2015 Reading Challenge - CATCH UP, part two

Two books I've recently read....

Mind of a Molester, by Kenneth Quinn

 

 

This book is written by a friend of mine. It is presented in a very informative and interesting way. It showcases and highlights a raw and open account of addiction and healing. He shares the story of his past and how he worked through it...and beyond it.

 

 

Why I Married a Murderer and How I Survived the Divorce, by Teresa Roberts.

 



 

You know... sometimes you just end up with a book in your collection...with no rhyme or reason for it being there. So you read it. That's what happened...and that's what I did.  Not impressed. This book was basically a run down of the ups and downs of dating and all the bad relationships this lady ended up in.......almost a "poor pitiful me" type thing. 



UPDATE: Pinterest Project - Homemade Laundry Soap

So... I left off with a full bucket of homemade laundry soap - with plans to return here in May with an update as to how well it's done on cleaning my clothes....and how long it lasted.

 

 

This was taken this morning. I'm to the bottom of the bucket --- with maybe enough detergent for 10-12 more loads. I'm impressed.... and I'd say this is a money saving venture. I spent $28 in January....and haven't purchased laundry soap since. As far as cleaning my clothes --- I've not had any problems. They're clean, they smell nice....so I think in the next few weeks I'll be gathering the supplies to make another batch ----We'll see if the second batch will last me the remainder of the year! 

My First Manicure

My First Manicure.....EVER.

What possessed me to do this? I have no clue. BUT... I did it. And I loved it!

The relationship I've had with my nails has always been a strained one....very rarely was I ever able to let them grow. But, I've tried to do better at this....  leaving them alone and just letting them do their own thing. 

I came across a Groupon 1/2 off coupon for a manicure at a local salon ... so I went with it. $15....not bad. Worth it. This one lasted for a good week.

Will I be going back? I do think so. The kicker for me is going to be the cost. $15 isn't a bad deal to spend ever so often for this little pampering.... but $30.Hmmm.... maybe for special occasions only!

2015 Reading Challenge - Catch UP!

This past month or so has been BUSY for me.... school has just about done me in this semester. I was taking 3 classes - one of which was Biology and the teacher in that class was rough-stuff! BUT --- here it is...the week of finals... and I'm actually able to take a small breath and a quick sigh of relief as I play catch up on several things.  My hope and plan is to get back in the blogging groove now that this semester is essentially done with.

First things first.... well... easy things first, how's that.  Somehow I have managed to read during all of this semester crazy-ness!  Six books, I think... is what I need to update on. Impressive, huh? Some of them were quick reads...so it's not as daunting and impressive as it sounds.

"A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit" --- For this category I chose a book off my overstuffed bookshelf:

Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend Of Betrayal, Courage And Survival is a novel by Velma Wallis, set in northeastern Alaska.
The basic summary of this story is two old women spend the winter abandoned by their tribe in the wilderness. They survive...and thrive. It was a quick read...and not overly impressive. I suppose Alaskan legends aren't really my thing. But, this little book has been on my shelf for a little while now - so it was time to read it and move on. I will find it a new home soon...
I chose this category...because I think Alaska is someplace I'd like to visit....maybe in the form of an Alaskan cruise?

Under One Roof: Lessons I learned from a Tough Old Woman in a Little Old House. by Barry Martin. This is a heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship between the superintendent of a massive construction project and the old woman who refuses to sell her tiny house that sits in the way of the project. I'm not sure if this is the exact story that the movie 'Up' was coined after.... but, it's a VERY similar tale. I was expecting to shed a few tears with this book.... but surprisingly I didn't. It was a sweet story. 
I put this book under the "book based on a true story" category.....and passed it on to my sis.

Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever with You. by Laurelin Paige. Similar to the whole 50 Shades storyline, but without a lot of the physical BDSM stuff. I LOVED this trilogy. I listed to the first two via audio book then read the third one on Kindle. If you liked 50Shades.... then I'd suggest you check this trilogy out.
I, of course, put this under my "Trilogy" category.

Hudson by Laurelin Paige. This is book 4 of the "Fixed Trilogy". I could've done just fine without this one. Take it or leave it --- it didn't really add much to the other three. It was just "ok" and provided a little backstory to Hudson, the main male character in the Fixed Trilogy. I read this via Kindle. 
I put this under the "Book with one-word title" category.

There ya have it.... the handful of books I've recently read. Not sure what I'll start on next......

As for the 2015 Reading Challenge --- I've read 14 books...leaving 38 more to read!

New Recipes: Teriyaki Pork Chops and Beef Tips n Gravy

Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share..... but, I do have recipes!

This past weekend, I stocked up on a few groceries and decided to throw together a couple more freezer meals while I had the stuff -- and the time.

Teriyaki Pork Chops
4-5 pork chops (I chose the boneless chops)
salt and pepper to taste
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth

Combine all ingredients in Ziploc. Freeze. Thaw the night before. Crockpot it for 4-5 hours high or 6-7 hours low.  Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

(I took this same recipe and prepared a freezer meal with chicken as well. So - two meals with one recipe. We haven't tried this version of Teriyaki chicken yet.)

I dumped the bag in the crockpot on lunch and set it to low. Once home that evening, I whipped up some mashed potatoes and veggies and served the pork chops like I normally would. The juice was too runny for any sort of gravy.

The chops were super tender --- and full of flavor throughout. Em and I both enjoyed this recipe --- and will be making it again.

Beef Tips n Gravy
1 1/2 lbs of stew meat
1 pkt dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom
1 (14oz) can of beef broth
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in Ziploc. Freeze. Thaw the night before. Crockpot it 8-10 hours on low, 4-5 hours on high. Serve with/over mashed potatoes.

THIS RECIPE IS YUMM-O-LISCIOUS!!  I was late getting it dumped into the crockpot...2pm... so worried that it wouldn't be done when I got home from work. I was right. Even though I set it on high, when I got home around 5 and checked it - the meat was done, but not tender. So, I went on with the evening taking care of other things around the house. At 7pm I checked it again - PERFECT! The meat chunks were tender and dinner was ready! I whipped up some mashed potatoes and heated a can of carrots and TA-DA! Dinner was served....and dinner was YUMMY!

This recipe ended up making a lot of gravy. Well, and a lot of food too. Em and I enjoyed it for dinner, then I savored it again for lunch the following day. I kept the remaining gravy and had it over mashed potatoes again the following night for dinner. So - next time, I may try it with 2 pkgs of stew meat instead of just one.

This is comfort food to a T!  Em enjoyed it ... but I'm not sure she enjoyed it as much as I did.  This will definitely be done again!

2015 Reading Challenge - Black Like Me

For the 2015 Reading Challenge, the category "A book your mom liked" -  Well, when we asked mom what her favorite book was.... her response was that she didn't really read much, and the only book she could recall ever reading was "Black Like Me".  So, this will have to do for this category.

My thoughts. The book is a slow read....hard to get through at times...dry and slow.  But - I think the overall story behind it was interesting. Here's the summary on it from Wikipedia:

Black Like Me is a nonfiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Dallas, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience travelling on Greyhound buses (occasionally hitchhiking) throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia passing as a black man. Sepia Magazine financed the project in exchange for the right to print the account first as a series of articles.
Griffin kept a journal of his experiences; the 188-page diary was the genesis of the book.
At the time of the book's writing in 1959, race relations in America were particularly strained and Griffin aimed to explain the difficulties that black people faced in certain areas. Under the care of a doctor, Griffin artificially darkened his skin to pass as a black man.


One thing I found interesting...and would have enjoyed seeing worked into the book somehow, was towards the end of the book the author mentions having photos taken at some of the places he went. I would be neat to see those photos....but they weren't included in this book.

I think this book would be an interesting and informative read for anyone studying race relations and such. I certainly wonder how the experiment would be different in today's world.

New Recipe - Steak Roll Ups

Em and I tried steak pinwheels (steak, cheese, spinach rolled together) a while back ... that Kroger had available in their deli. They were really good....but... really expensive. Almost $11...for 2. WOW. 

So I've been rolling it around in my head, trying to figure out how to do these at home - cheaper, but just as yummy. I came across some thin sliced steaks the other day.... and thought they'd be the perfect size to try this. The cost of 6 thin sliced steaks...$3.

The next step was to figure out what kind of cheese was in the pinwheels. Last night when I was grocery shopping, I stopped by the meat case and there they were ... the $11 pinwheels. It would appear the cheese used is Parmesan. Interesting. From there I went to the cheese department -- to try and figure out if it was possible - financially sound - to purchase a chunk of Parmesan. It was.. less than $2. 

The spinach --- I had purchased a box of mixed salad greens for salads and such ---- so I picked out the spinach leaves.

So --- for less than $6 I had all the ingredients to attempt this. Quite a bit cheaper!

 

Sliced the cheese. The actual cheese I used was Parmentino - a blend of parmesan and sharp cheddar. It's a good cheese -- strong, but good.

 

Layered the cheese slice on top of the meat, then a layer of spinach leaves. Rolled them up tight and pinned them shut with a toothpick. (Soaked the toothpicks in water beforehand) They aren't "pinwheels" ... so we named them "roll ups".

 

Covered them in foil and baked them for 15-20 minutes at 350degrees. Uncovered and turned the heat up for about 5 more minutes. Done!

 

 

 

Served with Parmesan couscous and a side salad of mixed greens. I think this is a pretty healthy meal --- and it turned out GREAT!!!

 

My take: Yum! I'm comfortable to experiment with this idea again.

Ems take: "Really good -- better than I thought it was going to be. Maybe even better than the other ones from Kroger."