A Readable Feast

Hemingway Quote

As normal, it's been awhile. Let us begin!

RECIPES

Ham and Cheese Croissants with Honey Mustard Glaze. These were delicious and pretty simple to make. I used a different cheese, I believe Gouda because I couldn't find the cheese it asked for.

Linguine with Lemoncello Asiago Cream Sauce. Not my favorite pasta, but it's not terrible.

Tomato Soup. I enjoyed making this, especially the part where you peel the tomatoes, truly loved it. I loved the taste of it too, very nice with grilled cheese.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Preferably I'd love to have my aunt's recipe because her wild rice soup is divine. But this will satisfy my craving until then.

Chili Con Carne. I. AM. IN. LOVE. WITH. THIS. CHILI. Please spend no more time reading, and go make this. Make it now. (then you can come back and finish.)

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Very easy, and very tasty.

Apple Galettes with Salted Caramel. These are divine. I love them, and they will be beautiful no matter what. Possibly my favorite apple dessert thus far.

Penne Pasta in a Lemon Rosemary Goat Cheese Sauce. Now, this is a pasta I can get behind. I love me some lemon.

Vanilla Crème Brûlée. Now, crème brûlée is not my favorite, but it is fun to caramelize the top. I'd love it 10x more if all of it was as warm as the top. Still good though.

Trim Healthy Momma Friendly Stuffing. First time making stuffing, and it went well. Everyone loved it, and it was easy. Success!

The Ultimate Pumpkin Pie. MY. DEARS. If you do not like pumpkin pie, I can assure you this will resurrect you. It's got candied pecans. It's got biscoff spread, and it is truly delicious. Oh, but still load up on the whipped cream, cause why not?

Citrus and Herb Butter Roasted Turkey. A scrumptious coat for a scrumptious turkey. 

Roasted Asparagus. Easy enough, and tasty enough. We tried another way of asparagus as well though.

Treacle Roast Ham with Spiced Rum Glaze. Scrumptious yet again.

French Silk Chocolate Pie. Now, I've had many a french silk, but this takes the cake (pie?). So smooth, so creamy, and not so overwhelmingly rich that you might die. I love this pie, please make it.

Cranberry Sauce. Now, I used my momma's recipe, so this is gonna have to do for Y'all.

Banana Cream Pie. I used my friend's mother's recipe, so to be a good friend I won't reveal it to you. But I will say that this recipe is VERY similar. And me oh my, this pie, will take me to my deathbed.

Blackberry Lemonade. I made this for a cousin's bridal shower, and I want to say it was a hit, though I'm not positive about that. It is very thick, so I recommend mixing it with Sprite or something, and it's still just as beautiful as it is tasty.

Lemon Meringue Pie. Oh my land, did I screw this up. It looked beautiful, but it didn't really set, and with this pie, the texture is part of the taste, and the texture was bad, so, therefore, it was no beano. But, please don't let me get in the way of you making this, if all sets well, I'm sure it would be delectable.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast. I love pot roast, it's hard to screw up. So, I loved this, as I do all pot roasts that I've tried.

To Die For Coconut Cream Pie. Surely delicious, and maybe someone will die for it, but I'll die of many other foods.

Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash. Carbs. Starch. Utter goodness. Not really healthy, but just the way I like my foods. I might add, for me, it was a bit much of sausage.

Cranberry Beef Bourguignon. So this was delicious, but I bought the wrong kind of meat, so just double check. Make your life easier. Also, I used beef broth or red wine vinegar in place of the wine, just as good.

Cranberry Swirl Bread. This is so delicious. And it's pleasing to the eye, it's so gorgeous!!

Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken. I adore this recipe. It's so simple and so so so so good. Please make this, your life will have improved greatly once you take a bite of this, no lie.

Amazing Dinner Rolls. I love rolls, and they truly are amazing. And let's be honest, I enjoyed rolling them up to look like they do.

Classic Italian Meatballs (Extra Soft and Juicy). As much as I dislike working with raw meat, this was fun to make. Just make sure you take the time to really cook these meatballs, which means don't make them too large if you don't want to be over the stove for a long time. Truly delicious though, and makes the whole spaghetti experience just that much more enjoyable.

Candy Cane Brownie Trifle. Guys. This is RICH. I love it, but just be aware that you might not be able to eat a lot of it, cause sugar man.

Cauliflower Shepard's Pie. My parents went on the Atkins diet and my dad asked me to make this. I wasn't sure about it, I mean it's replacing mashed potatoes with cauliflower. SERIOUSLY? But give it a chance, cause it ain't half bad.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies. I mean guys, it's chocolate and cookie. What more could you want?

Spanish Hot Chocolate and Coconut Churros. So I only got around to the hot chocolate, which was THICK. But great, especially atop ice cream.

Mulled Apple Cider Chai French Crullers. So good. THEE essence of fall. Because cider duh.

Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Chicken for Smothered Baked Chicken Burritos. Guys, these are fantastic burritos. Please, go make them. Really, what are you waiting for?

BOOKS!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2 (Harry Potter, #8) by J.K. Rowling. First things first, for whatever reason, I keep reading cursed as curs-ed. Weird. Now onto what I thought. I disliked it. Not at all because it was a screenplay, but it just felt like too many different fanfics all wrapped up in one. It did not feel like the books previous that I knew and loved. I know it was supposed to be different, aka, not about Harry, but come on? A lovechild of Bellatrix and Voldemort? Really? 

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. I can't believe it took me this long to read this. I ADORE this book. The writing, the depictions, the characters. Actually, I take that back, I could go without Frankenstein, the man. Goodness, read this.

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. This was a fun read, and actually full of great advice. Do I remember the advice? No, but someday I'll read this again, and love it all the more.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. A fun book, of similar, yet for many reasons, different characters. Such a fun, fictitious book, that honestly, I don't normally read. But it was a nice refresher. 

Not Quite Norwhal by Jessie Sima. A cute little picture about a norwhal finding where it belongs. It's adorable really.

She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed The World by Chelsea Clinton. A picture book yet again, and I loved it. Showing young kids how women kept going, and found greatness in themselves, and shared it with the world. *sidenote: they are making one for women of the world, and I can't wait.

The X-Files: Earth Children are Weird by Kim Smith. Aww, a picture book about the X-files, more importantly, 2 lovely favorite characters. Of course, I loved this.

Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai. I love this, a beautifully illustrated and written book about Malala's life story. 

Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit. Man, this book is as wonderful as it is sad. Sad to realizing how frustrating at times it can be to be a woman. But wonderful that someone is so clearly writing it. I recommend that anyone and everyone read this. Whether you want to or not.

The Odyssey by Homer. I love this book or poem as you might call it. A tale of adventure, family, love, loss, strife. Ugh, I just love it. 

There, you did it. You finally read through all of this. I applaud you. I have no gift for you, but my applause and appraisal. 

Well done my friend,

Mercedes