Tasty Tuesday - BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake

BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake

Method-

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4

Mix together the passata, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, garlic, smoked paprika, sweetener and season well to make the BBQ sauce.

Cook the onions, peppers and mushrooms in a frying pan until softened.  Add the chicken and bacon and cook until chicken thoroughly cooked.

Boil your pasta for about 10 minutes until softened but not fully cooked.

Add the pasta, BBQ sauce, chicken, bacon and vegetables together and then pour into a baking dish.

Cook for 15 minutes in the oven.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and return to oven until the cheese is melted.

Musing Mondays - I RETURN! And Summer Reading is DONE!!

Musing Monday, September 4, 2017

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…

• Up next I think I’ll read…

• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…

• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…

• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…

• I can’t wait to get a copy of…

• I wish I could read ___, but…

• I blogged about ____ this past week…

I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…my summer reading challenge!

I know I've mentioned a couple of times now about my summer reading challenge that I was doing with my friend Sophia. We did the BookBub Summer 2017 Reading Challenge, and as of today at about 1:30 pm I AM 100% FINISHED!! This is a big deal big for me guys, it's the first time I've ever completed a category challenge! So officially the challenge ran from June 6-August 31. We came to it late, we didn't find out about it until mid-June but we both had books that we'd read between June 6th and the day we agreed to do the challenge that counted. We originally decided we'd set a personal end date of September 21 (the last official day of Summer) because we didn't think we'd be able to manage the end of August, especially Sophia with her mum due to have a baby in mid-August. However, we got to the tail end of August and realised how close we were so we decided to try and push to finish by August 31. We didn't succeed for two reasons, my reason was that I got an eARC of The History of Bees (I asked for it mainly as a joke because of the running gag in our office about bees) which I had to read then and there because it was an ARC, LUCKILY I could make it fit a category. Unluckily it was an incredible slog to get through and took me about a week and a half...which put me about two books behind Sophia and then I struggled to catch her up. Sophia's reason was that her mum had the baby around the 20th so she was busy with baby and kid related goings on and didn't have much time for reading. Once we realised we weren't going to manage it we decided together that we'd have our end date be September 6 which would be exactly 3 months to the day from the official challenge start.

3 months. 36 categories. That's 12 books a month, now, of course, I didn't ONLY read books for that challenge during that time, so I actually ended up reading 46 books between June 6 and September 6...47 if I finish the book I started last night by Wednesday (which I probably will because I am 76% finished it right now. That works out to about 15 books a month. This is an UNHEARD pace for me. Not only did I finish a challenge for the first time ever, not only did I read more books per month than I have EVER done before. I did something that I've been trying to do since about 2007 - read 100 books in a year. I have officially DOUBLED Goodreads pledge of 52 books for the year with 105 (202%). And given the other 5 challenges I ambitiously signed up for back in January, I still have about another 40 to go, and you know what? I am damn excited about every single one of them.

This summer challenge has been incredibly fun and has really expanded my reading horizons in some ways. I'm not going to lie I have a SUPER competitive streak and Sophia and I really brought that out in each other, but we pushed each other to finish.

So which books did I read for which categories? Here take a look:

BOOKBUB SUMMER 2017 READING CHALLENGE

LEVEL 1

1. A new beach read coming out this summer - The History of Bees: A Novel by Maja Lunde [August 22, 2017] (Complete)

2. A book that has won an award this year - Love is Love edited by Marc Andreyko [2017 Eisner winner for Best Anthology] (Complete)

3. A thriller coming out this summer - Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero (Complete)

4. A book about travel or outdoor adventure - A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong (Complete)

5. A book that’s on high school summer reading lists - Crank by Ellen Hopkins [2017/18 Northwood High School's Summer Reading List] (Complete)

6. A book by an LGBT author for June’s Pride Month - The Tree of Seasons by Stephen Gately (Complete)

7. A historical fiction book coming out this summer - The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (Complete)

8. A commonly banned book - Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman [why it gets banned]  (Complete)

9. A book set in a vacation destination - Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson [set in New Orleans] (Complete)

10. A book being adapted for the big screen this summer - The Gunslinger by Stephen King (Complete)

11. A book by an author of colour - Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Complete)

12. A deal you found on BookBub - The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter (Complete)

LEVEL 2

13. A classic you’ve been meaning to read forever - The Island of Doctor Moreau (Complete)

14. An international bestseller - Eragon by Christopher Paolini (Complete)

15. A Revolutionary War novel for July 4th - My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier (Complete)

16. A book under 300 pages - Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey [272 pages] (Complete)

17. A book that makes you laugh out loud - Redshirts by John Scalzi (Complete)

18. A fantasy book for J.K. Rowling’s birthday - Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey (Complete)

19. A coming-of-age story - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Complete)

20. A historical novel about women for Women’s Equality Day - Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (Complete)

21. A dystopian novel - The Death Cure by James Dashner (Complete)

22. A book by a debut author - The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich (Complete)

23. A beach read set in the US - Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Complete)

24. A book about man’s best friend for National Dog Day - Cujo by Stephen King (Complete)

LEVEL 3

25. A bestseller from last summer - Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 [includes bestselling issue Black Panther #1] by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Complete)

26. A popular book club book - Cinder by Marissa Meyer [shelved 328 times as a book club book] (Complete)

27. A book over 500 pages - Eldest by Christopher Paolini [704 pages] (Complete)

28. A book recommended by one of your favourite authors - Emma by Jane Austen [recommended by JK Rowling] (Complete)

29. A book inspired by a classic fairy tale - Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey [inspired by Snow White] (Complete)

30. A presidential favourite - From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming [favourite of JFK]  (Complete)

31. A book of poetry - Every Thing on It by Shel Silverstein (Complete)

32. A book with a shocking plot twist -  Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Piñeiro (Complete)

33. A nonfiction book - Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (Complete)

34. A book written by an author over 40 - Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood (Complete)

35. A compelling book about mental illness - Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh (Complete)

36. A book in translation - Tales of a Severed Head by Rachida Madani & Marilyn Hacker [translator] (Complete)

        THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: There isn't one! 

No random question this week, but I really wanted to start doing Musing Mondays again after my inadvertent hiatus from them. As you can tell from above pretty much the only thing I did this summer aside from chatting with Angie (which is always my favourite thing) is read. I have turned on Netflix exactly 2 times since June, both times to try and watch The Godfather. And I watched 1 DVD that I'd never seen before, other than that it's been stuff I've watched or listened to a million times so that it didn't require my attention and was just on for noise/to keep the computer from falling asleep in between replies to Angie. So, uhm, yes WELCOME BACK TO MUSING MONDAYS!

Calendar Girls - Sep 2017 - best contemporary fiction novel - #CalendarGirlsBooks

Calendar Girls is hosted by bloggers, Flavia the Bibliophile and Melanie Noell Bernard – both have amazing blogs full of fun, bookish posts. Calendar Girls is a brand new monthly blog event inspired by Neil Sedaka’s 1961 song Calendar Girl. Just like in the song, we decided to use a specific theme for each month and choose a book based on these themes! The event is meant to incite discussions with other bloggers about books we’ve read and loved, is meant to help bloggers meet other bloggers, and also for bloggers and readers to find out about blogs which they normally may not have come across! Want to know more? Click on the links above! And it’s not too late to jump on the Calendar Girl train! Join now!

Best Contemporary Fiction Novel

When Flavia and Melanie announced that this was the category for September my first instinct was to groan, the first thing that always comes to mind with contemporary fiction is literary fiction, which is the one genre that I do not read. So I asked Flavia, did it have to be straight contemporary or could it be genre contemporary? Blessedly she informed me that genre fiction was 100% okay which got a woohoo out of me, and maybe a fist pump. I'm sure if you've been reading my blog at all you've realised that genre fiction is my bag, but I've never really tracked or paid much attention to the time periods that the non-historical fiction things that I read are set in. Now obviously I could have very easily chosen a Harry Potter book for this category because being sent in the 90s they are definitely contemporary, they are my favourite books, and arguably also the best. But if I didn't stop myself I would vote for Harry for almost every calendar girls category and then it would get very boring for you all to read. One of my goals with these posts is to try and pick books that I think will be new to a lot of you. That's my inner library professional coming out. I love doping readers' advisory, which is not a service we offer at the academic library...but I'd love it if we did.

So which contemporary novel did I chose as the best one then? Let's see:

The new lineup of celebrities for Strictly Come Dancing 2017

The Glitterball is back! On the 9th September, just one week away, the new series of Strictly Come Dancing begins.   Anyone following this blog will remember my weekly posts last year as I followed the progress of the 2016 class ending with a closely fought final between Danny Mac, Louise Redknapp and the ultimate winner Ore Oduba.





So there will be a few changes this year that we already know about.  Len Goodman will no longer be head judge and his replacement is Shirley Ballas.  She hails from my neck of the woods in Merseyside so she's likely to be as tough as nails with the contestants.  She specialises in Latin so the contestants will need a bit more than glitter and sequins when it comes to impressing her.  The rest of the judges remain the same with the nicey nice Darcey Bussell, the flamboyant and overdramatic Bruno Tonioli and the Mr Nasty Craig Revel-Horwood.

There are a few new professionals lined up but I've not read much about them up to now.  I know there are three new girls to replace Oksana Platero, Natalie Lowe and Joanne Clifton, all of whom are not returning this year.  Not heard anything about the changes in the male professionals but all will be revealed no doubt next week on the launch show.

So onto the victims contestants.  This years celebrity line up is as follows (in order they were revealed)



Mollie King: Pop star and member of the group The Saturdays





Davood Ghadami: Actor, currently in Eastenders







Ruth Langsford: TV presenter, co-host of This Morning with her husband Eamonn Holmes and also a regular panellist on current affairs show Loose Women

Gemma Atkinson: Actress, previously in Emmerdale






Reverand Richard Coles: Church of England Priest and former member of pop group The Communards with Jimmy Somerville







Joe McFadden: Actor, currently in Holby City







Simon Rimmer: TV Chef and host of Sunday Brunch







Aston Merrygold: Pop star and former member of the group JLS







Susan Calman: Comedienne






Brian Conley: Comedian






Charlotte Hawkins: Journalist and newsreader






Chizzy Akudolu: Holby City actress








Debbie McGee: Wife of late magician Paul Daniels and was his assistant






Jonnie Peacock: Paralympic athlete, Strictly's first contestant with a disability (he is a below the knee amputee)






Alexandra Burke: Singer, was a winner of The X-Factor in 2008

  So there we have our line up.  Let's hope this series is as exciting and entertaining as last years.  Let's hope we have a lot more dancing and a lot less cringing (yes Ed Balls I'm talking to you Gangnam Style)



On a final note, it was with great sadness to read last month of the passing of Bruce Forsythe who was the original and definitive host of Strictly Come Dancing.  An all-around singer, dancer, comedian and TV host, Bruce had been entertaining the British public for over 75 years.  His wonderful catchphrase 'Nice to see you, to see you nice' is one I shall always remember and if anyone remembers my post last year about The Muppet Show you will recall that his episode is one of my all-time favourites. Bruce passed away aged 89 on 18th August 2017 from pneumonia. RIP Brucie, may you always be remembered fondly and keep dancing.

(All images except my sig courtesy of BBC)

Syn Free Lasagna ( A Slimming World recipe)

Syn Free Lasagna

So here is a delicious healthy lasagna recipe for you to try.  It is cooked with the Slimming World plan in mind, but I'm not a consultant so please check all syn values yourself if you are unsure.  The cheese used is the equivalent of your HEX A portion per person, if not it would be 6 syns.

Ingredients

• 500g lean beef mince (5% fat or less)
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 courgette, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (or 1 tsp of garlic granules)
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 400g passata
• 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• Low calorie cooking spray
• 500g fat free natural yogurt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• A pinch of nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 dried lasagne sheets
• 160g reduced-fat cheddar cheese

1. Place a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the beef mince, red pepper, courgettes, onion and garlic and stir-fry for 6-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, passata and dried herbs, season and cook for 12-15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile mix together the yogurt, eggs and nutmeg until smooth and season.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Spray a medium-sized lasagna dish with low calorie cooking spray. Spoon half the mince mixture into the base and top with half of the lasagna sheets. Spread over half of the yogurt mixture and top with the remaining mince mixture. Top with the remaining lasagna sheets, spread over the remaining yogurt mixture
   and sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Calendar Girls - Aug 2017 - best historical fiction novel - #CalendarGirlsBooks

Calendar Girls is hosted by bloggers, Flavia the Bibliophile and Melanie Noell Bernard – both have amazing blogs full of fun, bookish posts. Calendar Girls is a brand new monthly blog event inspired by Neil Sedaka’s 1961 song Calendar Girl. Just like in the song, we decided to use a specific theme for each month and choose a book based on these themes! The event is meant to incite discussions with other bloggers about books we’ve read and loved, is meant to help bloggers meet other bloggers, and also for bloggers and readers to find out about blogs which they normally may not have come across! Want to know more? Click on the links above! And it’s not too late to jump on the Calendar Girl train! Join now!

Best Historical Fiction Novel

I haven't read as much historical fiction as I would like. Which isn't the same as saying I haven't read any historical fiction - I have, at least 33 novels since I started using Goodreads shelves properly. There are probably loads more that I haven't shelved properly. Either way that's not as many as I would like. My fantasy shelf, for example, has 272 books on it. Which for those of you math inclined means that my historical shelf is only 12% the size of my fantasy shelf. But all that being said I do have 4 contenders for this month's selection.

Displayed nicely with my new piertotem locomotor bookends.

1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

It took me a long time to finally get around to this book and now I'm not even sure why it did. I've always been fascinated by Henry VIII and his wives, especially Anne Boleyn, but this and The Tudors both took me a long time to finally read and watch for some reason. I read it in 2012 and gave it 3 stars. It was really interesting. It's not about Anne, it's about her sister Mary and Mary's own relationship with Henry. It's a fascinating glimpse into what life in Henry's court might have been like for the B-List.

2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

This one takes place in two historical time periods, 1945 and 1743 in the Scottish Highlands. There's time travel, but that's the only sci-fi element, everything else is purely historical fiction. You can tell that Diana Gabaldon spent a lot of time researching this novel, and all of that work really comes through. This one is about a  WWII nurse named Claire. She travels back to the time of the clans and meets a young clansman named Jamie Fraser. The first time I read this was in 2006 for an English class, as mentioned in an old post.

3. Paris to Die For by Maxine Kenneth

Inspired by an actual letter in the John F. Kennedy Library written by Jackie and revealing her job offer from the newly formed CIA this novel imagines what Jackie's life would have been like if she had accepted that job offer and become a CIA Operative. It's the first in a duology. It's set in 1951 with the main action taking place in Paris where Jackie interacts with real and imagined historical figures while she tries to help a Russian defect to the West.

4. Front Lines by Michael Grant

I have talked about this one before in a couple of different posts, in fact, it was my pick back in March for best novel with a war in it. It's an alternate history set in WWII and based on the question "what if girls had been able to serve in the American Armed Forces?" It's full of BAMF young women, and I can't wait to get around to the sequel next year, Silver Stars is out now and sitting on my shelf but I don't have time for it until next year.

So which of those historical novels did I chose as the best one: