Book Club Update: Interview with the Vampire : November

May I present the November book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Of course most people are familiar with this book but I have yet to read it, and since I am still quite taken with Vampire stories (is anyone else watching True Blood?!) I thought I would give this one a try. So far it is written in an antique literature style so of course, I'm all for it. The book club is open to all. Happy reading.

This is...my favorite recipe

This is a recipe I found in my Crock Pot book a while back and it had been a hit ever since. I can't wait to make it in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. Enjoy


picture from book

modified from Crock Pot book
Deluxe Potato Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I use cream of potato when vegetarians are present)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp melted butter, divided
1 tsp salt
2 pounds red potatoes, chopped
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups corn bread stuffing

1.In a small bowl combine soup, sour cream, onion, 1/4 cup butter, and salt
2. In a large bowl combine potatoes and cheese. Pour soup mix over potatoes and mix well. Put in Crock Pot.
3. Sprinkle stuffing mix over potato mixture, drizzle with remaining 3 tbsp butter
4. Cover, cook low 8 to 10 hours or high 5 to 6 or until potatoes are tender

Pasta, Sweet Potato and Leek Dish

I had this recipe from a while back that I had been wanting to try so one night I just said, that's it! Im buying some leeks and trying this baby out. I will be honest, the taste of the leeks is very powerful in this dish and at first Jon and I were like...yeah this dish is good, but perhaps not a favorite. I swear though, this dish, every time I ate it got better, and Jon agreed. It grew on us quite quickly and now I am happy to pass it on to you all.



Leek and Sweet Potato Pasta

12 ounces multigrain penne
4 tsp olive oil
3 leeks (white and light green parts) cut into half moons
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 small sweet potatoes (1 lb about) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

1. Cook pasta acourding to package, reserve 1/2 cup cooking water
2. Heat oil in large skillet to medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring until soft, 4 min
3. Stir in garlic cook 2 min. Add sweet potatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, cook covered, stirring twice, until tender, 6- 8 min
4. Stir in 1/2 cup Parm and cooking water, simmer, stirring until potatoes are fully tender, 2-4 min.
5. Add pasta and nutmeg and toss.
6. Serve with Parm on top

PS that super sweet little bowl is a purchase from Philly :)

Book Club Update: The Big Over Easy, October

Pangs pick for October turned out to be a very nice read. While I will say it was a little slow to start, once it got into the investigation the book went in directions I had not even imagined. There were some stories and characters that I had a little trouble with as far as placing them.

One of these was Georgia Porgia, the ruthless gang mobster who splits the tongues of his victims. I found the little rhyme that goes with it. Something I was not familiar with and perhaps Pang wasn't either.

Tell tale tit
Your tongue shall be slit
And every little dog in the town
Shall have a little bit.

Both of us were a bit miffed by the Jellyman. As far as I can find, Fforde made up the Jellyman. There is no actual story to go behind this character. Should anyone be able to prove me wrong please do so.

Also, the Sacred Gonga seems to also be made up. I dont know if this was supposed to be funny? A weed joke? If so kinda out of place.

But look what I found! the nursery crime website!.

What did you think of the book Pang?

A Little Taste of Philly

So the weekend before last Jon and I went to Philly to celebrate being together for 4 years- i know, right. Neither of us had ever been there and we really like going to cities.

We started our trip there with a ghost tour. We had been on a ghost tour in St. Augustine that was pretty cool. No ghosts of course but some cool stories and history.

This tour ended up being a total drag. The stories were lame. But we did get to see some parts of the city we might have missed otherwise. We stopped here at a graveyard and the tour guide urged us to take pictures and catch a ghost....no ghost.




Going to the city always means shopping. Surprise it's me in the dressing room!



Cities also mean mannequins :) I don't know that this one makes the cut though. Not as impressive as the rest of the group


Philly has some lovely parks and squares, all the more alluring because of the fall foliage



Here is a charming picture of Jon eating some super greasy fries at Monks. This place was known for their selection of beer. We met a guy there that was in Philly working for the Obama campaign for college credit. He recommended we try Flying Dog. Silly boy, that beer is made in Frederick! That's our beer. Pretty cool though. About a third of the way through these fries I started to get some gut giggles and I knew I was done for. We speculate that those fries were just pulled out of the bottom of the fryer and had been there all day.



And what trip to Philly would be complete without a cheesesteak? I was being snobby and got provolone on mine but Jon was smart and got the cheese wiz topping, and I must say, his did have more flavor, and once you started eating it you kinda forgot that the "cheese" came out of a sloppy can of goo.

All in all Philly was great. Expensive drinks though!

This is...something I'm surprised I like

Isn't this cute little jersey dress from Urban Outfitters cute?! But I am surprised I like it because its only been more recently that I have been embracing the potato sack dress look. When the pregnant style clothing first came into fashion I hated it. I felt like I was swimming in fabric whenever I would try on a little babydoll tee and would always end up not buying it and being disappointed that it looked so much cuter on the hanger than on my body. At some point I just got over it I suppose and now I really like them - they are super comfy and versatile.

Cheesy Beany Casserole

So I am a little short on money these days...like I haven't gone to the grocery store in weeks because I just can't face that ever growing total at the checkout, so I have been getting a little crafty with my dinners. Here is a little something I concocted with what I had in my pantry and fridge at the time.




1/3 box wheat pasta
1 can sweet peas
1 can vegetarian baked beans ( I think the veggie ones taste way better than the "bacon" ones but I would eat either)
cheese ( I used gouda and cheddar mixed up in the casserole and then sprinkled parm on top)

Basically just cook the pasta according to the box then stick the drained noodles into a oven proof casserole. Top with baked bean and peas (or hey, use corn) and mix well, crumble the cheese over it and mix it in a little. Set the oven at 375 and let it bake for 30-40 min or until the cheese looks melted and everything is hot. Sprinkle with parm and eat.

Now, had I been grocery shopping I would have put a whole lot more cheese in this than I did. I only had little nubs left, so go crazy with the cheese if you have it.