Eat Pray Love

Eat Pray Love  **1/2

Trailer
This movie was just like the book. It followed the story and events very closely. I honestly don't remember the book fantastically well, but I didn't notice any story discrepancies in the movie... It is a simple story of self-discovery and love. The main character goes from being depressed to finding the perfect man for her as she travels the world in an attempt to find herself. It wasn't my favorite love story, but Julia Roberts does a good job. She is looking super old though, which was really weird!

Old Grist Mill

Old Grist Mill

location: Various locations in Utah
Russ brought home a sandwich from Old Grist Mill today and it was pretty tasty! It was a lot like the kind of sandwich you can make at home but the bread was extra delicious and Russ put a ton of fresh, crisp veggies on it, which was really good. The meat and cheese was fresh too, so I would suggest it if you like yummy sandwiches! Sorry I don't know how pricey it is though!

What goes hand-in-hand with a TEA party?

Cucumber Sandwiches!

Cucumber Mint Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 6 slices of bread
• 3-inch length of cucumber, sliced to desired thickness
  

Directions:

1. Pick off some mint leaves and place them in a salad spinner to wash and dry. Dice the mint leaves.
   
2. Place the cream cheese, butter, and mint into a bowl and mix well. It helps if the cream cheese and butter are slightly softened. It should become a sort of herb paste.
   
3. Spread mint mixture onto bread. Top with cucumber slices. Top with another slice of bread and slice up sandwich for desired look.

This recipe is from epicurious but I found it here!


Best Cucumber Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cucumber
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion salt
• dash Worcestershire
• 1 loaf sliced, firm-textured bread
• dash of paprika
  

Directions:

1. Run a fork over the sides of the cucumber, slightly puncturing the skin. Slice the cucumbers to your desired thickness.
   
2. In a bowl pour in the vinegar and the water. Place the cucumber slices in the bowl and let them sit for 30 minutes.
   
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cream cheese, garlic powder, onion salt, and the Worcestershire. Mix well.
   
4. Drain the cucumber slices by placing them between two paper towels.
   
5. Put the spread on the slices of bread. Place the cucumber slices on the bread. Top with a dash of paprika. Slice in whatever superfluous way you'd like.   

This recipe is from here but I found it at the same blog I found the other sandwich!

Hush Hush Series

Hush Hush ***1/2

by Becca Fitzpatrick
Book Type: YA, Urban Fantasy, Romance 

Summary: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along. 

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life

summary found on goodreads

My Review: Alright, I really need to come up with a classification for this type of book... Let's say... This book is kind of like The Mortal Instruments meets Twilight... Okay, I can't say that with any type of authority because I have never read Twilight. But I imagine it is a lot like this book. It's the same type of genre as Mortal Instruments because it has angels, nephilim, wars and etc... It's the same type of genre as Twilight because there is a lot of focus on LOVE and being OBSESSIVE... Ahem, once again, I still haven't been able to bring myself to read Twilight so I won't pretend to be any type of expert on that book BUT, that is the vibe I got. And that is what this book is FULL OF. Alright. I liked this book. I didn't LOVE it. But I liked it. Enough to try and finish the series and read it in a day... But I read most books fairly quickly so I don't know how good of a "determiner" that is. I'm all about making up stupid words today. Anyway, the book has some very exciting moments, creepy instances, weird/twisted situations, love, drama, and betrayal all across the board. You don't know who to trust and who to like. You just know that there are guardian angels, archangels, fallen angels, immortal nephilim, and a very confused girl trapped in the middle of it all. FUN.

Crescendo ***1/2

by Becca Fitzpatrick

Book Type: YA, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Summary: Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but atleast she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. 

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.
Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperatly searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

summary found on goodreads

My Review: I thought this book wasn't any better or worse than the first, they were pretty comparable to each other. In the first book Nora is trying to decide if she can trust Patch, in the end she decides she can. Then this book starts and she is once again completely UNSURE about Patch. She pretty much decides she hates him and then obsesses over him the whole book. Anyway, she places her trust and mistrust in the wrong place the ENTIRE book. Communication people! No one seems to think that's important in this book. They all think it's better for Nora to be in the dark and completely confused the entire time. Anyway, this book just kind of stops all of a sudden so that you have to read the next one or just be left really annoyed. The first one wrapped up much better than this one! So, if you are not in the mood to read a whole trilogy, stop after the first one! PLEASE.

Let me just say though... The covers of both of these books are freakin AWESOME. Seriously look how gorgeous they are! They really make me want to pick them up and read them again! Even though I KNOW I didn't like them that much. HAH

Silence ***1/2
by Becca Fitzpatrick
Book Type: YA, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Summary: The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.
summary found on goodreads
My Review: I thought that this was going to be a trilogy. But of COURSE not! Of COURSE it is going to be more than 3 books. Goodness! Oh well. This book was the best one in the series. I haven't thoroughly enjoyed any of the books, but this one was the least sappy and had the least amount of drama. So I liked it more than the others. It had some more action than the other books as well, so it was more enjoyable. That's about all I remember about the book. Haha. I DO remember that the author described what the main character is wearing, ALL. THE. TIME. She explains it as she gets dressed, she talks about her clothes when she sees people, she is just constantly telling you about her own and other people's outfits. How many unnecessary details can you put in one book? Not a very memorable book... But fun. I guess. :) If you don't LOVE the first book in the series, don't keep reading. They get better, but not THAT much better!

Tandoori Oven

Tandoori Oven

location: Logan, UT
INDIAN FOOD. I honestly thought I would never feel up to eating Indian food again in my entire lifetime! 2 weeks straight was MORE than enough for me! BUT Boomer made us some Indian food about a month ago and I liked it! So when Parrish told us he would really love to go with us to Tandoori Oven sometime I was a little wishy washy... but more willing than I would have been a month ago! I'm not going to lie. Sitting outside the restaurant we could smell it and it smelled SO good! But, it still made me feel like I was going to puke! HAHA. I guess that's what happens after not keeping down your food for a month because of eating too much Indian food! I have to say that it was absolutely delicious. Once I got over my nausea I just dove in, eating Indian style (with my fingers) and I loved it. It was the best Indian food I've had in the states by far! It was very comparable to the best Indian food we had in INDIA. Yeah, it really was that good. I'd go there again... Maybe. :) It was about 10 dollars per dish and 10 for the buffet. Not bad for Indian food!

I was introduced to these by my husband's old roommate

German Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in medium baking dish
3. In a medium bowl, mix flour, milk, eggs, and salt. Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish.
4. Bake on center rack in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four ***

Trailer
So.... This movie looked really exciting and action packed which Russ and I really like... so we decided to watch it. And it fulfilled our desire for action "packedness"... But, the story was kind of lacking. You want to know why? Because it is based on a book. That is going to be part of a SERIES. Which hasn't even come out yet. So the movie is super open ended because guess what? They are going to make the movies for all the of the books. Just like Harry Potter. I think they were inspired by the wrong series. If they think they will do as well as Harry Potter I can pretty much guarantee they will be SORELY disappointed. Granted, I haven't read the book. And I have no intention to do so until the rest of the series comes out at least. Overall, the movie was interesting, the super powers were cool, the acting was so-so, and the ending was lame. If you are looking for an unsatisfying but exciting/action packed movie with obsessive love... This is the movie for you. :)

Cafe Sabor

Cafe Sabor

location: Logan, UT
Mexican food! My family is really big into finding DELICIOUS Mexican food. This comes from us living in Southern California for 3 years. Thankfully I will soon be living in Arizona eating the BEST Mexican food all. the. time. My family is going to be incredibly jealous. So this is the first REAL Mexican restaurant I've been to in a long time, and it is a pretty decent one. Russ and I got this creamy chicken and mushroom sauce that you can put on fresh tortillas (made right in the entrance) with beans, rice, lettuce and pico. It was super delicious. I've only been there one other time when I was like 13 so I don't remember if I liked what I got... BUT. The chicken sauce and taquitos were way good. I would HIGHLY suggest them. The pricing is very comparable to other Mexican Restaurants, I believe it was about 7-15 dollars per plate!

 

Lots of extra calories? Well I don't give a toss!

Most fish n' chips recipes have a beer batter for the fish but because we don't drink, we don't have beer... and we're not about to go out and buy some! SO we found one recipe that didn't call for beer and tried it. It's not the BEST recipe... But it's the best we've found so far. If I ever find something better I will share it! :)

Classic English Fish N' Chips

Non-Beer Battered Fish

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds cod fillets
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a medium-size mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the milk and egg; stir until the mixture is smooth. Let stand 20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oil in a large pot or electric skillet to 350 degrees F.
3. Dredge the fish in the batter, one piece at a time, and place them in the hot oil. Fry until the fish is golden brown. If necessary, increase the heat to maintain the 350 degrees F temperature. Drain well on paper towels.   

I found this recipe here.

English Chips

Ingredients:

• Potatoes, peeled and sliced into chips
• Oil (Peanut oil is supposed to be the best, but vegetable works just fine!)
• Salt
  

Directions:

1. Put the sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water to cover them. Leave them to soak while the oil is heating.
   
2. Pour oil into pan or deep frier, making sure that it doesn’t come more than a third of the way up the pan. Heat the oil on a high heat to around 375F.
   
3. When the oil is hot, dry the potatoes thoroughly, place in a frying basket and lower them into the oil slowly. When the chips are covered, and the bubbling has stopped, cover the pan and cook the chips for about 6 minutes. They should not be brown when you stop this, just cooked.
   
4. Take the chips out of the pan and allow the oil to heat back up to around 390F. When the oil has reheated, put the chips back in the pan to brown.
   
5. A soon as they turn golden brown, remove them and place on paper towels. After a few seconds, the excess fat will drain of into the towels. Remove the towels, sprinkle the chips with a little salt and serve hot. They must be served immediately, or they will go soggy.
   
6. Serve with battered fish, and salt and vinegar.

I found this recipe here.

Just Wright

Just Wright **1/2

Trailer
So this movie looked pretty cute in the previews but I didn't have very high hopes for it because well... It also looked incredibly cheesy. And I was pretty right on! It was kinda cute, but mostly cheesy. I didn't really get into it or LOVE it. But it was okay. I wouldn't really suggest it to anyone unless you really love romantic comedies that are CLEAN. Like, almost no swearing or innuendo. Just good, clean, cheesy fun. :)

Angie's

Angie's

location: Logan, UT
This is just another local restaurant here in Logan. It is about 5-15 dollars to eat there. Just depends on what you want! I've been there many many times over the years. I have enjoyed pretty much everything I've had there. The salmon and shrimp we had there was delicious, their chicken cordon bleu soup was also excellent. But the thing to get at Angie's is their cinnamon roll. OHMYGOSHGOOD. Seriously, they are HUGE and the cinnamon is baked right into the dough... They are just UBER delicious. REALLY. They are. :)

See how happy they are eating those cinnamon rolls??? :)

SO much better than cornbread!

Sunshine Muffins

source: Lisa Hawks
Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c water
• 1/3 c milk
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1/2 box yellow cake mix
• 1 pkg. corn muffin mix

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl, mix the eggs, water, milk, and oil. Stir in the two mixes until well blended.
3. Fill a greased muffin tin 1/2 way up each cup.
4. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Cool 5 mins. Then cool on wire racks.

Books of Bayern

Bayern Books ****

Goose Girl ****1/2

Enna Burning ***1/2

River Secrets ****

Forest Born ***

by Shannon Hale 
Book Type: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Romance
Summaries:  Goose Girl- Goose Girl is loosely based on the Brother's Grimm tale: The Goose Girl. Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? This book is loosely based on a Brother's Grim Tale.
Enna Burning- Enna's simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn. In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Isi and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?
River Secrets- Razo has no idea why he was chosen to be a soldier. He can barely swing a sword, and his brothers are forever wrestling him to the ground. Razo is sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission—escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy.
But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, Razo discovers the first dead body. He befriends both the high and low born, people who can perhaps provide them with vital information. And Razo is the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.
Forest Born- When her brother Razo returns to the city after a visit home, Rin accompanies him to the palace in hopes of finding a new sense of herself. But a mysterious threat haunts Bayern, and Rin joins the magical girls she thinks of as the Fire Sisters—Isi, Enna, and Dasha—as they venture into the woods toward the kingdom of Kel... where someone wants them all dead.
summaries found on goodreads
My Review: Get ready for a fine tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm.The heroes and heroines are extremely likeable and endearing. Goose Girl is absolutely fantastic, I love Ani! She feels completely inadequate, which we can all relate with, and turns out to be this brave, strong, incredibly talented woman! Enna Burning takes place in the same world as Goose Girl and Enna is a great character but the book is much darker and the inner turmoil is much more dramatic and dreary. Enna gets lost in herself and the rest of the characters are lost along the way. But they come back strong in River Secrets with Razo as the main character. Razo is HILARIOUS. I loved his character in the first book and was glad when I saw he was the lead in this book! He's just so likeable and cute! This book is as good as the first. It's fun to see how the characters have grown since the first book and to hear how the cute relationships develop and grow as well! Forest Born unfortunately was not as good for me as the first 3. Hale pulls in a new character to play the lead. You hear of Rin in the previous stories but she's only mentioned and not developed at all. I couldn't relate to her as well, we had already heard the sob story of "I'm not good enough, I don't fit in" in Goose Girl but this one didn't earn my sympathy like Goose Girl did. 
Overall? The whole series is FANTASTIC. It's not the type of series to have cliff hangers and force you to read the next book, you can stop at anytime and feel satisfied. The books can each stand alone they are written and developed so well. But I have to say, I kept going because I couldn't get enough of Hale's amazing story world!

Gaucho Grill

Gaucho Grill
 locations: Logan, UT

 This restaurant makes Brazilian food. Russ and I have been to Tucano's several times and we LOVE it. It is SUPER delicious, so we figured we'd give this restaurant a try. There is a salad bar that has rice and beans, salad, Brazilian treats like quail eggs, marinated mozzarella balls, and fried bananas. They also have a bunch of different grilled meats and pineapple. The pineapple is DELICIOUS, the meats were pretty good, although some were overcooked and the salad bar was decent. Russ' beans and rice are WAY better than theirs though! :) Overall it was good, but we would pick Tucano's over Gaucho Grill any day!

Sometimes I just CRAVE a good bowl of Chili...

Wendy's Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 can (29 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 can (29 oz.) kidney beans (do not drain)
• 1 can (29 oz.) pinto beans (do not drain)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced green chilies
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped or 2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp. cumin powder
• 3 T. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups water 

Directions:

1. Brown the beef over med. heat; drain off the fat. Using a fork, crumble the beef into pea-size pieces. 
2. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat. 
3. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours. 

**Note: For spicier chili, add 1/2 tsp. more pepper. For much spicier, add 1 tsp. black pepper and 1 T. cayenne pepper. And for a real stomach stinger, add 5 or 6 sliced jalapeno peppers to the pot.
**Leftovers can be frozen for several months.

Russ has been craving sweets lately!

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

We found this recipe here.

I'm Just so Stylin...

So Russ and I went for a walk downtown the other day and found this second hand book shop. They didn't have any of the kinds of books I love to read BUT they had a TON of cool random books. One of them was a crochet/bead jewelry making book. Russ thought it was cool and that I'd like it so he bought it for me and had me get some stuff to make jewelry. This was by far the coolest looking piece of jewelry to me so I decided to make a few bracelets. I will probably make more of these and some anklets while I'm at it. Then I'll move onto the more complicated patterns :) Anyway, the book is called: Crochet for Beaders: 18 stunning jewelry projects and it's by Ruth Herring, if you're interested!

The Giver Quartet

The Giver ***

by Lois Lowry
Book Type: Dystopia, Fiction 

Summary: Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.
summary found on goodreads

My Review: Alright I was one of those few kids in the world who never had to read this book in school. So I decided to read it now. And I have to say that it was definitely interesting and thought provoking. It was super depressing at the end though. It just stops and leaves you thinking "really? is he dead or what?" So I like to tell myself that something really was there... Not what he saw, he saw what he knew, but something was there... I just hate to think after everything he went through he just DIED and so did the poor little baby. But anyway, it's not meant to be a happy book. But it was good. Too advance to be reading in middle school... But good. :)

Gathering Blue ***
by Lois Lowry
Book Type: Y/A, Dystopia, Fiction
Summary: In her strongest work to date, Lois Lowry once again creates a mysterious but plausible future world. It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.
summary on goodreads
My Review: This book was kind of slow, but I liked the main character. The story felt incomplete to me. But all of the books in this series have been slow. I felt like Lowry has a good idea for a dystopic society, I just don't feel like it came together all the way.

Messenger ***

by Lois Lowry
Book Type: Y/A, Dystopia, Fiction
Summary: For the past six years, Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man, known for his special sight. Village was a place that welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. Matty has been invaluable as a messenger. Now he must make one last journey through the treacherous forest with his only weapon, a power he unexpectedly discovers within himself.
summary on goodreads
My Review: I loved Matty in Gathering Blue, he had grown up a lot by this book and he wasn't as fun. The story was still so short and slow. The ending was horrible. I hated the way Lowry attempted to wrap up this story. But now I have to read the fourth book in hopes of pulling the first 3 books together and maybe having a more complete story. I think these books would have been better if they had all been one book broken into the different stories.

Son **
by Lois Lowry
Book Type: Y/A, Dystopia, Fiction
Summary:
They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.
Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver, as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.
summary found on goodreads
My Review: This book was SO incredibly disappointing for me. It started out slow, the girl looses everything, and then miraculous the bad guy is vanquished with the bat of an eyelash and then it's all over. Bam. Whole series wrapped up in about 2 seconds. One of the most unsatisfying conclusions to a series I have ever read. EVER. Like seriously. This series was horrific. The first book was interesting, the second was better, the third was best up until the end... Where I wanted to chuck the book across the room. And then this book. Oh my gosh this book. Why did she write it? Like this of all things? I hated this book. It was horrible. Stupid. Irritating. Grrr... Don't read this one. Maybe the first two. But stop there.

So much better than something from a jar!

We found several recipes for Alfredo sauce and they were all pretty much the same. So we just picked one of the many and made it. It was delicious but it was super salty when we added one cup of Parmesan cheese so we tweaked it until it was just right. Just follow our instructions and you'll LOVE it! :) Way better than anything you can buy in the store...

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 - 1 c Parmesan cheese (start with 1/2 c. and add to your liking)
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 c butter

Directions:

1. Grate cheese. Cut butter into quarters.
2. In small pan, combine cheese, butter and cream.
3. Cook at medium heat 5 minutes or until butter melts. Stir well.

Russ saw these and HAD to make them

Hand Pies

Ingredients:

• Pie crust dough of your choice, homemade or store bought
• pie filling of your choice
• 1 egg
• a bit of sugar

Directions:

1. Prepare pie crust and roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a large round cookie cutter or cup to cut out circles. You will need two circles of dough per pie.
2. Dollop in some filling, leaving space around the edges to seal.
3. Top with another piece of dough and seal the edges with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle on a little sugar and place onto greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Check to see if they are golden brown. If not continue baking until done.

Russ found this recipe on Mandy's blog.