What's On My Kindle? Dickens. Charles Dickens.

This week's What's On My Kindle? features books by one of my favorite classical authors, Charles Dickens.  (insert collective groan here).

No, seriously.  Dickens has always been one of my favorites, and I know most of his books are exceptionally long, and excessive on the description, however when he was writing and you were paid by the word...you wrote as much as you possibly could right?

I've several Dickens titles on my Kindle, all of which are free thanks to services like Project Gutenburg.  However, the ones I'm featuring are by far my all time favorite Dickens novels.

1.) Oliver Twist

Who didn't fall in love with Oliver?  Want to see him ultimately find a family?  Who didn't secretly like the Artful Dodger?

This book inspires all sorts of feelings, and ultimately has been labeled a "national institution" by George Orwell,   It is a morality lesson, a social protest, and a detective story all rolled into one package and has turned into several, successful movie ventures.  Most of which are musicals, featuring one of my favorite songs :)

2.) Great Expectations

This is most likely one of Dickens' best novels.  Orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the work of the forge, however he dreams of being a gentleman.  One day, he finds himself in possession of 'great expectations.'

This story includes such magnificent characters aside from dear orphaned Pip.  There is Magwitch - a fearsome convict.  Estella - haughty beauty.  A jilted bride - Miss Havisham, who is greatly embittered.

This is a tale of crime, guilt, revenge and reward.  Does it have a happy ending?

This is also another one of Dickens' stories that has made it onto the silver screen multiple times. 

What is your favorite Dickens' novel?

Bibliophile Eats - Meat Pie

Okay...Food.  We all need food right? Seriously, it's a necessity. Without it...well, I hesitate to think of the horrors!  Today, I'm sharing with you some pictures of the meat pie that we make at least once or twice a year (especially when the weather gets cooler - because it's fairly time consuming and it tastes better when you make the pie crust from scratch!).

This is not your average "pot pie" as most Americans see it...no this is a Pennsylvania Dutch Meat Pie...there is a distinction.  Please do not call this deliciousness a pot pie around someone who grew up eating Pennsylvania Dutch cooking - you just won't win the argument.  I distinctly remember the first time we made this (following the original recipe) and we used rice instead of potatoes (which is still an option) and it soaked up the delicious gravy in this tasty, tasty dish.  It was also the one and ONLY time we'd gotten my roommate's son to eat not only gravy but rice as well...so score on that.

Anyway, I don't have the recipe handy for this one, but if I manage to remember to grab my recipe book for next week's entry, I will edit this week's post and throw it in there. Promise!

 

Homemade pie crust.  Seriously, what is not absolutely wonderful about that series of words?  Everything is wonderful about those words.  Deliciously flaky, yummy pie crust fitted in to a 2-quart casserole dish - yes, you need that much room for this yummy, yummy dish. 

See? All that beefy, meaty, veggie filled gravy goodness must have room to breathe in that delicious handmade pie crust! So delicious and it fills your house with so many yummy scents!  Then you pour it in the pie crust and it begins to take on a new life! Then it's topped with another layer of that deliciously wondrous handmade pie crust. 

Okay so my edges need work, don't judge! However, aesthetics aside....what is in this delicious pie crust encased bundle is pure, belly filling, deliciousness. This is right before it went into the oven, to further enhance the flavors and turn that flaky, delicious pie crust a delightful golden brown. 

Some time was given for it to cool (though to be honest, not very much).  Then it was time to cut into this flaky, golden brown heaven and reveal the meat and veggie filled gravy interior. 

And now, it's time to eat!  Enjoy! 

What's On My Kindle? Cookbooks!

Welcome to the tenth installment of What's On My Kindle?

What exactly is What's On My Kindle?  This is my own little thing that I am going to be getting out every Sunday.  Within this post I'll list a few of the books that are currently on my TBR list on my Kindle.  Some are freebies (or were when I bought them), and others I paid for with gift cards, or had a few spare bucks to spend on a book.

All of them, I fully intend on getting to, at some point (and taking a massive chisel to my to-read list and hopefully hack it down to under 1000, again).

Okay, so the world of e-readers has opened up the market for digital cookbooks.  Having them ready, being able to have the recipe for that perfect dish right there on your Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and being able to pull it up with you when you get to the grocery store, or finding something new to cook for dinner. Some of my favorite free cookbooks come from the Circle of Friends series of cookbooks.

Taste of Home Summer Slow Cooker Recipes- Who doesn't love an awesome recipe to stick in the slow cooker/crock pot and have ready for you when you walk in the door from work.  One of the recipes that I want to try from this cookbook is:

Glazed Kielbasa
3 pounds smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups ginger ale
Place sausage in a 3-quart slow cooker; sprinkle with brown sugar.  Pour ginger ale over the top.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Serve with slotted spoon.

Circle of Friends Cookbook - 25 Burger Recipes - Burgers.  Burgers are good.  Interesting burgers are even better right?  This book will provide you with twenty-five new and interesting burgers to spice up burger night.  Here's one that I want to try from this one:

Denise's Pizza Burgers
2 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
10-12 pepperoni slices, quartered
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 oz can pizza sauce, divided
8-10 kaiser rolls, split
8-10 slices mozzarella or provolone cheese
In a large bowl, mix together beef, bread crumbs, shredded cheese, pepperoni, seasonings and 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce.  Form into 8-10 burgers.  Grill over medium-high heat until desired doneness.  Warm remaining pizza sauce.  Serve burgers on kaiser rolls, topped with cheese slices and a spoonful of pizza sauce.  Makes 8-10 servings.

Circle of Friends Cookbook - 25 Meatloaf Recipes - MMmm...meatloaf.  One of my favorite meals.  However, I never make my meatloaf with the ketchup glaze on top - never really liked it that way anyway.  So, this book has provided me with some awesome takes on one of America's favorite dinnertime dishes.  Eventually, I want to try this one:

Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
15 oz can of spaghetti sauce, divided
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
In a large bowl, combine beef, one cup spaghetti sauce and remaining ingredients, except for cheese.  Mix well, divide mixture into thirds; spread one-third in the bottom of an ungreased 9"x5" loaf pan.  Cover with half the cheese.  Repeat layers, ending with beef mixture.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Spread meatloaf with remaining sauce; bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Serves 4 to 6.