TV Time! Derry Girls

Published on December 10, 2022 by TracieLeave a comment

What We’ve Been Watching: Derry Girls

There will as always, NOT be any type of actual spoilers. Please don’t ruin it for anyone who hasn’t seen this show in the comments. Please and thank you. Here we go.

Derry Girls is a British teen sitcom created and written by Lisa McGee. The series was inspired by McGee’s own experiences growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland, in the 1990s, during the final years of the Troubles. It stars five teenagers living in mid-1990s Derry while attending Our Lady Immaculate College, a fictional girls’ Catholic secondary school based on the real-life Thornhill College, where McGee herself studied. Derry Girls was filmed in Northern Ireland, with most scenes shot on location in Derry and some in Belfast. via

Derry Girls

I LOVED this show. Loved, loved, loved it. Liv rarely asks us to watch TV with her, and when she does we make the time.

I’m not Catholic, I’m barely Irish according to my Ancestry DNA profile, and I did not attend an all girls high school. But I cannot express how much I related to the girls in this show. Example: I just had a conversation with my brother about John Green. I love his books, highly – highly recommend, HOWEVER, I just about can’t stand to read them. He has a way of making you remember being fifteen years old that is very uncomfortable to me. I do not ever want to be 15 years old again. This show makes me feel all the feels from my teenage years in the same way. I see myself in all of the characters and I think that was absolutely the point.

This show is first and foremost a comedy, but it is also honest with the time period so it is heartbreaking at moments too. Some episodes I need to get to the next one immediately and other ones I have to take a break to go sit quietly and just cry for a while.

Also, if you watch it for no other reason, watch it for the music. The music clinches it. Did I mention that I LOVED this show?

This show streams on Netflix. So, have you watched Derry Girls? Let me know what you think!

You can find all of the other shows we’ve watched lately, here if you are interested!

Pink Stuff

Published on December 8, 2022 by TracieLeave a comment

Pink Stuff

If you need an easy, delicious dessert, this is it. This is Denton’s absolute favorite if he wants something sweet and it is extremely fast and easy to put together.

Pink Stuff

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Course Dessert

Ingredients

1 (3 ounce) Cherry Jello
1 (24 ounce) Cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) Whipped topping, (Cool Whip)
1 (15.25 ounce) Fruit Cocktail, drained
1 (16 ounce) Maraschino cherries, drained and cut in half

Instructions

Put everything in a large bowl and mix well.
Chill for at least an hour.

Here’s how I make it:

This recipe was passed down to me from Denton’s Mama. My version, as per usual, is slightly different. You can substitute name brand versions of everything if that is how you roll, I just can’t tell the difference in Jello brand jello and the Walmart version. 😉

If I were making this for just myself, I would leave out the fruit cocktail entirely. I LOVE maraschino cherries and the more the better. Denton would prefer that I use only 8 ounces of those and more fruit cocktail. But we all have to compromise sometimes.

However you choose to make it, the base recipe is a delicious end result. Let me know how you like it if you decide to try it!

You can find my other recipes here.

Panko Garlic Roasted Carrots

Published on November 16, 2022 by TracieLeave a comment

Panko Garlic Roasted Carrots

This is a perfect side dish. I’m always looking for another one that isn’t potatoes, because you can’t eat potatoes for every meal. Right? Who am I kidding, of course you can! But this is still a great side.

Panko Garlic Roasted Carrots

Print Recipe

Course Side Dish

Ingredients

2 lbs carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel and cut up your carrots so that they are approximately the same size.
Mix together the carrots, olive oil, garlic, cheese and panko.
Pour everything onto your baking sheet.
Bake at 400* for 20- 25 minutes until roasted and delicious.
Enjoy!

Here’s how I make it:

Gather all of your ingredients, why yes, I do keep my olive oil in my grandmothers vinegar bottle. Peel your carrots and chop them into sizes approximately the same size. And then combine everything together and pour onto your baking dish. Bake for about 25 minutes at 400*.

Enjoy! They are delicious!

You can find my other recipes here.

Cheesy Beef and Noodle Bake

Published on July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 by Tracie

Cheesy Beef and Noodle Bake

I’ve been going through my 9,873 cookbooks and deciding on what to make as a new to me meal at least once a week. I cobbled together a few of the casseroles that I found and came up with this recipe. This was super simple, and delicious. I can’t wait to make it again.

Here’s how I make it:

Fry your beef with onions until cooked through…..

Meanwhile, boil your noodles….

Drain the beef and onions – add in your tomatoes and green chilis…..

Pour over the tomato sauce…..

Mix together……

Then add in your cream cheese…..

And your sour cream……

Mix again…..

Add in your drained egg noodles….

Mix…..

Add in some shredded cheese and mix…..

Top with more cheese and bake for 20 minutes until bubbly….

Et voila!

This is SO good. Denton has already requested that it be doubled next time for many leftovers……

I think I’ll add green or red peppers for the crunch and color next time too.

You can find my other recipes here. Do you need a new baking dish? Tonight I used my red cast iron dutch oven to make this entire meal – except for the boiling noodles, which if I had thought it through I would have done first and saved myself a pot to wash.

Here’s the handy dandy printable:

Cheesy Beef and Noodle Bake

A cheesy casserole with lots of beef, egg noodles, tomatoes and green chilis that is easy, simple and delicious. And also fast!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Equipment

1 dutch oven (or 1 pot to boil your noodles and a baking dish that can go in the oven)

Ingredients

3 cups egg noodles
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup diced onions
10 ounce can of tomatoes and green chilis (like rotel)
8 ounce can of tomato sauce
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese

Instructions

Boil your noodles and set aside.
Fry the ground beef and onions until the beef is no longer pink; drain.
Put the rest of the ingredients into the pot and stir everything together.
Top with more cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes and serve with a salad and garlic bread. Yum!

FREE: Amazon First Reads Books for February 2022

Published on February 3, 2022 by TracieLeave a comment

It’s February! This year is already at a fast gallop; I’m ready for Spring, but time needs to slow down just a little.

This month we get to choose TWO free books. Woohoo! Let me know which ones you pick.

One of the best benefits of having Amazon Prime is that each month I get a free ebook from the Amazon First Reads lineup. These books are offered to Prime members exclusively before they are released the next month. That’s twelve free books a year.

You will find the December pre-release books below. To choose one of the books for free, just click on the book cover.

Domestic Thriller

Family Money Kindle Edition by Chad Zunker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

Family Money by Chad Zunker

Historical Fiction

A Train to Moscow: A Novel Kindle Edition by Elena Gorokhova (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 4.5 out of 5 stars 4 ratings

A Train to Moscow by Elena Gorokhova

Fantasy

The Quarter Storm by Veronica G Henry

Thriller

Death in the Sunshine by Steph Broadribb

Memoir

North to Paradise by Ousman Umar

Romance

The Astronaut and the Star Kindle Edition by Jen Comfort (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

The Astronaut and the Star by Jen Comfort

Book Club Fiction

Like Me: A Novel Kindle Edition by Hayley Phelan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

Like me by Hayley Phelan

Memoir

The Fallen Stones by Diana Marcum

Children’s Picture Book

This Is (Not) Enough by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant

Which book are you going to choose this month?

I always have a tough time choosing; I want all the books as usual.

Please note: Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow these Kindle First books

when they are officially released next month.

You can see all of the previous months offerings here. I hope that you find an interesting book today!

Quote of the Week: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Published on December 11, 2021December 4, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Quote of the Week: Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You become what you think about all day long.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

You can find all of the other quotes I’ve shared here.

Quote of the Week: Debby Boone

Published on December 4, 2021December 4, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Quote of the Week: Debby Boone

“Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.” – Debby Boone

If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Debby Boone.

If you like this quote, you may like all of the other quotes that I have here.

FREE: Amazon First Reads Books for December 2021

Published on December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

It’s a brand new month. The last month of 2021. Can you believe that sentence? I’ll have a hard time as usual choosing which book I want. Which one is your favorite? You have until December 31st to decide!

You will find the December pre-release books below. To choose one of the books for free, just click on the book cover.

True Crime

Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks Kindle Edition by David Bushman (Author), Mark T. Givens (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

Murder at Teal’s Pond by David Bushman and Mark T Givens

Historical Fiction

Half in Shadow: A Novel Kindle Edition by Gemma Liviero (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

Half in Shadow by Gemma Liviero

Family Drama

The Intangible by C J Washington

Thriller

No Way Back by J B Turner

Book Club Fiction

The Taste of Ginger: A Novel Kindle Edition by Mansi Shah (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah

Romantic Comedy

The Paid Bridesmaid: A Novel Kindle Edition by Sariah Wilson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson

Memoir

Through the Banks of the Red Cedar: My Father and the Team That Changed the Game Kindle Edition

Through the Banks of the Red Cedar My Father and the Team That Changed the Game by Maya Washington

Children’s Picture Book

My Grandma’s Photos by Ozge Bahar Sunar and Senta Urgan

Which book are you going to choose this month?

I always have a tough time choosing; I want all the books as usual.

Please note: Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow these Kindle First books

when they are officially released next month.

You can see all of the previous months offerings here. I hope that you find an interesting book today!

FREE: Amazon First Reads Books for November 2021

Published on November 27, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Hello again! It’s the end of the month and that means that you only have a few days left to get your FREE book for November. Have you chosen yours yet? Let me know which one caught your interest, and if you’ve already read it – what did you think?

You will find the November pre-release books below. To choose one of the books for free, just click on the book cover.

Mystery