Turkey Sliders

I've fallen in love with turkey. I love making turkey meatloaf and turkey burgers. Over the weekend I tried turkey sliders.
After talking to a friend about Trader Joes' 21 Seasoning Salute, I decided to give it a try on turkey. He raved about it on hamburgers so I thought it might go well with turkey. I was right.

I mixed a couple of tablespoons of 21 Seasoning Salute and 1/4 cup of mustard in a pound of 7% fat ground turkey. I like the 7% best cause it adds more flavor and I think the resulting patty is juicier. I pan fried the sliders and served them on whole wheat rolls with a little bit of lettuce, avocado and mayo. So yummy.

What's Your Color?

 I love this color chart that I found on Pinterest via my friend Janet:

Source: 7thhouseontheleft.com via Linda on Pinterest

I think I'm either Peacock or Blossom. Maybe a combo of both. What color are you?

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!

Just one for me this week. Story time! The library and the grocery store are in the same building. I usually stop at the library before going into the grocery store. I went picked up The Goddess Test and went into the grocery store to pick up some food. When I left the grocery store, I left the book in the cart!

At home, I realized that I must have left the book at the store. I hoped that someone would return the book to the library. I was bummed since I did want to read The Goddess Test but figured it was my fault for losing it. But I stopped at the store on my way home and yes they still had the book!

It was a very good day!
What about you? What books did you get this week? Did you lose anything only to have to returned to you?

Belle By Beverly Jenkins

I choose to read Belle for the War Through the Generations challenge. I'm glad I did. It was a sweet book about a young girl, fleeing slavery. I enjoyed all the details that Jenkins provided about the time period. I loved Belle, Daniel, Jojo, the Bests and the Morgans. All such rich vibrant characters. Most of the other books I've read for this challenge have had Caucasian main characters. Although Belle is set just before the start of the Civil War, it was wonderful to hear about the conflict from the other side. I've read other books about the Underground Railroad but I enjoyed hearing Belle's story as well as the stories of abolitionists that she stays with, the Bests.
I recommend this sweet tale of a lovely young lady as she gains her freedom. Others who shared their thoughts on Belle: Apoo Bookclub and Rebecca's Book Blog.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

In a word, wow! I was blown away by Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I immediately fell into their world and loved my time there. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is told in alternating voice by the two Will Graysons. The first Will Grayson is best friends with the fabulous Tiny Cooper (probably one of the best characters ever). The second Will Grayson is depressed and sees his life as a bleak place.
The first Will Grayson pissed me off for most of the book. He was a douchy teen boy. This girl likes me. I don't like her. She doesn't like me anyone. I like her now. Sheesh. I'm glad I'm not a teen anymore.
I understood the second Will Grayson so much more. He's caught between what he wants and what he thinks he should be. I worried about second Will Grayson (I hoped the first Will Grayson would pull his head out of his ass).
Then there is Tiny Cooper. How can you describe Tiny Cooper? He's fabulous in the full sense of the world. But Tiny Cooper changes both Will Graysons. How could I not love a 300 lb gay line backer? Honestly Tiny Cooper made this book. Without him it wouldn't have been as wonderful.
I appreciated the honesty of this book. The angst, the doubt, the confusion was all honest. I highly recommend this book. Others who shared their thoughts on Will Grayson, Will Grayson: The Broke And The Bookish, Reading Rocks, Erin Reads, Lusty Reader, Fluttering Butterflies, Things Mean A Lot, Birdbrained Book blog and Pub Writes.

This is my thirteenth read for the 2011 YA Reading Challenge.

Baked Oatmeal Rounds

In an effort to raise my good cholesterol and lower my bad cholesterol, I'm trying to add more fiber to my diet. I thought I was going pretty good. I eat oatmeal every morning. But it turns out my one serving of oatmeal only gives me 1 measly gram of fiber. And since fiber helps keep you fuller longer, I decided to make some sort of fiber-y snack for the afternoons. So I made Baked Oatmeal Rounds:

I took this baked oatmeal recipe, subbed raisins for dried cranberries, added pecans (cause I had some laying around) and poured the mix into my muffin pan. I followed the rest of the directions. I can take 2 for an afternoon snack. Filling and yummy. And each round has 2 grams of fiber!
What's your favorite way to add fiber to your diet?

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!

 Just one this week. I'm trying slowly to climb out of the huge stack of library books I have now (16).  The other night I was playing Words With Friends when Tai mentioned Mt. Library Loot. I ignored him and kept playing. When he wasn't paying attention, I downloaded Words With Friends on his phone. I'm trying to convince him that he should play with me.
So I got Rage this week. After reading Hunger (see my thoughts here), I've been waiting for the next in the series.
What did you get this week?

Recent Reads

I read a couple of books recently that I wanted to mention but didn't feel like writing a whole post on each.

We're Just Like You, Only Prettier was hysterical. All the stories were short and took a jab at modern society. But Mother's Day Memories was by far my favorite and quite touching. I recommend Rivenbark's books if you want a good laugh.

I've been waiting for Late Eclipses to come out for a while. I been enjoying the Toby Daye series. This one was by far the best so far. I really loved Toby's relationship with Tybalt. His character really blossomed in this book. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Indian Pizza

There's a pizza place near our place that sells Indian pizza. What's Indian Pizza? It's Indian food on a pizza. Tai and I really wanted try it but I'm a pizza purist. And I don't like chicken on my pizza. But I choose the Butter Chicken pizza. Why? I love butter chicken so I figured that increased my chances of liking the pizza. And I'm glad I choose it cause it was delicious.

It was basically was butter chicken on pizza dough. I want to try their Palak Paneer pizza next time.
Have you ever tried Indian pizza? What kind would you try?

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!

 Slaughter House Five

No Humans Involved

Just 2 this week. Slaughter House Five is for the Fill In The Gaps challenge. I haven't been loving the classics lately but I'll give it a try. I tried to read The Last Of The Mohicans but failed after a few pages. I'll try it again later. And No Humans Involved is the next in the Women of The Otherworld series. 

Last week was tough for me. I got almost no reading time in. It might have been that I couldn't get in The Last of The Mohicans or that I couldn't focus. Instead of reading I was playing Words With Friends (My user name is sillylittlelinda if you want to play). I'm feeling my reading mojo coming back though.

What did you get this week?

New Favorite Meatloaf

Since Tai is still having trouble chewing (braces!), I'm looking for foods he can eat. I thought about meatloaf. Not too hard to chew, right? Well my go to meatloaf is loaded with things to chew-mushrooms, spinach. He's not a fan of me pureeing his food so I decided to see if I could find a different recipe. I found this Easy Meatloaf recipe on Allrecipes.com. But I changed it up a little of course.

Easy Meatloaf

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1 tsp onion powder
1 egg
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together. Place mixture in a loaf pan or form loaves on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for an hour.
It makes tons. I usually have enough for two nights worth of meals. I'm a huge fan of the pork and beef mixture. It makes it yummy. I'm not a huge fan of the glazes on top of meatloaf so I mix everything together and it still turns out good. I've made this twice and I will probably make it again next week.

35 Things I Know To Be True

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I've seen this floating around and since I can't think of what else to post, here we go.

1. I have a lot of trouble reading classics. I haven't read one recently that I absolutely loved.
2. I love bacon, coffee and chocolate. A fantastic day includes all three.
3. My husband is wonderful and my perfect partner.
4. I prefer my hair longer.
5. I enjoy traveling. It restores me.
6. I'm kind of addicted to Facebook and Farmville.
7. Say what you got say when you need to say.
8. Everything can be repaired. Sometimes it takes time.
9. Good friends will be there when you need them.
10. Don't waste your time on those who hurt you.
11. Enjoy what you eat.
12. Invest in relationships that feed you.
13. Kindness returns kindness. Being a jerk doesn't get you anywhere.
14. Sometimes I need a long car ride.
15. Wandering through Target (or Costco) can be good for the soul.
16. I need to purge my clothes closet. I'm hanging on to way too much crap.
17. I love animated movies.
18. Don't pierce someone's nipple in your college bathroom. It doesn't work out well.
19. I try to do something new everyday.
20. I wish I would have dyed my hair an odd color (like purple or pink) when I was younger. I think it's too late now.
21. Invest in good bras, the right color foundation and good food.
22. Sometimes you need a break. Take one when you need it. Don't wait for someone to say you can.
23. Get a good night's sleep every night. Your body needs it.
24. Learn return on investment (ROI). I use it to make more of my decisions. It's saved me a lot of time and money.
25. Smile at people. It makes them feel better and you will too.
26. Sometimes I feel better after a good cry followed by a good laugh.
27. Keep things that make you happy. Toss the rest.
28. Baking is too regimented for me. I prefer cooking where I can make it up as I go along.
29. Learn from others but don't imitate them.
30. Be ok with your choices. Sometimes you might not like the result but enjoy the ride.
31. Television shows and books geared to teens are my kind of entertainment.
32. I enjoy a good glass of wine, beer, ice tea or whiskey.
33. I love wearing makeup but I don't like lipstick.
34. I'm excited about my new Dyson. I can't wait for it to get here tomorrow.
35. Don't be hard on yourself. Learn what you can do and what you need help with.

It took me a long time to learn some of these. I'm still learning. I can't wait to see what the list will include in another 35 years.

New Obsession

Tai and I have a habit of falling in love with tv shows that get canceled (Reaper, Better Off Ted). In order to help eliminate that let down we started watching shows that have already been canceled. Enter my new favorite show: Veronica Mars.

We're almost done with season one. One reason I'm loving this show is this guy:

I'm thisclose to fan fiction. Tai calls him Spike (we're big on the Buffy references). Since I loved Spike too, it's no wonder I love Logan Echolls. He's just adorable. He's got the best quotes.

I'll be sad when we're all done with Veronica Mars but I'm sure we'll find a new old show to watch.

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!

 Will Grayson, Will Grayson

 

Wither

Committed

 Time of The Witches

Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have

The Graveyard Book

 

The Pilot's Wife

The Splendor Falls

I, Robot

I had some fun this week choosing books off the shelves. I've heard some good things about Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Same thing about Wither. When I saw Committed on the shelf I decided I would try it. I'm not the hugest Elizabeth Gilbert fan but I thought I would give it a try. Time of the Witches looked really good. I choose Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have because I rarely read YA books with male main characters (although I suppose Will Grayson, Will Grayson would count too). I've never read any of Neil Gaiman's work and I decided to remedy that with The Graveyard Book. I, Robot and The Pilot's Wife are both for the Fill In The Gaps challenge. I wanted to have 50 read off that list by the end of June and I'm failing. When I read about The Splendor Falls on About Happy Books, I immediately added it to my library queue.

What did you get this week?

April Book Tally

Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Spooky Little Girl by Laura Notaro
A Separate Country by Robert Hicks
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Sex and Bacon by Sarah Katherine Lewis
Okko vol 1 by Hub
Stealing Buddah's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen
Local by Brian Wood
To Defy A King by Elizabeth Chadwick
Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart

Another great month. Twelve this month. I'm so happy I read The Hunger Games this month. I enjoyed them. I also enjoyed Local. I tried to write a post about it but it wound up being, Read this book! Local was one of the best graphic novels I've ever read.
I completed my goal for the YA Reading Challenge (12 books). Yay! I admit to reading Nothing But Ghosts at the end in order to complete that challenge this month.

The Stats:

Fill In The Gaps Challenge: YTD: 4 (None additional this month)

War Through The Generations:YTD: 2 (A Separate Country)

YA Reading Challenge: YTD: 12 (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Firelight, Nothing But Ghosts)-COMPLETE

The Original TBR Challenge: YTD: 2 (none additional this month)

Support Your Local Library Challenge: YTD: 33

100+ Reading Challenge: YTD: 48