Thieves Stew for Crocktoberfest!

Thieves Stew for Crocktoberfest!  This is a recipe my son told me about.  He saw it on Tic Tok by a fellow called Quincy.  I am not on TicToc but the link he sent worked and I could watch the video.

If you look for it there the video shows you the step-by-step but there is an error in the cooking time.  It states cook on high for 8 hours. No!

I told my son and his brain had corrected it to LOW because c'mon....high heat for that long would result in shoe leather.  But I did try it and I cooked on low for about 6 to 7 hours.  It was delicous!

This uses some convenience items but it was great and we are making it again this week.

Thieves Stew

1 chopped onion
8 ounces of chopped mushrooms (I used way more)

salt and pepper

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

3 and bit more cups of beef broth

2 -3 pound beef roast

Egg noodles - uncooked

Add all ingredients EXCEPT the egg noodles.  Cook on low approximately 7 hours then stir in about 10 ounces of uncooked egg noodles.  Put the lid on and when the noodles are cooked in 30 minutes you can eat.

This is my last post for Crocktoberfest.  This one is hearty and good for fall or winter weather, in my opinion.

Nebraska trip and catching up

I never. Want to fly. Again. ✈    Getting to Nebraska wasn't too awful, except the exceptionally high prices for food in the airport. It was so good to see the kids and my sweet granddaughter after a year and we sure had fun.

Getting home had it's challenges with delays in a flight and more babies and young children on one flight from Atlanta to Tallahassee than we have ever experienced. A late flight means cranky kids.....yikes!

I know most folks have cable or some tv feed but as we don't, I was so happy to watch baseball at the hotel one evening!

Before we left we had a good DVD from the library.  It's a PBS show titled Pompeii: The New Dig.  It's in three one hour segments and was very interesting.

I posted about Crocktober fest earlier, check that out HERE if interested in slow cooker meals.

I only finished one book this month - Within Arm's Reach by Ann Napolitano

That's it.  Driving to Memphis to look at that area this week. Hope you all are well, have good books and loving life!

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.

Crocktoberfest!

I'm taking a break from the book talk today to share some slow cooker recipes.

Jinjer told me about CrocktoberFest!  Here are a couple of easy meals. 

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The BBQ shredded chicken couldn't be easier.  Take boneless skinless chicken thighs and place them in your slow cooker.  I have an oval 6 quart slow cooker for this one.

Place it on high for 3 hours. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and place in a bowl for shredding.  Drain all the juice from the crock and place shredded chicken back in.  Cover with BBQ sauce and heat up on low for a bit.  This makes great sandwiches. 

We have had this on buns or straight on to the plate.  Sides are whatever you like. 👇

Links to more slow cooker meals!

Split Pea Soup

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Santa Fe Chicken

Rotisserie Chicken

This was my last post on the food blog! Some folks just had to tell me they get theirs from Costco but I like doing this one at home.  Less greasy.

Chicken and Dumplings

Click on the titles which will direct you to my recipes at the old food blog.

I have a good one with beef and noodles coming up called Thieves Stew.  See you later with another Crocktober post and then back to books and life :-)

September Reading Roundup

Hello October!  Yesterday we drove to a park where Loki likes to walk and saw the parking was roped off to a small area.  The National Guard was set up, available to give people ready made meals and tarps.  It was astonishing to see the number of vehicles coming through to pick something up. What a horrible path of devastation this storm left. I am hoping, as are we all, the rest of the hurricane season is quieter.

We lost water for a bit and are still using bottled water for cooking, brushing our teeth, etc.  Water is back and we have a boil notice but that's just a minor inconvenience.

September reading was quite varied in location and genres. I  did not have a DNF this time :-)  Thanks to hurricane Helene I finished two books in record time.  This knocks out four books I had listed for my fall reading.

📚📚   Books read  📚

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

The Orchard by Peter Heller

Burn by Peter Heller

Long Island by Colm Toibin

Trust by Hernan Diaz

September book travel took me to Vermont, Maine, New York, Long Island, Ireland, England and Ibiza.

 That's it for the September round up.   Looking forward to more good reading in October. I'd love to know what books you favored this month.  Hope life is good for you all :-)

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday for Long Island and The Life Impossible.

Working on Trust and Sipsworth from my reading list{and preparing for hurricane Helene}

Earlier this month we had my husband's birthday and some surprisingly nice weather.  He has been able to get out with his solar telescope in the daytime and a few evening sessions with his other scope.  Perfect.  

Now we are prepping for Hurricane Helene.  Getting the Kindle, phones, etc all charged for the loss of electricty. 

My week has been a dermatologist appointment, biopsy, bread making and a slow cooker recipe my son sent. The excitement never ends :-)

While looking at a news story on my phone I saw there was an Instagram post embedded and I couldn't access it.  So I dusted off my old Instagram account to have a look.  Then I tried to follow a few book blogs and authors.  Apparently you have to get permission now even if the accounts are public. 

Currently reading Trust and while very well written it's more narrative than dialogue. Thus I took a short break to read Sipsworth.  I finished this in a day and it's a sweet story.  Helen Cartwright is in her eighties and returned to England to live out her last years quietly and alone.

She had a full life in Australia with her husband and son but they are gone now.  She isn't ill but she knows at her age the end is coming.  Without friends or family she decides to settle in the English neighborhood where she grew up over 60 years ago.  Helen finds that life still has a few surprises for her.

Simon Van Booy is an author new to me. He grew up in rural Wales and currently lives in New York, writing and volunteering as an E.M.T.  I will seek out more of his work.

Once I finish Trust I am starting Long Island by Colm Tóibín.

All three of these books are on my fall reading list.  Has anyone else read books by Simon Van Booy and if so, recommendations?  I hope you have nice weather and good reading.

 Sharing with:

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday. and Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.

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Fall reading and list making

First off, a shout out to ShelleyRae at Book'd Out.  I haven't seen you post in a while, you've been in my thoughts and I miss you. 

Let's talk fall reading.  Or Spring reading if you are in the southern hemisphere :-)

I enjoy making lists as it keeps me focused.  Sometimes I deviate but overall, it's helpful. Here's what I have so far but some could get swapped out depending on interest.

Trust by Herman Diaz (currently reading)

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (currently reading) #BriFri

Long Island by Colm Toibin  #BriFri

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig #BriFri

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante  (a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card)

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger 

The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle #BriFri

This is a list in progress so I welcome suggestions and comments on any of these you have enjoyed.  Four of my books will be linked with Joy's British Isles Friday.  Love my U.K. authors :-)

 Sharing with:

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday. and Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.

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Herman Diaz, Mario Batali and Peter Heller

Earlier this month Deb at Readerbuzz posted Armchair Foodie Travel Books which I found interesting.  Several I had previously read but the Batali book about Spain was one I sought out. Luckily the library had a copy.

I will go through this nonfiction while I read Trust by Herman Diaz. Trust is on my fall reading list (which is still shaping up), won a Pulitzer prize in 2023 and is grabbing me from the start. 

Finished last night - The Orchard by Peter Heller was on sale for one dollar for Kindle so I couldn't pass that up. Check that out HERE.  That's a great price for a Peter Heller novel.  I'd told a friend about it but I think this price might only apply to U.S. based accounts.

This is an interesting book as it's told from a woman’s perspective.  All the other books I have read by Heller focus on male characters in a wilderness setting, outdoorsy men who have deep thoughts, some insecurties about life choices/relationships being a key component.  The Vermont setting here features a defunct orchard, nature and living off the land.

There are haunting characters, the mother with a sad and educated background.  Frith is the daughter, named for a character in The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico.

Frith refers to her mother as Haley; this is a bit of a coming of age story.  Something which doesn't usually appeal to me.  Haley is a translater of Chinese poetry and rears her daughter in a wooden cabin with a wood stove for heat and very little money.  Haley and Frith are very well read - anything from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Treasure Island, The Old Man in the Sea, We Die Alone (about the Norwegian commando who outskied a Nazi division)  to Grendel.

There is quite a bit of poetry in this book, there are some wonderful reflective passages from Frith as an adult, an educator who teaches at Amherst, and the memories of her unusal childhood with an amazing woman.

Heller brings you straight into this unusual family situation and pulls at your heartstrings at the end. 4.5 stars 📚

On this rainy day in north Florida I am working on book lists, baking bread and reading of course :-) Hope your week is going well.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.