Nine Books I could Not Put Down

Recently [March 2016] I saw a list shared to facebook, repeatedly, that was 20 Books You Can't Put Down.  I clicked on the link, read the list, and was slightly dumfounded.  They were all books I had read, and none of them kept me up to finish them.  Some of them I didn't even care to finish, they just were not that good at all.  It was another reminder that my taste in books is far from the New York Times Bestseller list.  

In no particular order, these are a few of  the books that I had a hard time putting down [in 2016]:




The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

This book, more than any other I have ever read, still sticks with me.  For no discernible reason.  It is probably the only book I have ever read where I truly don't know "who did it", and I'm ok with that.  Normally I like clear endings, with everything wrapped up. But this time, it was better left open to interpretation.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16158600-the-other-typist


This is my review at goodreads:

Not since reading The Room by Emma Donaghue have I been so completely pulled into a novel. This was a riveting read, near impossible to put down.

This book is set in the prohibition era, and at times you expect Rose & Odalie to run into Gatsby himself. It is delightful to read, with the speakeasies and the clothing so vividly described without being tedious. (I've recently read Inferno & The Kill Room, Brown & Deaver could take some notes from this on how to set a scene without being so tedious that the reader forgets why anyone is in that scene to begin with.)

The narrative is fantastic. The early reference to The Wasteland by TS Elliot hints at the depths and twists in this book, which are at once so clear, and so unclear, that at the end you may wonder what this book was really about. Normally I cannot stand that in a book, I like clear endings with everything wrapped up neatly, but in this book I simply do not care that I don't have all the answers. It's truly that well done.
If you like to think more deeply about plot lines and inferences that the author quite likely never intended be sure to read Odalie by Alice Dunbar. It is very short, not really much longer than this review, and free to read online.
(a side note - I read through some of the reviews at goodreads, and many seem to think there are only two options for the ending. I see a third. Not one or the other, but a blending of the two. I'm not prone to over thinking things though, and allowing for the blending allows me to take the text pretty literally as the author wrote it. ) 

Room - By Emma Donoghue
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7937843-room
Ok, so ignore my comments about the New York Times Best Seller List for this one.  I'm sure they will ruin it with the movie, but this book is gripping.  I read it in one sitting, and was haunted by it long after I finished it.  Definitely one of my favorites of all time.

From GoodReads: "To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work."



What Was Mine - Helen Klein Ross

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25111142-what-was-mine
This was a book club selection from She Reads, and a lot of my favorite books come from their recommendations. This one might be more of a mom thing?  I'm not sure.  I am a mom, so I can't separate the bias here. It's about a woman who kidnaps a baby.  Not a planned kidnapping, it just sort of  happened - although a kidnapping is a kidnapping, and she knew what she was doing was wrong.  She was a good mom, and raised a great kid.  And then one day, with the child off to college, the lie unravels and she is exposed.  

Now I'm pretty firmly a law and order type gal - I believe you break the law, you pay the price.  And the birth mother did NOT deserve to have her child kidnapped.  So I can't quite understand how this author made the kidnapper so likeable that I did not want her to be punished.  But she's really that good.  I couldn't put this book down - I had to know how it all worked out.


Learning To Swim - Sarah J. Henry
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8736390-learning-to-swim
"If I'd blinked, I would have missed it. But I didn't, and I saw something fall from the rear deck of the opposite ferry: a small, wide-eyed human face, in one tiny frozen moment, as it plummeted toward the water."
When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her. As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a bone-chilling swim nearly a mile to shore towing a tiny passenger.
Surprisingly, he speaks only French. He'll acknowledge that his name is Paul; otherwise, he's resolutely mute.
Troy assumes that Paul's frantic parents will be in touch with the police or the press. But what follows is a shocking and deafening silence. And Troy, a freelance writer, finds herself as fiercely determined to protect Paul as she is to find out what happened to him. She'll need skill and courage to survive and protect her charge and herself. 
Sara J. Henry's powerful and compelling Learning to Swim will move and disturb readers right up to its shattering conclusion."


Six Years - Harlan Coben
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15811568-six-years
Or, basically anything Harlan Coben has ever written.
I love his books so much that I actually save some unread, for times when my reading list has been disappointing and I want a really good read. I have them stashed away like emergency chocolates, no joke.   He's never failed me yet.

This was one of my all time favorites though.  From GoodReads:
"Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out. As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart—and who lied to him—soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction. Harlan Coben once again delivers a shocking page-turner that deftly explores the power of past love and the secrets and lies that such love can hide."


Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah
This is another author that rarely disappoints, but this was my favorite so far.  I really love these books that alternate between present day and past history, revealing the mystery of the past as they go along.  I love history, and mystery, and when it is well incorporated into a present day story, all the better.  (Which is why it is very surprising that I was disappointed by All The Light We Cannot See - but there's no explaining my taste I guess)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6668467-winter-garden

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

Another that was a real favorite or mine was Night Road - also by Kristin Hannah - 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8949352-night-road


The Husbands Secret - Liane Moriarty

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

This sounds heavy and deep, but it's really not.  This is what I think of more as a "beach read", but with substance.  And the twist at the very end is very satisfying.  It challenges what we know not only about our spouses, but what we know of ourselves.

Before I Go To Sleep - S.J. Watson
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9736930-before-i-go-to-sleep
Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love--all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. 

Ok, so I definitely have a "type" of book.  Not just a mystery, but things are not what they seem.  

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13508607-the-secret-keeper
During a summer party at the family farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson has escaped to her childhood tree house and is happily dreaming of the future. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon is over, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that challenges everything she knows about her family and especially her mother, Dorothy—her vivacious, loving, nearly perfect mother.

Now, fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress living in London. The family is gathering at Greenacres farm for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this may be her last chance, Laurel searches for answers to the questions that still haunt her from that long-ago day, answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past.

Dorothy’s story takes the reader from pre–WWII England through the blitz, to the ’60s and beyond. It is the secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds—Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy—who meet by chance in wartime London and whose lives are forever entwined. The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams and the unexpected consequences they sometimes bring. It is an unforgettable story of lovers and friends, deception and passion that is told—in Morton’s signature style—against a backdrop of events that changed the world.
 


I also really enjoyed The Houser At Riverton by this author, it is the same style of book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1278752.The_House_at_Riverton

Pennsylvania GeoArt


I've started a BookMark List at geocaching.com, here:


Keystone State Geoart
Mostly Cache and Dash - over 80 caches
Located West of State College, south of Punxatawney - near the town of Gipsy.
Logs report it can be done in one, long, full, day
See the map:
One of the Caches:

Lost 
Located South of Lancaster
Part of the Lost Power Trail - see the sections to the right and left for another 100 or so caches
Lost Art #1
See the Start of the Power Trail Here:



BEST
Located North of  Reading
"Welcome to the Berks Explorers Seeking Tupperware (aka BEST) Geo-Art series. This series was created to teach Geocacher's about Berks County, and some of it's interesting facts, places, people and heritage. Once all 55 caches are found, your Geo-Art reward will be completed. Although all caches are hidden near the Lake Ontelaunee Reservoir, it is not at these posted coordinates - no swimming is required to obtain any cache in this series *smile*"

PA - 50 State Star
Located In the Allegheny State Forest, Northwest of Black Moshannon State Park


Signal
Located In Northern Pa.  Right on the NY Border, near Warren Center PA.
This one is unique in that it's not puzzle caches, but mostly traditional caches!


NWPA Smiley
Almost on the Ohio Border, above Conneaut Lake

Pirates GeoArt
Located in Western Pa

Jeep
Located in Western Pa, above North Washington PA



Freezer Meals For Teens - Chicken Week

Chicken in enchilada sauce, 2 bags of Hawaiian Chicken, an extra bag of cornflake/ranch breading (went in my pantry) 3 bags of chicken cordon bleu, 2 bags of parmesan ranch chicken.

Last week I made up a bunch of meals with a log of hamburg, this week I brought home two packs of chicken breasts to make freezer meals.

The chicken breasts from Sams Club were huge.  Ridiculously huge.



 I started by cutting them in half - through the middle, so they were half as thick.  Each pack had 5 breasts in it, I bought two packs, so I had roughly 20 breasts to work with.

But even then they were so large that I ended up cutting them in 4ths - so I actually ended up with a lot more.  

making the chicken cordon bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken cordon bleu is one of my favorite meals, and it freezes well.  

Pound the chicken thin
spread with mayo & mustard
top with ham and cheese
fold in half
Dip in egg
Dip in italian bread crumbs

Flash freeze

Except, these were really really large. So after they were in the freezer for about 30 minutes, I pulled them out, cut them in half, sprayed the exposed edge with cooking spray, and dipped in more bread crumbs.  If the kids are still hungry, they can always have seconds, and they will cook better at the smaller size.


Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken
When I cut the chicken in half, not all of the pieces were "neat". The ones that were that were misshapen (about 3 or 4?) I cut into chunks for Hawaiian Chicken. I'll serve this over rice.  

1 can of pineapple chunks
      (pour half the juice into each bag, then half the pineapple into each bag)
1T soy sauce in each bag
3T brown sugar in each bag
2T corn starch
cut up peppers and onions (I used one bag, half in each bag)
baby carrots

I'll cook this in the crock pot, and make rice to go with it.


Parmesan Ranch Chicken

Parmesan Ranch Chicken
For this recipe, I cut the remaining chicken breasts in half again, which is actually 4ths.  I think it will cook better at the smaller size.

1 packet ranch dressing
1 cup crushed corn flakes
1 cup parmesan cheese
      Mix in a ziplock bag  (I doubled this recipe)

1/2 cup butter
       Melt in a small bowl

Dip the chicken in the butter, then drop 1 piece at a time into the ziplock bag, shake to coat.

I placed the chicken in a pan lined with foil and flash froze them before putting them in zip lock bags for the freezer.

Enchilada Chicken
This was 3 of the smaller pieces of chicken in a ziplock bag, with a can of enchilada sauce.  That's it. 

 I'll pop this in the crock pot one morning, then in the afternoon I'll pull the chicken out, shred it, and add cheese, black beans, diced onion...  Fill the tortilla shells, roll, top with the enchilada sauce and more cheese, and bake.  It's a little more work than most of my crockpot meals, but having the chicken ready to go makes this pretty simple and quick any night of the week.






==========================








Feeding Teens - Eight meals from a 10lb log of Hamburg

8 hamburgers, 2 containers of cheeseburger soup, 1 meatloaf, 2 bags of taco meat & 2 bags of seasoned hamburger for goulash & chili

I love the idea of freezer cooking, but dislike all the chaos it creates.  So I scale it down.  Rather than spend hundreds of dollars and hours in the kitchen, I come home with one meat in bulk, and spend about an hour  (or less) prepping it into meals.  




This week I came home with a 10lb log of hamburg from Sams Club, and I turned it into:

1 large meatloaf
2 crockpots of cheeseburger soup (will need milk and beef broth)
8 Hamburgers
2 qt bags of precooked seasoned beef, destined for chili & goulash
2 qt bags of taco meat for taco nights


How many meals you get out of this will vary greatly by family.  I can't even know how many meals I got out of this, since with a house full of older teens, you can never be sure too far in advance how many will be home for dinner.  8 hamburgers might be one meal, or I might get two meals out of them - depends on the night.  When I say "Eight Meals" - it's really just a guess. 

A list of all the "extra" ingredients I used is at the bottom of this post.  Here is what I did step by step:


Cut the log of beef roughly in half.  Start browning about half  of  the hamburg in one pan (dutch oven sized works well)
 Season with:
Garlic
Pepper
Salt
worcestershire sauce

I put half a stick of butter in a frying pan, and then put an entire large, sweet, onion in my ninja to dice very very fine - almost pureed.  Saute the onion in the butter while browning the hamburg.  

Remove the onion into a bowl to cool, add another half stick of butter to the pan. Put a bag of pepper and onion strips (Wengers in Mifflinburg often has the bags for 99 cents, they are great to keep on hand) and dice. Saute the peppers and onions.  Set aside to cool.

The first batch of beef should be browned and ready to set aside to cool now - I just moved the pan to a cold burner.

Hamburgers


Add about 3lbs of raw hamburg to a mixing bowl.
Add:
  Egg, Salt, pepper, garlic, worcestershire sauce, shredded cheese, the sauted onion, and shredded cheese.  Mix.  Use and ice cream scoop, heaped, to measure out into 8 hamburgers.

Meatloaf

There's a lot of hamburg left in the bowl.  
Add: Oatmeal (or bread crumbs) parmesan cheese,  another egg, 3/4 a can of tomato paste and a lot of italian seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Shape into a meatloaf, top with the rest of the tomato paste, italian seasonings, and coarse sea salt.

You can put this in a pan in the freezer, on saran wrap, flash freeze it,then remove the saran wrap and wrap in foil.  

Cheeseburger Soup
I bought a case of cheap french fries at Wengers.  Using just part of one bag, I fill the ninja about 3/4 full, and pulse, just to roughly dice the french fries.  I put them in to saute in a frying pan, with just a bit of oil. Meanwhile I put carrots in the ninja and dice them very fine, then add them to the pan to cook with the french fries.


In a large mixing bowl I add about half of the cooked ground beef,  I add about a two cups of sour cream, the peppers and onions I sauteed earlier, then the french fries and carrot mixture,and a generous amount of shredded cheese.  I scoop the mixture into two larger rubbermaid containers, and set them aside to cool.  (When I make this, I'll add a little beef bouillon and water to the crockpot, enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  Some milk - maybe two cups?  And this frozen mixture.  I'll leave it in the crockpot on high for a few hours, or on low all day.

Seasoned Beef for Goulash And Chili
The seasoned, browned, beef left in the pan I split into two qt size freezer bags, to use in chili & goulash.  My pantry is well stocked with beans & pasta, and I canned a lot of tomatoes this summer. I keep Tones bouillon on hand all the time too, so these are meals I can now throw together in minutes.

Taco Meat
I put the last of the beef into the pan with taco seasoning, and brown that while cleaning up the kitchen.  I let it cool quite a bit (I typed this post while it cooled) and then put it in ziplock bags.

================================================================

Extra Ingredients:

Seasonings:

  • Garlic Powder
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • taco seasoning
  • Worcestershire Sauce
Misc:
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Bag of shredded cheese (I used about 3/4 of one 16 ounce bag of mexican blend cheese, from Sam's club)
  • 1 can tomato paste (or you can use ketchup)
  • 1 onion
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 2 cups of sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • oatmeal, or bread crumbs, or whatever you use for meatloaf
  • Pepper & Onion strips
  • french fries, or diced potatoes
  • carrots


=============================================================

Other Ground Beef Recipes:
Shepherd's Pie
BBQ (sloppy joes)
meatballs
White Castle Style Sliders

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Menu Planning Monday 8/31/15



Monday - Hamburgs, Copycat Texas Roadhouse Steak Fries
     http://texasroadhouseathome.blogspot.com/2013/02/steak-fries.html

 LONESTAR STEAK FRIES
Texas Roadhouse Copycat Recipe

Serves: 4

1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 potatoes (about 2-1/2 pounds), with skin on
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine paprika, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Seal bag and shake to mix.

Cut each potato in half then each half into 4 flat wedges. Add peanut oil and potatoes to seasoning in bag then close tightly and shake to coat well.  Spread potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, or until fork-tender. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and serve immediately.

Notes: Sure, you can peel the potatoes if you want, but we like the extra crunchiness of the skin. Besides, the skin is good for us!

Tuesday - Taco Night
    Set out as make your own.  Ingredients:
  • Tortilla Chips
  • Quesadillas
  • Seasoned ground beef
  • refried beans
  • salsa
  • guacamole
  • black beans
  • sour cream
Wednesday - Church Dinner

Thursday Night -  Pulled Pork, Roasted Potato Salad, Broccoli

Perfect Pulled Pork | Kevin & Amanda's Recipes
The recipe calls for soaking the pork in a brine, then coating it in a dry rub, and slow roasting it.

Dry Rub

1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Roasted Potato Salad
Toss the potato chunks in oil, then sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Roast.
I love to use Hickory Smoked Bacon - I bake that while the potatoes are roasting
Then it's best with home made mayo - but whatever you typically use to make your potato salad will work.


Friday Night - Football night - Eat Out/Calzones at home
For away games, we eat out in the town of the football game, but I'll make sticky buns for breakfast, calzones for lunch, with an extra calzone for my son and his friends to eat after the game, if they end up here.   

This weeks restaurant - 
    Our favorite restaurant in Muncy is the Main Street Grill, but they take a long vacation each year, to visit greece, and do not reopen until September 10th.
    So we're still deciding between Haywoods, and the Country Store Cafe.  I think we're leaning towards the Country Store right now - I love their soft pretzels.

Saturday - Soup & Sandwiches
Hungarian Mushroom Soup (From the freezer)
Leftover pulled pork sandwiches
coleslaw


Sunday - Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings - stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls