Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Cheese and Culture

I noticed one of my coworkers completely absorbed in this book. I nearly ripped it out of her hands to see what it was. She was enjoying it so I hope I like it.

A Queer and Pleasant Danger

I can't remember where I saw this one but it sounded good.

Shucked

I spotted this one on the library shelf and thought it might be good for the Foodies Read 2 Challenge. Plus I love oysters.

Made In America

Another one I picked up off the shelf. I've never read any of Bryson's work so I'll give this one a try.

Cooking From The Farmer's Market

Another good looking cookbook I spotted on the shelf.

What did you get this week?

Pin It And Do It Challenge: Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps and Easy Extra Creamy Mac & Cheese

Tai and I were talking about what to make for dinner. I had some chicken and bacon cooling in the fridge. Tai suggested wrapping the chicken in bacon so I started looking through some pins to see if I could find an idea. When I found these Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps, I knew I found a winner. But if we were having them for dinner we needed a side or something to make it a meal. I had just pinned a mac and cheese recipe and knew that would be the perfect compliment.
Here's the Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps:

Source: jamhands.net via Linda on Pinterest

Here's the Easy Extra Creamy Mac & Cheese:

Source: clevercraftycookinmama.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's mine:

Oh my god. So good. Jeff added some spices (garlic, red pepper, black pepper, oregano) to the mac and cheese. I didn't add the whole can of evaporated milk. I added a little at a time until it was the right consistency.
I followed the recipe to the t on the chicken bacon wraps and they were so good. You couldn't stop eating them.
I highly suggest both of these recipes. They were both pretty easy. The wraps were slightly time consuming but still really easy.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Confessions

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme started at The Broke And The Bookish.

This week's topic: Top Ten Bookish Confessions (Anything! You dog ear, you hated a book but said you loved it, you have $500 library fines...anything goes!)

1. I buy books but don't read them. Library books get read before any book I own. And you know I always have library books.

2. Loan me a book and it might take a while to get it back. Same as the previous confession. I read library books before any other book.

3. I hide stacks of library books so I can't see how tall Mt Library Loot has gotten. I hide them in bags or in the trunk of my car.

4. I get defensive when people don't like books I like and they are mean about it. Or worse if someone say but it's just a book when I get worked up over the characters. Best way to get me pissy in a hurry.

5. It seems like the list of books I want to read grows faster than I can read. This makes me sad.

6. I get sad when I have to take a book back to the library unread.

7. I don't always want to read bestsellers. Sometimes I love those ones that no one has heard of. 

8. I'm still obsessed with Ready Player One. Wil Wheaton is going to be at PAX and I keep joking how I want him to read Ready Player One to me, live. He's got 17 hours to kill right?

I only got eight this time. I started listing pet peeves and I got ranty. It wasn't good. Besides the topic is confessions, not rants. 

What are you bookish confessions?

Pin It and Do It Challenge: Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

The minute I saw these, I knew I had to make them. Gooey, chocolatey yummy goodness. I'm so glad I did. They were delicious.

Source: noshandtell.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's how mine turned out:

They were a huge hit. So rich and delicious. And actually pretty easy to make.

Pin It and Do It: Double Failure

I admit I've gotten cocky. I see a recipe, bam, I make it and it's great. But lately I've made two recipes that didn't turn out so well.
The first one I didn't even take pictures. It wasn't that it was so bad. I was so disappointed that I couldn't take pictures.

Source: paleomg.com via Linda on Pinterest

I had such high hopes for this one but it was so bland. I added red pepper flakes but it lacked any zing. Fail.
This one I did take pictures of. I high hopes for it since it uses the crockpot and uses cube steak which I can find pretty cheap. But no.

Source: thepost-itplace.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's my picture:

Looks like dog food huh? I used 2 lbs of cubed steak, 2 cans of ready to eat mushroom soup, 1 packet of onion soup mix, and 3/4 cup of water. And it was way too salty to eat. I don't know if it was the mushroom soup I used or what. Also the meat was a little overcooked. I cooked on low for 9 hours. If I made it again I would cook for a shorter period of time (ie not on a work day).
Have you made something that didn't turn out recently?







Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Red Beef Curry

High Flavor Low Labor is quickly becoming my favorite cookbook. I really wanted to make this Red Curry Beef recipe and I so glad I did. It was so delicious.

I followed the recipe very closely. Actually I doubled the recipe and had plenty of leftover for lunch the next day. I will definitely be making this recipe again.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.




Another large stack for me.

Redshirts

I've been wanting to read this one since I heard it was coming out. 

Favorite Japanese Dishes

I spotted a good looking Teriyaki dish in here.

Japanese Healthy High Style Cooking

Obviously I'm trying to learn more Japanese recipes.

Gaming The Vote

I got lost on my way to the cookbooks and spotted this on the shelf. The upcoming elections were on my mind and I thought this might be an interesting read.

Unhooked

I spotted this one on the shelf too. I remember hearing about it when it came out.

The Wanderers

I'm joining Sara Jayne's library challenge. The cover caught my eye. Although I just found out it's the third in the series. We'll see how I do. 

Best Places Northwest Cookbook

Leafing through this one I think it will be more of a travel guide, a list of places to go than providing recipes. 

Plenty

I've been wanting to read this one for a while.

The Lazy Gourmet

Looking for more quick meal ideas.

The Frugal Foodie Cookbook

Looked interesting so I thought I'd give a try.

So what did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books You've Read During The Lifespan Of Your Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme started at The Broke And The Bookish.

This week's topic is the top ten favorite books you've read during the lifespan of your blog.

I've linked to my original post for each book.

 Ready Player One

     Across The Universe

    An Everlasting Meal

      Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

       Almost Perfect

    The Hunger Games

      The Riders of The Apocalypse series

       My Life In France

      Ballad

   The Fault In Our Stars 

What have been your favorites since you've been blogging?

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I nearly squealed when I saw The Fault In Our Stars on the library shelf. I had heard so many good things about it. No lie, one of the best books I've ever read.
So Hazel has cancer. At one point everything thought she was going to die but the Miracle happened and she's better. Not going to live forever better but going to live longer than she thought. Hazel's not a typical teen. She carries an oxygen tank. She gets winded easily so she's limited on a lot of activities. Hazel also thinks this as good as life gets. She gets up, watches reality tv, hangs out with her parents and goes to a support group for other kids with cancer. Then she meets Augustus and her life changes.
Once you read that this a book about kids with cancer, you might have some preconceived notions. You might think that it's going to be depressing or Hazel and Augustus will inspire you with their story and you'll be changed by their inspiration. That last part might be true but not in the way you'd think. The Fault In Our Stars is real. Hazel and Augustus are teens. They act like teens. They are moody, grumpy, happy, and thoughtful. Oh and they have cancer. I didn't feel sorry for Hazel or Augustus because they had cancer. In fact cancer doesn't stop Augustus from doing the things he wants to do. Nor does he let it stop his friend, Isaac, even when cancer takes a toll on his body.
Augustus is awesome. I adored his attitude. I tend to be more like Hazel, cautious, a little distrustful. Augustus is always grand. I love that word, grand. How Augustus sees Hazel is a thing of beauty. The love story in this book is amazing. How two people find each and despite life succeed at making each other happy and loved.
Green's writing is fantastic. This is my first solo Green book. I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson which I loved. I can't wait to read more of Green's work. How he describes certain scenes was wonderful. I laughed out loud more than once. I was proud of myself for not crying. But the next day I got sad. Not only was I done with The Fault In Our Stars but the end finally hit me. I didn't shed any tears but I did feel the gravity of the characters lives hit me.
Go out and read this book immediately. You will not be disappointed. Others who shared their thoughts: Southern Girl Reads, Good Books & Good Wine, Book Journey, Love, Laughter, and A Touch of Insanity, Library Queue, BookBorne, You've GOTTA Read This, Books. Lists. Life, Pub Writes, Devourer of Books, The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader, Jenn Musing, GReads!, The Lost Entwife, and The Written World.

Weekend Cooking: The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila

I added The Homemade Pantry to my library queue because I'm always looking to make store bought items at home. Frequently I don't have the time but a girl can dream about the days where she can make her own pasta and crackers, right?
Sadly, this book is due back at the library today and I didn't get a chance to make any of the recipes from it. Such is life right? Well I decided I would try one of the car snacks (The Sweet Bar) because I had all the ingredients handy as well as it was a quick not time consuming recipe.

My bars didn't stay together. But they were delicious anyway. I used honey since I didn't have the golden syrup. Jeff took some of the bar and topped his ice cream with it. I'll probably break some up over yogurt for breakfast.
I did find Alana's Pinterest account. Follow her for plenty of food related pins!






Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.
This was my seventh read for the Foodies Read 2 Challenge.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

I've been wanting to read Amy & Roger's Epic Detour since it came out. I hear so many good things about it and I wasn't disappointed. I loved Amy & Roger's Epic Detour.
Let me just say I love road trips. I wish I took more of them. I would love to take a trip across the United States like Amy and Roger. I think that would be so much fun.
I loved Amy and Roger from the start. Two people leaving behind someone that meant a lot to them, heading toward someplace neither of them wanted to go. No wonder they took a detour! I was really rooting for Amy. She's lost and so vulnerable. I just wanted to hug her. And Roger. What a cutie! I really liked him. I loved how Roger and Amy's relationship developed. I liked how things built from virtual strangers to more.
One tiny thing I didn't like was that Amy's friend Julia kept reaching out to Amy and there was a lack of resolution there. I felt like that just ended. It didn't feel right to me. I also wish there would have been more interaction between Amy and her brother, Charlie. Man, they had some stuff to work out too. There's a tiny bit but I did want more. The book is fairly long so I can see why not everything made it in. Maybe it's just cause I liked Amy and Roger so much. I hated to see the book end. Perhaps a sequel? I'd love to read more about Amy and Roger at some point.
I loved the playlists they included but sadly I didn't know most of the bands! I'm about twice the age of Matson's target audience. I wish I didn't have to rush the book back to the library. I would have liked to listen to some of the songs Amy and Roger listen too. I definitely wanted to rush out and take a road trip. My ideal road trip music would include the Glee soundtrack and a lot of Black Eyed Peas and Pitbull.
I highly recommend Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. I loved the road trip aspect as well as the characters. Definitely one of my favorites this year. Others who shared their thoughts on Amy & Roger's Epic Detour: The Sweet Bookshelf, Melanie’s Musings, Good books and good wine, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing, and The perpetual Page Turner.

Pin It And Did It: No Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I'm counting this for the challenge despite it not turning out all that great.
I pinned this no bake chocolate chip granola bar recipe because I'm always looking for snacks and treats for Tai. Now, that I'm trying to make more food for us to take to work, Tai likes having something like a muffin or a granola bar for breakfast. I pinned these granola bars because they seemed easy and had all the ingredients I usually have on hand.

Source: laurenslatest.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's mine:

Now, I do think I made them too thin but they don't taste that yummy to me. I think I might have put too much vanilla. But they lack much nutritional oomph for me to make them again. I'm on the hunt for another granola bar to make.
Do you have a granola bar recipe to share with me?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

My name is Linda and I have an addiction to library books. Is there a 12 step program I can join?

The Peach Keeper

I've been wanting to read this one since I read about it on Staci's blog. 

Partials

I've heard good this about this so I thought I'd give a shot.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in A Ship of Her Own Making

I've been wanting to read this one forever. I was very happy to spot this one on the shelf.

The Metaphysical Club

When people know you read a lot of books, you get a lot of book recommendations. One of my coworkers said this was her favorite book this year.

The Clutter Cure

When I spotted this one on Eva's loot, I immediately added to it my library queue.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Again another one I wanted to read because all the cool kids are.

Two At The Table

While I like having leftovers sometimes I just want enough for the two of us. I made the Hazelnut-crusted salmon the other night. Delicious.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

Another I spied on the shelf and remembered wanting to read.

Julie & Julia

I've wanted to read this one for a long time despite Julie annoying me in the movie version. We'll see how print Julie compares to movie Julie.

Let's Cook Japanese Food

I spotted this one on the shelf too and couldn't say no.

Good Eats: The Early Years

I love Good Eats and Alton Brown. I'm looking forward to finding some good recipes in this one.

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

I've been wanting to read this one for ages. 

Whew! That was a lot.

What did you get this week?