What I'm Reading Monday - Harlequin Temptation Novel!!

Lookie at my fun new title photo!!  I will make a post about the websites I used soon.


Last week I finished up Fables 13 and I very much enjoyed it.  I felt that it totally moved away from the stories that had been in the forefront.  As I had mentioned the story focused on the Literals and what they are able to do.  I don't want to give too much away because I do feel the Fables (all of them) are worth reading.

On to what I am reading this week!

Photo from: here.

For a long, long, long time I only read romance novels.  Within the last four years or so my reading has definitely slowed down and the topics I chose to read about changed.  But most of my personal library are still romance novels so I have decided to read one this week.  I am hoping that it will get me back into reading them so that I can read all of the other ones that I have... I'll show you tomorrow why it might just take me forever.

I am barely two chapters into this book and I am already picking up the familiar plot sequence.  Meet unhappy woman, recently beginning the divorce process, who must pack up and move.  Meet former possible bad boy, who comes from a family with a bad reputation.  Enter love connection!  Lol.  Anyway I am just to the part where the two leads meet and realized they know each other from high school.

I have to get further in to decide if I actually like how the author put it all together.

Stay tuned...

Pinterest Pick - Onesie

Today's pick is of something that I hope to recreate for a baby shower gift.  I have to find ways to use the 20 onesies that I have.

Linked to: http://www.etsy.com/listing/82435400/applique-necklace-onesie-or-tee-with-ric

 I have ribbon and cutesy fabrics so I totally think that I could do this!  I do have quite a few people to be making things for too!

Sorry for a short post... it took me too long to make my new banner thing.  :)

Food Friday - Stir Fry and Tilapia

The bf's parents have been growing several brussel sprout plants and they are finally ready!  Last weekend when we went over we picked about 2 dozen of the things.  I was dying all week to make something with them.  I was lazy and didn't grocery shop last weekend either so I had to stop at the store to pick up what I needed.  Continuing with the laziness of the weekend I bought a pre-cut stir fry pack of veggies

So what I ended up with was brussel sprouts, fresh garlic, stir fry veggies (with three kinds of peppers and two kinds of onion!!), and thawed frozen tilapia I was going to cook as well.

First the brussel sprouts had to be washed and the first few leaves of each one taken off.

The bf cut them up into quarters.

All of the stir fry stuff went into the pan.

I even bought the bf a special container for it!

We have a secret weapon when it comes to making  veggie stir fries now.  And it is homemade imitation Kobe soy sauce.  Learn how to make it by visiting this post.

While that was cooking I took the rub I got from my friend a while ago and coated the tilapia.  (I really can't get my photos to work the way I want them to today).

Cooked up the tilapia in a separate pan.

When the veggies were almost done I added in some garlic!

I was pretty lucky to have the bf helping me cook because the fish and the veggies were ready at almost the exact same moment!  That hardly EVER happens when I cook. :)

The rub was pretty peppery and a little spicy but VERY delicious!  The veggies were perfect together and the brussel sprouts definitely tasted fresh.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a great weekend!

What happens when I try to blog...

... is that my kitten decides that since I am obviously not going anywhere I can give her attention.

First she climbs up on the bench with me and stands on my lap.

She makes sure to look extra cute and meows.  And she is a talker so she meows the whole time very loudly!

 She gets really close to my face if I ignore her and keep working.  And if that doesn't work...

 She jumps up on the table to rub on the computer.  Sometimes even tries to walk on the keyboard!

When that doesn't work she gets in front of the computer to get in my face again to say that she needs attention.

If that doesn't work (or she gets booted from the table) she goes for the next best thing.  My foot, so that I can kinda pet her and that she can rub on.

She is such a cutie weirdo kitten and I love her.  And I bet I could make that into a "If you don't pet the kitten" book along the same rhythm of a "If you give a mouse a cookie".

Gluten-Free Food Review - Jennie-O Turkey Burgers

Today I have for you my newest find.  Might not be so new to anyone else but here we go!

I had been wanting to try some frozen pre-made turkey burgers after I ate one at Ale House.  I have no idea what brand they use or if they make their own but they are FABULOUS!!  Anyway I searched through the freezer section at Publix and finally decided on the All Natural Jennie-O Turkey Burgers.  My factors were price per how many burgers I got and if they were gluten-free or not.

The burgers come freeze sealed with two burgers per package.  I only needed to make three for how many people I was feeding but was glad to have the fourth for lunch the next day.

 The directions called for some oil to be added to the pan before the burgers were added.  Sadly I could only fit three of the four burgers in my pan at once.

You cook them for I think about 6 minutes on each side and you flip them twice.  So I cooked them for 6 minutes on each side twice.  I might have read the directions wrong but they seemed to cook up just fine.

Once they were done cooking I had to put them on a paper towel because they were just so greasy.  At one point when I was cooking them it felt like I was cooking bacon since it was popping grease at me so much.

They were tasty and enjoyable.  I even added a piece of cheese to mine.  I would be willing to buy this brand again but I think I might go for a leaner turkey meat.

I also checked out their website and found that they have two different kinds of meatballs that are gluten-free.  I had not seen them at the store but I think I want to check them out.  In checking around more of the website they seem to have some other turkey burger meats that I might want to try.

If you have experience with Jennie-O products let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Plans

A friend of the bf and mine may be crashing at our place for a few weeks since the purchase of a house fell through for him.

This causes an issue for me... all of my stuff is in the guest room closet and bathroom and room... which doesn't leave much space for anyone else's stuff.  So I might have to clean out some of that space to give our friend some room.  Which is totally reasonable right?

One possibility is rather than trying to find a place to store all of my old t-shirts while he uses my dresser is to just make them into a quilt...  I have completed the first step to doing that too.  I bought a larger self-healing cutting mat.  (Thank you employee who honored a day old 50% off coupon!)

I am very excited because it is an 18 x 24 mat so my t-shirts will definitely fit on there no problem.  But my worry is that I will get this started and then not be able to finish by next weekend... thus making the apt even more messy than if I had just found a temporary home for them.

So should I or shouldn't I, that is my question.  Any suggestions?

In other news I have started to clear out the guest closet (and totally forgot to take any pictures for you) so hopefully that project can be finished rather quickly.

What I'm Reading Monday! Fables 13: The Great Fables Crossover

You read that right.  I am still on a Fables kick.  This one will probably take me a while since it is 220 pages or so.

I didn't understand the title of the book at first but I am starting to get it.  Apparently the Fables are just beginning to consider how they were all created and continue to exist.  It was mentioned back in #3 or so that the more powerful Fables are those whose stories are read and shared by the Mundy's.  But who started those stories?  Was it one person?  A group of people?  Are they still writing their lives or are they on their own now?  All of these questions and more have been presented so far in the first 100 pages.  I don't want to give too much away since I am sure not everyone has read them.  I wouldn't wait to spoil it for anyone.

I will of course let you know how I liked it. :)

Happy reading!

Pinterest Pick: Handmade Gifts

The Pinterest pick this week is from The36thavenue blog by Desiree.  She came up with a list of 25 handmade items that you could make for $5 and under.  Several are particularly creative.

She suggested making paperclip earrings.  She even has a tutorial linked from here.

She made teacup candles, printed candles using stamps, bath scrub, fancy bookmarks, and my favorite a cupcake baking kit with super cute cupcake cups!

Happy Saturday!!

Food Friday: Egg Things

Today I have a new recipe for you!  As you know my sister can't have very many of the common and easy breakfasty things.  My mom has been making these for her for about a year now.  Staci liked them until she got tired of them and then thanks to make she has a second option for breakfast (Oatmeal Muffins).

What I have today is Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Cups.  Which we call Egg Things (so much easier). 

The ingredients (this is the exact recipe as my Mom gave it to me.  I didn't follow it exactly and you don't have to either!!)

*4 ounces turkey sausage or crumbled turkey bacon (I used Publix Hot Italian Sausage.  I used about 2 links for 12 egg things)

*1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (I used red)

*1/4 onion chopped

*5 large eggs (Since we used the larger muffin tins we ended up using 10 - 11 large eggs)

*1 can (12 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained (I did not use mushrooms)

*1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese (I didn't use cheese either)


So now how I did mine!

Cook the sausage (My mom and I boiled ours) as you want and then cut it small enough to fit into the muffin pans. Since I bought the Publix Hot Italian Sausage there were 4 to 5 links in the package.  I cooked all of them.  However, I only put 2 or so into the 12 egg things.  I finished cutting up the left over sausages and packaged them for next time I make egg things.

It will be really nice the next time I make egg things because the meat is already cooked and prepped!

Next I cut up some tomato.  Now, I love tomato to I put probably a 1/2 of a really good sized tomato in there.  I also enjoy onions and cut up less than the tomato.  I did not pre-cook the onions because I wanted to see if they would end up staying a little crunchy after being cooked.

My mom had some broccoli that I added.  She was very sweet and pre-cooked it so that it wouldn't be to hard and chopped it up small.

So the ingredients that I added that I forgot to take pictures for!!  I also chopped up a4 bout cloves of garlic, fresh basil, red pepper, and possibly one more thing that I am forgetting...

Now would be a good idea to preheat the oven to 350. Generously coat a large non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.  We just used the spray and it worked out great.  I think the muffin cups would end up getting stuck to the egg things.

Begin placing your ingredients into the muffin cups.

I started with the sausage and stuffed them down to try to form a solid bottom.

Next I added in my onions.  As I mentioned I didn't take pictures of somethings... well that was because I had mine completely made before I realized I was an idiot and was not taking pictures.  So this is Staci's.  She doesn't like onions very much but I put in much more in mine.

The next layer was the tomatoes.  Again I put in much more than this.

Broccoli was next.  I think we had some left over squash from dinner that we put in there for her too.

This is actually a picture of my cups.  I literally filled them to the brim!

In mine I added the red peppers, chopped fresh garlic and basil.  You could have as many layers as you wanted.  Just keep in mind the more area that is filled with veggies and what not the less amount of egg is needed.

Mix 10 to 12 large eggs in a bowl.  We didn't add any extra seasonings or milk, but now would be the perfect time.  I think the next time I make them I might add a touch of hot sauce to the egg mix.  Give everything a little kick.

Evenly divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups. Be careful to avoid filling them to the very top.  I made that mistake and as the egg expanded as it cooked, some of them spilled over.  If you choose too now is the time to sprinkle the cheese on top.

Place the try in the oven and bake 20  - 30 minutes or until egg is set.  (I have a picture of them chilling in the oven but for some reason it will not load correctly).

We have learned that if the egg things are left in the tray to cool the tray is extremely hard to clean.  So we took them out right away and the muffin tray was very easy to clean.  We placed them on a cooling rack.

Aren't they just so cute!!!  They smelt and looked delicious too!!  We let them cool completely before packing them up for the freezer.

We just used tin foil and placed the egg thing inside and wrapped them up.  Then they were put into a gallon freezer bag.


I have had two so far and they both have been great!  I took them out of the freezer in the morning and left them out to thaw for a while.  I put them in the microwave for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.  Be sure to watch them so they don't burn.


You could also use them within an english muffin to make an egg sandwich kind of thing too.


A highly filling, easy to make, totally customizable, breakfast!!