myJaxonIf we don’t go crazy once in a while, we’ll all go crazy. - Hawkeye

So this was a complete improvisation. My original thought was to make my Chicken Rice Skillet, but then I realized that I didn’t have the rice. So this recipe was born. It’s nothing spectacular, but it smells good. I tend to just throw things in when I’m cooking and since I was improving, I threw in some garlic. It helps lower cholesterol and since Jesse’s is up there, I’ve been making a lot of things with garlic these days. The jar of red sauce I used was something I had in the pantry. It happens to be an organic Italian Herb made by Muir Glen, but any kind of sauce will do.

It doesn’t look the greatest, but according to Jesse “It’s not as disgusting as I thought it would be”. The picture is’nt all that great either. I took it off of Ian’s plate, which also happens to be his high chair tray. My dishes are white as well, so I doubt I would have gotten a great picture from that as well. For something coming out of “oh no I don’t have any rice”, it’s not bad. It’s your basic pasta primavera ripoff.

Overall, not a bad dish. One thing I would do different, I served the dish by spooning the sauce over the pasta. Next time, Jesse recommends mixing the pasta in with the sauce before serving.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups water
1 tbsp margarine or butter
1 bag (1 pound) frozen broccoli and corn
1 25.5 oz jar of red sauce
3 cloves of garlic
garlic powder
Medium shell pasta, cooked

Directions:
In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center.

Add water and margarine; heat to boiling. Stir in vegetables, garlic cloves, garlic powder, and sauce. Simmer until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, cover and let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Spread over shells and enjoy.

Alright, I haven’t done this in awhile, but this series was so good, that I had to share it with everyone. I’m pretty sure that a lot of my friends don’t check out my book review blog, Literary Escapism, so I wanted to post my review of the last novel of Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels trilogy. So, here it is:
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I’ve finished the final novel, Queen of the Darkness, in Anne Bishops’ Black Jewels trilogy and all I can say is wow. My face was just streaked with tears over the ending and I was riveted to the plot line as it zoomed to its ending. The individual personalties of the characters added so much to this series that you felt for all of them. When something hurt them, you felt it. It’s not often that a book will make me cry for pages. I may cry during the appropriate scenes, but to continue crying for pages afterwards, that’s something else. When I book can do that, then you know that it’s a masterpiece.

The only thing I can think about right now is, and then what happened. The final battle happened, and we were given details about what happened to the supporting cast, but what about Janelle and Daemon? We’re left with them seeing each other for the first time after the battle, but we don’t know what happened afterwards. I’m going to try and get my hands on the new Black Jewels novel, Tangled Webs, that just came out and I’m hoping more details will be given then.

Overall, I loved this series. It is definitely getting added to my “to be purchased” list and I’m planning on adding Tangled Webs without even reading it. When a story stay with me, even when I am not reading it, and when there is a connection with all of the characters - that is what makes a great novel. The Black Jewels trilogy has to go down as one of the best fantasy series ever.

Director:Tim Hill
Writers: Jon Vitti and Will McRobb
Release Date: 14 December 2007
Cast: Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney

We rented the new Alvin and the Chipmunks tonight and Ian’s reaction was priceless. The movie just started and all of a sudden, we hear Ian erupting into giggles. It was great. We tried to recreate it, but…yeah, he turned a little camera shy.

I have to say, I loved the cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks growing up, so when I heard they were doing a live action movie, I was kind of skeptical. They don’t normally do them well and I have been disappointed in the past. I really can’t say that with this movie. They actually did a pretty good job with it. It was better than I thought it would be. I am definitely going to be buying this movie, and not because it made Ian giggle at the beginning. It did capture Ian’s attention for awhile, but it’s still a bit long for him. He can barely sit still during a 30 minute show, so I knew he wasn’t going to make it through this one, but he kept coming back it. Especially when the chipmunks were singing. And speaking of their songs, there was some dialog that should be familiar to any fan of the old cartoons. They still used the familiar songs - the Chipmunk Song & Witch Doctor - but they did modernize it a bit. I didn’t have a problem with the modernized version of the Chipmunk Song, but Witch Doctor wasn’t that great. I prefer the old version of that one.

Overall, the movie was good. Jason Lee did a good job as David Seville and the CGI animation was pretty good. The story had a good story arc and it really didn’t drag. When we got to the end of the movie, the final conflict or conflict resolution, it kind of caught me by surprise. I like movies like that. It means that I was interested enough in it that I lost track of time for awhile. Isn’t that the point of movies? To lose track of time, to just relax and not worry about what’s going on while watching a good story? Alvin and the Chipmunks is definitely a movie I would recommend.

Jesse and I borrowed Death at a Funeral from the library this weekend and it was really good. It’s a British comedy that takes place during the funeral service of the patriarch of a dysfunctional British family. One would think a funeral wouldn’t be a comedic experience, but once you factor in a midget with a secret, a fiancée who is acting weird, and two brothers who have their own issues, interesting chaos ensues.

While I’m not familiar with the majority of the cast, I am a huge fan of Alan Tudyk. For those who may not know him, he played Wash in Joss Whedon’s series, Firefly. This guy is such a fabulous actor that he was the reason I wanted to see this movie in the first place.

Overall, the rest of the movie was spectacular. The entire cast was hilarious and there was never a dry moment. The story never really became dull or slow paced, but kept the watcher interested and wanting to know more. Seriously, if you haven’t seen this movie yet, and you like British comedies (even if you don’t like British comedies), then go out and rent this one. Here’s a trailer if you’re interested.

Director: Frank Oz
Writer: Dean Craig
Release: 11 July 2007
Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, Andy Nyman, Ewen Bremner, Daisy Donovan, Alan Tudyk, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, Rupert Graves.

Ever since I started the other blog, I haven’t been posting any of my book stuff on this site, but I thought I would share this reading challenge I came across. It’s rather simple and most of my friends should be able to do it (if they wanted to). The challenge is this: you make up a list of 10 books that you love and then add it to the master list. Then you chose 3 books from the entire list and review them. The time frame for this challenge is May 1st to Nov 30th and all you have to do is read a minimum of 3 books. If you want the full rules, click here.

So here are my 10 books:

1. The Devil Inside - Jenna Black
2. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K Hamilton
3. Full Moon Rising - Keri Arthur
4. Halfway to the Grave - Jeaniene Frost
5. Poison Study - Maria Snyder
6. You Slay Me - Katie MacAlister
7. Wicked - Gregory Maquire
8. Stray - Rachel Vincent
9. Touch the Dark - Karen Chance
10. Moon Called - Patricia Briggs

Here are my 3 picks:

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
3. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

All three of these novels have been recommended to me at some point, so now I have even more of a reason to check them out. I found a few others I think I’m going to try, so as my alternates:

1. In the Forests of the Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
2. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
3. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
4. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
5. Wizard War by Hugh Cook
6. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
7. So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
8. Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist
9. Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert
10. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

All the reviews will be posted on Literary Escapism, so if you do decide to do this with me (and I know there are a couple of other bookworms out there), then let me know so I make sure to look for your reviews.