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I have a confession...I'm a bookworm.
I love books. Always have. Ever since I was a kid, I have collected books. It has gotten more serious over the years, too.
Now, I'm not one of those types like you see on that "Hoarders" tv show—I do possess the ability to sort through my books and edit what's in my library. There are certain things which hold no personal, historical, sentimental, or literary value, and I get rid of those unneeded things. Especially just prior to moving! But I do have a nice collection of books.
I don't go crazy with purchases, as I am not the typical "impulsive buyer." But Barnes & Noble just had a sale where I was able to purchase several hard-cover books for $3.99 each. There were a few more on my booklist, too.
I'm not strictly loyal to Barnes & Noble, either; if Borders has a sale, I'll browse their shelves or website, and maybe make a purchase. But B&N had a better selection for a better price, and price was the deciding factor.
I only do this about once per year, I'd estimate. I doubt that makes me a full-fledged addict. Or does it...?
Chicken with teriyaki marinade, and plan salt-n-pepper chicken; with a side of veggies. Chicken Two Ways 3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 T. olive oil teriyaki marinade (either store-bought or your own recipe)salt and pepper Strategy:
The idea of this "recipe" is to prep and cook a bunch of chicken which you will then consume over the next few days. If it is available and handy, perhaps you will be less inclined to snack on crackers and cheese, or other carb type snacky foods. You don't have to do plain and teriyaki—that was just the way it worked out for me. And if you want to do a larger quantity of chicken, then have at it!
1. Trim any fat or "yucky bits" off of the chicken. Cut into bite-sized pieces, or into strips. Whatever you prefer.
2. Divide up the chicken into separate batches, if you want to flavor it in different ways for different purposes. (for instance, I wanted plain chicken to put on a salad, and my husband had a taste for teriyaki chicken.) Season as you like.
3. In a frying pan, sauté the chicken—I did the plain chicken first—in olive oil until cooked through. Set aside in a container to cool, or use for your dinner tonight; saving leftovers. Cook the next batch. Use as you prefer.
My dinner—some steamed veggies and the salt-n-pepper chicken over mixed greens:
This is one of my all-time favorite dinners. Mushroom Pork Chops 4 boneless pork chops 1 T. olive oil1 can cream of mushroom soup1 lb. mushrooms, sliced 1 c. milk or cream
seasonings: celery salt, black pepper, onion powder, marjoram
1. In a large frypan, brown the pork chops in olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine soup with milk/cream; whisk together well. Add seasonings; whisk.
3. Add mushrooms to pan.
4. Pour soup mixture over mushrooms and pork chops.
5. Turn down heat, cover with lid, and allow to simmer for 35-45 minutes.
Sorry I didn't get a photo on the plate, but we were too damned hungry on this particular night. Plus, my camera has been...well, pissing me off quite a bit lately. Batteries go dead too quickly, and I have to reset the date every time I open the battery compartment to replace them or swap out the photo card. Grrrr...I need a new camera!
This begins the low carb diet. (You're welcome, Amy!) Today I have a representation of the first round of tasty items created using one of a dieter's best friends: the mini muffin pan.
Tuna Egg and Cheese Bites
1 can tuna
1 egg
1/2 c. cheese, shredded
dash of: celery salt, black pepper, dill
equipment needed: 
mini muffin pan(s) non-stick cooking spray 1. Mix tuna, egg, and cheese in a small mixing bowl. Add seasonings.
2. Spray pan with cooking spray; press mixture into mini muffin pan. NOTE: I came up with a little leftover tuna-egg-cheese mixture, so I added 2 more eggs to it and filled part of a second mini muffin pan. 
3. Bake at 350˚ for about 20 minutes; until cheese looks bubbly. 
Turkey and Cheese Bites
1 lb. ground turkey 1 c. shredded cheese dash of: salt, garlic, poultry seasoning, black pepper 1. Mix turkey and cheese in a small mixing bowl. Add seasonings.
2. Spray pan with cooking spray; press mixture into mini muffin pan. (One pound of turkey, plus the cheese, filled two mini muffin pans exactly.)
3. Bake at 350˚ for about 20 minutes; until cheese looks bubbly. 
Serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce, as you like.
"The new way"?
Is this a joke? No, really. I mean, if you can't crack an egg without getting pieces of shell in the bowl, how likely is it that you're going to be separating the whites and whipping up a lemon meringue pie? I don't think so, Scooter!
LMAO at this product...and anyone who buys one.
UPS Smashes Boxes!Seriously, I cannot remember a time when I've gotten a box delivered by UPS that wasn't smashed. Here's a good example:
I took these photos before I had even opened the box, in case the contents were ruined, then I planned to file a claim with sucky UPS and ream them a new you-know-what. 
Lucky for them, the items in the box were undamaged, so bloodshed was avoided. This time. I do, however, have absolutely no faith in the company as far as delivering packages safely intact. I mean, honestly, the box clearly says, "FRAGILE" on top, yet by the looks of it, someone used it as a soccer ball.
All I'm asking is, "WTF, UPS?"
(Hey, that's kinda catchy...)
Anyone else had similar experiences?
Many years ago, I made the "Tuna-Cheese Twist" which is listed in my old Bisquick booklet. It was successful, but with room for improvement. This is the adapted/re-made recipe. Bob over at Cooking Stuff has done some similar items: Stuffed Bread Braid and Cheesy Chicken Bacon Broccoli Braid.BBQ Chicken Braid filling: 2 cans white meat chicken (I think I used 2 cans, I can't recall now!)1/4 c. BBQ sauce 1/2 c. shredded cheese dough:2 c. Bisquick 1/2 c. cold water
1. Heat oven to 425°.
2. In a small bowl, mix chicken and BBQ sauce; break up chunks of chicken with a fork while mixing.
3. Stir in cheese; mix well. Add more BBQ sauce, if you think it needs it. I was just eyeballing it, myself.
4. In separate bowl, mix Bisquick with water. Beat by hand until a nice dough forms. 
5. Roll out into a rectangle, place on cookie sheet. Make cuts on the long side of the dough to form flaps which will get folded over the filling. (sorry, my camera was giving me hell, so I missed some steps in this process!) 
6. Spoon filling onto middle of the dough, then fold dough up over filling. 
7. Optional: Brush with 1 egg mixed with 1 T. warm water.
8. Bake until dough/crust is lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Ooey-gooey!!! Mmmmm!!!
9. Allow it to cool slightly for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
NOTES: I would actually change only one thing: I'd use sliced cheese and put it on the dough before the filling, so that the chicken-BBQ mixture wasn't so extremely gooey. Not that gooey is bad, but it was messy. 
My old Bisquick container that I've had since...the beginning of time, I think! Got it from the Betty Crocker Catalog a looooong time ago. I wonder if you can still buy these? Made the suggestion to Bob's Red Mill that they ought to have branded canister containers like this one.
Okay, this is my last bread post for a while (I promise, Amy!!!) and then I'm going to focus on low carb dishes. The leftover French bread loaf just got chopped up, baked, and turned into croutons. All the bread is gone now, I think. Gonna have to be that way for a while. No-Knead Bread* 3 c. warm water 7 c. flour 1 T. salt 2 pkts. active dry yeast 1. Measure the flour into a LARGE mixing bowl; whisk in salt. 2. Mix both yeast packets into **1 cup** of warm water; allow to stand 5 minutes. 
3. Add yeast mixture and remaining 2 cups of water into flour. 
4. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is combined. 
5. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to stand at room temperature for roughly 2 hours.
6. Get one of those empty 6-quart ice cream buckets from the pantry…you know—the ones you're always complaining are in the way and you have no practical use for?—one of those! Put your dough in it. Slap the lid on. Put it in the fridge. (I did all my mixing in the ice cream bucket.)
7. Allow the dough to sit in the fridge for 2 hours. It will rise, but don't panic if you see it deflate—it will rise again. (NOTE: you don't have to use the dough today, if you don't have time; it will keep in the fridge for a week. Then you HAVE TO bake it.)8. When ready to bake, grab a softball-sized piece of dough from your bucket. You might want to flour your hand first, cause the stuff is sticky. And it is very stringy-stretchy. 
9. On a floured surface, shape the ball into a loaf. Place loaf on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle the top with a little flour. Cover with waxed paper and allow to rise for about an hour. 
Above: I allowed this to rise without slashing it first, and it split down one side. When I tried to slash it before baking, it had a crust on it that prevented me from making "pretty" slashes. 10. Heat oven to 375°. Slash loaf—either down the center, or crosswise 2 or 3 times—with a sharp knife to allow for expansion. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until crust is a nice brown and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped. NOTE: If you want your bread to turn out crusty, you have to add moisture to the environment. You accomplish this by adding a pan of water underneath the oven rack where your bread will be baking. When I did this, the crust was nice, but the bread didn't seem done in the center. These instructions reflect my discontentment with the original recipe. I have lowered the oven temp and increased the time. *Adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe.I also made some breadsticks. I flattened out the dough and sprinkled it with garlic salt and dusted it ever-so-lightly with flour, then folded it over again and again, repeating the process, to make flakey layers. 
They looked beautiful after baking:
This is some sticky dough!!!
When all is said and done, I think I have enjoyed some of my other bread recipes more. It was just "okay." This really didn't seem too much easier, I thought, than making regular bread.
