Weekend Cooking: Smothered Chicken

I'm so excited about today's recipe. I pinned it a couple of months ago and been trying to make it ever since. It was on the menu a couple of times but never worked out. Finally I was able to make it. The stars alined and I present the best chicken recipe ever: Smothered Chicken.

I pinned the recipe from a blog called Bacon, Butter, Cheese, and Garlic. Great name for a blog, huh? And this recipe only has 3 of those things.
It might sound complicated with sautéing the mushrooms and making the creamed spinach but it doesn't take too long. This was definitely a favorite. I will be making this again soon.
My original pin:




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.

Sun At Midnight by Rosie Thomas

It's firmly established that I am a Rosie Thomas fangirl. But since she's a UK author I do have a bit of trouble getting her books here in the States. Luckily my library allows me unlimited interlibrary loans. So since they won't buy her books (Boo!), I can request them all one by one from the interlibrary loans. Sun at Midnight caught my attention early and kept it though the whole story. Alice is a geologist. Her mother is a famous biologist who was the first woman in Antartica. Alice feels that she'll never be like her mum and therefore feels slightly inferior.
Rooker isn't the type of guy that likes to put down roots. Free wheeling he is and very love 'em and leave 'em. Rooker hears about a new station being set up in Antartica and is eager to go. The perfect place to lose a girlfriend who thinks he's the one.
At the bequest of her ailing mother, Alice heads to this new station in Antartica. At first she went for her mom, then Alice needed an escape, but Antartica gives her more than she could have imagined.
I've never been into Antartica other than the whole March of The Penguins phase. But Thomas writes so eloquently about about this beautifully vast and harsh terrain. Despite the fact that I have no experience close to being in Antartica, Thomas makes you feel like you are there with Alice, experiencing it all first hand. It was a beautiful story and I couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended. A wonderful story about finding yourself, unlikely friendships, and love. Others who shared their thoughts on Sun At Midnight: LindyLouMac's Book Reviews and Unseen Footsteps.
This was my sixth read for the Mammoth Book Challenge.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward:

-My addiction to SkinnyPop popcorn. I can eat a whole bag in one sitting. A whole Costco sized bag. So bad. 

-My closet. It's getting too full. I need to weed a bunch of clothes out.

Awesome:

-We went to see Man of Steel at the iPic theater. Love it. Totally spoiled now and will only see movies at iPic.

- My library has a new app that allows me to track my reading time. I can't wait to see my stats!

-Despite the fact that it's Junuary in Seattle, it's not bothering me at all. I attribute that to my new boots:

I bought them in May and I have had plenty of opportunities to wear them. I also have them in brown.

-And this:

The best news this week!

What's been awkward and awesome this week?

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.

Ugh, I can't believe I didn't post my loot last week. Nothing horrible happened. Just didn't seem to have to time to sit and blog. So here's 2 weeks worth of loot.

 Paleo Power Lunch

I've leafed through Paleo Power Lunch and it's a fairly straight forward concept-salads. I like how it gives clear instructions and talks about how and what you can make ahead of time.

The Girl with The Iron Touch

The third in The Steampunk Chronicles. 

Hawkeye: My Life as A Weapon vol 1

I admit my interest in Hawkeye might have more to do with my interest in the actor who played him in the Avengers (Jeremy Renner). But I have been looking forward to this graphic novel. There doesn't seem to be a lot of standalone graphic novels about Hawkeye. 

Attachments

After reading Paranormal Indulgence's review of Attachments, I had to put it on my library hold list. I'm a little surprised how fast it got here.  But really looking forward to it.

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's Topic: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013

Asunder by Jodi Meadows

 I've been loving this series and Asunder just continued the amazing journey of Ana.

The Elite by Kiera Cass

I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Selection. But I enjoyed The Elite more. Can't wait to see how this series ends.

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

I love the Across The Universe trilogy. Amazing series. Shades of Earth was a satisfying end to that series.

 
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Again another second in a series that left me wanting more. Huge fan of the Lunar Chronicles.
 
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
A moving story about friendship. One I won't forget.
 
 Forever and A Day by Delilah Marvelle
Such a fun book. I never gave this type of historical romance much attention. Definitely will be reading this genre more now.

I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections by Nora Ephron

I miss Nora Ephron but at least I have her funny stories to remember her by. She's like a funny aunt or older sister. Her touching yet hilarious stories are wonderful.

Loki's Wolves by KL Armstrong and MA Marr

A proper review of this one soon but it was very enjoyable.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld  
A very enjoyable steampunk take on World War I.

The Buddha In The Attic by Julie Otsuka
A short but powerful story about Japanese women coming to San Francisco to marry men they've never met. Such a beautiful, powerful book.

What are your favorite reads so far in 2013?

Mini Reviews: Ender's Game, A Kiss of Shadows, and The Happiness Project

I've been having trouble writing longer reviews lately. So I decided to write this quick reviews about them.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I picked up Ender's Game because I wanted to read it before the movie came out. It took me a few chapters but I really liked Ender. I kept forgetting that Ender was a child which I think was intentional. I almost wished the plot line with his sister and brother was a separate book. I would have liked more about what they were doing. All in all a great book. Worthwhile read.

A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K Hamilton

Tai suggested I read A Kiss of Shadows because it was about faeries. Something about how Hamilton writes them made me forget they were faeries. Or maybe it was all the sex. I don't know. I liked it but there was too much sex. A friend of mine told me that there is more sex in the rest of the series. I think she said this was the tamest book. I doubt I'll be continuing with the series. 

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Becoming happier is a constant goal in my life. While The Happiness Project didn't turn me into the happiest person on earth, it reminded me that sometimes we have to work for our happiness. Also I need to just Be Linda more often. I was meh over the whole book in general, there were some great takeways. I'd recommend reading it because I think everyone could get a little something out of it. 

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Weekend Cooking: Zero Carb Boneless Buffalo Bites

I love Buffalo wings. My favorite place to get them was Hooters (seriously). But the closest Hooters closed a few years back. A Wing Stop opened near our house. While Tai and I can enjoy them, my dad can't. So when I spotted this zero carb buffalo bites recipe on Pinterest, I was intrigued.
I also love pork rinds. I actually like the taste of pork rinds so I snacked on some while making this delicious dish.

The recipe was simple. I would not suggest frying chicken though on a hot day. Maybe save this recipe for a cooler day. I used Moore's Buffalo sauce which was gluten free as well as zero carb.  The optional  blue cheese dressing was zero carb as well.
I will be making these again.
The original pin:



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.

Weekend Cooking: Spicy Chicken Thai Soup

A couple of weekends ago, Tai and I caught spring colds. The only remedy is rest and soup. I had made an easy Thai Coconut Soup once. While searching for a more authentic Thai soup, I found this Spicy Chicken Thai Soup. It was basically a slightly more complicated version of the first soup. I thought the flavors were richer and deeper than the first soup.

I of course doubled the red curry paste and added 1/2 tsp of galangal to the soup before the final simmer.
I went to Penzey's Spices a few weeks ago and struck up a conversation with a fellow shopper. She mentioned enjoying Thai cooking. I told her I was just getting into Thai cooking and she recommended galangal. She said it was like ginger but more floral and it would give my dishes a more authentic taste. After adding to this soup, I'm sold. It really helped the flavor and made the dish seem restaurant quality.
This soup took some effort but was well worth it in the end.

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.

The Elite by Kiera Cass

After reading The Selection, I was anxious to read The Elite. I couldn't wait to continue America's story. I think I enjoyed The Elite more than The Selection.
The Elite picks up where The Selection leaves off. America is still torn between Maxon, the handsome prince, or Aspen, the guy from back home. I still like America. Maxon's world is different than she's used to. She's still struggling to find her way, see if she belongs. I'm very much Team Maxon. I wish American would decide who she wants to be with but then it wouldn't be a trilogy.
It took me a day to read The Elite. I couldn't put it down. How am I going to wait a year til The One comes out? Others who shared their thoughts about The Elite: April Books, The Diary of Bookworm, The Overflowing Library, The Book Belles, A Little Shelf of Heaven, and A Book and A Latte.

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.

The Rithmatist

I'm on a Sanderson kick. 

In The Kitchen With The Pike Place Fish Guys

Sadly I don't get to Pike Place too often but I'm always looking for more fish recipes. 

What did you get this week?

Weekend Cooking: The Bacon Chicken

Can I just say how much I love Paleo recipes? While we don't eat Paleo all the time, I love that Paleo recipes are low carb. And they seem to love bacon as much as I do.
I pinned this bacon chicken recipe cause bacon makes everything better. I've wrapped pieces of chicken with bacon but never the whole bird. Yes, I wrapped an entire chicken with bacon.

The bacon slid off the chicken while cooking but the bacon fat soaked into the skin and meat just fine. I did cover the chicken for about half the cooking time. My oven is new and the bacon would have been extra crispy if I hadn't. I also took off the bacon and cooked the chicken for another 15-20 to brown the skin more.
Verdict? Delicious. Everyone enjoyed it. The cabbage at the bottom was super yummy. I will make this one again.
Here's the original pin:



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.

My Herb Garden

Now that we live in a house, I decided it was time to start a culinary herb garden. I do not have much gardening experience but I decided to give it a whirl.

 The first plant I bought was rosemary. It's doubled in size since I bought it. So far so good.

The thyme seems to be thriving too.

The spearmint is doing really well.

As is the lemon thyme.

The parsley has had yellow leaves since I transplanted it. It seems to be thriving but there are those yellow leaves. Any ideas?

The lavender is doing well. Should I remove the flowers to encourage it to grow?

Greek oregano is also doing really well.

And my basil plant. It's been leaning to the side ever since it was transplanted. Also seems to be growing. Should I worry that it's leaning to the side like that?

I'm excited about growing my own herbs and can't wait to harvest some. Any veteran herb growers with any tips for 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.

I picked up a lot of books this week. You'd think I didn't have a stack of old loot to read.

Rumors

Doing the Top Ten Tuesday (the one on covers) a few weeks ago reminded me that I haven't continued The Luxe series. I put the second in the series on hold. 

Scoundrel's Kiss

I read the first in this series way back in 2009. I decided to pick up the second in the series.

A Great And Terrible Beauty

I've heard nothing but good things about this series. I'm looking forward to it.

Breath

The last of the Riders of the Apocalypse series! I'm so excited to read this one.

Consider The Fork

This is reloot. I checked out Consider The Fork earlier this year. I didn't get around to reading it then. Hopefully I can read it this time.

My Life Next Door

I saw Fitzpatrick's next book on someone's Top Ten Tuesday last week. When I went to put What I Thought Was True on hold, I realized it wasn't out yet. I decided to put My Life Next Door on hold instead.

Habits of the House

I grabbed this one of the shelf just cause it looked good.

Sun At Midnight

The library's interlibrary loans are going to allow me to read more Rosie Thomas until I can convince them just to buy all her books.

What did you get this week?