What To Eat This Week

Another good week filled with yummy meals.

 Knock Your Socks off Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage served with roasted green beans and brown rice. Sadly our socks were not knocked off. It was ok but nothing spectacular. Probably will not make again.

Garlic and Apple Butter Pork Tenderloin with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted green beans. The tenderloin was so moist and juicy. Would definitely make again. 

 Garlic Sauce Chicken with sauteed spinach and roasted sweet potatoes. Chicken was very tasty. Will make again.

This was a Linda creation. Thinly sliced pork chops, seasoned with Old Bay, fried in bacon fat. I sauteed red cabbage, onion, and apple slices in butter. More roasted green beans. Delicious. Would make again.

Simple Spinach Frittata and Brazilian Cheese Bread. Another family favorite. Quick too.

Steak, mac and cheese, and cheesy mashed cauliflower. I was underwhelmed by the steak and mac and cheese. This was our Valentine's Day meal. We normally have bacon-wrapped scallops and steak but there were no scallops at the store. So I made mac and cheese. It was ok but not cheesy enough. The cauliflower was the perfect consistency and I would make that again.

On to this week:

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

One Pot Taco Casserole

North Woods Bean Soup

Easy 20 minute baked cod with garlic and herbs

Dinner out

Easy Tuscan Bean Soup

Jill's Pork Tenderloin

What's on your menu this week?

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I picked up To All The Boys I've Loved Before because I'd seen good reviews and honestly it sounded fun. Wow, I was blown away about how much I liked this book. I had a hard time putting it down and I tried to skip dinner in favor of finishing it. Dinner had to be made but I made something quick so I could finish it.

Lara Jean's going to be a junior in high school this year. Her older sister is headed to college. Lara Jean will be the responsible sister and watch out for her dad and little sister. But Lara Jean's got a problem. The five letters she wrote to the boys she's loved in her life have been sent to those boys. Do they still remember her? Do they like her too? Does she still love any of them?

At first I didn't really get much from Lara Jean. I liked her older sister, Margot, but she was headed off to college. Slowly Lara Jean grew on me. Lara Jean just needed some time to come into her own. And then all the boys get their letters and Lara Jean has to deal with the aftermath especially since she thinks she might be falling for one of them again. This was such a sweet story. I enjoyed how Lara Jean grew and learned how she fit into things. Without her older sister, she needed to learn what she wanted. I also liked Josh and Peter, two of the boys who get the letters. I could really feel them jump off the page. Lara Jean's little sister, Kitty, jumped off the page. She was a hoot. I really liked the family dynamics of Lara Jean's family. Plus Josh, the boy next door who kind of reminded me of Jase from My Life Next Door. I was sad when I finished it but super excited that book two will be out soon. I really enjoyed this one (ya think?). I'll be looking for more of Han's books. Others who shared their thoughts on To All The Boys I've Loved Before: The Book Monsters, The Novel Hermit, and What A Nerd Girl Says.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me 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 Real Children

My friend, Kelly, invited me to a real life book club and this was the book they are reading. I've been wanting to read some Walton.

Flora and Ulysses

Looks cute. A friend liked it.

One For The Books

Recommended by a friend.

What did you get this week? Claire's got the linky this week.

Teaser Tuesday-Far Flung and Well Fed: The Food Writing of RW Apple Jr

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"They have been curing hams in this tidy little community of 7,000 on the southern shore of the broad James River, only a few miles downstream from Jamestown and Williamsburg, for 200 years and more. Queen Victoria, it is said, was an avid consumer of the local delicacy. "
pg 51 Far Flung and Well Fed

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

I added The Color Purple to my library hold list probably five or six times. I've been meaning to read it for ages. Finally, I read it. And it was amazing. I'm glad I read it and I look forward to reading more by Walker.

I honestly didn't know much about The Color Purple going in. I've never seen the movie. So here's a little about it: Celie is a young black woman in the 30's. She's raising her brothers and sisters, while her father beats and rapes her. While trying to protect her sister from a similar fate, she marries a man who also beats and rapes while she cares for his kids. But Walker doesn't flinch from the difficulties in Celie's life. The Color Purple is very honest. Walker shows that not only Celie gets this kind of treatment but so does Sofia or at least her husband tries to beat Sofia. Celie and Sofia were very matter of fact this is my life what more is there. While Celie and Sofia (more Sofia) knew it wasn't right, they knew little would change. Sofia had a lot of fight in her and found it impossible to stay down while others beat her.

While it sounds depressing, it was a beautiful story. A story of family, love, relationships, and faith. It's told in letters written by Celie so it takes some getting used to but still a wonderfully told story. Others who shared their thoughts on The Color Purple: Book Drum, The Blue Bookcase, and Literary Corner Cafe.
This satisfies the color category for The What's In A Name Challenge.

What To Eat This Week

     

 Sausage and Potato Soup

Delicious. Always a favorite.

Vegan Red Cabbage Bowls with Tofu and Peanut Sriracha Sauce

I added more veggies than the recipe called for and sprinkled some cilantro over the salads too. Good. Would make again.

Cauliflower Crust Pizzas 

Yummy. 

Cold Soba Noddle

I used thinly sliced meat from the grocery store rather than sukiyaki meat. I won't do that again. It was a little tough and hard to eat. Will make again.

On to this week.

 Garlic and Apple Butter Pork Tenderloin

 

 Garlic Sauce Chicken

 Pasta Fagioli

Hake with Crispy Sweet Garlic and Olive Oil

Dinner with friends

Steak and bacon-wrapped scallops

 No Time Taco Soup

What's on your menu this week?

January 2015 Goals Update

How did I do in January on my goals?

1. Make one meatless meal for dinner a week. We ate Bacon-Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder and Spinach Frittata. One week didn't happen. So far everyone's ok with eating meatless once a week. And bacon so doesn't count.

2. Continue working on my fitness and lose another 30 lbs.  I went to the gym 12 times in January and once to yoga. Yoga is my new favorite thing. I didn't think I would like hot yoga but I do. It's pretty relaxing. No new weight lost but glad I'm maintaining what I've already lost.

3. Go back to meal planning. I'm doing it. It's working!

4. Schedule one do nothing, stay home weekend a month. I added this goal more for the summer and holiday time but the end of January got a little busy. We stayed home and did nothing 2 weekends out of the month.

5. Plan one trip with Tai this year. Haven't even thought about this one.

6. Get a will and other necessary estate planning documents. Haven't even thought about this.

7. Clean and declutter one room a month. I decided to start easy and do our downstairs hall closet. Here's the before shots:

Total chaos. I kept trying to make things neat but there was no organization. Plus tons of wasted space.

Here's the after:

 So much better and an empty shelf and a half (which are still empty). It feels so much better. And I can see what we have now. 

8. Do one things for myself a month. I went to the spa for my birthday. I can't wait for my next spa visit!

9. Watch one older (pre-2014) movie a month. Fail. I watched Ride Along and The Grand Budapest Hotel but those are both from 2014. Sigh.

10. Learn to make 5 Japanese dishes. I made chashu. I still want to make ramen but I need the time to make the broth from scratch.

11. Stop complaining and start sharing my gratitude. So hard. Especially at work. I bitch all day long. I do find that yoga is helping me quiet my mind so maybe it'll help with the complaining.

12. Take 2 cooking classes. Ashley had a couple she wan interested in but they sold out before we could sign up. We'll keep trying.

January Book Tally

Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics edited by Diana Schutz
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long
Snow by Tracy Lynn
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner
The Duchess War by Courtney Milan
Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase
Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman
The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson

A good start to the year. I've read some good books and finally finished listening to Coraline on audio!

Stats:

What's In A Name Challenge: this month: 1 (Romancing The Duke) YTD: 1

Graphic Novel and Manga Challenge: this month: 3 (Noir, The Silence of Our Friends, and The Shadow Hero) YTD: 3

Historical Reading Challenge: this month: 2 ( The Duchess War, and Scandal Wears Satin) YTD: 2

Foodies Read Challenge this month: 1 (The Zen of Fish) YTD: 1

Total: 11

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me 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.

Since it's #comicsFebruary, it's fitting that my library loot is all graphic novels.

How To Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less

I enjoy graphic travel memoirs and I think this one sounds excellent.

Seconds

I'm looking forward to this one.

What did you get this week? Add your link below.

Teaser Tuesday-The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I'm roasted coffee bean color now. He black as the inside of a chimney."
pg 27 The Color Purple by Alice Walker

January Graphic Novel Reviews

Since I suck at reviewing graphic novels but I need to for the Graphic Novel Reading Challenge, I'm going to have one post a month with short reviews of all the graphic novels I read that month. Unless one graphic novel stands out and needs it's own post. Or I read so many that one post is ridiculous.

Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics

This one is hard to review since it's a bunch of short graphic stories. They all have a crime either being committed or about to occur. Most were good. I would have like some to be longer. The last one by Brian Azzarello was my favorite.

The Silence of Our Friends

I choose to read The Silence of Our Friends because it was based in Houston, Tx (where my mom grew up) and it was based on a true story. Long changed some of the details but kept the true story. in 1967, two men, one white, one black, try to help bring racial equality. Jack is a tv news reporter and Larry is the leader of a non-violent equal rights group. Both men learn to trust each other and help their families see that hate and distrust isn't the way to solve our problems. Very well told and drawn.

The Shadow Hero

Gene Luen Yang is Ah-MA-zing. I throughly enjoyed The Shadow Hero and I hope he does more Green Turtle graphic novels. Sonny Liew's art was also spectacular. 

What To Eat This Week

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Roasted Pineapple Habanero Sauce and Kale & Avocado salad. A family favorite.

Hake with Olive oil, butter, and lemon and Orange and Maple Syrup Roasted Beets and Carrots, The reviews were mixed. I thought the hake was still very fishy. But loved the beets and carrots. Tai liked the fish and didn't care for the beets and carrots. Dad liked it all. 

New York Steaks and roasted brussel spouts (not pictured).

Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce and Oven Roasted Cauliflower. Dad and I loved the meatballs. Meatballs aren't Tai's favorite but he thought the meal was good. No one was impressed by the roasted purple cauliflower. 

I also made this Vegetable Beef Soup which was excellent. I forgot take pictures! Oops.

What's on the menu this week?

Sausage and Potato Soup

Dinner Out

Vegan Red Cabbage Bowl With Red Cabbage and  Peanut-Sriracha Sauce

Kielbasa, Pepper, Onion, and Potato Hash

Deep Dish Pizza Pie

Knock Your Socks Off Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage

 Pork Tenderloin