What's Cooking?

Crock Pot Cafe Rio Chicken

Cooked some of this chicken yesterday and have it in the fridge ready for some quick meals.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Just made a batch of this Alfredo Sauce. Yummy stuff. Added some sauteed mushrooms over angel hair pasta. Quite a tasty meal.

#39

Catch Me : A Detective DD Warren by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I figured it out too soon. That always disappoints me just a little. Otherwise, this was a good read. Easy and quick. Not too involved. Some brutal subject matter but it's another good outing for DD and company. Enjoyed the moments with her family.

Detective DD Warren is investigating a murder when she finds a note on her car and catches a glimpse of a person lurking around the crime scene. When she confronts the woman, Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant tells her a story unlike anything she's ever heard. Charlie believes that she will be murdered on January 21 at 8pm. You see for the past two years her best friends have been murdered on that date at that time and she knows she's next.


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What's Cooking?

Sunday I did the Beer Crock Pot Chicken. It was quite tasty. Made some pan roasted squash and mashed potatoes to go with it. It wasn't a very colorful meal but it was good. Forgot to take a picture.

There was leftover chicken so on Monday I used it to make these Chicken Bacon Taquitos. The avocado sauce is excellent. Good stuff. Had some nice fresh watermelon to go with and it was good eating at my house for lunch!

Pinterest has sucked up loads of my time, but I've found some truly wonderful recipes. There's loads of fun stuff to be found there!

Book #38

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second book in the Divergent series and it explained a great deal about the factions. The fighting and the war that takes place in this book is again brutal. The manipulation that Jeannine perpetrates is appalling. The romance between Four and Tris was just about right. The family story was phenomenal. I enjoyed then ending and can't wait to read the next book to find out even more.


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What's for dinner?

I've gone through my food board on Pinterest and chosen some recipes for the week. Not sure when I'll make everything, but hopefully I'll get to all these:

Beer Crockpot Chicken
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin
Bacon Mushroom Quiche
Spaghetti

That's my plan for the week. Hopefully I can stick to it.

Book #37

Shock Wave by John Sandford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read this one while I was at the beach. Didn't take the time to do the review. Oh boy, why do I do that? I love John Sandford. The Lucas Davenport Prey series is one of the best series out there and is a must read for me. Virgil Flowers had made some appearances there and he's a great character. This series is almost as good.
There's a huge mega store coming to town and not everybody is happy. There are the towns people who are probably going to go bankrupt and lose their businesses. There are the fishing enthusiasts who are worried about the run off ruining a great river. The politicians who seem to have taken bribes to change votes and approve the big store. And somewhere among all those folks is a bomber who is intent on stopping the store from being built and killing a few bystanders. Virgil Flowers gets the call on his day off and travels to another small Minnesota town to help the local Sheriff solve the crimes. There are some good twists and turns. Some good suspects who get cleared. And of course Virgil gets his guy.


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#36 of 2012

Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What to say about this book? It's YA. It's dystopian. It's family drama. It's brutal. I liked it alot. Can't wait to read the next book and see what happens.


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Book #35

Defending Jacob: A Novel by William Landay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the reviews of this book and expected something really good. It delivered. Reviews warned of a twist and I guess you could call the end a twist. I expected a couple of things that happened, but that didn't make this book less satisfying. I think I'm a pretty savvy reader so there's not much that gets past me. (except the ending of My Sister's Keeper, I'm still pissed off about that twist. I literally threw the book across the room and hit the wall!)

When a teenager is murdered in Newton, Assistant DA Andy Barber is called to the scene to get the investigation going. The boy is a classmate of his son Jacob. Andy has a suspect, but is blindsided when his son is arrested. Andy never waivers in his fight to prove his son's innocence. Even when his past comes to light.

It's a murder mystery, a crime drama, a courtroom thriller and a family study. Great read.


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My version of Chicken Parmesan

My son loves my chicken parm. It's not what you'd get in a fancy restaurant or even in a not so fancy restaurant. It's what you get when I cook . I hate measuring ingredients so there are no measurements here. Use as much as you think you'll need to feed your family. Today, I used 2 chicken breasts, one 24oz. can of sauce and a box of noodles.
My easy Chicken Parm
boneless skinless chicken breasts
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti sauce
noodles
olive oil, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

look at all that brown goodness!

because it's not chunky 

Cut your chicken into pieces. I like bite sized pieces, but you can cut your's any size you want them or you can leave them whole. It's all up to you. Season the chicken with garlic and Italian seasoning. You can add salt if you want, but I don't. My favorite thing to season the chicken with is some of that mix you can get that you put in olive oil to dip bread into. You know what I'm talking about. Stuff is good, but if you don't have it just use Italian seasoning. Brown your chicken in olive oil. Once your chicken is browned, put it in a casserole dish and sprinkle it with some Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese then pour your spaghetti sauce over it. I use Hunt's Four Cheese Pasta Sauce. You could make your own or use your favorite jar sauce. Add more cheese on top and pop it in the oven at about 350°. Cook it until the cheese is all melty, bubbly goodness.  Cook up some noodles (we like angel hair) and serve it up hot and delicious.

Please don't look at the burnt stuff on the casserole dish!

Can you see the steam? 

Adventures of an Amateur Writer: Giveaway Time!

Adventures of an Amateur Writer: Giveaway. Time!

Go check it out. I've read and reviewed the book and really liked the story. And according to the author, some of the things I 'complained' about were fixed in the edited version that has now been uploaded. Check it out, maybe you'll be one of the lucky folks to receive a free ebook.