Book Tuesday's

Hi ya'll! I've learned that my Book Tuesday's are known to book bloggers as In My Mailbox and they usually do those posts over the weekend. Well, I've always liked being different.. That and this is a mostly cooking blog, so I'm gonna keep my Book Tuesday's!

Here is what I got from the library:

Life's That Way: a Memoir by Jim Beaver

Torment by Lauren Kate

Awakened by P.C. Cast

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

What I've read since last Tuesday:

Shadowspell by Janna Black

Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison

The Physics of the Buffyverse by Jennifer Ouellette

Guitar girl by Sarra Manning

 

Currently reading:

   Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

 

I've been waiting so long for  Awakend at my library. I've tried to avoid reviews as best as I could, but ran into a few.. Based on the little I read from those reviews, I'm afraid I'm going to be disapointed reading Awakened..  

I have also been wanting to read Life's That Way for some time now. Jim Beaver is an actor, who plays Bobby on the show Supernatura (a show I absolutly love!). This book is about Jim learning that his wife has lung cancer and having their 2 year old daughter being diagnosed as autistic all within a few months of each other. It's a sad story, really.

As for the other books, I've found them reviewed on severel book blogs and am looking forward to reading them as well!

What about you? What have you been reading?

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Hi ya'll! I got this recipe over at Homestyle Cooking Around The World. It just looked too good to pass up! This coffee cake turned out super yummy despite my measuring mishaps..  Don't follow me in not seeing the word water and adding 3/4 cup oil and no water. Luckily I caught my mistake before putting it in the oven and was able to add some water.. It turned out quit well!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake:

1 package Blueberry Quick Bread and Muffin Mix
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs

Topping:
1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9inch square pan. In a medium bowl, combine quick bread mix, water, oil and eggs. Beat 50-75 strokes until well blended, but do not over mix.   Rinse and drain blueberries. Gently stir into batter; pour into greased pan.

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Spoon into 5 stripes on top of batter. Swirl by running knife crosswise across cream cheese stripes. As you can see, my stripes and swirls were not very good..   Bake at 375 degrees until topping is golden brown and toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Bake 8 inch pan 35-45 minutes; 9 inch pan 30-40 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes. Store leftover in refrigerator.   9 servings.

 Eat and Enjoy!

Orange Chicken

Hi ya'll! The hubs and I love take out Chinese food. But since we moved we no longer have a good place that delivers! Its so sad really.. We would order Chinese takeout at least 2 times a week, if not more.. So we decided that not only would it be better for our health, but better on our wallet too, if we made our own! Now that I know the hubs can make Orange Chicken, we are never ordering out again!

Orange Chicken

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.

Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.

Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally*.

Eat and Enjoy!

* Chef's Note: We only had thigh meat on hand and it tasted just as good! We also skipped the last step and just put our chicken over the rice and spooned the sauce over the chicken. This way the chicken stayed crispy..

Book Tuesdays

Hi ya'll! So I think I might make Tuesday's my book days..  Since last Tuesday I finished Kisses From Hell, started and finished Glimmerglass by Jenna Black and started the second book in her series, Shadow Spell. I love paranormal type books, but have stayed away from any about faeries.. I tried to read on once, I forget which one now, and couldn't get into it. I think what happened was I had picked up like the third in a series and was confused, so I put it down and never looked at another faerie book again.. So when I started this series I was a bit skeptical. I'm glad I picked it up! I just love the story of Dana in Avalon so far! I wish I could remember that other series so I can give it another try..

My TBR pile has grown.. I keep finding great book blogs and want to read all the book they are reviewing!

Here's what I got from the library on Saturday..

Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

The Physics of the Buffyverse by Jennifer Ouellette

I have many more in the waiting list at my library.. I am super excited to read all these. I need to stop finding books to read! Lol!

What have you been reading lately?