Zucchini Casserole

I only eat a few vegetables, so remembering to eat even 1 vegetable per day can sometimes be a challenge.  Zucchini is one of the few veggies I can stand so I try to find new recipes including so zucchini so I am not just always eating it sauteed.  I found a great recipe on Food.com that my whole family loved!

1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups thinly sliced zucchini

This recipe is really simple.

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

It was so easy to cut the zucchini using our mandolin!

Onions were cut with the mandolin and the little Tupperware hand chopper

Everything unmixed in the bowl.

2. Pour into greased 9x13 pan (we used a round pan instead)

That's what it should look like before you cook it.

3. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This is what it should look like fresh out of the oven....yum

Just a slice...sorry it's blurry!

If you like bisquick, zucchini and cheese, this recipe is definitely for you.  We will definitely be making this again :)

Protecting Their Baby by Sheri Whitefeather

Some time last year I won a whole box of book from Sheri Whitefeather.  Her books are definitely in the romance category.  They are short, easy reads and very enjoyable.

In Protecting Their Baby, Lisa Gordon and Rex Sixkiller share a one-night stand...and she gets pregnant.  When Lisa and her unborn baby are threatened, Rex takes it upon himself to protect her while also investigating who is behind the threats (Rex is a P.I.).  Will a one-night stand turn into a relationship?  Will Rex catch the perpetrator?

I read through Protecting Their Baby in about 24 hours.  I NEEDED to know how everything would turn out LOL  If you are into romance novels that are like Harlequin books, this is for you!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 4/50

100+ Books In a Year - 4/100

New Year's Resolution - 3.5 lbs lost

How is everyone doing so far on their New Year's resolutions?  I am actually sticking to mine...so far.  Since December 26th I have managed to lose 3.5 pounds.  Yay, that is actually more than my goal of 1 pound per week.

So far I am basically doing a few simple things to achieve my goal.  I weigh myself every morning.  I know you're not really supposed to do this, but I know I have to cut back a bit if my weight has gone up for some reason.  I try to walk for at least 30 minutes a day.  This isn't much, but it's a lot better than nothing!  I am also trying to eat less and healthier.  I have drastically reduced my sugar intake.  I used to have dessert after lunch and dinner and now I don't even have it every day.

My trusty bathroom scale that measures by the 1/2 pound.

Do you have any tips for me to keep me headed in the right direction?

Veil of Night by Linda Howard

I have read a few novels by Linda Howard in my lifetime.  I have thoroughly enjoyed them all.  This book was no different!

Veil of Night centers around Jaclyn Wilde, an event planner.  When one of her clients (Carrie "Bridezilla" Edwards) is murdered, everyone is a suspect!  More people disliked this woman than the detectives can keep track of!  Unfortunately the lead detective, Eric Wilder, is someone Jaclyn is semi-involved with, which complicates things further!

I could't put Veil of Night down.  I had to know if Carrie's killer would be caught, if Jaclyn and Eric would work things out, etc.  I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a love story combined with a murder mystery!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 3/50

100+ Books In a Year - 3/100

SuperPoints - Don't Miss Out

About three weeks ago, I blogged about a program I am signed up for called SuperPoints.  At that time, I was working on a $10 gift certificate.  Now, I am already nearing a $20 gift certificate.  I love how quickly you can earn points just through the daily email, clicking the SuperLucky button, watching videos, and completing offers and surveys.

You can only sign up with a referral link, so I am posting some for all of you.  They only work once so please let me know if you need one.

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/jgzlny
http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/470hi4
http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/g9siz2

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

My mom has an awesome website called Recipe Barn that I love going to when I need to cook something amazing.  For the New Year's Eve party I went to - I just knew I wanted to bring her Hot Artichoke and Spinach dip!  As I hoped for, everyone loved it!  It goes great with any kind of chips - but I'm sure you could use bread as well.  Below is the recipe and pictures:

4 cloves garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

Spinach and garlic (yes, I forgot to mash my garlic up and had to do it messily later)

Sliced up artichoke hearts

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins and mash it up.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

All of the ingredients - pre mixing of course

3. Pour/spread the ingredients into an 8x8 baking dish.

4. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly.  (I uncovered it at the end so it would get a little brown on top)

5. Serve warm.

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe out and if you like it!

Morning Glory

I love my friends who have Netflix instant queue.  It's so awesome to instantly be able to pick a movie that you want to watch, and get it on the spot!  I had wanted to watch this movie for a long time so I was really excited when my friend Danny had it in his queue!

The movie is about Becky Fuller (played by the lovely Rachel McAdams) - a producer for a small, local morning show.  When she is fired, her life is thrown into upheaval.  Because it's a movie, Becky gets really lucky and lands a job as the executive producer of the lowest ranked morning show, Daybreak.  It's her job to bring the ratings up.  She enlists the help of world-famous news anchor Mike Pomeroy (played by Harrison Ford), only he refuses to cover any "news" that is beneath him.  He also refuses to be nice to his co-anchor Colleen Peck (played by Diane Keaton).  While all this is going on, Becky is also trying to build a relationship with another producer in her building, Adam Bennett (played by Patrick Wilson).  

Will Becky be able to save her news show and get everyone to get along?  Will her relationship with Adam survive?  You'll have the watch the movie to find out!