Monday Munchies: Beef Braciole from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever

Cookbooks, we all have them, I seem to have an abundance of them.  This picture is only half of the shelf and I have lots more squirreled around the house.  So I thought I might try to whittle them down by actually trying the recipes inside.  Of course one recipe isn't going to determine the fate of the entire book but I have to start somewhere.  I hope for the next year to be able to offer you some insight into these books so you can decide if it is right for you.  And also some tips and hints that I use, along with my mess ups.

For Christmas my fabulous sister gave me Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever and I dove right into this one.  With two small girls crock pot meals are a god send.

The first recipe I tried was

Beef Braciole

My husband and I gave it 4 stars

Stinkabeth (4 yrs old) gave it 3

and Kudzo (7 yrs old) 1 (but she doesn't like tomatoes)

 

Ease:

This was not a throw it in the crock pot and hit go.  There was a lot of prep work (you can see some in the image above) but it was well worth it.  The filling had to be made, the meat had to be cut, then assembled and lastly seared.  Then the veggies and spices needed sautéing. After all that was done it finally went into the crock pot.

 

Outcome:

Some of my rolls fell apart and they were very difficult to get out of my crock pot so presentation was a complete failure. 

 

The recipe says it makes 8 servings.  For us it made more than that, we ate it for an entire week!

 

Notes:

I doubled the nutmeg for two reasons.  1.  We tend to like more flavorful dishes 2. My nutmeg was old.  The extra nutmeg did not over power the dish.

Necessary Lies By Diane Chamberlain

Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a breakout book about a small southern town fifty years ago, and the darkest—and most hopeful—places in the human heart

After losing her parents, fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm.  As she struggles with her grandmother’s aging, her sister’s mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.

When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County’s newest social worker, she doesn’t realize just how much her help is needed.  She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband.  But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm—secrets much darker than she would have guessed.  Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.

Set in rural Grace County, North Carolina in a time of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension, Necessary Lies tells the story of these two young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy.  Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it’s wrong?

This one deserves more than 5 stars!  I learned something about American history (you know the kind nobody wants to talk about) I felt connected to the characters and truly cared what happened to them and I just couldn't put it down.

 

Diane Chamberlain takes on the hush hush topic of the eugenics sterilization program something that I didn't even know existed and couldn't believe that we actually practiced especially after WWII. But somehow Diane skirts the line of making this an angry political statement book leaving me feeling more like I was educated than told how to feel about something.

 

The book is told from two women's points of view, Jane and Ivy, and they couldn't be from more different worlds. Diane creates a realistic relationship between these two women which I found refreshing considering how easy it could have been to go overboard with their friendship.  Both women are very well developed, as are all the characters.  There are ones that I liked and ones that I didn't but I understood why every single one of them acted the way they did. 

 

I'm not going to lie, the book is sad, but again Diane skirts the line of sad and depressing very well.  I never once got up from reading this book with that heavy depressed feeling so many books sometimes leave.  I always got up wanting to read more and when it was all done I was happy with the way she chose to end it.

 

After visiting Diane's website I discovered a prequel to this book and I am going to download it right away. This is a keeper book for me and I have the feeling that many of her other books will be as well.  I am so glad I read this, it was by far one of the best books I read all year.

 

I'm linking up, come join us!

 

Doily and Lace Book, My first pages

 One of the recent Marie Antoinette Mail Art swaps I took part in was a Doily book supply swap.  My partner Rhonda outdid herself!

 There were two yahoo videos that I decided to model my book after.

and this one
Fabric/Lace/Doiley Book Part 1
The second video shows how I plan on combining all of my pages.  It is all the way at the end of the video.

 

I hand stitched each of the blue flowers to match the gorgeous appliqué (shown close up below) I found.  All the seam binding I used to make these flowers is on sale in my Etsy Shop

I turned one of the doily's into a pocket.  I'm planning on using this book as a needle book when it is all done so that pocket will most likely end up holding a book of needles.

I wanted to keep the adjoining pages very simple so that I could use them more for the needle storage.

But for this one I couldn't resist making this little French Ribbonwork rose.  I have some for sale in my shop.

 

I've already got one more page half done and plans for the third.  This is going to be the biggest project I have taken on knowing that I will keep it that I've ever done. 

Thanks for stopping by!



My Happy List: Great end to a rough year

  1.  We had a drop in from Kevin's Aunt and Uncle.  The girls love spending time with Ron and Sherrie and it was so nice to catch up with them.  We already have plans to see them again in a few months.  2.  We are heading to the farm for the New Year.  It is so much fun to see the girls play in the big open fields and to roast marshmallows out at the sharecroppers cabin.

3.  I've decided to offer all of my artwork that I create for Alpha Stamps for free in my Etsy shop.  I made this announcement a few days ago.  Uploaded 7 pieces of artwork and they all sold!

4.  I was feeling so good from those sales that it spurred me to finally get all of the seam binding I have to offer for sale into the shop.  And some of that sold too!

5.  I finished the best book!  This year has been a bad reading year for me so to finish the year out with a book I loved is awesome.  I will be doing a review of this novel soon.   So what made you happy this week? 

Victorian Paper Doll Swap & Free Art

Love Paper Dolls?  Well Alpha Stamps is hosting a Victorian Paper Doll Swap, come join us!

 

I made mine a ribbon doll and it is available for free (well, you pay shipping and handling) in my Etsy Store.

All the items I used are available from Alpha Stamps

 

Chipboard Torso

Victorian Fashions Collage Sheet

Seam Binding (also available in my Etsy Store black, silver and white)

White Pearl Strand

Metal Roses

Many of the items are available in the January Romantic Women Kit

 

 

 

Firsts for 2014, Art Swap and Free Art!

Yes, I know it's not 2014 yet but today marks the announcement of the first swap for 2014 on Alpha Stamps.  I will be embarking on yet another year where I have the privilege of hosting this wonderful companies art swaps. 

 

This swap is all my creation.  A "Lovesick Heart Book" swap.  If you would like to participate please visit the Alpha Stamps yahoo Group or send me an e-mail (link on my sidebar) and I will send you the details. 

But what I am really excited about for the upcoming year is that I have decided that all the artwork I create this year I will be offering for FREE! Well, not entirely, you pay the shipping, but that is all.  I have already uploaded this lovely heart into my shop so if you would like it please head over and snatch it up quick.   

To My Sweetheart

 

All the supplies I used for this heart are available at Alpha Stamps and many items will be on sale because of the swap.

Sweetness chipboard book

Love Letters Paper and Sticker Set

Cream Seam Binding, available in my etsy shop, 5yrds for $1.75 or at Alpha Stamps

Valentines and Romance Collage Sheets

Marie Fiber Set

 

Looking forward to a wonderful year! 

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.

William Landay wove a story that I enjoyed despite not liking any of the characters.  Despite the unoriginality of the storyline I couldn't put this book down.  Landy's pacing was spot on and I enjoyed how he broke up the book with different texts to show the current timeline, the father, Andy, sitting in the witness box being examined by a prosecutor, vs. everything that happened leading up to the trial. 

 

Defending Jacob is told from Jacob's fathers point of view, Andy Barber.  He, like the other characters, is greatly flawed.  He is simply unable to see anything negative about his son.  This is deeply contrasted by how the mother views her son.  It left me feeling like Landay wrote the two extremes in parenting.

 

Landay spends a lot of time on the murder gene.  This is the first time I have ever heard of this type of behavioral phycology.  It really got me thinking about what might be hidden in my genes and if I believed in this or not.  I enjoy books that make me think and this one did.  It also scared me because this family on the surface appeared close but none of them really knew each other at all.  How well do I know my family?

 

Mystery/thrillers are not really my genre so I can' say if this was a good one or not.  What I can say is that I enjoyed this book despite the wide open ending.  If you are okay with there not being a definitive answer on "who done it" this is a great novel for character development, the ties that bind or unbind a family and how secrets can destroy everything. 

 

I am linking up with Art @ Home's Literary Friday

come join us! 

"Visions of sugar-plumbs danced in their heads" Matchbox

 This holiday season The Circle of Friends decided to exchanged decorated and stuffed matchboxes.

 While I was at Sweethearts on the Homefront I purchased the lovely vintage pompom fringe you see in the images.  It was sitting on my studio table when I started this project and it became my inspiration.

 Pink is not the first color that comes to most people minds when they think Christmas but I think I pulled it off by fully embracing the idea of Sugar-plums and the bright happy colors that the dancers are often depicted in.  I mean the dancers, not the candy.

 For some reason I always want my matchboxes to have something around the base or some kind of stand.  I folded two metal snowflakes to prop up my matchbox.

And I stuffed it full of handmade items and some trinkets I thought my partner would like.

Autumn Tussie Mussie ~ With tutorial

 

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  The gorgeous colors, the cool crisp air and the gathering of family for fun and food.  

 This year I decided to make a special Autumn decoration to have around the house.

I decided on the tussie mussie (paper cone) shape because it reminded me of a cornucopia. 

 You can get the template on my sidebar.

Instead of going into detail here about how I put this together please view my video tutorial.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoy my tussie mussie. 

I am truly thankful for all the support I have received from my blog followers and visitors.  Thank you so much.

Harvest Tags & Swap Announcement

 Happy November!

One of my favorite times of the year is that elusive few weeks between Halloween and the Christmas rush.   

This year Alpha Stamps is celebrating this time with a fabulous Harvest Tag Swap. 

Almost everything I used on my tags came from the Fall Foliage Kit. 

Please consider joining this fun swap.  It would be great to swap my tags out with y'all.  

I am thankful for each and every one of my readers and will have a treat for y'all closer to thanksgiving.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful month.

 

I'm linking up with Paper Saturdays, come join us!