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OK, I have gotten sucked in to a fabulous new series of books.
They are addicting. Dark-chocolate-covered-strawberries addicting. Find-myself-reading-rather-than-sleeping addicting. Ordered-the-next-three-in-the-series-before-I-fin ished-the-first-book addicting.
They are, dare I say it, as enjoyable as Harry Potter (forgive me J.K. Rowling)
It's Stephenie Meyers' "Twilight" series.
I feel like I should be raising my hand and stating "Hello, my name is Newsmom and I am a Twilight-aholic."

This is all my brother's fault.

He read the series a few months ago and was telling me about how good the books were when we were talking on the phone one day (he's 22 and goes to Sonoma State). He admitted to getting sucked into this series of books about a teenager and her exploits with a vampire. I remember thinking "Good God man, what kind of crap are they foisting onto you at college nowadays?" to which my next thought was "Good God, I've only been out of college six years and already I'm so not cool."

The next time my brother came to visit I dragged him on an errand to the grocery store and wound up picking up two copies of the first book, "Twilight," the other being for my mother as a thank you gift (side note - all the books are like $10.99 or so - quite the deal). I started reading my copy a few days later. I finished it in about 12 hours (stretched over the course of 5 days, three of which were a holiday weekend and two of which I worked). I read it every free moment I had. Working out at the gym. In the tub. Through weary, exhausted eyes before falling asleep. When the UPS man banged on the door to deliver my Amazon.com package containing the next three in the series, I jubilantly opened the door and had to refrain from cheering and hugging him.

The story line is a little corny - junior in high school moves to small town in Washington and promptly falls in love with a gorgeous vampire teen boy - but the action-packed dramatics that ensue keep you turning pages and the author's writing style lends itself well to the story form and audience she is targeting (tween and teens). I think part of the reason it's so appealing is because it dredges up memories of what it feels like to have that first crush, that first innocent love that felt like your sole reason for existence. And, like Harry Potter was (at least for me), it's just a ridiculously entertaining read.

So far, I am about two-thirds of the way done with the second installment and I can't wait for my lunch break so I can head to the gym and read more. My only concern is what will happen to my free time once I finish the fourth book. I shudder at the thought.

I tell you what though - the next time I think up a crazy plot line or story idea, I'm writing it down. Apparently the author (a mom of three and BYU grad) got the idea for these books from an interesting dream she had. Her husband encouraged her to write it down and expand on it. And now they are millionaires.

I'm sure a lot of you are already aware of this wildly popular series, but just in case your like me and unaware that the series even existed, check it out. Reading "Barnyard Dance" or "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See" for the trillionth time to your kids before bed won't be nearly as painful knowing that after they shut their sweet eyes, you have a wonderfully escapist novel to enjoy.

It's been about 10 months since I last "blogged" here.
A lot has changed.
My daughter was born in February and is now almost 7 months old.
My son, 2, now talks in sentences and says things like "I have no idea," "Mama more grape juice please."
I taught a criminal justice class at Sac State and gained a newfound appreciation for college professors everywhere.
I lost all my baby weight. Plus joined Weight Watchers and have lost almost 19 pounds and am now back to my pre-wedding size. Woo hoo. Thirty pounds to go ....

Some things, however, remain the same.
I still adore my husband, now moreso than ever. Am I alone in this sentiment (which I hope I am not) or does it seem that your love for your husband grows exponentially each time your family expands? Seeing the way he plays with and loves our kids makes my heart feel like it's going to burst. I always knew he'd be a good dad, but he's exceptional. And both our kids are over the moon for him. I swear it's like idol worship when he comes in from work each day.

I still love to cook and bake. I've also made friends with my crockpot. What a fabulous invention.
I can't wait for it to get cooler so I can really start using it more often.
Still work at the Bee, and love my job.

I'll try to start posting again soon. This blog has been a great outlet in the past, and a hobby that I hope to keep up in the future.

It's been a while since I made anything actually worth sharing (guess that's what having a 14-month old and being 6 1/2 months pregnant will do to you), but this was an absolute hit last night. I actually can't wait to go home tonight and have the leftovers. And my husband, who generally doesn't like casseroles, loved it - and had seconds last night.

Chicken and rice casserole (modified from a recipe by Paula Deen)

Ingredients:
1 store-bought rotisserie-cooked chicken (about 3 cups)
1 can green beans, drained
1 4-oz jar pimientos, drained
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup diced, sauteed red onion (which you can get pre-diced now in produce dept - how fab)
1 can french fried onions
1 6 oz. box Uncle Ben's wild rice

How to: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Cook rice according to box directions (takes about 25 minutes, so get this part started early). While that's cooking, saute red onion until translucent. Shred cooled chicken with hands, taking off skin. In a big bowl, combine soup with mayo and stir together. Add chicken, rice, green beans, pimientos, water chestnuts, cheese and red onion and mix together. Pour into casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until it starts to bubble. Add french fried onions to top and cook another 5-10 minutes.

Serve with green salad and sourdough bread.
Buon Appetito!

Mommies - check out this Yahoo video (This link works - I had posted the YouTube link earlier this morning, but it had been pulled). This mom, a stand-up comic, has described a mom's daily routine and set it to the William Tell Overture. I swear, there are days when I feel like this is the pace of my life. I wouldn't change it for the world, but there are times when I wish I could just have one day when I didn't have to think about what to feed my son for breakfast, whether his jelly sandwich had too much jelly, the nutritional value of Goldfish crackers, what to make him for dinner, how long it will take me to get through the three piles of laundry sitting on my bedroom floor, vaccinations, runny noses etc. But I think a part of me enjoys having those responsibilities - just part of mom duty, a title I've been looking forward to and cherish.
Anyway, check this out when you have an extra five minutes and/or need a good laugh:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.co...

So my 13-month-old has refused to eat his vegetables. We've tried everything - broccoli with cheese sauce, green beans, roasted carrots with a little butter. All I get for my efforts is a mad little boy, some veggies thrown and an overstuffed (albeit healthful) Chihuahua and Border Collie mutt. Grr. If anyone out there has a suggestion, please, please, pass it along.
In the meantime, here is a tip from my sister-in-law, Michelle, who is a fabulous and highly-respected pediatrician: puree some cooked spinach or broccoli in the food processor or blender and mix it into tomato sauce. Then use that when you serve pasta. That way (at least until they will eat veggies on their own without coercion) your kids are getting their veggies and your sanity is spared. Pretty cool idea eh?

   This recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. I gave it a whirl last night. It turned out pretty darn good. Nice change of pace from the old spaghetti and sauce routine. My two cents are in parentheses.

Ingredients:
1 2lb container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 16-oz container shredded parmesan
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 pkg manicotti noodles (I used old-fashioned boil kind, but next time I'm going to try the no-boil variety)
2 large eggs
Salt and pepper
2 jars prepared tomato sauce

To prepare:
Boil, drain and cool noodles (next time, I'm using the no-boil kind. It was very hard to stuff the limp noodles and several tore - rats!). Set aside on Silpat mat. Combine ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, herbs, eggs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Beat well or whisk until kinda fluffy. Spoon the cheese mixture into a quart-size ziptop bag and get the air out. Snip one of the corners. Use the bag like a pastry bag to help fill the manicotti noodles. Spread 2 cups of tomato sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan. Place manicotti noodles however they will fit best. Spoon another 2 cups sauce over top of filled noodles. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Yields two nights of dinner for 4 people.

I served with eggplant and zucchini that I sauteed in a little olive oil and seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper and garlic bread.

This recipe also is said to freeze very well for up to 3 months. Do not freeze in aluminum pan though - the acidity in the tomato sauce will eat through the pan.

Buon Appetito!

It was cooking without a recipe night at my house Wednesday night, which I akin to driving without directions in a foreign city - you're either going to get ridiculously lost or wind up somewhere fabulous.
Fortunately, last night was the latter of the two.
This dinner took about 30 minutes to prepare, start to finish, and was seriously easy.

Apple pork chops/Green beans with carmelized shallots

Ingredients you'll need:
4 center-cut pork chops (no bones)
1 Fuji apple
1 1/2 cups apple juice
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 cups frozen haricots verts (fancy French name for green beans)
3 shallots
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Butter (unsalted is best)
Salt, pepper, Emeril seasoning

To prepare: Season pork chops on both sides with salt, pepper and Emeril's seasoning. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in medium skillet. Lightly sear both sides of chops (about 2 minutes each side). Add 1 cup of apple juice and cover skillet with lid. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers proper temp for pork (or it's no longer pink inside).
While meat is cooking, skin and slice apple into 1/4 inch slices. Place in small saucepan with remaining apple juice (1/2 cup). Add brown sugar and simmer over low heat until meat is done.
Meanwhile, dice peel and dice shallots. Heat 2 tbsp oil in another skillet and saute shallots until golden. Put green beans in microwave safe bowl and heat for 3 minutes or until warm. Drain and toss with carmelized green beans.
Remove pork chops from skillet and plate. Spoon apples (and sauce from apples) over tops of chops. Serve with carmelized shallot green beans and store-bought French bread.

Bon Apetito!