Recipe Re-blog #36

I thought I'd be really tired of finding new recipes to make by now. I was wrong.

Ginger-Soy Chicken: This is one of Rachael Ray's Make-Your-Own-Take-Out recipes from her book, 365: No Repeats. I am always up for a stir fry of sorts. They are quick and easy and can be done very healthfully. The original recipe calls for you to put the chicken over shredded lettuce. Pass. I put it over brown rice. Give me carbs! I also instructed John not to buy fresh ginger if it was too expensive. It was, so I subbed in 1 tsp. of dried ginger instead. Additionally, because I was putting it over rice and wanted more sauce, I added 1/2 c. of chicken stock when you pour in the tamari. I also upped the tamari to 1/3 c. This added liquid turned out to be the perfect amount. If you're looking for a quick weeknight meal, give this a shot. Carbs or not.


P.S. Will September 11th forever be a "where were you" day? I was a freshman in college, walking home from Art History when I heard people talking about planes crashing in fields. I headed up to my dorm room and some neighbors down the hall were watching the coverage. This was probably around 10:30-11:00 am. My roommate and I went to the student center because the TV's there were larger. It was packed with people. None of the phones worked. Classes were cancelled the next day. We all just somberly sat around watching the coverage unfold.

Bossypants

LOTS of books read in the last couple weeks, folks. Gotta play catch up on the reviews. I have been on the hold list for Bossypants, a memoir by Tina Fey, for quite some time. It's gotten a lot of good reviews in the paper and was recommended to me in a number of places. So, I've been waiting not so patiently for this one.

Bossypants chronicles Fey's formative years in the improv world and her training in theatre as she pursued her dream of comedy. She describes being a woman in the traditionally male-dominated world of improv and comedy on television. And quite a successful woman at that. Bossypants shows the journy from improv to writing for and then starring on Saturday Night Live and culminating with her starring on and executive producing the hit show, 30 Rock. The memoir talks about her family and her upbringing but also contains a number of hilarious and interesting anecdotes from her time working with various celebrities and how her popular dead-on Sarah Palin impression came to be.

I really enjoyed this memoir. It was a quick read and I laughed out loud a number of times. Being a writer already, Fey was able to produce a well-written memoir rather than those written by some other celebrities who have no business in front of a keyboard. If you're a Fey fan, check this out for sure.

Rating: * * * * 1/2

P.S. I finally saw The Help a couple weeks ago. Highly recommend! I read it when it first came out in 2009 and loved it then. I liked the screen interpretation a lot.

Zumba - 80's Style

Guys! I totally forgot to tell you about my rad 80's zumba party. I was a guest instructor for this shindig. It was way fun. My outfit was even more fun! I really wanted to Jane Fonda it up and wear a leotard over tights. I had a black leotard (from when I wanted to become an adult ballerina -- that dream didn't work out) and I found these hot pink tights in the Target clearance section for $1.25. When I put the leotard on over the tights though, I felt VERY exposed. Too risque for me! Instead, I added some gym shorts and a knotted white t-shirt.

I made these leg warmers by cutting the toes of a pair of knee high socks, also from the Target clearance bin in the hosiery department. Looking hot, right?

I found these gigantic green plastic diamond earrings at a scary accessory store at the mall. They were a dollar. I was a little concerned they might give me tetanus but, in the interest of the theme, I wore them anyway. And I made those fishnet gloves out of fishnet socks. Why Target had so many of those leftover I'll never know. 62 cents!

I borrowed the crimping iron from a friend and also rocked the high ponytail. We had an awesome time! I wish everyday was an 80's day.

An Echo In The Bone

An Echo in The Bone is the most recently released book of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. You guys, I have been diligently working my way through these large tomes for 2 years and I finally made it the Book #7. Don't read this review if you plan on starting the series at some point because, though I won't spoil this book, obviously there will be spoilers from the previous books.

In Echo, Jamie and Claire are still trying to make a life for themselves in North Carolina on Fraser's Ridge. Unfortunately, the Revolution is brewing all around them and they eventually find themselves sucked right into the middle of it all. Knowing what they know about the outcome of these events, they find themselves having to play both sides carefully. Brianna and Roger have traveled back through the stones with Jem and Mandy to the 1980's to fix Mandy's heart murmur that Claire discovered in the last book but knew she could not operate on herself in the limited medical advancement for the 18th century (how's that for a run-on sentence!?) It is also in Echo that Brianna and Roger discover, through a series of letters written to them in the future by Claire and Jamie, that the Frasers have not succumbed to death by conflagration, as the newspaper article they found had reported.

OK, so we also have Ian, who is most interested in taking a wife but at the same time is hunted by Arch Bug for the murder (by Ian's hand) of Arch's wife. Lord John Grey and son (Jamie's) Willie are, obviously, Loyalists and fight as Redcoats against Jamie and the other team, exactly what Jamie had been hoping to avoid. A strange fellow has come back inquiring about Fergus' background and also, poor Ian the elder is dying which the Frasers discover as they finally make their way back to Lallybroch in Scotland.

Phew!

My friends, that doesn't even begin to chip away at the tip of the iceberg. This was a serious page turner. I even stayed up until 10:20 pm on a work night to finish it. Madness! I might not have devoured it so quickly had I not read that the next book should be released some time in 2012. Silly me, I thought this was the last book! How excited I was to find myself incorrect, especially after the cliffhangers Gabaldon left me with. An Echo in The Bone will not disappoint. Promise!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you all celebrated (or mourned) this unofficial end of summer with picnics with friends. John and I ate all weekend long. We visited lots of family including the Texans (who were thankfully in Ohio). Hope you had a great weekend!

Back tomorrow with another book review. I'm a reading fool!

Recipe Re-blog #35

Only one new recipe this week, folks. I was busy getting ready to travel (just to Cleveland) for the long weekend.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas: These came to me from How Sweet It Is (big fan of this blog). I was reluctant to try these this week because I just made those awesome Honey Lime Enchiladas a couple weeks ago. These didn't quite measure up to that but they were still good. Next time, I'll definitely go with a brand name enchilada sauce. We bought an off-brand and while normally that doesn't bother me, this one tasted a bit off. There was also a LOT of extra sauce. Some people like saucy enchiladas. Normally, I do, but since this sauce wasn't my fave, I didn't need all the excess. John likes things hotter than I do so we probably ended up with about 1/3 c. of buffalo sauce instead of the 1/4 - 1/2 c. that she recommends. This didn't get a sleeve yet but I think it might, with a different brand sauce.

About Ashley

Oh, hi. Welcome to my blog. If you're just stopping by, here's a little more about me. If you're been around for years, well then pat yourself on the back because you'll probably know all this already.

That's me. This picture is form last year but my hair changes color and length quite often so,

this is closest to what I look like now.

1. My favorite color is blue, always has been.






2. I've lived in Ohio for 28 years. (yes, that's my whole life --- including college)
   






3. I LOVE to read and love the escape books provide. In 2009 and 2010 I read 50 books each year. I'm very proud of that. This year, my total will not be so high but some of this year's reads are LARGE.
   






4. When I retire, I want to work at Joann's because sewing is a passion of mine. I like sewing everything from clothes, to bags, to things for the house. I made the blouse in the picture above.
   






5. My husband's name is John. We have been married for 3 1/2 years but together for almost 10 years. He's the best!






6. Sadie is our dogchild. She is a shih-poo (shih-tzu/toy poodle mix)






7. Food is something that I get super excited about. John and I typically only eat out once a week but we have that meal planned days in advance so I can look forward to it.








8. Traveling is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. I love seeing new places and experiencing different things and cultures. And I love cruising!








9. My drink of choice is wine, of just about any variety. However, I also like beer, and rum. And martinis. I swear I'm not a lush.
   
   
   
   




10. This year, my New Year's Resolution was to try at least one new recipe every week. Here we are in September and I'm still going strong!




11. I really enjoy working out. Every week I devote time to zumba, running and strength training. Having struggled with weight my whole life, I discovered exercise (surprise!) is what really works.




12. Shopping is my favorite. I love it so much that sometimes I go on self-imposed shopping bans. Then I let myself fudge on the bans and shop anyway.




13. My feet are terrible. I have a tight achilles tendon and the bone at the base of my large toes is off-kilter. This means I have trouble wearing high heels. This makes me sad.




14. I am always ready for the next season to start about halfway through the current one. I've been wanting to wear jeans and sweaters since July. We're not quite there yet. At least I hope not because I just bought a new dress (See above, #12)




15. I blog as a creative outlet. It lets me write (I majored in English) even if no one ever reads it.

Thanks for stopping by! Stick around for awhile, pleeeeeeeease.