50 Books in a Year - #1

Okay, so I'm currently on book #6 so I need to get to reviewing books 1 - 5 before I forget what they were about!

Book #1 - Don't Blink by James Patterson

This was a great book that was given to me by my lovely mother-in-law for Christmas.  First off, I love James Patterson and pretty much every book I've read of his.  I do prefer the murder mystery books more so than the sappy books that he also writes but I read those as well (see book #2). 

Don't Blink is a book about a reporter, Nick, who was in a restaurant when a famed mob boss is killed at the table next to him.  Being a reporter, Nick, decides he needs to investigate this killing and the reason behind it.  He dives into a different type of life that he is used to, the mob life that is full of money, killing, drugs and gambling. 

I really enjoyed this book.  It read really fast and was very entertaining.  I didn't want to put the book down and luckily I was off work for a few days on vacation and was able to read this book in a couple of days. 

James Patterson always through in some sort of love story into his books and the love story in here was great and entertaining.  I love books where you always want to root for the good guy in the book and this was definitely one of them.

Great job Mr. Patterson.

Review: 4 out of 5 bookmarks

Thank You For Being a Friend!

On Saturday night, some girlies and I went to celebrate my bestie's birthday in style!  We found a great play based on The Golden Girls (LOVE!) which was performed by all boys!

This was a FANTASTIC and hilarious performance by Uptown Players .  It was a great play that was very funny and wonderfully performed.  I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves The Golden Girls and has a raunchy sense of humor. 

After the play was over we stayed at S4 to continue the celebration.  Lots of dancing was had by all.  I hope my bestie had a great birthday!!  Love you!

Books, Books, Books!!

I love to read.  A very simple and small sentence that is oh so true.  I actually used to hate to read when I was in high school.  I found my love of reading when I was in college and haven't looked back.  I read many books throughout the year.  I love fiction and some non-fiction.  My main interests are murder mystery books which sometimes freak the hell out of me, especially if I'm reading late at night.  :-) 

So for 2011, I decided that I'm going to read 50 books in one year!  And to keep myself true to my goal what better way to do that then to blog about each book I read?  That may not be too much fun for people to read but if one person takes away a new book to read due to this blog then that's awesome in my book. 

I have read a few books so far this year so I'll be posting my reviews about them shortly and then keep track after each book I read.  I actually bought two books yesterday so I'm excited about jumping into those!

Take care!

Orzo Pasta Salad

Below is a dish that I love to make up whenever the hubby is not around for dinner.  It's much more of a girlie dish.

I adapted this dish from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that she had on her show years ago.  I hope you enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 6 (I usually take mine to work for the next few days)

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth (or you can use 4 cups of water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes)
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 whole shallot, chopped
1/2 cup basil, chopped
For the dressing:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
feta cheese

Instructions:
Bring the chicken stock up to a boil over high heat then add orzo.  Cook in stock for about 8 minutes.  You want it to be cooked through but there still may be stock in the pot.  Drain the orzo and set aside to cool.  I will sometimes put mine in the fridge to speed up cooling process, usually because I'm impatient.

While orzo is cooking, drain and rinse the chick peas and set aside.  Chop shallot and basil. 

For the dressing, put red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper into a blender.  Begin to blend and slowly add the olive oil. 

Once pasta is cooled combine with the shallot, chick peas, basil.  Pour dressing over the pasta salad and mix. 

Tips:
 - I do not usually use all of the dressing, feel free to store it for another dish or you could manipulate the recipe.
 - You can also add chopped mint with the basil.  I usually omit this but it's delicious either way.

Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

Enjoy!

Very easy recipe that is delicious and I'm going to guess some what nutritious but I could be completely wrong.  Don't judge me if I am.  :-)

New Blog

So this is my first foray into blogging.  Why am I doing it?  I don't have a clue!  Will I be entertaining at all?  I don't have a clue!  Am I going to try it any way?  Sure, why not!  I hope to be able to show you a little glimpse into my new passion of cooking.  Share recipes, that for the most part I have taken from someone else and added to it to make it my own.  Hopefully not too many failures, but there are always some.  I also love home decorating and will show what I've done to my home and what I want to do.  I hope you enjoy!