Finished Last Light

This holiday weekend I finished Last Light by Terri Blackstock.  A friend recommended the series, and although I enjoyed the storyline, it was definitely a Christian novel with the plot about giving all of your faith to God in every situation. 

Finished Catching Fire

On Wednesday I finished "Catching Fire".  The sequel to The Hunger Games.  Once again, I wasn't disappointed!!  Great book, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.  Rumor has it online that there will be a movie about The Hunger Games. 

Slow Cooker Ham and Potatoes

This afternoon I was searching my pantry for something to make for dinner and came up with enough ingredients to create a great meal!!!!  Thought I'd share the recipe since the family LOVED it!!!

Slow Cooker Ham and Potatoes

2 lbs. Frozen Hash browns

2 lbs. Cubed Ham

10 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and diced

1 sweet onion (Walla Walla or Sweet Mayan) diced

2 packages McCormick's dry country style gravy mix

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 Cups water

Shredded Cheddar Cheese for topping

Combine hash browns (still frozen), bacon, ham and onion.  Pour into a lightly greased slow cooker.  In a bowl, mix gravy mix, water, Cream of mushroom soup with whisk.  Pour over the top of the potato ham mixture.  Cook on High 4 hours, or low 8-10 hours.  Serve with shredded cheddar cheese.

Finished The Whistling Season

My book club chose The Whistling Season as the book of the month.  Unfortunately I felt the book was boring....nothing exciting...nothing to keep my attention....etc.  The teachers in my book club enjoyed it because one of the main characters is a teacher and very successful in his method of teaching.  Unfortunately I couldn't relate to him...great guy, lucky to be so knowledgeable...but alas  BORING.

Finished reading The Hunger Games

Last week I finished reading "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.  The book is fantastic and is surely going to follow in the Twilight Series footsteps.  It follows the story of a country who is divided into "districts" and each year, a boy and girl are each chosen by lottery to compete (til death) in the "Hunger Games".  The story isn't focused on gore an violence, but told from the perspective on District 12's member Katniss.  Such a great book, I immediately started on the sequel "Catching Fire".

Crazy for the Storm

On Sunday I finished Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad.  I first saw this book at a Starbucks in Downtown Portland and after reading that it was a story about a boy, who at age 11, was the lone survivor of a plane crash, new I wanted to read it.

The book didn't disappoint.....very much a tribute to Norman's father, you get to know the boy and the man, and reason he was able to survive the 9 hour descent down the the mountain in a blizzard on his own.  I'd definitely recommend the book. 

My meatloaf recipe!

The gray clouds and wind came in last night and I decided to create a meatloaf recipe!!!  Made it, and it was voted the BEST MEATLOAF EVER by the family.  Thought I'd share!!!

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 package ground pork (about 1 pound)

1 package Italian sausage (about 1 pound)

2 packages ranch salad seasoning

3 cloves of garlic pressed

2 eggs

about 1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs

1/2 a sweet onion diced

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

enough milk to make it moist

Combined all of the above ingredients.  Topped with Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce.  Made one huge meat loaf that fit in a 13x9 casserole.  Baked for 1 hour and 30 minutes.