, they also want him to get a good American education. Henry's father signs him up for a "scholarship" at an all-white, prestigious, private school...this "scholarship" simply has Henry serve food in the cafeteria and clean up after school each day in return for not paying dues. Some scholarship, huh? This situation makes it very difficult socially for Henry. The white children to do not accept him and call him a "Chink" while his fellow Chinese American children back in Chinatown won't accept him because he's "too good" for their Chinese school. Henry is very lonely...until one day when another student begins scholarshipping with him in the cafeteria and after school. At first Henry has high hopes...until he notices that this is a Japanese girl. His parents would be furious if he were to consort with this girl, Keiko. If you know anything about world history, you might know that the Chinese and Japanese despised each other long before WWII came about...and Ford gives a little background regarding these reasons via Henry's father's character.

In Henry's present day setting, you learn how he has recently lost his wife through a battle of cancer and his relationship with their son has definite communication problems. Gradually, throughout the novel, Henry and his son's relationship grows and develops as Henry shares more and more information related to his flashbacks as a young Chinese American boy during WWII.

This story gives a bittersweet view of what it was like to be Asian American during WWII...there were so many times that my breath caught in my throat while reading this book. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet also displays the power of our interpersonal relationships...whether they be between parents, friends or other loved ones. I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. It has an awesome message alongside endearing characters. Read it!

There's No Place Like Here

2011-01-24T16:35:00.000-06:00

I feel kind of like I've read through a spurt of mediocre books lately and when I blog about them, this becomes even more evident. Around this time my reading slowed down a little because of this fact...it took me waaaay longer to read this short, little book than it should have.

There's No Place Like Here has a Wizard of Oz theme...as you can probably gather from the cover. Sandy Shortt has been obsessed with missing items and persons since she was a child when her schoolmate vanished. Now, as an adult, Sandy is a personal investigator that specializes in finding missing persons. Right before a meeting with a new client, Sandy herself goes missing...in a similar way that Dorothy disappears from Kansas. She discusses in the beginning of the book how ironic it is that this happens to, of all people, her.

This "place" that Sandy is transported is Here. Everyone there just calls it Here because they don't know where it's at...other than the fact that it's where all the missing things go. Every sock, set of keys, lost earring, wallet, etc. that anyone has ever been lost is in Here. This includes people...and includes Sandy.

There's No Place Like Here is a cute little story about finding yourself, especially when you're lost. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had been wanting to read something light and fluffy. If that's what you're looking for, this is a good book. But, at this time I had read too many mediocre books and was wanting a really, really good one...my next review will provide such a book, luckily.

Devil In the Details

2011-01-19T16:54:00.000-06:00

As you can probably gather from the cover, this book is about someone with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Specifically, this book is a memoir about a teenage girl's struggle with OCD, specifically scrupulosity. Scrupulosity is a hyper-religious form of OCD.

One thing that was interesting to me about this book was that Jennifer Traig's mental illness would seemingly turn itself off and on again. She talks about "getting better" and then going into more intense bouts with her scrupulosity just a few months later.

A lot of her scrupulosity issues included an obsession with items being kosher. Traig's father was Jewish while her mother was Catholic. This was inherently confusing for Jennifer because she chose to follow her father's Jewish roots while the family practiced Christmas as well as other Christian holidays. This proved to be disastrous for Jennifer when ham (Christmas or otherwise) was cooked...the ham was also why Jennifer determined every single dish in the house was none-kosher (because ham or some other sort of pork product had rested on it at some time or another). Jennifer even obsessed over whether or not the glue that held the first few sheets of a paper towel roll together was kosher.

Needless to say, this book was insightful into the mind of someone with OCD. However, it was not my favorite. There were parts where Traig appeared to try to be funny (joking about how plump she was and her name being remarkably similar to a certain famous person's weight-loss program). Yet, I wasn't laughing for the vast majority of the book. If someone were to ask me my review of this book...I would probably just shrug and say, "eh."

Shiver & Linger

2011-01-19T11:18:00.000-06:00

These books, Shiver and Linger, are supposedly "the new Twilight" as far as series go. These books still have the fantasy premise of werewolves (no vampires), however, the way the werewolves change, why and when is very different from Twilight.

Grace is a teenage girl that is fascinated with the wolves that live in the woods behind her house. This fascination began when she was a small girl and was attacked by these wolves. She survived and ever since has watched these wolves...one in particular catches her eye, the one with the yellow eyes... Meanwhile, in the woods Sam (the yellow-eyed wolf) watches over Grace throughout the winter. He hasn't stopped watching over her since the day he stopped the others from killing Grace long ago.

In Shiver, the two meet and fall in love, then become determined to find a cure for this werewolf toxin. A toxin that keeps them wolves during cold temperatures and human in warm. I can honestly say, that this book could stand alone. At the end of Shiver, you are satisfied and think everything has been nicely tied up in a bow. However, further drama ensues in Linger that does not fully resolve itself leaving the story wide open for the third book.

I have to say that I didn't get fully invested into this story until about halfway through Linger. I hate saying that because some of my friends absolutely love this series (to date). But, I can say that I am definitely intrigued at this point and will definitely read the third book, Forever, which is scheduled to come out later this year. I want to know how Sam and Grace sew this one up!

Good In Bed

2011-01-13T10:52:00.000-06:00

I know what you're thinking...this book is titled WHAT? And the cover doesn't help. But, trust me...this book is fabulous. I wouldn't say it was one of my all-time favorites, but it is definitely a good book. And if you want a book that will make you laugh out loud...pick this one up today.

This book starts out with Cannie Shapiro at work and her best friend calling to console her...but, console her about what? It turns out that Cannie's...ahem, soon to be officially ex-boyfriend...became the new columnist for a magazine...the column interestingly titled "Good In Bed." The topic of this column is supposed to be the man's side to a relationship; advice to women on what men really think and want. Cannie and Bruce (the bf) were on a break...and Cannie assumed it really was a break, but Bruce obviously thought otherwise. He thought they were officially through...which, is why he had no problem writing in his column about what it's like to "love a larger woman." Cannie is flabbergasted...she knew she wasn't the cutest, little petite thing, but she never thought of herself as a "larger woman."

This book is a journey of self-discovery for Cannie and for the most part it's hilarious...right down to her dog's name, Nifkin (if you don't know what that is...read the book, it is hilariously explained). She has a wonderful sense of humor and I laughed out loud numerous times while reading this book. The story does turn rather serious about halfway through, but it all ends in a way that I was very satisfied with. And I have to admit...it was a bit of a surprise.

I think this book has a fabulous message/moral and would be an excellent read for any woman. Every woman has "body issues" and I think that Jennifer Weiner takes a refreshing look at this topic in today's society.

Sometimes I Wonder...

2011-01-13T10:21:00.000-06:00

It's at times like these I wonder about my true "bloggerness." It's been a while since my last blog. The holiday season took our household by storm and I'm wondering how other bloggers have time to still blog while shopping for and wrapping presents, cooking and baking tasty treats as well as driving here and there and everywhere to visit with family.

It's a hard balancing act and I just couldn't do all of that AND blog...especially considering this was my first Christmas season as a wife. Instead of all three of my sides of my family (mom, dad and stepdad's), I also spent the holiday season with David's...who also happen to live outside of Oklahoma City. It's hard to shuffle your schedule around to see everyone and I hope that it gets easier...though, from everything I've heard from friends and family, this is always a juggling act made even more difficult when you have children of your own. Then, you're struggling to have your own little family's holiday bonding time. I'm so happy that David and I are surrounded by so many blessings and love...I just hope we learn to better balance our time in the years to come.

And bravo to all you bloggers out there that manage to keep it all straight and going! Within the next few days I hope to catch everyone up to my current reading schedule as well as some great recipes I've tried within the past couple weeks. Stay tuned!

The Last Summer (of You and Me)

2010-12-16T10:13:00.001-06:00

I'm going to start out this review by simply saying...this book is so good! It's well worth the read and it's really not that long.

This story surrounds two sisters, Alice and Riley, who always spend the summer in a Fire Island summer home. They've grown up in this summer home next door to their best friend, Paul. Riley and Paul are the same age and have always been best buds. Riley was always the headstrong, athletic sister that's "one of the boys." Meanwhile, Alice has always been the younger, smart, pretty sister...who has also always had a crush on Paul. Little does she know, that Paul has always felt the same way about her. This summer...is the summer their attraction comes to a head. Alice gives her virginity to Paul and the two begin a torrid love affair...but they don't tell anyone, not even Riley.

One night changes all of this...Alice has snuck over to Paul's and an emergency alarm goes off with a helicopter coming to whisk them off to the mainland hospital. Alice dismisses this as an old retired person probably having a heart attack or some such medical emergency.

In the morning, Alice discovers it was not an old person...it was Riley. Riley has a rheumatic heart problem and needs a new heart. What's worse...is when you find out why. So, how does a headstrong, athletic and seemingly healthy girl handle this? By not telling anyone, of course. Most especially not a childhood best friend. Riley feels more comfortable with people who don't know because she doesn't feel pitied or mothered-henned...

Meanwhile...Paul feels that Alice has dumped him for no apparent reason. She just up and left the island without even so much as a good-bye. Will Paul eventually find out the truth?

And will Riley get her new heart?

Read it and find out!

The Scarlett Letter

2010-12-15T10:13:00.000-06:00

As I've discussed previously, I like to have a rotation within my reading schedule. I like to read in an order along the lines of fiction, nonfiction and classic. The Scarlett Letter is one of those classic reads and was next on my rotation. Everyone seems to know the general story...this adulterous tale details the life of Hester Prynne.

The book opens with Hester being led from the small Puritan community's prison, carrying her small child...the product of an adulterous affair...to the town scaffold for the townspeople to ogle and judge. Embroidered to Hester's bosom is a beautiful crafted letter "A"...in such fine detail that even some of the townswomen say it is too fine a punishment for her to wear. Hester and her daughter, Pearl, settle on the outskirts of town in a small cottage where Hester makes a living embroidering. Her work adorns the finest clothing and is even worn by the governor, but never that of a bride.

While Hester was being heckled on the scaffold, her husband finally comes to town...only to discover his wife being shamed. Because he is a rather cold individual, he does not come to her rescue. Rather, he introduces himself to the town as Roger Chillingworth and lets on as a doctor. The town minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, comes down with apparent heart problems that appear to have a psychological twist. Chillingworth attends to Dimmesdale closely. Throughout the novel, Chillingworth begins to think that perhaps there is a link between Dimmesdale's sickness and Hester's secret...perhaps Dimmesdale was her lover.

You, the reader, know there is a link. And near the end of the novel Dimmesdale and Hester decide to run away together so they can raise Pearl together and live as a family...but, Hester finds out that Chillingworth has purchased a ticket on the same ship. They're foiled. In the end of this debacle, Dimmesdale, after church that day, rises to the scaffold with Hester and Pearl...and confesses his sin. Pearl then kisses her father...which she has refused to do before in the novel because he has not proclaimed them as his family despite her repeated request. At this time, Dimmesdale's heart finally gives out and he dies.

Hester and Pearl leave town with no one knowing where they have gone. Hester returns many years later, still wearing her scarlett "A" and returns to her work. Pearl is rumored to have married an aristocrat and begun a family of her own. Pearl also inherits Chillingworth's fortune, even though she is not his daughter. Later, Hester dies of old age and the town buries her aside Dimmesdale. The two share a single headstone...one decorated with the letter "A."

This book was...OK. I have to say it just wasn't my favorite. I can understand that it was shocking in it's time and that it tackles some difficult subjects. It just didn't grab me and I didn't enjoy the character development or plot line. Just my two cents!

The Art of Racing In The Rain

2010-12-14T10:13:00.001-06:00

The Art of Racing In The Rain tells the story of a family from a different point of view...from the dog's perspective. Enzo tells his life story along with the lives of his owner, Denny, as well as Denny's wife and daughter.

Enzo has learned most everything he knows from television programs ranging from National Geographic to Nickelodeon. Of course, the majority of what he knows revolves around race cars because Denny is an amateur race car driver...which is where the title of the novel comes from. Denny is an expert at racing in the rain and he shares his secrets with Enzo.

One television program in particular caught Enzo's attention...one that states that if a dog is ready, when they die they get to be reincarnated as a human. After Enzo has done everything he knows to keep his family happy and intact...he's sure he's ready.

This book discusses a couple of heavy subjects, the death of Denny's wife and the subsequent custody battle between Denny and his daughter's maternal grandparents. These battles are shared in the way only a dog could understand them.

And at the end...does Enzo get reincarnated? You'll have to read the book to find out!

I really enjoyed this book. A bit teary towards the end, but totally worth it!

Her Mother's Hope

2010-12-13T11:40:00.000-06:00

Her Mother's Hope is a two-book saga that chronicles mother and daughter stories within two generations. I think this would be an excellent mother-daughter reading discussion!

This book begins in Marta's young life, the daughter of a poor tailor and seamstress in Switzerland. While she has a horrible relationship with her father, Marta is extremely close to her mother and little sister. As Marta grows up, her mother encourages her to do and be all that she can be, even though Marta's father is determined to squash whatever hopes and dreams she might have...which include completing school and going on to college. Both Marta's mother and little sister are much weaker-spirited than her and while Marta is away tragedies occur that prevent her from coming home (and to their aid).

Guilt-ridden Marta moves on with her life. Throughout the bulk of the first half of this book you learn about Marta's young adulthood, traveling around the world and becoming the strong-willed woman she embodies. A lot of her ferocity and desire for life is due to her younger home-life...her aspiration to be unlike her father and stronger than her mother.

The second part of this book begins to chronicle the life of Hildie, Marta's oldest daugther. Even though they look very much alike, Hildie is very different from her mother...she is much more soft-spoken and has a heart to serve others. Marta is afraid this is a sign of weakness and is abhorred that Hildie will have the same fate as Marta's mother and sister. So, Marta is determined to give Hildie "tough love" so this does not happen. All the while, Hildie has no idea why her mother appears to favor her siblings....buying them whatever their hearts desire, while refusing to help Hildie in her dream to become a nurse. In the end, Hildie runs off to become a nurse anyway...and meets the love of her life. Through all of this, none of Marta's children ever know where she came from, why she is the way she is or why she treats each of them the way she does...especially Hildie.

This book concludes with Marta discovering that Hildie might, perhaps, not understand her mother's intentions all this time...and is dreading the idea that Hildie might feel the same way about her that Marta felt about her father. Of course, this was never Marta's intent...

The sequel to this two-part story is Her Daughter's Dream... I absolutely loved this book and I cannot wait to finish this story!

Anna Karenina

2010-12-09T10:36:00.000-06:00

Some of you that have followed my blog for a while may have noticed that I was reading a certain book for a long time. It stayed on my little bookshelf to the side of the blog...and stayed...and stayed. Part of this was because it was a very large book...736 pages to be exact...in small print. And part of it was because I was reading this book like you might sip a very fine wine. A little bit at a time. And then, like magic, last week it disappeared from my shelf. That book was Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. And I'm now getting around to writing a review of it.

Anna Karenina was originally published in installments gradually from 1873 through 1877. Tolstoy considered this his first novel, even though War & Peace had been published in 1869...this is because Tolstoy considered War & Peace more than a novel. There have been numerous critics that, after reading his work, consider Tolstoy the greatest novelist of all time.

The basic plot of this book surrounds Anna Karenina having an affair with Count Vronsky. There are numerous other characters whose lives you learn much about...each having a very important role in how the story plays itself out. A parallel to Anna's story is that of Konstantin Levin...which upon doing some research, appears to have been somewhat of a model after Tolstoy's own life.

While I was reading this book it seemed like everyone was saying to me, "You're reading Anna Karenina? Why? It's such a depressing book!" With everyone telling me that, I wasn't surprised at the ending...I could kind of see it coming. And for those of you who might still want to read it, I won't ruin it for you if you don't know. Just please, don't get too attached to any one character...

As for my review of this book...I liked it. I might not have if I had not known about the "depressing" part of it, but since I was braced for a let-down it didn't really surprise me. Tolstoy is very descriptive and there were times when I really enjoyed it...and there were times I didn't. For instance, there is a section of the book where Levin goes on and on about his farming techniques. Not my favorite subject. But, there are times when Tolstoy spends about three pages describing a location and what a character is thinking and feeling at the time. You have no doubt as to what the surrounds the character and the mood they're in...it's almost like you're transplanted into that time and place. I would recommend this book, but I would also say to brace yourself for how it turns out. While the writing style is well woven and the character development is intense, there is still sadness throughout.

Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto

2010-12-07T11:30:00.001-06:00

The Pioneer Woman strikes again. I made her sun-dried tomato risotto a little while ago and thought it was great. If it were just me, this would be an excellent main dish with a small salad, perhaps. Though with David, the meat-eater, it's a great side. It wasn't his favorite, mostly because this is definitely what I consider "chick food." It takes a bit to make, but it's worth it!

Yum, for her recipe and step-by-step instructions, click here.

Crab and Corn Bisque

2010-12-06T11:15:00.001-06:00

I saw this recipe on Souffle Bombay the other day. David and I are huge seafood people and corn is his favorite veggie. It took me less than a minute to decide that I needed to try this recipe. Now, while David loves seafood and corn...he also is very anti-soup for a meal. When he came home and saw this was for dinner, he was less than thrilled...even after I told him what was in it. That is...until he took his first bite. He gave this soup an A+ and said it eats like a meal. From such an anti-souper, that's a HUGE compliment. I'll definitely be making this again soon...just waiting on a nice and cold winter day...

Crab and Corn Bisque
(adapted from Souffle Bombay who adapted from Emeril)

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced onions
2 tbsp minced shallots
1 cup fresh corn (I used frozen)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup chicken or seafood stock
2 bay leaves
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp old bay seasoning (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika
A few shakes of garlic powder, onion salt and red pepper
2 tbsp flour
16 oz jumbo lump crab meat (I used two 6 oz. cans of crab meat-it was already shredded)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

In a large pot saute your onions, shallots, corn and garlic in the olive oil for 2 minutes. Add in the stock, bay leaves and bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the milk, cream and seasonings and heat through but do not bring to a boil.

Take out about 3 tablespoons or so of the broth and whisk with 2 tbsp of flour to make a roux. Slowly whisk it back into your soup to get the consistency you would like.

Add in the crab and Worcestershire sauce, heat through and serve.

Crystal's Pumpkin Bread

2010-12-03T11:06:00.001-06:00

Remember how easy to make my banana bread recipe is? Well, my pumpkin bread recipe is just as easy! Try 'er on out! David's been loving this for the past month, I was making my third and fourth loaves upon his request when I snapped the pics in this post.

Pumpking Bread

In a large bowl mix:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
2/3 cup pumpkin
1/4 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp water

In another bowl mix:

1 cup and 3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix together.

Pour into greased loaf plan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. The bread is done when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Can we say yum?

Crystal's Classic Crust

2010-12-02T11:02:00.000-06:00

I have had numerous upon numerous requests for my pie crust recipe and I'm finally revealing it. I'm not sure why it took me this long to share it, but without further ado...

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
3 tbsp cold butter
2-4 tbsp ice-cold water

Combine flour and salt in large bowl; mix well. Cut shortening and butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender. This part right here is the secret of the entire recipe and why crusts can come our inconsistently. It is extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely important that you stand there and cut the shortening and butter into the flour mixture until you have one consistent mixture. You should not be able to tell the difference between the butter, shortening or flour mixture. It should have it's own for-sure consistency...crumbly is my best description. This is what mine looks like.

Notice there's no white or yellow? It's all the same color and crumbly consistency.

Now, you sprinkle 1 tbsp of water over the flour mixture, gently toss with a fork. Repeat until mixture is moist enough to form a ball. Tip: the water is supposed to be ice-cold so before I start mixing the dough above, I pour a glass of ice water on the counter and then when I'm ready it's sitting there for me, nice and chilly. I usually only have to add 2 tbsp of water to get the dough to form a ball, but there have been times I've used more. Only add just enough water to form the ball, not too much.

Gather the pastry into a ball; flatten slightly. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Do not skimp on this time frame, 20 minutes does not equal 30 minutes. You can definitely refrigerate longer, just don't shorten this time frame.

Now your ready to roll out your dough! Flour a pastry mat, then place dough on top. Cover dough with a little more flour and roll it out to desired pie plate size. Be sure and use enough flour so the dough does not stick to your rolling pin. Also, the less you physically touch the dough, the better.

Like my marble rolling pin? My mom bought it for me at an estate sale, love it!

Alright, once you are ready to place your crust into your plate, fold the dough in half and place plate close by. [Sidenote: I also always spray my pie plate so the crust won't stick later.] This makes the crust easier to lift and transport. Carefully lift crust and place in plate. You will probably have to do a little reconstruction work. Don't worry or get frustrated, that's OK! Work your way around the edge and make sure your crust is even all the way around. You might have to remove taller sections and place them in shorter sections. The more crusts you make, the more even you'll learn to roll it out and the less of this you'll have to do.

The crinkle part of crust-making was always part of what intimidated me. I've seen David's mom and my own grandmother do this differently...but, this is the way David taught me. Shocked that my husband taught me how? What can I say, his mom brought him up right. Place the biggest knuckle on your forefinger on the crust and then use your thumb and forefinger on the other hand to place the crinkle around your knuckle. Continue doing this all the way around the plate, it only takes about a minute and makes such a difference in the presentation!

And VOILA! Here's what the whole thing will look like prior to cooking.

Place a yummy filling in prior or post baking (depends on the pie your making). Tip: if you're making a cream pie where you bake the pie crust separately...poke the dickens out of the pie crust with a fork (throughout the entire bottom and sides) prior to baking. I made this crust into a tasty pumpkin pie with the recipe I shared last month. Try both of these recipes for Christmas. You won't regret it!

Michael J. Fox: Part Two - Always Looking Up

2010-11-30T11:45:00.000-06:00

You guys remember me sharing with you Lucky Man, Michael J. Fox's first memoir? David and I both loved it and especially enjoyed the fact that the audiobook was read by the man himself.

On our last trip to Kansas City (go Chiefs!!) David and I listened to Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. The first book outlines Fox's life through 2003. Always Looking Up was published last year and is supposed to bring you "up-to-date" on Fox's life within the past decade, which it does well.

The first thing in this book that caught my attention and I laughed at was the title. Fox meant this both figuratively and literally when he picked it...always looking up. Coming from a man who is much shorter than the average Joe...well, at least he can laugh at himself. Being a comedian and all, that probably comes naturally, at least in some aspects.

This book is written in a way so that those that have not read Lucky Man are caught up to speed. There was a little bit of redundancy if you've read the first, but not overly much. Fox discusses his attempts to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson's throughout the past 5-8 years as well as the politics of this feat. Campaigning for different political figures is discussed due to the need for stem cell research. While stem cell research is something I have a definite opinion on (which I will not disclose since this is a politic-free blog), at this point in the read my eyes might have gone a little glassy since I'm not big into politics.

In another section of the book, Fox discusses how there is some talk of him playing up his disease and that perhaps he's "faking it" to tug on the heartstrings of America. This was proclaimed by a rather famous person...and I was more than a little disgusted.

Many more detailed accounts of Fox's life and how he remains optimistic still are found in this book. While I enjoyed this book, I will say that I enjoyed Lucky Man more. Why? While this book is well-written it is not read like a novel as Lucky Man was. However, I do still highly recommend it! This set of books would make an excellent Christmas gift if you're looking for something in this genre...I'm just sayin'.

Remember Me?

2010-11-29T12:04:00.000-06:00

I've been a bad blogger...I teased you with my pie crust recipe and then didn't deliver. Between the holidays and a certain special reason...I do have an excuse...but I can't share just yet what the special reason might be. Let's just say that big things are getting ready to happen for David and myself. Stay tuned for details...they will be coming soon. And I promise, I will be posting my crust recipe later this week so you'll get a chance to try it for your extra special Christmas meal.

In the meantime, here is my latest book review...

Remember Me? is a cute romantic story about an amnesiac who tries to piece her life back together when she loses three years worth of her memory. The last thing that Lexi Smart remembers is going out with her girlfriends the night before her father's funeral back in 2004. She wakes to perfect teeth, straight hair, a thinner body, a Louis Vuitton bag along with a wedding ring that'd knock someone out...complete with a multi-millionaire, gorgeous husband. Lexi thinks to herself WHAT HAPPENED over these past three years?

Once released from the hospital Lexi tries to live her day-to-day life...or what is supposed to be her new day-to-day life. And slowly it comes out that this new life...even though Lexi is now beautiful and rich...isn't quite as peachy as it looks...complete with betrayal and back-stabbing.

This was a cute little novel that was a nice break from some heavier reading I've done recently. It was very predictable, but I still enjoyed it. If you're looking for a sweet, light read then I would definitely recommend.

Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-19T12:00:00.000-06:00

I am normally a total "back of the can" or "back of the box" recipe kinda girl. And I guess you could say this one is a "back of the can" recipe...even though I searched for it on the internet... Last weekend my mother-in-law and I were wanting to make a pumpkin pie and I had everything in the house except the evaporated milk. If you have ever read and/or used the back of the Libby's pumpkin can recipe, then you know evaporated milk is one of the necessary ingredients. Who wants to go to the grocery store for ONE item? Seriously? No one.

What did I have in my pantry that miiiight work? Eagle Brand. You know that super yummy sweetened condensed milk...mmmm... So, I looked on the Eagle Brand website for their recipe for pumpkin pie. And we made it. And it was awesome. Tasted just like the Libby's recipe. If you're like me and forget to purchase evaporated milk this holiday season...or if ::gasp:: your grocery store is out of it, try this recipe. It's quite good!

P.S. I've had quite a few requests for my pie crust recipe...I'll reveal this early next week so you can try it out for Thanksgiving!

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin (about 2 cups)

1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Heat oven to 425°F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust.

Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1-inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired.

My Name Is Memory

2010-11-19T11:25:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I finished My Name Is Memory, by Ann Brashares. I had been looking forward to reading this for months and it did not disappoint.

This is a love story that transcends generations and lives. Daniel remembers his past lives each and every time. In every life Daniel finds his "Sophia" and his love for her grows more yet, even though she never remembers him. Within this book the two get closer than they have in the 1,200 years they have both lived.

In this life, Sophia is reborn as Lucy and in her high school years Lucy feels this unexplainable yearning to be near Daniel. The couple goes through a series of near misses through their early adulthood, but in the end...even though they are thwarted by a previous life's nemesis (the former brother of Daniel and husband of Sophia)...the two find each other.

This is very much a typical, sweet, slightly-predictable love story. Very light reading and Brashares left it wide open for a sequel. If I were giving it a grade, I would give it a solid "B."

False Victim

2010-11-12T14:41:00.000-06:00

I've been absent recently and I apologize...but, I'm baaaaack! My life has been super crazy busy lately and although that's no excuse to not blog...well, that's my excuse. Moving along to my mostly recently finished book...

False Victim is a book based upon a true story that actually happened to the author, Kathie Truitt. Julie, the main character in the book, moves to Washington DC with her family and quickly makes work of settling into the neighborhood and her new life. However, her neighbor, Lynn, has other plans...Lynn begins to copy everything Julie does...and begins to stalk Julie, but Lynn makes it out to appear the opposite...and it gets right down scary when Julie ends up charged with attempted murder.

Quite a few girls in my book club...in fact, I think almost all of them...have read this book. Most of them absolutely loved it. When I finished this book, my in-laws were in town and I had my mother-in-law read it as well because she had just finished the book she had brought. It's a very quick read with short chapters and relatively large print. I had read the whole thing in two sittings.

While I can't say I enjoyed this book, it was definitely a page-turner. I don't really think you can enjoy a book where someone is slowly being tortured, stalked and victimized. You literally want to keep reading just so you know what crazy episode is going to happen next. Donna, my MIL, even looked at me halfway through the book and said, "You know, this is a really depressing book!" It's hard to believe that the police weren't catching on to what was going on. Scary to think that this kind of stuff really does happen!

The book has a very real ending and I appreciated that...though, I wished things could have turned out for the better in both women's cases. My favorite line (and Donna's) in the book was when Rick, Lynn's husband, comes to Julie in the end apologizing and saying something to the effect of, "She's my wife and I love her." Julie responds with, "If you truly loved her, you would have gotten her help a long time ago." How true.

I would definitely recommend this book. As a general rule, I'm a person that keeps to myself and doesn't normally open up to new friends for a period of time. And what's funny is that some of my closest friends are the same way. Very private people, until a certain level of trust is earned. While I don't recommend being a hermit or recluse, this book validates my thoughts that while most people are generally good...it's best to keep your guard up because you never know. And also, always trust your gut. If you're getting a negative vibe from someone, there's probably a reason why.

Michael J. Fox, Part One - Lucky Man

2010-11-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

I love 80s movies and one of my favorites is the Back To The Future trilogy. Of course, after watching this as a child I decided that I had to see everything Michael J. Fox was in. His character, Marty McFly, was so likable and Fox was such a good actor.

I never was hooked on Fox as Alex P. Keaton...mostly because I was one of the few people that never watched Family Ties. I know, I'm weird. Or maybe it's the fact that the show ran from 1982 until 1989 and I was everything from a toddler to a grade-schooler in that time? Perhaps that's a good reason...

Regardless, I decided that my next nonfiction set of books should be Fox's memoirs. Here's the first one, Lucky Man. David and I listened to this audiobook on our last trip to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs game.

David was really not excited to listen to this audiobook, but quickly got "in" to it after a few short chapters. The book outlines Fox's life through 2003. Everything from Family Ties to Back to the Future to Spin City is discussed as well as his parents, his wife and children and even his drinking binges...

The book starts out with Fox waking up to his first morning of the beginnings of Parkinson's. This being an uncontrollably trembling pinkie finger after a night out on the town with Woody Harrelson. From there Fox flashes back outlining how he became the person he currently was and gradually moves forward from that point throughout the book. The book ends with Fox determined to find a cure for Parkinson's within the next decade.

I thought this was a very well-written memoir and I can't wait to read his second, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. It might be a bit...David has insisted on listening to it with me as well, so it's saved for our next roadtrip. Be looking for part two of this post!

P.S. Fox has released another book recently (this year) that's titled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future. This might be a good read too!

PW BBQ/Comfort Meatballs

2010-11-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

I recently tried out a Pioneer Woman recipe and just want to share how fabulous it was. David is a big fan of BBQ meatballs and when I said I was making PW's Comfort Meatballs his first question was, "Are they BBQ?" Of course, when I said "No, according to the recipe they're called 'comfort meatballs'." David immediately came back with, "I prefer my meatballs uncomfortable." Hardy har har.

I'll give you a moment to recover from my husband's sense of humor.

Better now?

It turns out, these taste like BBQ and when I went to snip the link off her website, they're called BBQ meatballs. So, if you have her cookbook, look for 'Comfort Meatballs' and if you look on her website, look for "BBQ Meatballs.' Same great recipe. These will definitely be a repeat around this house. Here's the link.

Ghosts Among Us

2010-10-27T14:11:00.001-05:00

In my book club, I am being inundated with everyone's favorite books. This book is one that a few of the girls absolutely love, so it was lovingly forced upon me.

I'm one of those people that doesn't know what to think about ghosts or the supernatural. I have instances where I think, "OK, maaaaaybe that could be a ghost" and then other times I'm like, "No way, that's rubbish." But, I don't have a very strong feeling in either direction. Sure, I'd love to think that our loving relatives are still with us, but I'm just not convinced. I guess that's because I'm one of those people that have to see something to believe it. And ghosts aren't (at least, typically) visible.

This book was very interesting and written like a manual of sorts. I found the stories entertaining and, for the most part, uplifting. I'm still unsure how I feel about ghosts, in general, but if they are real...at least now I have more in depth knowledge!

Dr. Pepper Cake

2010-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

I finally made it. This is one of those recipes that has sat in my recipe book for weeks...or maybe months. But, I just haven't had an occasion to give it a whirl. We had a "food day" at work a few weeks ago and I decided that was a good enough reason.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this cake is more like fudge than a cake...with a little crispiness to the icing. It was great. And did I mention it tastes nothing like Dr. Pepper? I think that was what deterred me from trying it sooner...being that David and I don't drink pop. Of any sort. I know, we're weird like that.

You should try it...for the recipe please click here.

BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake

2010-10-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

I do believe we have a new Dave's Fave in the house! I made this a week or so ago and David has already asked if I'm going to be making this dish again. It's so easy. And sooooo good.

BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake
from How Sweet It Is

4-5 ounces boneless chicken breast, shredded
3 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
1/4ish cup BBQ sauce
1 small red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
Shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare pasta and shredded chicken and set aside. In a small saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sliced onions. Cook until caramelized, about 10 minutes. During this time, combine shredded chicken with 2-3 tablespoons bbq sauce. Once onions are caramelized, set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour to create a roux. Immediately add milk and turn down to low heat. Add a small amount of cheese and stir until cheese is melted and mixture thickens – about 2-3 minutes.

In the casserole dish, alternate layering pasta, bbq chicken, and onions. Add cheese mixture about 1-2 tablespoons at a time, throughly mixing to act like glue and hold the pasta together. Top with additional cheese sauce, remaining shredded cheese, BBQ sauce drizzles and bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Fallen

2010-10-18T15:00:00.001-05:00

In the book club I have recently joined, we don't read the same thing each month. Instead, each girl brings whatever books they have read that month and we take turns sharing the books and lending out the really good ones. This way the "duds" get discarded and you don't waste as much time (and money) on so-so books. I love this about my book club and have read some books that I have really enjoyed. Plus, I've lent out some of my favorites. Currently, my favorite book of all time is on it's first rotation, The Thirteenth Tale. If you haven't read it yet...well, you should.

Fallen is a book that was rotated to me by my friend, Natalie. She really liked it and wanted to get this series started amongst our club. I read this book in a little under three days. Partly because the print is very large and partly because it is a young adult novel, targeted at teeny boppers. Needless to say, it was a quick and easy peasy read. I enjoyed and am looking forward to reading the second installment, Torment.

The basic gist of the story is that Luce, the protaganist, is sent to the reform school of Sword & Cross. You learn the reason why Luce is there has to do with the suspicious death of her prior love interest. Daniel Grigori, Luce's new love interest at Sword & Cross, treats her with disdain and irritation. Yet, she can't keep her mind off of him...is this fate? Why is she constantly compelled to be around him and if she's not, think of him? You begin to understand why at the end of the story...

I felt that this story was a cross between Twilight and perhaps Angelology? Others have told me that it has a My Name is Memory twist to it as well. I haven't read that yet, but perhaps...I currently have that one borrowed as well, so I'll be writing a review on it soon! Although, this book is not as well written as the two mentioned above (storyline-wise) I do admit that I enjoyed it and look forward to Torment!

Marley and Me

2010-10-13T16:28:00.000-05:00

I've done a lot of reading recently. Can you tell? Either that or I'm horribly behind on blogging...hmmm...maybe it's a little of both!

Like I normally do, I went to Half-Price Books a while back and was looking for some good audio-books. This one, Marley and Me, jumped out at me. I know it was made into a movie...and it's a tear jerker...and it's the last thing a dog-lover like me needs to read. Unless you want a good cry. My mom had watched the movie and when I said I was going to buy the book she asked, "Why? You know how it ends and it's soooo not worth it." She balled at the movie, obviously.

When I was nine, my mom and I bought my stepdad a birthday present...a puppy. A westie puppy, we named Ruffles. And prior to my mom watching this movie my nineteen year old lovely little "sister" had died. It was hard on all of us. The last couple years of her life Ruffles couldn't see or hear anything. In the end, when she was put to sleep...it was best. She wasn't suffering anymore.

My mom had already told me that this book ended similarly, so I was prepared.

There was a section at the end of the book I related to greatly. John comes up behind Marley and starts talking to him while Marley is devouring the remains of grilled cheese sandwiches on the kitchen table. Marley doesn't hear anything until the very end of the scene, then drops to the floor completely taken by surprise. I don't know how many times I went to pick up Ruffles her last year or so of life and she started like a bomb was going off next to her when she felt my hands on her ribs. It broke my heart.

But, truly dogs are one of the more wonderful creatures in this world. And this book tells it perfectly. Dogs are never without flaws. They'll be destructive, eat the most inconvenient items, cause you to procure vast vet bills...but, in the end...the loyalty, love and devotion they provide you with...it's so much more than worth it!

Needless to say, I LOVED this book. Ending and all. But, I still think I'll pass on the movie. I had a good enough cry with the book.

I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the book...

"Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky."

Breaking Dawn

2010-10-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

I have officially finished the Twilight series! And I have to say that I love, love, loved them! In the beginning, I was one of those people. I didn't want to read about vampires nor did I want to read some teeny bopper series. But, in the end my arm was twisted, I was wrestled to the ground...and it was forced upon me.

When I first read Twilight, I literally wanted to get my red pen out and start making corrections to grammar...but, I will admit that the way the story is woven and develops...that makes it totally worth reading through the grammatical errors and redundant vocabulary. Plus, New Moon wasn't as bad...and I hardly noticed errors by the time I got to Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I think Meyer got a better editor.

Throughout the series, I have been a Jacob fan...always a loyal member of Team Jacob. In Breaking Dawn he did annoy me a couple times with his whining, but in the end I'm happy with how the situation turned out. There were definitely a couple times that I was thinking, "Seriously, is this really happening?!" Totally thinking that the story was going south. But, little did I know that Stephanie Meyer had it all figured out. She went from left field, all the way to right field and then came back home...literally wrapping everything up in a big, fat bow...then, she even plopped a cherry on top! I loved it and will definitely be reading through the entire series again before the first installment of the Breaking Dawn movie comes out next year.

I can't wait!!

Football Food

2010-10-06T15:14:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year, when pigskin and snacky foods encompass many individuals' Saturdays...and even some week nights. This past Saturday was one of the biggest games around here, OU/Texas (insert upside down horns symbol here). David and I had some friends over and here are the two scrumptious dip recipes I made for our lovely guests. Try these for your next football game get-together!

Southwest Corn Dip (modified from Tasty Kitchen recipe)

2 cups frozen corn

1 can chopped chilies, drained

2 anaheim peppers, chopped

1 can black beans

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 cup sour cream

8 oz. finely shredded mexican-blend cheese

fresh cilantro, chopped (to taste)

Drain chilies and black beans (rinse beans and drain a few times). In a large bowl combine corn, chilies, peppers, black beans, bell pepper, and scallions. Mix well. Stir in the sour cream and grated cheese. Add the cilantro last.

Refrigerate before serving.

Serve with Fritos Scoops, yum!

I'm going to be honest...this next dip was the big hit and it was sooooo...stinkin'....easy....peasy!! And I'm not posting a pic because, as Jessica said in her blog, this is one ugly dip. Good...but ugly.

Chili Dip (from How Sweet It Is)

1-8oz block of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups chili
1 1 /2 cups shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 375.

In a bowl, mix cream cheese, 3/4 cup chili, and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese. Spread in dish. Top with remaining chili and cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with chips and enjoy!

A Million Little Pieces

2010-10-01T12:53:00.000-05:00

I recently finished A Million Little Pieces. And I'm not really sure where to start with this book. This book was originally published as a memoir...non-fiction. It was written to capture James Frey's experiences as an addict and his treatment through an alcohol and drug treatment facility. It has received a ton of acclaim and even became an "Oprah's Book Club" book. After that it sold like crazy, just as any book with that classification would.

After a while certain people started to question Frey's honesty because the story is very extreme. So there were investigations made into the background of his story. It didn't take long to figure out that some of the more "interesting" aspects of his memoir were...incorrect...fabricated...made-up.

Frey came forward and admitted that some of the more scandalous sections of the novel were perhaps a loose portrayal of what actually happened. Because of this, sometimes the novel is classified as a memoir...other times it's classified as fiction. Take your pick...

As for my opinion on the book...I'm split. I'll start off by saying that it is extremely harsh with vivid descriptions and rough language. Many have said that they don't like Frey's writing style and that it was hard to relate to him. I can see this, but at the same time there was instances where I could definitely see why he acted the way he did.

This book is not for the faint at heart. If this type of topic interests you and you're mentally prepared to read the "f" word a lot and hear graphic details...go for it. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to simply shelf this one.

Blueberry Buckle

2010-09-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

Some of my wedding gifts included recipe books. Recipe books that hold all sorts of yummy, tasty, delicious treats. In one of these wonderful books, I have already discovered a "Dave's Fave." That recipe came from this book...

I've made this coffee cake a couple times already and David loves it for his breakfast through the work week. One recipe lasts the entire week perfectly...that is, if you don't have a slice for dessert at dinner one or two nights like we have... The recipe also states that you can use raspberries, which I'm definitely going to try the next time raspberry season comes around. In fact, most "berries" would probably turn out pretty well with this recipe.

Try it, try it, try it! OK, I'll stop chanting now...but, it is really good.

Blueberry Buckle

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9x9x2-inch or 8x8x2-inch baking pan (with Pam); set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 3/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten egg mixture, beating until smooth after each addition.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with blueberries.

In another bowl combine the 1/2 cup flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle over blueberries. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden.

Cool slightly; serve warm.

408 calories, 17g total fat (6g saturated fat), 38mg cholesterol, 247mg sodium, 58g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 5g protein

PB & J

2010-09-27T16:44:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a whirlwind for me considering I had birthday after birthday after birthday to celebrate! Just to give you an idea, this past week (within a two day period) was my dad's, grandmother's, niece's and mother-in-law's birthday. And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

On Saturday morning was Abbey's sixth birthday party. Abbey is my friend (and matron of honor) Susan's daughter and for her party there were sandwiches served. One of the sandwich flavors was the good ol' PB&J. The night before the party Susan and Amanda (my maid of honor) prepared all the sandwiches for the following day. They did this so that we had that much less to prepare immediately prior to the arrival of a dozen hyper little girls...

I was not informed of what took place during this preparation time until the following evening, when the three of us were enjoying some cold beverages. Apparently, Amanda prepares PB&J sandwiches differently than either Susan or myself. Now, I know there's more than one way to skin a cat (pardon the Southern saying), but how do you make a PB&J?

Here are the three ways we discussed that are all acceptable ways for PB&J preparation...or are they??

A. Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread. Spread jelly on another slice of bread. Place peanut buttered slice on top of jellied slice (not the other way because the jelly might slide off bread as your flipping depending on consistency of jelly).

B. Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread. Spread jelly on top of peanut butter. Place bare slice of bread on top of peanut butter and jelly-covered slice.

C. Get out a bowl and spoon. Dump some peanut butter in bowl. Dump some jelly in bowl with peanut butter and stir. Spread PB&B mixutre on a slice of bread. Cover with another slice of bread.

I'll go ahead and share that my normal protocol is option A...that's probably why it's option A, because it's the first one I thought of.

Thoughts? Do you have an even more interesting or efficient way to make a PB&J?

By the way, yes, this is what late 20s/early 30s women talk about on a Saturday night. What of it? ::wink::

Angelology

2010-09-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

I started this book on Thursday the 9th...and by the time I had join my book club this past Friday night, I had read just over half of this book, which has a total of 452 pages. Then, when I got up on Saturday I read...and read...and read...and read some more. I finished the rest of this book within 36 hours. With that being said, obviously this is one of those books that once you get "into it" you have to finish it.

The basis for the storyline in this novel is a couple of scriptures from the Bible. Twice within the Bible the "Nephilim" are referred to and Angelology takes these pieces of scriptures and runs with them...and weaves them into a very captivating plot.

The Nephilim are supposedly the offspring of fallen angels who have mated with human women. These Nephilim are a "master race," which when the term is loosely translated means "giant." They are taller, more beautiful, stronger and live longer than the typical human. Not only that, they're unfeeling, emotionless and mean with a desire to rule the world. They have no regard for human life and murder people regularly. Angelologists (in this book only-there are real angelologists, but they don't have the same functions as within this book) are humans that study angels and the Nephilim trying to stop the Nephilim from their "evil ways" including taking over the world.

Now, knowing that small bit of background information...Evangeline is really who this book is about, but you don't really "get" that until the end of the book. The story starts with her and finishes with her. You learn about how she joins the convent she belongs to in the beginning of the novel and how her life is a calm day-to-day schedule of prayer and church duty. Then, a young gentlemen, named Verlaine, shows up with an inquiry about the contents of her library and Evangeline's life is turned upside down. Angelology is a part of Evangeline before she even knows it...and that's only the beginning.

This book has a very intricate storyline with a lot of background information that you receive up until about 2/3 of the way through the novel. And then you get to the guts of the book...and then you can't put it down. I will say there were a couple of twists and turns that I kinda saw coming, but not to their full extent. There was definitely a few instances within this book that my jaw simply dropped open. I loved it and would definitely recommend this book!

Basic Pizza Crust and BBQ Chicken Pizza

2010-09-21T15:03:00.000-05:00

I had clipped/saved these two recipes a while back, but just haven't had a chance to get to them. And I needed to because homemade pizza is wonderful.

Another reason, though? When I moved in with David there were four bottles of BBQ sauce in the fridge. One bottle has since been used up, but when I made this pizza there were still three. Three half empty BBQ sauce bottles. In my fridge. Taking up space. Can you tell this grinded on my nerves? I only had one bottle that I contributed. Why did David have three bottles? Maybe he feels like a different flavor from time to time? They were all different brands... I don't know. Regardless, this recipe has helped me dwindle that number down to two bottles. Two because I made this pizza twice. What? The crust recipe makes two crusts. And it was a good pizza. So I made it twice. Yum.

I printed both of these recipes off the Pioneer Woman website...big shocker there, I know. And have I mentioned that David's mother prefers the PW pizza crust to her own? Wow. I had to try it...soon.

Let's begin with the crust...

Basic Pizza Crust
(PW Version)

1 teaspoon instant or active dry yeast (I used active)1 1/2 cup warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with bread hook attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined. The dough will come together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better. (I made my dough and baked the first pizza 2 days after making the dough, then the second pizza exactly a week later. Both crusts came out perfectly!)

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you'd like, but sometimes it's just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan (I spread mine on a round pizza stone). Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
(slightly altered from the PW original)

1/2 recipe for pizza crust (half of recipe listed above)
2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 6 tenderloins the first go-around)
approximately 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
olive oil
salt
approximately 16 ounces, weight fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Salt chicken breasts on both sides, then place in an ovenproof dish. Pour BBQ sauce over the breasts and turn them over to coat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done.

While chicken is baking, stretch out pizza crust. Lay it on a pizza stone drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the crust.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of BBQ sauce on the crust and spread it evenly. Top sauce with half the sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle on thinly sliced red onion.

Remove chicken from oven. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

Dice the chicken into small cubes.

Top pizza with the cubed chicken, then the rest of the sliced mozzarella.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut into slices and serve immediately. Enjoy!

The Lost Symbol

2010-09-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

I have now officially read all of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon stories. Honestly, I can't wait for them to make this one into a movie. It wasn't my favorite of the lot, in fact if I had to rank them accordingly I would say The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol and then Angels and Demons. At the same time, I think that with the storyline of this book with it's visual aspects, which can't be always easily translated into printed form...this story will come alive on the silver screen, much like The Da Vinci Code did. I thought they did an exceptional job with that book to movie transition, I only hope they do the same with The Lost Symbol.

This story begins with Robert Langdon being called to Washington D.C. by his good friend and mentor, Peter Solomon...well, Solomon's assistant made the call, but regardless Langdon leaves quickly. What Langdon discovers once he gets to Washington is that Solomon did NOT request his presence, rather it was Solomon's captor Mal'akh. The story continues into an interesting web of betrayal, murder, torture, destruction and finally...the truth. The truth about Mal'akh and the truth about The Word.

The book is signature Dan Brown and if you've enjoyed his mystery-style with a Biblical twist in the past, then this is right up your alley. I really enjoyed it and can't wait for it to come out in the theaters...I've done a little research online this morning and it appears that the movie will come out in the summer of 2012. Keep your fingers crossed!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

2010-09-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

What's a good comforting meal for a Saturday night when it's been a lazy, relaxing day? Spaghetti and meatballs sounds good doesn't it? I'll bet it sounds even better when the meatballs are made from scratch!

Well, I'll bet you can't guess what we had for dinner on Saturday night...

I found this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website a while back. It looked really good at the time, so I clipped it and filed it away for future use. Months later I've now tried it...though, I did change it up a bit. Here's a link to the original recipe I found...and another link to the blog it came from, Your Everyday Momma.

Here's what I did with this recipe...

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
¾ cups Italian bread crumbs
2 teaspoons salt
⅛ teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 whole egg
½ cups milk
1/4 cup parsley
mozzarella cheese, sliced and chopped

Mix the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, egg, milk, and parsley in a small mixing bowl. Add to the ground beef until well incorporated. Using a metal spoon (preferably one you use to scoop cookie dough), scoop out mixture in the size of the meatballs you’d prefer. Before forming into a ball, place a small amount of mozzarella cheese in the middle and form the ball around so that all of the cheese is completely covered. Brown the meatballs until almost completely cooked, place the meatballs on a jellyroll pan, and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with your favorite pasta and tomato sauce!

These meatballs are extremely filling! David normally goes back for seconds when I make spaghetti and meatballs, but not with these babies! After just one serving he'd had enough...try these out, they're taaaaaaaaaaasty!

Thrown Together Enchiladas

2010-09-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

Do you ever just throw together some ingredients and call it dinner? Of course you do...everyone does! Well, I did this for last night's dinner and it was a home run according to David. Hey, I'm always glad to hear that!

Have I mentioned that I'm a rock climber? In case I haven't...well, I am. Here's a pic of me from a few weeks ago. I'm back on the wall for the first time after my return from my honeymoon.

You're probably wondering why I'm mentioning this... Well, I climb two evenings every week and many times this leaves David to "fend for himself." I usually try to cook so that there's leftovers on these nights, but it doesn't always work out that way. If there's no leftovers sometime he's a cranky husband...

So, what I did for last night's dinner was I slapped it together on Tuesday night and left him baking instructions for when he got home from work. This worked out swimmingly because he didn't turn into a cranky, hungry husband and the meal was still warm when I got home to eat! Not only that, David told me these were the best enchiladas I've made to-date and asked me if this was a new recipe. I just looked at him and said, "Uhhh...no, I just slapped together some items in the fridge that needed to be used up before they went bad." When I tried these, I have to say they were quite good. I would definitely recommend making these enchiladas or some very similar out of what you can find in your own fridge and pantry as well!

Thrown Together Enchiladas

6 chicken tenderloins (approximately 2-3 breasts)

1 can enchilada sauce

1 can green chilis

4 oz. sour cream (half of an 8 oz. container)

shredded cheddar cheese (approximately 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup salsa (I had home-made, but you can use whatever)

jalapeno cheddar tortillas wraps

Boil chicken tenderloins until no longer pink in center. Shred chicken with forks in a medium bowl.

Mix into chicken bowl green chilis, sour cream, approximately 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, salsa and 1/3 can of enchilada sauce.

Spray square baking pan (8x8 or 9x9) with cooking oil AKA Pam. Spread approximately four tortillas with filling mixture, then roll each tortilla and place in baking pan. If there is leftover filling mixture, spread over top of enchiladas evenly. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce evenly over enchiladas making sure all surfaces of the tortillas are covered. Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over enchiladas.

*At this point I refrigerated my enchiladas overnight until David was ready to bake them, giving the filling mixture and toppings time to soak into each other and meld in flavors. But, if you want to just pop this pan in the oven immediately, feel free to do so!

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Sauce and cheese topping should be melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!

P.S. The jalapeno cheddar tortillas give the enchiladas a nice, spicy kick.

Sorry there are no pics...I didn't expect for this meal to have such a good review or make it to the blog!

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

2010-09-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

Remember waaaay back last week when I said I would share my two recipes that I made for our church potluck? Well, I didn't get around to sharing the second one last week, but I am ready to share now.

This is just one of those simple recipes that everyone has in their repertoire...with minor differences here and there. But, it's a crowd pleaser!

I found this recipe on Cooks.com because for some weird reason I couldn't find a copy in my stack o' recipes...weird, huh? Well, after I went ahead and MADE the recipe I, of course, found my copy in my book. The reason I couldn't find my copy was because it's a recipe my mom gave me...which my grandmother gave her...and it's not called "Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies." It's called "World War II" cookies. Hmmm...interesting.

After gobbling down these cookies along with other church-goers, now David is requesting them again this week. I'll try the "World War II" cookies recipe when I fulfill his request, just to see if there's a significant difference that makes them tastier. In the meantime, enjoy this particular version of this popular recipe.

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring to a boil for one full minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter (optional), vanilla and oatmeal.

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Can you tell I ran out of wax paper?

Angels & Demons

2010-09-01T16:42:00.000-05:00

I just recently finished Angels & Demons. This book was written prior to The Da Vinci Code (2000 vs. 2003), though I'm not sure if it just didn't get as much attention when it was published because the movies were released in reverse order. Regardless, I wanted to read this novel after enjoying The Da Vinci Code. Plus, I like to come full circle with books that have an ongoing plot-line with the same characters.

In a nutshell, the novel is about Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra attempting to keep a secret society, the Illuminati, from destroying Vatican City...during a papal conclave. That really was a short blurb, ha!

I will say that I enjoyed this book, though probably not as much as The Da Vinci Code...and I don't know if that's because I saw the movie first or not. There's a twist in the end and because I knew the twist was coming... Who knows. I liked it and if you haven't read it or seen the movie I would definitely recommend it. But, also definitely read The Da Vinci Code! And as always, both books are better than the movies...but, we always know that's how that goes...

Now I'm on to read The Lost Symbol, the final book in this series...or at least for now. I'm not sure if there's going to be another...anyone know?

Strawberry Cake

2010-08-31T11:54:00.000-05:00

David and I went to church on Sunday, like usual. Unlike usual, we stayed and participated in a potluck. Our church does this about once a month and we've only participated together once before, but we changed our mind for this past Sunday.

I made a strawberry cake and some cookies that I will reveal later this week...nothing special, just an old favorite that David requested.

In the meantime, I wanted to share the recipe I used for the strawberry cake...which, received RAVE reviews. It's just a simple recipe, probably one that a lot of people have tucked away in their recipe books. However, the icing appears to be what made this cake. Check it out...

Strawberry Cake

Cake:
1 box (18.25 oz.) white cake mix
4 whole eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package (3 oz.) strawberry Jell-O
1 cup fresh mashed strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together well. Yum, doesn't the batter look good? You're kidding yourself if you think I managed to make this batter without taste-testing it...

Spray with cooking spray either two 9-inch round pans or one 9x12 pan.

Pour batter into pan(s) and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean and the cake will be slightly browned on top.

Let cake cool completely before frosting. In fact, it is best to bake the cake the day before and keep it in the fridge, then frost the day you're going to serve it. I did this and it worked perfectly.

Icing:

3-8 ounces (depending on your mood) frozen, sliced strawberries

1/4 stick butter, softened (not melted)

1 teaspoon vanilla

powdered sugar

Combine the icing ingredients together, adding just enough powdered sugar to reach the desired consistency. *Make sure the powdered sugar disolves completely before you ice the cake. You don't want clumpy sugar lumps in your icing (I had a few of those on Sunday).

Ice the cooled cake.

Like a ding dong, I went off and served this cake at church and didn't take a picture of the finished product. Sorry. I will say that this cake only lasted approximately 5 hours from being completed...and I only had two pieces (David had none because he doesn't like strawberries). If you're looking for a sweet, tasty cake to serve at a big gathering, I highly recommend this recipe!

The Help

2010-08-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh. You know how every once in a while you find a book that you love from beginning to end? This book was like that for me. Donna, my mother-in-law, recommended this book to me and like all the books that she recommends I ran out and bought it within a week. It sat on my nightstand for a couple weeks...I even took it to Hawaii, but never got the chance to start it there. Go figure, I was too busy doing other things that involved site-seeing.

I don't want to give away any parts of this book because I want everyone to enjoy it as much as I did, but I will give you the gist.

Aibileen and Minny are the proverbial "help" in this novel. They're black maids in Mississippi right before and during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. These women are the best of friends despite their age differences, personalities and family situations. You'll grow to love both characters.

Eugenia Phelan, referred to as "Skeeter" throughout the book, is a young white woman and a recent college graduate with dreams of becoming a writer. In fact, the main plot-line for this book is her idea. Skeeter wants to publish a story that's new and different...an idea no one has thought of...perhaps a book about what it's like to be a black maid in the south?

This story has parts that will make you laugh and parts that will make you want to cry and other parts that will make you drop your teeth (one specific part actually). I don't want to give away any details, but there is an excerpt where Minny is helping her employer with a very difficult situation...it's heart-wrenching and sad.

If you are looking for a fabulous read that you can't put down, I would definitely suggest this book. In fact, it's probably going to be added to my list of all-time favorite books. If you want to know what those favorites are, click here.

Happy Monday!

The Road

2010-08-26T11:27:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have that book or movie that just upsets you to where you can't erase the visions in your head? I read The Road a while back, before I started this blog. The only reason I picked it up was because it won The Pulitzer Prize for fiction back in 2007. I tend to do this...pick up books that I've never heard of if they've won a prize or been a best-seller.

The story is an epic journey that a man and his young son take trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. There are a lot of redeeming qualities that you see between both the man and boy. I really think this book is supposed to make you think about the quality of person you'd be if placed in this same situation because there are a lot of awful things the two see. Cannibalism is the main threat. And the details are horrific. Be prepared if you intend to read this book.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that the book was converted into a movie last year. I just noticed it recently on video and after some hesitation decided to order it through Netflix.

And I watched it this weekend.

And I was just as upset after watching the movie as I was after I finished the book.

There are certain aspects that are brought to life on the silver screen that are just...I don't even know how to describe it. Other than the fact that it's upsetting. There were a couple scenes that stayed with me for a day or two that I couldn't shake.

I've thought before that I wouldn't recommend this book. But, in all actuality, it is probably a book some people should read if to just consider what kind of person you want to be in the face of impending danger and death. It really does make you sit down and think about it and hope and pray that you would make the right decision(s) in a situation like that.

So, on that note...I would say you might want to read this or see the movie if you've mentally prepared for it and want to know what I'm talking about. Otherwise, it might not be such a good idea. I can definitely say, this is not a book/movie that I will reread/rewatch. It was too emotionally disturbing to me.

Some of My Favs...Honeymoon Edition

2010-08-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

I haven't fully gotten all of our wedding pictures back from the photographer. In the meantime, I thought I'd treat you with some of my favorite pictures from our Hawaiian honeymoon. We did a lot of super fun things liiiiiike...

Take a helicopter ride.

Here's a snip-it of what we saw, lava!!

We also saw some beautiful beaches, here's one of the many with black sand.

Of course, we took the road to Hana in Maui. Yes, that little crevice on the left side is the road outline.

One of my favorite things was ziplining, here I am messing around with David before our next zip.

It was so beautiful. Here's a pic that I took while we were zipping.

We also went to see Haleakala Crater...it was 10,000+ feet up and felt like we were on top of the world. Can you see why?

The view of the crater was amazing. That's Kilauea and Mauna Loa in the background.

Of course, there was also relaxing and enjoying the simple things in life, like the sunset.

Overall, we had an excellent time and I would highly recommend going if you ever get the chance! I'll close with one of my favorite pics from our last day...a pic of me and a manta ray at the aquarium!

The Lace Reader

2010-08-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

I finished reading The Lace Reader last week.

Towner Whitney has come back to Salem from a self-imposed exile to California, planning to sort out the estate details from her great-aunt Eva's mysterious drowning. The Whitney women have always played an...interesting...role in Salem society...being lace readers and all. None of this has changed since Towner's left and she's thrown head-first back into the same situations and murmurings about town. But, Towner wants nothing to do with any of this; she simply wants to settle Eva's estate and head back out of town. There's too many memories bombarding Towner...everything from her dead twin sister to her shattered and dysfunctional childhood. What Towner doesn't know is that sometimes you have to come home and face your past before you can move on...and then, sometimes you might not want to run.

This book has just about everything...a love story, mental disorders, murder, plenty of dysfunction, mystery and violence. And I loved every minute. There's even a twist in the end I didn't see coming AT ALL. I highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a little something different.

Lasagna Crystal's Way

2010-08-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

Guess who's baaaaack! Well, technically I've been back for a week, but it has been one whirlwind of a week. Between trying to get settled back into our house and catching up at work it's been just sliiiightly crazy. I have yet had a chance to do more than upload and glance at the honeymoon pics. I promise to share a few of those, plus wedding pics, when I get the chance. In the meantime, I'm going to share with you a recipe that I fully intended to share before the whole wedding/honeymoon situation occurred.

Recently, I prepared this recipe for a friend of mine who's husband was in a freak accident. This was my friendly casserole that I delivered to her door when she didn't have enough time to cook because he was in the hospital. Luckily, he came home the morning after I made my delivery, woo hoo! At the same time I made a 1/2 recipe for David and myself...you'll see both casserole dishes being prepared in the pics below. I LOVE making this dish and it always procures happy tummies. My friend, Kelly, and her husband both ended up devouring this lasagna within a couple days. He even ate it cold from what I hear! Anyway, if you're looking for a pasta dish that's a crowd pleaser...look no further!

Lasagna Crystal's Way

1 pound ground beef (80% lean)
1 jar (26-32 oz.) jarred spaghetti sauce (I always use Prego)
1 can (14.5-16 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 carton (15 oz.) ricotta cheese OR cottage cheese (I've done both and they're both tasty)
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
6-8 whole wheat lasagna noodles, UNCOOKED
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
ground red pepper
1/2 cup sliced or shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook ground beef in preheated large frying pan over medium heat 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink. Break up ground beef pieces until they are the size of small peas. Pour off drippings. Add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes with liquid to pan, stirring to combine; set aside.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta/cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese and basil.

Spread 2 cups of beef sauce mixture over bottom of 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 inch baking dish. Arrange 3-4 lasagna noodles in single layer, pressing into beef mixture.

Spoon ricotta/cottage cheese mixture on top of noodles.

Layer carrots and peppers on top of cheese mixture.

Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and top with two cups of beef sauce mixture. Arrange remaining noodles in single layer, pressing lightly into beef sauce mixture.

Top with remaining meat mixture; spreading evenly to cover noodles. *It is important your noodles be submerged so they cook fully.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until noodles are fork tender. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top; tent lightly with aluminum foil. Let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

P.S. This is usually even better the second day because all the flavors have melded and combined to create a wonderful flavor combination.

The Bible and James Earl Jones

2010-07-29T15:48:00.000-05:00

Is it bad if I admit to never having sat down and reading the Bible from cover to cover? Sure, I've read the stories in church, Bible study and all those Sunday schools. But sitting down and starting with page 1 and reading through all the way until the very last page? Nope, never did it.

Well, now I can say I've read ALL of half of the Bible, the New Testament specifically. Just last week I finished the 14 CD edition of The New Testament, as read by James Earl Jones. I don't know about you, but I could listen to James Earl Jones read the dictionary and not be bored. In fact, when I purchased this jewel at Half Price Books, both my mom and David laid dibs on being the next to listen to it. It was a fine choice if I do say so myself...

Now, I just need to find the Old Testament and listen to it...though I can't seem to find a version read by James Earl Jones. I suppose I'll have to settle for someone else. Phooey.

If you're a little rusty on your biblical reading and want try listening to it this way, I would highly recommend this version!

*This will probably be my last post for two weeks as I'm getting married on Saturday and don't intend to take my laptop with me on my honeymoon. Please hang in there, there will be recipes, book reviews and wedding pictures coming soon! In the meantime, I'll leave you with this engagement picture.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

2010-07-26T15:38:00.001-05:00

You guys know how I love me some Twilight...well, this is just another installation. This book is a full-on depiction of one of the "newborns" in the Eclipse novel.

Bree Tanner is a young girl turned into a vampire by the vindictive Victoria. Victoria needs an army of newborns, which defined are simply newly-changed vampires. The reason newborns are so valuable in this storyline is that when a vampire is in the early stages of their second life, they are much stronger than vampires that have been around a few or hundreds of years. This is because they still have some of their own human blood flowing through their veins. Weird, huh? However, this does not mean they are not as crafty, guile or cunning...no, far from it.

Throughout this novella Bree learns about her new life and the difference details of vampire lore almost everyday. She soon learns that vampires don't sleep in coffins all day, the sunlight does not destroy them, garlic is no big deal, etc. You begin to feel Bree's thoughts and emotions and follow her train of logic. She has an intense survival motivation. Towards the end of this novella she even begins to feel an emotion akin to love...

This is definitely a good, quick read if you're into the Twilight series...though you might be a little lost if you haven't read or don't intend to read Eclipse. The two parallel each other within the plot lines.

One of my friends, Kelsie, recommended that I read this book because she feels differently about Bree's character now. Before, at the end of Eclipse, you're just relieved that Bella is OK and the newborns are all destroyed. Now...and I have to agree with Kelsie...I'm kinda sad that Bree dies.

Breakfast Bites

2010-07-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

David was wanting me to make him some of my famous blueberry muffins...

OK, so it's not my famous blueberry muffin recipe, it's Barefoot Contessa/Ina Garten's famous blueberry muffin recipe. Regardless, I made him some using my brand-spankin' new cupcake pans and silicone cupcake holders. Somehow I forgot to take a pic...I really should have because they turned out fantastic and pretty in their little cups. Oh well, to refresh your memory on this recipe click here.

When we bought the blueberries that I used for the above muffins, we also happened to purchase some ripe raspberries. So, I figured while I was in the kitchen...why not try this recipe? My Individual Raspberry Cobblers ended up slightly more crispy than PW's.

However, they were G-O-O-D. Both David and my mom gave them two very big thumbs up! While there's fresh berries out there, be tryin' this recipe! These are definitely a new Dave's Fave!

Lastly, while I was in a baking mood I decided to whip up two loaves of banana bread. Here they are going in...in my two beautiful new loaf pans on top of one of my new cookie sheets...

And here they are cooling on one of my new cooling racks. Woot woot for wedding gifts!

If you need some good breakfast treats, try any of these recipes. I made all of these in one evening and froze all the extras so that David can gradually make a dent in these baked goods. He's a very happy fiancé right now...

Chicken and Pasta with a Kick!

2010-07-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe on Souffle Bombay's website about a month ago and felt the need to try it. She calls it "Rainforest Chicken and Pasta," but I'm just going to call it "Chicken and Pasta with a Kick" because I didn't exactly follow her recipe. I simply used what was in my kitchen and since I've never been to a Rainforest Cafe, I can't say whether or not the flavor is similar. Honestly, when I made the dish I simply wanted to utilize these babies from our garden!

Aren't they cute? My cherry tomato plant is exploding with tons of these cuties and I'm lovin' it!

Here's a weird quirk about me and my cooking habits, I hardly ever cook with chicken breasts. I like to cook with chicken tenderloins because they're smaller and faster to cook. I rarely want to eat an entire chicken breast myself when I have 2-3 sides or the entrée is not entirely the chicken...like in this dish. So, you'll see me always utilizing chicken tenderloins when chicken breasts are called for. Plus, since I've been cooking for David, he says he actually likes the tenderloins better as well. It's a win/win situation for us! Anyone have any typical substitutions like this?

Here's my version of this recipe...

Chicken and Pasta with a Kick

(adapted from Souffle Bombay)

1 box of whole wheat thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
8-10 boneless chicken tenderloins

1 cup corn (off the cob is best)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, chopped (white and green) (I didn't have any of these this time, but I will use them in the future!)
Olive oil
3 tbs paprika
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
few dashes of red pepper (optional)
1 tbs Cajun spices

In a small bowl combine paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper (if using).

Coat chicken tenderloins in seasoning, set aside.

In a medium bowl combine corn (saute if fresh corn with a bit of butter/oil and Cajun seasoning in a skillet until crisp tender) scallions and tomatoes. Set aside.

Grill the chicken tenderloins until cooked flipping once. Let the chicken rest for a couple of minutes, then slice it down.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions.

Toss pasta with olive oil and Cajun seasoning to taste (toss in any chicken juice from slicing the chicken as well).

Place chicken slices across the pasta, cover the chicken with the vegetable salsa and serve.

Enjoy!!

This was soooo good! David gave it a big thumbs up, so we both highly recommend!

Quick question...does anyone have a tasty recipe that calls for about a cup of fresh blackberries? When our pastor and his wife came over for dinner the other night Sadie brought me over a big ol' bowl of her freshly picked blackberries. I've eaten a few straight, but want to make something tasty with the rest. Suggestions are more than welcome!

Less Than Three Weeks...and Counting

2010-07-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

So, we're looking at less than three weeks here...crazy that I'm still not that nervous! Maybe it's because everything is coming together so perfectly...

For example, last week David's cake topper came in the mail...an oil pumping unit. It's actually a small toy and is battery-operated. I can't wait to see what our cake baker says when she sees it! The last time I talked to her, she was excited to see what David came up with. I think she is going to laugh herself silly when she sees what she has to work with!

On Friday night, my mother and I made a semi-last-minute trip to Hobby Lobby to pick up some items I was still needing. Ribbon for my cake, the ring bearer pillow and thread to hem my bridesmaids' skirts were the items we were after...but, when we got there we discovered ALL bridal items were on sale, 50% off. Sweet! I found some flutes for $50 that I bought for just $25.

Now, I don't know if it's just me, but that has been one of the wedding items that the price has just floored me on. Everywhere flutes and servers appear to be priced anywhere from $50-$300. Ummm, excuse me? It's a couple glasses and a cake server...where's the extra "umph" causing the 500% mark-up? Regardless...

Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby didn't have the matching servers, but hopefully in the next couple weeks I can find a deal on those. Honestly, that's all I have left to purchase (other than wedding party and parental gifts, of course). How exciting is that?

This past Saturday, David and I had engagement pictures taken and judging from the sneak peek I received today...they're going to be fabulous! My photographer's blog is here. Hopefully, he'll post some of us soon and you'll see what I'm talking about...

I'm loving engaged life, and every day we're getting closer and closer to married life! I can't wait!

Books Transformed Into Movies

2010-07-12T08:25:00.002-05:00

This past Wednesday my friend Susan and I went to go see the summer blockbuster of 2010, Eclipse! We absolutely loved it! Here's a pic of how dorky we were in the theater...

I brought Susan's copy of Eclipse back to her and she had bought us tiny lunch pails with our respective "teams" on them. That's me on the right, Team Jacob, and Susan is a die-hard Team Edward on the left! And of course, we had to watch the movie in style, up in the Warren Theater balcony. So, that's our dinner menu you see underneath the book. We both always get the same thing, the chicken penne Alfredo. Sooo bad for you, but we only go to the Warren every once in a while! A splurge from now and then can't be that bad, riiiight?

If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend! Tons of great action and I feel that this movie stayed closer to the storyline than the previous two have. Other Twilight readers agree?

Moving right along, there are two movies that I canNOT wait to see. Of course, these are books that I've enjoyed and encourage you to read before the movies are released.

First up is my seeester's favorite book, Eat, Pray, Love. This wasn't my favorite book of all time, but I did enjoy it. I've known a few people that couldn't get "into" the storyline and I have to admit that I had to push myself through the India section (the middle/second of three sections). But, if you can get to the last section...very good book! Here's the preview:

Next up is the one I'm really looking forward to, Water for Elephants!

I loved, loved, loved this book and can't wait to see how it is transformed onto the silver screen...too bad we'll have to wait until next year! Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon are the stars and I'm confident they'll both do a great job. I haven't seen Robert Pattinson in anything non-Twilight related, but hope he has staying power. And Reese? I love Reese. What can I say, other than the fact that, like most girls, I love chick flicks and Reese has certainly earned notoriety in that arena...and will continue to do so in the very near future...

If you haven't read either of these two novels, do so before the movies come out! You won't regret it!

A Girl and Five Brave Horses

2010-07-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

Do you remember back when I told you about one of my favorite movies from my childhood? I had re-watched the movie via Netflix syncing through the internet and our DVD player. On a sidenote, if you don't have this option, it's pretty nifty and I highly recommend it. Back to the jist of this review though, I noticed either at the beginning or the end of the movie that the story was true. This intrigued me, so I googled Sonora Carver...

Mrs. Carver died on September 21, 2003 at the ripe ol' age of 99. In 1961 she published a book accounting her life as a diving girl and later was there for the release of the movie, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, in 1991. Though, Sonora Carver wasn't exactly thrilled with the movie... I was surprised to hear this, obviously since I've loved the movie all this time.

You have to order Carver's book through a retailer like Amazon or Barnes and Noble online because it's not actually being published actively anymore, just on an as-ordered basis. My wonderful fiance made the purchase and I received it just a few short days later. I give you, A Girl and Five Brave Horses!

I have to say...Sonora was right. About the movie, Sonora Carver was quoted as saying to her sister, "The only true thing in it was that I rode diving horses, I went blind and continued to ride for another 11 years." Everything from how Sonora found out about the show, how she joined it, her love affair with Al, Doc Carver's personality...it's all incorrectly portrayed. Sonora had a sister that dived with her...never spoken of in the movie. ::sigh::

A Girl and Five Brave Horses was very informative and I really enjoyed it. It does not read like a novel, so if you pick it up please don't expect that. However, I felt like I learned a ton about how this act was put on and how much work went into it. Sonora is very emphatic in how she words things, no frills. Everything is stated very matter-of-factly.

Not surprisingly, the horses have a huge role in how the act is performed. Each of the horses in the act liked to dive, but each one had their own personalities and styles of diving. It was up to the diver to "know" the horse and how to react to their different mannerisms. Sometimes the horse would perform an extreme plunge, yet other times a regular dive. Again, the diver was responsible for knowing how to react in each dive. The type of dive chosen just depended upon the horse's "mood," I guess. And when one horse died or had to be retired, a replacement was not easy to find. It takes a courageous and skillful horse to do this. The same goes for diving girls, it took a lot of gusto and courage for a girl to jump on the back of a horse as it's galloping by on an incline, then jump off the top with the horse!

If you really like this movie, I would encourage you to read this book too. Not because I want you to enjoy the movie any less...I certainly will still enjoy it immensely...but, because this act probably piqued your attention initially. There's a lot of informative stuff packed into this short read and I hope others enjoy it as well.

Countdown to the Big Day!

2010-07-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

I've been a little high dry these past few days...but, you'll forgive me since my wedding is in ::gasp:: twenty-three days, right? Now, how did that happen? It seems like yesterday David was proposing at Christmas time...sheesh, time sure does fly when you're havin' fun!

This past weekend was out fifth...yes, FIFTH...and final shower up in Kansas. Phew! Thank you cards have been my best friend lately...and taken up valuable blogging time! But, it would appear I'm nearing the end...or should I say the beginning? After all, David and I are just beginning...

Regardless, I just wanted to throw it out there that I am still alive and well...though slightly stressed...as I near the wedding day. Luckily, I only have a handful of items to still take care of (veil, ring bearer pillow, ribbon for the cake, etc.) and those items will do very to stress me very much.

Throughout this entire process, I have to say that I am so thankful for the friends and family that have showered us with the excitement and joy this occasion brings. I love it and wouldn't trade any of this for the world!

All of this hoopla is keeping me away from the blogging world more than I would like, but just hang in there with me! I have a couple book reviews and recipes to come shortly!

Farm Boy Benefits

2010-06-22T14:37:00.002-05:00

I have never had a garden. Only flowers. I'm really good at growing pretty flowers. But, the closest I've ever been to growing a garden was when I had to grow a little corn plant in a pot when I took Botany in college. My plant didn't do so well...never got more than a little sprig. I didn't much like that class either.

When I started dating David I learned that he was a farm boy and that his parents had a good-sized garden up on their land. David also has a decent-sized garden in his back yard...it probably takes up one third of the entire yard. Last year we had a lot of corn and quite a few green beans. I asked him to grow some tomato plants for me, but they just didn't do very well. He also had beets and potatoes last year, but I don't like beets and the potatoes were rather "ho hum" for whatever reason. Oh yes, and we can't forget the cayenne peppers; I still have crushed red pepper flakes from last year!

But, this year...this gardening thing is getting pretty fabulous already! I just want to share a few of our tasty reapings. These are the green beans and tomatoes I found in the garden night before last.

And this...this is what I pulled last night (I also pulled some more green beans, but I put them in with the rest before taking this picture). The real beauty that I'm excited about is that pepper...

Yes, we're growing bell peppers this year! In lieu of the cayenne plant we decided to do bell peppers and a habanero plant. We couldn't find a jalapeno plant, unfortunately. This bell pepper is pretty small, though I'm not sure how big bell peppers get in gardens...anyone have any previous experience? I didn't try to pick it, I just tilted it up a little to take a better look and it popped right off the plant. There's another one, even bigger, still on the plant that I'm leaving alone to see if it gets any bigger.

Stay tuned for more garden pics from this excited city girl! We also have a ton of corn (David's favorite garden vegetable), beets (running a close second-blech!) and that habanero plant I mentioned earlier. It's really exciting to see all of this grow and produce right in front of you and I'm lovin' the fresh produce! I had two sliced tomatoes last night and they were deeeeelish!

The Lucky One

2010-06-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

What do you expect when you read a Nicholas Sparks book? You usually expect to cry at least once and there's probably going to be someone that dies. Well, this book, The Lucky One, doesn't disappoint if that's what you're looking for and expecting.

I have to admit that this book has an unusual premise, here's the blurb:

When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

The way this story plays out is odd, but the premise behind it...that true love conquers all time and space, regardless of whether or not you've met or are continents away...yea, the premise is as old as time. Authors like Sparks love to play off of this idea.

Personally, I really liked the story and did not close the book mad at Sparks (like I have in the past). If you're looking for a hokey love story equivalent to something like The Notebook, then pick this one up. If the cheesiness is too much for you, then don't. I will admit, you do have to be in the mood to read a cheesy love story like this and I was in the perfect mood for that while I was reading this book earlier last week...while all Oklahoma City was floating away in the flood!

One Crazy Week...and Strawberry Jam Bars

2010-06-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

This week has been beyond crazy. You might have heard in the news that Oklahoma City received record rain fall...what one local weatherman called a "500 Year Flood." Apparently, the last time we received this much rain in Oklahoma was 500 years ago...how they know that considering the fact that Oklahoma is just barely 100 years old...ummm...who knows?

Anyway, I intended to finish this post on Monday, but Mother Nature had other plans...

Here are the jam bars I made and brought to the JH Board of Directors Retreat. I made them with some of the jars of strawberry jam my future mother-in-law made in our last Kansas trip. You can make them with whatever jam or jelly you have on hand!

These particular jam bars were quite tasty and I'm definitely listing them as a Dave's Faves. He's been eating on this batch and he doesn't even like strawberries!

Jam Bars

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats or old-fashioned oats
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup cold butter
2 cups jam or preserves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In large mixing bowl stir together flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

Press two-thirds of flour mixture into 13x9 inch baking pan. Spread jam on top.

Crumble remaining flour mixture over top.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Cut into squares (makes 24).

I promise I'll be back on the blogging board next week. After a crazy Monday of almost flooding my car numerous times, getting drenched and my office closing due to flooding...it's been a little hectic! Our entire division has been temporarily displaced into a pseudo conference room and it is quite cozy. But, after moving and cleaning and organizing and getting accustomed to our new environment, I think we'll be good to go come Monday morning.

Just to give you guys an idea, here is a pic of my mother's back yard at 8:34 Monday morning. Anyone see any grass? I don't!

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

2010-06-10T14:35:00.001-05:00

This is Rhoda Janzen, author of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. I found out about this book via my daily "trying to sell you something" email from Barnes and Noble. B&N suggested it as a good read and provided a discount coupon for purchase. I immediately emailed David about it and he told me that I should get it; David had already heard about it and said that it was well reviewed. THEN, when I had already purchased the book, David and I were up in Kansas for our showers and Donna mentioned that she had already read this book! Donna and I always relay what good books we've read recently and she encouraged me to read it soon! All the more reason for me to read it up quickly!

Now, I don't want to get into a religious discussion here...after all, this isn't a religious blog. But, the Mennonite religion is the environment into which I'm marrying...which provides you guys with insight as to why David and Donna had both heard about this book (it's mentioned in the book how all Mennonites seem to know each other and from what I've seen, this appears to be pretty accurate!). Whenever I mention David being Mennonite, I get a lot of, "Isn't that the people where the women wear funny hats and long dresses?" or something to that effect. This is not necessarily the case. Like in any religion, there are differing variances of practice. You will see Mennonites that will wear hats and long skirts, not listen to the radio or watch television, etc. However, don't assume they all are this way. In fact, there is an excellent Appendix at the end of this book that provides some background information about the Mennonite religion (how it was founded, it's relation to the Amish and so forth).

Anyway, back to the book! The gist is that Rhoda Janzen's husband has left her for a man he met on Gay.com...then a week later she is involved in a horrific car accident...so she goes back home to her Mennonite roots to lick her wounds and recover. If you are looking for a good laugh-out-loud book that might provide you with a little insight into this community, pick this book up! Now, if you are offended by crude humor...I'm talking bathroom humor and the like...I'm not sure I would recommend you reading this book. There are a few instances regarding these types of situations and they are funny, but a little bit "out there" as far as being couth. Oh yea, and there is the occasional curse word (I'm talking maaaaybe 5-10 throughout the entire read).

Janzen's purpose in writing this book was not to be bitter, but find the humor in her situation. She describes how when everything in your life is going wrong, sometimes going home is best because that's where you find out who you truly are. Then, you can dust yourself back off and move forward from that point. I love this moral, by the way.

Below is an interview with Janzen regarding this book. I enjoyed this interview and hope you do too. If you happen to read this book, let me know and we can discuss!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-06-09T09:31:00.000-05:00

This peanut butter cookie recipe I have been making since I was a little girl. Throw in the chocolate chips and it just gets better.

Funny thing, I noticed the Pampered Chef recipe I have on file is the exact same one and I KNOW this recipe is not just a PC recipe. I don't even think PC was around when I was a wee one...wait, I take that back...I just googled it and they started in 1980. OK, so I was barely born after their inception.

I have no idea where my mom got this recipe, we've just had it. The reason I know this is because she'd never heard of PC until I was middle school-ish age. Regardless, this recipe...it's wonderful. Never fail PB cookies. I love 'em. My mouth is salivating looking at the picture below, in fact.

Try 'em soon, I know my ex-neighbor is enjoying them alongside his glazed apple cookes.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup peanut butter (I always use crunchy)

3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat peanut butter, shortening, sugars, egg and vanilla until creamy. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture; blend well. Fold in chocolate morsels.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Make criss-cross marks with fork to flatten (coat fork in sugar to keep dough from sticking to fork). Bake 10-15 minutes. Cool 2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

2010-06-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

So, what did I do with the rest of all those apples? David's poor apple rejects... After the cookies and this recipe, I only had two left. Thank goodness, I hate waste.

This recipe came out of the same 'lil Wal-Mart booklet I referred to yesterday. I guess I was just feelin' these recipes this weekend. Never have I made apple butter, nor have I ever thought to make some. I had clipped this recipe, just for grins, a while back and forgotten about it, then while thumbing through my recipe books...voilà!

Normally, you would want to can apple butter. However, I cut this recipe in half and it only makes enough for me to keep a container and share a container, specifically with my mother and step dad. No canning required! But, if you're into canning and want to make a vat of this stuff, double this recipe and you're good to go!

Though...I will probably get some canning tools eventually. I made jam (freezer jam, specifically) for the first time ever on the weekend of my showers in Kansas. It was fun! And have I mentioned the amount of strawberry jam I now have in my freezer? Perhaps I'll make some jam bars soon...I did volunteer to make some bars for the JH Board Retreat this weekend...hmmm... In the meantime, enjoy this recipe! I sure am!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples

Combine first 3 ingredients in slow cooker, stir to mix well. Add apples, toss to coat.

Cook on low 8-10 hours. For chunky apple butter, break up apples with wooden spoon. For a smooth version, mash with potato masher (this is what I did).

Makes 2-3 cups.

Again, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but this is what it looked like mid-way through. Mmmm...steamy, cinnamony, sweet goodness!

Glazed Apple Cookies

2010-06-07T15:34:00.001-05:00

This weekend was busy, busy, busy for me! And not intentionally...it just happened that way. One of the things I really wanted to do was express how appreciative I have been of the neighbor I have had for the past six years.

There is a small Hispanic family that lives across the street from my now-former abode. The man was (and I'm sure still is) outside constantly. Whether he's doing lawn work, working on his truck, visiting with family members or just hanging out...he's always within view. This also meant he was always on the lookout for our block, which I was grateful for. He was never nosy and never encroached upon anyone's personal business. Just always the friendly neighbor you waved at coming and going.

In fact, the only time I've seen him do anything that could be considered encroaching was, he started parking his truck next door at this little, old lady's house. Her name is Ruby and she's super sweet. She made me a coconut cream pie one time, she's that sweet. I didn't think anything of this at the time, other than to think it was a little odd. But, then Ruby told me that he started doing that at her request. You see, she lives alone and she figured if some random person staking out the street saw two cars parked in her driveway, they wouldn't figure she was alone. It's a protective maneuver. His incentive for parking there? There's a carport, so his truck is protected from the weather. A true win/win situation. He also mows her lawn for her and does odd jobs around the house, which I think is very sweet. A great all-around guy.

What did this neighbor do for me? The main thing was, after trash pick-up he rolled my trash bins up to the house on I don't know how many occasions. There have been other little things like edging my yard without my asking and placing my newspapers/coupon bags (those Buyer's Edge thingies) on my porch (always behind potted plants). Basically, he's the epitome of the perfect neighbor. Very sweet, does things for you and never pries into your personal business. I will miss him and his sweet little family.

About a year ago one of his boys was playing ball with his friends outside. They accidentally broke one of the windows in the front of my house. Not a big one, just a little framing one on the picture window...if you look in my previous post, it's the top left little window. The boy felt awful and didn't want me to tell his parents, but the window needed to be fixed. This window was only broken for a total of...maybe...three hours. I don't know exactly what the boy's punishment ended up being (his scolding was spoken in rapid Spanish, which I only remember a snip-it from high school and college Spanish), but he helped his father go procure and replace the window.

Regardless, I wanted to thank the neighbor for all of his "good doings" and also provide a treat for the boys (to show there's still no hard feelings about the window). What better way to do this than whip up some tasty treats, shall we say cookies? I made these cookies a couple of Christmases ago and they received FAB reviews. They're a little unusual, but make for a yummy holiday treat. I clipped this recipe out of one of those Wal-Mart mini-booklets containing submitted recipes from Wal-Mart shoppers. I have no idea where you get these...I stole this one from my aunt...I might have mentioned that one time before...

Why I decided to make these now had more to do with the fact that there were 12+ apples in my crispier...that were purchased from Sam's and later rejected. You see...David doesn't really like apples...unless they taste juuuuuust right. He's what one might call an apple connoisseur. Or something. Anyway, these apples didn't taste right to him. He said they were mealy...whatever, I think they taste just fine. So, I decided to use them up in this recipe, plus one more that I'll share later this week. I could have gone his mother's route and made an apple pie...but, I didn't. I wanted to make cookies for my neighbor. And I did. These and another cookie recipe I will share with you this week! Yes, that's three whole recipes I'll be posting this week, I'm going to try and make up for lost time.

I forgot to get a pic of the finished product, but just imagine the cookies in the final shot drizzled with a creamy-looking mixture. Try these sometime, they're sure to please!

Glazed Apple Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 egg, beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup milk
2 cups peeled and chopped apples

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1-2 tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat softened butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add salt, cinnamon, cloves and egg, mixing well.

2. Sift together flour and baking soda, add to butter mixture with 1/4 cup milk, stirring well. Add apples, mixing well.

3. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 minutes or until firm when touched (**be sure they're firm, you don't want mushy cookies!). Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, for glaze, combine powdered sugar, melted butter, 1-2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Drizzle cooled cookies evenly with glaze.

Finally, Finally, Finally!

2010-06-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is my house...wait, scratch that...WAS my house. It is finally sold. Finally!

Isn't it a cute little house? This house has been so good to me and I will never regret a day of living in it.

I bought this house the April prior to graduating from college in May of 2004. Six-plus years ago. Wow.

I was still working as a teller at a bank and I'm not quite sure how I was able to afford it then. I probably really couldn't because I needed a roommate and was only working part-time. Honestly, it was probably my connections at this bank that got it done for me, otherwise it would have never happened.

This selling experience has been on intense ordeal. The gentleman that bought this house from me is a veteran and is receiving a VA loan. All the paperwork is that much more cumbersome, not to mention the fact that appraisals and loans are getting more scrutiny now after the mortgage industry fall-out the past few years. He's also receiving that lovely tax credit from the government because we closed prior to the end of this month. The appraisal seemed to take forever to get done and turned in plus the lender has been slow moving the paperwork through. Aren't paperpushers supposed to be good at pushing paper?? Because of all this, closing was rescheduled FIVE times. Yes, five. I was about at my wits end.

But, it's done. And I'm glad. Relieved really.

And a little sad.

The selling of this house represents the closing of one door (and of course, the opening of another). When I purchased this house, I told myself (and anyone else who would listen) that this house was going to last me until I got married. Finding David seemed to take me a while and two years ago I attempted to sell this house and upgrade. I actually had it on the market when David and I met. But, that didn't workout...which actually has turned out best in the end. My original plan was actually "the plan" all along.

And it's worked out wonderfully.

And I'm happy.

The End.

Finally.

Half Broke Horses

2010-06-03T09:00:00.001-05:00

So, I was finally able to read the follow-up novel to The Glass Castle. You guys have read about my love of The Glass Castle more than once before, so I'll spare you a rehashing of that...

This book is the story of Jeannette Walls' maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, who had a very interesting life, to say the least. Jeannette writes about her grandmother from stories her mother has told and retold Jeannette throughout her life. In the epilogue, Jeannette says that the vast majority of these stories she was able to verify going through records (court, newspaper, etc.). This is amazing, considering the shock value of some of the stories told.

I would highly recommend this book if you have read The Glass Castle. If you haven't, I would recommend them both to you.

I will admit that this book didn't quite live up to the reading experience you have in The Glass Castle. Mostly because you're not going to be getting exasperated over and over at someone in this book... ::cough cough:: Rex Walls ::cough cough:: However, you will get irritated by a person here and there, plus the situations that Lily Casey Smith gets thrown at her.

Don't read what I just wrote the wrong way, this is a great book and I loved it. I just didn't feel my blood pressure rising in anger with this story, more I just felt like Lily kept getting antagonized over and over throughout her life. She was definitely a spit-fire with a strong backbone and kept coming back for more! I commend her and loved her character.

If you have read neither book, it doesn't really matter which you read first because one does not necessarily require the story of the other. However, I will say that this book provides a more insightful view into Rosemary's character, Jeannette's mother/Lily's daughter. There were a lot of things that occurred early on in Rosemary's life that helped me understand why she acted the way she did in The Glass Castle. That doesn't necessarily excuse her behavior, but it does provide some perspective into her background that I didn't feel I had before.

Donna and I discussed my take on Rosemary's character after I had finished the book, and she hadn't thought much about this. Did anyone else feel this way about Rosemary upon finishing Half Broke Horses?

This is a very quick read, I believe I read this in less than a 24 hour period. If you are looking for a quick and interesting read, go for this one!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...No, Wait It's Just SHOWERS!

2010-06-02T12:15:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, this past weekend was my first two wedding showers. Because it was going to be a nice, long holiday weekend...and because David and I usually drive up to Kansas on holidays, David's aunt Bev asked me if she could schedule a shower from their side of the family. Bev is Richard's (David's dad) sister-in-law. We'll simply call this the "Z Family" shower.

The "Z Family" shower was fabulous! All of David's cousins, their spouses and children, plus one aunt showed up. We had a fun family picnic and played games. One was a fun matching game where you had to match famous lovers from history, literature, etc. Of course, David and I were one of the couples included in the game. Others that were listed were Romeo & Juliet, George & Martha Washington, Lancelot & Guinevere, Homer & Marge...well, you get the idea. Whomever finished their matching list first and got all the answers correct won.

Did I mention there was great food? We had barbecue with different salads and beans. The absolute BEST part was the dessert though. Let me tell you, this family knows how to do dessert! We ate homemade ice cream, fresh from the garden strawberries, poppy seed cake, PW chocolate cake AND peanut butter cake. OH. MY. GOODNESS. There is nothing better than...well, any of this!

David's family introduced me to poppy seed rolls when I first met them. They are to-die-for! They look like the picture to the right...and Donna, David's mom, told me this was one of my "tests" on whether or not I was a keeper. You HAVE to like poppy seed rolls to be a member of this family, haha! Luckily, David's sister's boyfriend passed this test as well. If you have never had a chance to try these...you must! That black stuff inside is the ground poppy seed spread and it is deeeeeelish. They're like little black, crunchy seeds that are sweet with a tiiiiiiny bit of bitterness. Perfection. Hmmm...maybe we'll get a poppy seed grinder at some point throughout this whole wedding stuff... This is definitely something I'm going to want to learn how to make someday!

Anyway, all I had ever had was poppy seed roll...when I saw the poppy seed cake I HAD to have some...but, I couldn't pass up the PW chocolate cake. I mean, HELLO! Oh yea, and the homemade ice cream AND fresh strawberries. Alas, my tummy was too full to make it to the peanut butter cake. But, I heard it was scrumptious as well.

Getting back to the shower...we also opened presents. Lots and lots o' presents. The Z's also bought us one big present, David's newest pride and joy:

We can't wait to try 'er out! Plus, if anyone has any tasty ice cream recipes, I'm all ears!

David's church was also chomping at the bit to throw me a shower and since we were already up that way this weekend, they scheduled theirs for after the service on Sunday. Because we both have/had established households (I'll give an update on my house-selling adventure soon-promise!), they ran with the idea of a recipe shower. I had never heard of this before, but I was game. What the attendees bring is one of their favorite recipes along with a utensil or appliance required to make the dish. This was A LOT of fun! David was extra excited to see what I came back with because the women in this church have a reputation for being great cooks/bakers.

I received everything from a crock pot to dish towels (my favorite one was embroidered with "Crystal's Kitchen") to servers to a cookie sheet to a cake pan to a peeler and many, many more items! One of my favorite items that I cannot wait to try out are silicone cupcake liners. They look exactly like this...only different colors. Don't worry, there will be a review on these cuties! My other favorite item was a custom-made modern-looking apron in colors of red and purple. I'll have David take a picture of me wearing it some time.

Of course, I received TONS of recipes as well. A lot of these women couldn't pick just one, so it wasn't unusual for me to open a present with 2-3 recipes and 2-3 items for these recipes. You can be sure I'll be trying a bunch of these recipes out (everything from muffins to cakes to meat marinades to casseroles) and if they're goodies, I'll be posting 'em!

To say that David and I made out like bandits this past weekend is an understatement. I am so incredibly thankful for this new family and church environment that David has been raised within. These are some great people and I look for many years to come with these generous and warm-hearted individuals! I am truly blessed to have found this man and his delightful family and friends. More wedding updates to come!

Eclipse

2010-06-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

OK, so this weekend I was able to continue on with my Twilight addiction...errr, I mean reading. I was able to finish Eclipse and I have to say that it was a little slow in parts for me, but I did end up loving it just as much as the first two. Now, on to Breaking Dawn...when I have time. I know all you real Twilight lovers are appalled that it's taking me this long to read the entire series, but with a wedding to plan and a house to sell...well, time is not my friend!

What I'm really excited about is going to see the movie with my fellow Twilight-enjoying friend, Susan. We're going to the Warren Theater as soon as we get a chance. They have fabulous food and fabulous seats and this should be a fabulous movie...not to mention the fabulous time I'll have with one of my best friends!

This weekend I was able to finish this book, read another and begin a third. Why do you ask? Well, I had a lovely weekend visiting the future in-laws because it was a nice, long holiday weekend and I had my first two wedding showers. Be looking forward to an additional book review (or two!) and a recap of these showers within the next couple days!

Go-To Recipe for Banana Bread

2010-05-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

To say that David loves banana bread is an understatement. He adores me when I make this recipe, so obviously it's a Dave's Fave. Well, we had a few overly ripe bananas laying around on the counter, so I decided to whip this up. This is a perfect breakfast snack for him in the morning before work.

I've tried a few banana bread recipes and this one is by far my favorite. It's quick and easy and you can make little additions here and there if you want. There is no need for a mixer, just sitr it all up with a wooden spoon. Want to add a little nutmeg? Go ahead. Want to add a few chocolate chips? No harm, no foul. Want to add some nuts? I don't know why you would because they're gross, but go right ahead if you please. Once prepared the bread should look something like the below picture, beautifully and unevenly cracked down the middle. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

3-4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix.

Pour mixture into a butter 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for one hour.

Cool on a rack.

Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole

2010-05-20T11:16:00.001-05:00

Here's a quick and easy recipe that I made on Tuesday night. I clipped this recipe out of a coupon book in the Sunday paper a looooooong time ago. This is a Campbell's Soup recipe and it's a nice and healthy alternative to most casseroles with a good amount of flavor.

Of course, I made a few alterations and one addition. The addition wasn't healthy, but hey...it was good. Maybe if I had used turkey bacon I could still say we were trying to be reallllly healthy...but I didn't. However, the three bites of bacon in my serving didn't kill me or my waistline.

Hearty Chicken and Noodle Casserole
Revised from Campbell's version (changes in red)

1 can (10 1/2 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup (I used the 98% Fat Free version)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I used a little more, about 3/4 cup each of frozen peas and frozen corn)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I boiled then cubed two chicken breasts)
2 cups medium egg noodles, cooked and drained (I used whole grain thin spaghetti)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 strips of bacon, cooked

1. Stir soup, milk, black pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, vegetables, chicken and noodles in 1 1/2-qt. casserole dish. Top with cooked, crumbled bacon.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir.

3. Top with Cheddar cheese.

Makes four servings.

David and I polished this off last night. Yum!