Wednesday Meatloaf

What’s better than a little meat loaf?

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NOTHING!

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Especially when it’s not your typical meatloaf…

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I like to cook with turkey as much as I can get away with (my husband LOVES beef).

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SO I went to my favorite chef for answers, and she never fails to deliver something good!

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Giada’s Pancetta and Turkey Meatloaf

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Ingredients

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1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs

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1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

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2 large eggs, lightly beaten

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2 tablespoons whole milk

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1/2 cup grated Romano

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1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

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3/4 teaspoon salt

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3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat

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10 ounces sliced pancetta, about 10 slices

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Directions

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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

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In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat.

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On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the pancetta, overlapping the slices, into a large rectangle shape. In the middle of the rectangle, place the turkey mixture, shaping into a loaf. Using the parchment paper, wrap the pancetta up and around the turkey loaf to cover completely. Squeeze the parchment-covered loaf with your hands to secure the pancetta and solidify the shape of the loaf. While still covered in parchment, bake the loaf until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

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Giada makes sandwiches out of it, but I like it just the way it is with a little Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. Why ruin it with Mayonaise and bread? Heck no!

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I love the way it looks, too. The Panchetta makes a cool latticed pattern across the top, definately a good way to impress guests with somethin’ saucy!

Tedious Tuesday: Cat Surgery, New Books, and Final Edits…

Yes, today is the day I get to pick up my now toothless cat from the vet.

I tried to find a pick of a toothless cat to get an idea of what this little guy is going to look like. This above pic was the best I could find, and I’ll admit, I did chuckle.

I used to call Chandler ‘Count Catula’ because his front teeth were so BIG.

Now I will be calling him ‘Gum Ball.’

He’ll have to eat the pate canned food from now on, not like that’s such a bummer for him. He loves that stuff! But boy, does it make him gassy, ha ha.

 

New Books

I’m very excited to finally own a copy of Shiver. I’ve ben looking for this book in a store nearby for a while. I know I could have just ordered it, but I’m weird like that.

I still haven’t finished Beautiful Creatures (it’s been over a month now) but I swear I will. I got hung up doing the final edits of Knight Angels and then reading my friends Annette and Brenda’s books.

I know it’s probably old news at this point, but I’m still so excited!!

Final Edits

My final edits are taking longer than I originally antisipated, luckily the deadline is later than I thought! I’m reviewing my copy at the moment, adding and subtracting to be sure there’s enough suspense. I love suspense!

I think you are all going to pleasantly surprised by this book. If you were a big fan of Feather, just you wait. This is Feather times four…

Ahhhh!!! I can’t hardly wait for the Review Copies to get to the reviewers. I just have to know what others think!

Listen to abraebners Playlist

Is That…Snow?

Yes, it is.

I may live on the edge of nowhere.

But that doesn’t make it any less exciting.

Then they say it’ll be back up into the sixties this weekend?

I don’t know about this….

I suppose I’ve lived here long enough to realize that this sort of thing happens, but want a little bit of insider trading?? I bet you anything Wheat Commodities are about to drop. I know for a fact it’s already sprouted out here on the Palouse…

Snow and Sprouted Wheat don’t mix…

Time to ‘short’ the market. (though I already am…)

Then again, maybe I’m being dramatic 🙂

Guess I’ll go back to editing…

Look Who’s Getting a Makeover!

Hello!

So, for a while now there has been something itching me when it comes to the Parallel book cover and title. I don’t, or didn’t, think it portrayed the right feel pertaining to what the book was all about. It seemed too ‘sci-fi’ which it’s not. Above all, it’s another love story just like the Feather Book Series…

Here was the old cover…

It was cute, I get that, but do you agree? It tells you NOTHING!!!!

LOL

Now, though, things have really begun to change! Parallel is taking on a newer, more gentle feel. Lovey-Dovey you may say…

Here it is:

Wacky Wednesday: Fan-Made Trailers!

I was pleasantly suprised by a fanmade trailer that came my way on Monday, and a second Tuesday! I’ve never had a fan make me a book trailer before, and I was tickled pink! I think she did a better job than me as far as explaining the book with images – smart girl!! Here they are, so check them out!

So fun 🙂

Teaser Tuesday: Talking Characters, Literally…

So, I decided to go ahead and talk Feather Book Series characters today. Why not throw in a few fun pics of what I see as Elle, Edgar, Sam, and Margriete, shall we?

 

Estella

 

Estella, Estella… What a sad little soul, ha ha.

And yes, Julianne Hough is the closest thing I can think of!! This is fun (or is it funny?)

 

 

Edgar

Poor dark Edgar…

 

And yes, James McAvoy (I just love him!)

 

 

 

 

Sam

 

Yep, Sam. Cool, calm and collected, Sam…

 

No one better than Brian Greenberg

 

 

 

Margriete

 

The Best Friend…

Emmanuelle Chriqui

Manic Monday: Another Year Older? That’s a Good Reason to be Manic…

  

Happy Birthday?

  

I’m finally at that age where you start realizing that you really are getting older. At first you don’t see it coming… You aren’t getting wrinkles yet, you can still live off three hours of sleep, your metabolism manages to rebound after a long weekend, and life still surprises you…

 

Well, life will always surprise me, but that whole metabolism thing is definitely out the window. Two words: Rice Cakes…

 

So long Girl Scout cookies,

 

Tagalongs,

 

mint chocolate wafers,

 

and especially those coconut things…

 

Nice try, but cupcakes are nothing more than a beautiful reminder of what once was my waist-line… Oh well, right? I guess I have other things to look forward to: Social Security, Depends, and of course Ensure for my future toothless grin.

  

But…

  

Then again…

 

I’m only 26!

 

So I guess that means there’s still a beer in order. And if I play my card right, maybe a New York Times Bestselling Book…

 

Happy Birthday, Me; and may all my dreams come true!

 

(and thank goodness for my future Botox… someday…)

Check out my new series Knight Angels

www.knightangels.com

Family Friday: Brother and Pulled Pork

 

My Brother Finally Visits

My brother is in town. Yep, Chris. He hasn’t seen my house in three years and it’s changed by leaps and bounds. The first time he came he was sleeping on the bare subfloor in a sleeping bag. Now, we have a real guest room for him. He brought his girlfriend, Jennifer, who I really like. She’s a flight attendant and my brother is a pilot – so cliche!

Growing up my brother and I were good friends, and my husband (whom we’ve known since we were five) was my brother’s bully, lol. Basically it’s an interesting situation when the whole family gets together, and the look on Stewy’s face above is what you see…

Fun, fun!

Pulled Pork

 

 

So, I pulled the tension together with a little pulled pork! I love pulled Pork, and I like to serve it on those little hawaiian sweet rools like a ‘mini-burger’

I use store-bought coleslaw, and follow this recipe by ‘Eating Well’ and I also make it in a crock pot and let it cook all day, basically, the only thing I do use is the ingredients 🙂

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil


2 medium yellow onions, diced


2 tablespoons chili powder


1 tablespoon cumin


2 teaspoons paprika


1 teaspoon cayenne pepper


12 ounces beer, preferably lager (1 1/2 cups)


3/4 cup ketchup


3/4 cup cider vinegar


1/2 cup whole-grain mustard


2 tablespoons tomato paste (see Ingredient notes)


1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce


1 5-pound bone-in Boston butt (see Ingredient notes)

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and very soft, about 20 minutes.

Increase heat to high; add chili powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add beer, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, tomato paste, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, trim all visible fat from the pork.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the pork, spooning sauce over it. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the pork over, cover, and bake for 1 1/2 hours more. Uncover and bake until a fork inserted into the meat turns easily, 1 to 2 hours more.

Transfer the pork to a large bowl and cover with foil. Pour the sauce into a large measuring cup or glass bowl and refrigerate until the fat and sauce begin to separate, 15 minutes. Skim off the fat. Return the sauce to the pan and heat over medium-high until hot, about 4 minutes.

Remove the bone and any remaining pieces of fat from the meat. The bone should easily slip away from the tender meat. Pull the pork apart into long shreds using two forks. Add the hot sauce to the meat; stir to combine. Serve hot.

That Peep Can Edit! And Mr. Chan Sees the Doctor…

Can he ever!

 

I finally starting the editing process today, fixing all the things my lovely, talented editor found! I got 1-50 of 200 pages done, with a finishing date of next Monday (My Birthday!). But that is sadly not all. Then it goes through a ‘story line’ edit to be sure all things are where they should be, and all twists go accordingly. I’m very exhausted. 50 pages takes about four hours of staring back and forth – old, new, and change. The only thing that gets me through is coffee and peeps.

and laughing at this picture!

Mr. Chan Visits the Doctor

(not my cat)

Mr. Chan, a.k.a. Chandler my cat, went to the vet today for the first time in three years. He’s always had relatively bad breath, but recently it’s gotten really bad. Sadly, I found out that he has an autoimmune disease that is trying to reject his teeth. I guess this is why they are SO long. Seriously, his K-9’s are like vampire teeth. I always called him Count Catula, now it seems I’m going to be calling him Gummy Bear! He has to get ALL his teeth removed – poor guy!

Did NOT like the thermometer up his bum, either…

Or the ‘Kitty AIDS’ test…