What's for Dinner?- Salmon, Garlic Pasta and Green Beans

 In an attempt to try new things WE ATE SALMON!  Woot!

We don't really consume a lot of fish around here.  I've only had salmon once or twice in my entire life.  So we gave it a shot.

I found a recipe through Pinterest at Running a Ragnar.

I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great!  It was flaky and delicious.  Even Sidda liked it; she is my picky eater.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place salmon skin side down.

Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place in a cold oven set at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

MJ is checking it out. 

The results were great!  The fish flaked easily and tasted great along with the garlic pasta.

Anya will eat just about anything.

Sidda loved it!

We finished dinner off with Popsicles.  Anya stole mine.

Book Review: Rock Chick

I have no idea what made me want to read Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley.  I think it came up on a book recommendation on goodreads.com and I decided that I wanted to read it.  I had no idea what it was about when I picked it up.

Indy is apparently a rock chick because she likes rock n' roll and dresses somewhat trashy.  I guess to each there own.  But ignoring the constant references to bands and her clothing choices the story wasn't bad.  It starts off pretty quickly with Indy is in hiding after just been shot at.  Along with her friend Rosie.  Indy doesn't want to return home just in case those who shot at her know where she lives.

She doesn't even know why she is being shot at.  It's really all Rosie's fault.  He had something that belongs to someone else and he's not giving it back.  This is why she ends up at Lee's house.  She has known Lee her entire life, and she has always been in love with him.  Lee never seemed to feel the same but there is something different now.

Now Lee wants Indy too and he will do whatever it takes to have her to himself.  Including getting in the middle of this shooting situation.  But it's ok because it's what Lee does for a living anyway.

There are plenty of moments of page turning action and enough comic relief to enjoy this story as an easy read.  There were some moments when I found myself chuckling and smiling as I read Indy's antics.  The last half of the book really catches it's stride as the beginning at times felt winded.

If you like easy reads that are assuming, I recommend it.  I don't think I'll be venturing anymore into next 8 installments of the Rock Chick series (yes there are 8 more books).  But this one was fun as a stand alone novel.

What's for Dinner?- Taco Fajita Crockpot

Yesterday was a busy day.  There was school to teach, a house to clean, meals to make and company coming over.  That was all piled up on top of very little sleep because a certain little baby decided she didn't want to sleep, nor did she want to be awake.

I wanted something easy to throw into the crock pot that would make dinner super easy.  I looked around to see what I had on hand and just dumped it all in.

Taco Fajita Crock Pot Recipe

3 Chicken Breasts
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bag frozen corn
1 bag diced onions and 3 peppers (frozen)
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup of water.

Just dump everything in and cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Shred chicken and service over rice with shredded cheese.  You can add sour cream if you like as well.

It was delicious and baby approved!

Book Review: Wither

What would you do in a world where everyone only lived until they were 20 years old?

Seems like such a short life.  A life that can't be lived fully right?

This is how the world is in Lauren DeStefano's novel Wither.  Girls live until 20 and boys 25.  There are one set of people that were lucku enough to live past this age.  They are known as the first generation and they are well into their 70's now.  But every generation sense has died by 20 or 25.

But this story is about Rhine and what happens to her as she waits for certain death.  She is sixteen years old and kidnapped away from her twin brother and forced to marry a man she has never met and far away from home.  He also marries two others when he weds Rhine.

All Rhine wants is to run away.  She wants to find away to escape this life that she has been forced into.  But there were many things that she did not plan on, becoming friends with her sister wives or falling for one of the household servants.

Wither is part of a trilogy and I honestly don't thing I will venture beyond this first book.  There were times that the story was beautifully written and kept my interest.  It started off so well. It caught attention and made me want to keep reading, but then suddenly it slowed down.  It was like reading the same thing over and over page after page with no change or progression in the story.  And then it abruptly ends.  I know this is to make you want to move on to the next book but for me, I have no desire to see how the story ends.  It will be forever left as a simple cliffhanger.

I do recommend this book for teenagers.  It is a perfect young adult novel.  I think I may just be too old for this trilogy.  Oh the joys of 31.

What's for Dinner?- Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks

The other night I make some chicken drumstick goodness.

We were getting ready for the Super Bowl and we had planned on having sandwiches and chips.  A really easy night.  But Michael was in the mood for a little something more.  He wanted at least something to be hot.

So, it's Pinterest to the rescue!  I found this recipe at foodloverr.com

I changed it up a bit but the end result was marvelous!

For my seasonings I used garlic salt, cajon seasoning, oregano and pepper.  Loaded that up with some flour in a freezer bag.  I threw the drumsticks in a shook it all together.  Put some butter in a couple of 9X13 dishes and put in all in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.  I flipped them and cooked for another 30 minutes (they were really big drumsticks) and flipped one more time for 10 minutes.

The end result was delicious, moist chicken drumsticks that added just what we needed to watch some football!

What a sad blurry picture.  It was a last minute after thought to take a quick picture.

Michael approved!

What's for Dinner?- Creamy Marinara Chicken Pasta Pasta

I love when I can make a meal on a whim that feeds a large group. Our kids had friends over the other night and it added three extra mouths at the dinner table.  After searching my cabinets to try to find something yummy for all of us to eat I finally decided to try my hand at my own concoction.

I had read on other blogs on how mixing alfredo sauce and marinara makes an easy creamy sauce.  So that's when my mind started working.

First I chopped up 4 chicken breasts and sauteed it in a little oil with salt and garlic.

While the chicken was going I boiled some pasta.

After the chicken was cooked through and the noodles were drained I added two cans diced tomatoes, one package frozen spinach, thawed, 1 jar alfredo sauce and 1 jar marinara all into a 9X13 dish that was lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  I cooked it in an oven on 350 until bubbly, about 45 minutes.

I then served it up and topped with a little shredded cheese.

And you know it's good when the baby gobbles it all down and asks for more. 

It was a hit and left tons of left overs even though we were feeding 8.  The leftovers were awesome as well.

Recipe

1 lb pasta

4 chicken breasts, chopped

garlic and salt

1 package frozen spinach

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 jar alfredo sauce

1 jar marinara sauce

shredded cheese, as desired.

Book Review: Legend

Another distopian novel.  Big surprise here, huh?  But really, it's just most the most fun subject to read right now.  I love seeing different authors take on when society will break down.  Kind of creepy, right?

Well, let's get down to business (cue Mulan...)

Legend by Marie Lu started off slow but quickly became a page turner for me.  The story is told from the views of Day and June.  Day if a criminal from the wrong side of the tracks.  His family thinks he is dead and he is doing his best to hide while still taking care of them.  The Republic is after him but they also know nothing about him other than they want to make an example out of his unruliness.

June, in the Republic's opinion is practically perfect.  Perfect test scores and athletic.  She is smart and crafty. She is sent to find Day after the death of her brother, the last relative that she has.  She quickly succeeds.

This is a book that shows a governments need to control their citizens.  What it will do to keep its people in line and what they do to those who defy the system.

I enjoyed reading it.  The story was interesting and makes me want to move on the the next book in the trilogy.