Book 24

Strawberry Shortcake Murder (Hannah Swensen Series #2)

 

 I just finished book 24.  It was a good book.  There were times when it felt a little long and I knew who the killer was and just wanted to main character to figure it out all ready but still a good book.  I am really looking forward to trying a few of the recipes that are in this book.  Below is the Barns & Noble description. 

 

 A New York Times best-seller, Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke is a scrumptious concoction of fresh-whipped mystery and culinary intrigue. Publishers Weekly calls it "a superior cozy sure to leave readers satisfied … but hungry for more." Hannah Swensen, amateur sleuth and boutique bake store proprietor extraordinaire, is judging a dessert contest when fellow judge Coach Boyd Watson is found dead, face down in a delicate confection no less.

On to book 25.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

I have finally found the perfect chocolate chip recipe.  It is a Bobby Flay recipe that I have tweaked to make it just right.

2cups +3tbs All-purpose flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5oz semi sweet chocolate chips
5oz milk chocolate chips

-Pre heat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (do not use wax paper as it can catch on fire) or silicon pads

-In a large bowl wisk together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside

-Cream the butter then add the sugars and continue mixing, scraping the side and bottom until light and fluffy

-Add the eggs one at a time then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated

-Add 1/2 of the flour and mix until just incorporated then add the rest and mix until just incorporated

-Remove bowl from mixer and fold in chocolate chips

-Spoon dough onto baking sheet leaving 2inches between drops

-Bake with rack in the middle of oven.  11minutes for soft gooey insides and 13 min for a fully cooked cookie

-let the cookies cool on the sheet for a minute or two then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool. 


I personally thing these are best served warm but they are good when cold as well.

52 books in 52 weeks

So back at the beginning of January I joined a challenge on a military significant others forum to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  We are about 11 weeks into the challenge and I am already on book 23. At first I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep up because of the move and I have never really counted how many books I read in a given amount of time.

Here is the list of what I have read so far and what I am working on.

1. My, Myself and Why (MaryJanice Davidson) finished
2. Deadly Sanctuary (Sylvia Nobel) finished
3. Odd Mom Out (Jane Porter) finished
4. A Girl's Guide to Vampires, Dark Ones series book 1 (Katie MacAlister) finished
5. Night's Edge I only read the short story by Charlaine Harris, Dancers in the Dark. Finished
6. Life on the Refrigerator Door, Notes Between a Mother and Daughter (Alice Kuipers) Finished
7. Sex and the Single Vampire, Dark Ones series book 2 (Katie MacAlister) Finished
8. The Missing (Tim Gautreaux) Finished
9. Cupid Cats I only read the short story by Katie MacAlister that is part of the Dark Ones world Finished
10. Sex, Lies and Vampires, Dark Ones series Book 3 (Katie MacAlister)Finished
11. Colder than Ice (Maggie Shayne) Finished
12.Shakespeare's Landlord, Lily Bard Mystery Series, Book 1 (Charlaine Harris) Finished
13. Even Vampires get the Blues, Dark Ones series book 4 (Katie MacAlister) Finished
14. The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #1 (Rick Riordan) Finished
15. The Last of the Red Hot Vampires, Dark Ones series book 5 (Katie MacAlister) Finished
17. My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, Dark Ones short story (Katie MacAlister) Finished
18. Zen and the Art of Vampires, Dark Ones series book 6 (Katie MacAlister) Finished
19. Crouching Vampires Hidden Fang, Dark Ones series book 7 (Katie MacAlister) Finished
20. In the Company of Vampires, Dark Ones series book 8 (Katie MacAlister) Finished
21. Shakespeare's Champion, Lily Bard Mystery series book 2 (Charlaine Harris) Finished
22. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Joanne Fluke) Finished
23. Sizzling Sixteen, Stephanie Plum book 16 (Janet Evanovich)

So now I just want to see how many I can read in a year because I am sure I will make 52 books in 52 weeks.  I will try to keep the list updated.

Moving In

So we have finally moved.  It was a long hard move with all of us being sick and living out of a hotel for a while but we left Beaufort,Sc on Feb 21st and stayed in a small hotel room until we found a house and moved into on March 1st.  Three adults, two kids, one cat and one dog in a small hotel room with two double beds and no mini fridge or microwave and you had to pay for internet.  Yup it was a long hard move.

But so far we are loving Virginia Beach and working hard to get settled into the new house.  Still have stacks of boxes everywhere but we are slowly getting unpacked and settled in.  Having two small kids really slows down the process.

YUMMY Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches!!!!!

My parents are from Indiana and every time we would go up there we would go get these amazing pork tenderloin sandwiches that were bigger than the plate.  I love these suckers and last night some friends of ours who are also from Indiana and Christi and I made pork tenderloin sandwiches.  We used an egg and milk free recipe since her husband is allergic but they came out fantastic.  Ours were smaller because the tenderloin I bought turned out to be cut in half even though in the package it looked like one cut. 

Here is the recipe:

2lbs boneless pork loin
2 cups flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peper
8 large sandwich buns

-cut 4in slices of pork and trim any fat
-butterfly each slice so that they are connected only by a thin piece of meat
-tenderize until about 10in across
-mix breading together
-heat 1/2 in oil in a deep wide skillet (i used a 15in cast iron skillet and since ours were not as big I was able to cook about 4 at a time) to 365
-dip the pork in water then in the breading mixture
-fry until golden brown on both sides (about 5 min each side)

Top it with some lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and mayo and enjoy.

I love Libraries!

As a rule I only check out library books if I am desperate to read a particular book because I am a germaphobe.

But just recently I discovered a whole new way to check out books.  I can check out ebooks and side load them to my nook.  At first I thought it was going to be difficult and a pain in the but its SO SIMPLE! 

I have found 2 libraries, the Alachua County Library which is in my home town and the Jacksonville Public Library, that allow you to apply for an ecard online so I have been checking them out as fast as I can read them. 

As soon as we have a house up in Virginia Beach I will go the the library up there and get a library card so I can check ebooks out from their library because they seem to have a larger selection of ebooks. 

I am still in love with my Nook. 

1 month till moving day!

So we are just one month till moving day or the day we become temporarily homeless.   Sounds fun right?

The first time we were homeless what about 7 months after we got married and moved from Beaufort,Sc to Twentynine Palms, Ca.  Lets just say that it was a very stressful time for me and leave it at that.

The move back to Beaufort want as bad because we had the address to our new house before the movers even loaded our household goods onto the truck.  This time we will not be able to just walk in and take keys to base housing so we will have to live in a motel for a few days while we look for a house. 

My wonderful dad will once again be helping us with the move as he has done for all past moves.  It really helps to have an extra adult when there are small children involved.  He will be able to sit in at the hotel or in the van while we house hunt and this way he will drive Clay's truck so he can ride with us in the van to help change movies and pass out snacks and drinks along the way. 

I am getting excited to live somewhere new. I am really looking forward to checking out their local library and getting a card as soon as we get an address so that I can check out Ebooks from their site.

I am still not sure about this whole Marine on a Naval base thing but I am sure we will figure it out fast enough.