Monday, September 27, 2010

Recipe: Beef, Summer Squash and Sweet Potato Curry

Recipe: Beef, Summer Squash, and Sweet Potato Curry
(adapted from Betty Crocker Best Burgers and More, August/September 2010)

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups water
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
2 tablespoons hot curry paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut crosswise into 1/2 slices
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions:
1. Cook rice in water according to directions. Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet cook beef and onion over med-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is throughly cooked and onion is tender.
2. Add gingerroot, curry paste, cumin, and salt to skillet, cook 1 minute stirring occasionally. Stir in sweet potato, tomatoes and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover, simmer 10 minutes or until potato is almost tender. Stir in Zucchini. Cover; cook 5 to 10 minutes or until potato and zucchini are tender.
3. Serve beef mixture over rice. Top each serving with about 1 tablespoon yogurt.

Friday, September 24, 2010

From My Reader: Cake Wrecks

This is the first of a new feature for this blog! Every other week or so I'll introduce you to the blogs that make me laugh, make me think and just plain keep me coming back for more!

This week, I'll be highlighting the fun and funny blog: Cake Wrecks!


Almost everyday Jen and her husband John offer up pictures of professional cakes gone terribly, terribly wrong with witty commentary!

On Sundays, they post the Sunday Sweets to balance the bad and the ugly showcased on the rest of the week.

Some of my favorite posts:

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Return from the Dead...

Putting together my calendar for the next few months made me realize just how close it is to October. Which makes it really close to November aka National Novel Writing Month!

Last year, I tried to pick up NaNoWriMo a few days into November without any prior planning. As one might expect, that didn't go well. Though it did put me several thousand words above where I would have been without NaNoWriMo. This year I'm doing things a tad differently. I've already got a story idea trying to eat my brain! The next month or so will be spent in preparation for a month long writing spree.

Part of that preparation is to return to a regular blog posting schedule though it definitely won't be the everyday posting that I was trying to do before.

The rest will include detailed plotting, full character sketches and as much fantastical Steampunk world history as I can dream up.

NaNoWriMo, here I come! Warning: Nay-sayers will be fed to Dragons. (That means you, Dad.)