What Did You Read This Month? Book Review Link-up #16

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Welcome to the Monthly Book Report and Book Review Link-up #16!

On the First Wednesday of each month I will be sharing my latest read – which could be a cookbook, a celebrity chef biography or memoir, a lifestyle book, a gardening book, a homemaking book or maybe even a cozy kitchen mystery book. They may be paper books, eBooks, or audio books. I have challenged myself to read or listen to at least one book per week, and I plan to share that with you all here.

In addition to my Book Report, there will be a Book Report LInky – a chance for all of you to share your own book review blog post (TWO per blog, please). We want to see what had you page flipping, can’t put it down, totally captivated.

Lastly will be a few Featured Reviews from the previous month’s shared posts. This will be a post picked at random by the host. Each host will likely pick their own features – so that’s multiple chances to be featured!

If you have any suggestions for me on book I should check out – please let me know!

Title: Yes, Chef – A Memoir

Author: Marcus Samuelsson

Publication Date: May 2013

Published by: Random House Trade

Listed Price: $16.99 (Paperback), $4.99 (Kindle)

About the Author:

Marcus Samuelsson is the acclaimed chef behind many restaurants worldwide including Red Rooster Harlem, MARCUS Montreal, and Marcus B&P in Newark, NJ. Samuelsson was the youngest person to ever receive a three-star review from The New York Times and has won multiple James Beard Foundation Awards including Best Chef: New York City. He was tasked with planning and executing the Obama Administration’s first State dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Samuelsson was also crowned champion of television shows Top Chef Masters and Chopped All Stars, and was the winning mentor on ABC’s The Taste. Samuelsson received the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Personality for his TV series titled No Passport Required with VOX/Eater and and he is an executive producer of Viceland’s show HUSTLE.

Brief Description of the book:

It begins with a simple ritual: Every Saturday afternoon, a boy who loves to cook walks to his grandmother’s house and helps her prepare a roast chicken for dinner. The grandmother is Swedish, a retired domestic. The boy is Ethiopian and adopted, and he will grow up to become the world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson. This book is his love letter to food and family in all its manifestations. Yes, Chef chronicles Samuelsson’s journey, from his grandmother’s kitchen to his arrival in New York City, where his outsize talent and ambition finally come together at Aquavit, earning him a New York Times three-star rating at the age of twenty-four. But Samuelsson’s career of chasing flavors had only just begun—in the intervening years, there have been White House state dinners, career crises, reality show triumphs, and, most important, the opening of Red Rooster in Harlem. At Red Rooster, Samuelsson has fulfilled his dream of creating a truly diverse, multiracial dining room—a place where presidents rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, and bus drivers. It is a place where an orphan from Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, living in America, can feel at home.

My Review:

If you watch even half as many cooking competition shows as I do, than you definitely know who Marcus Samuelsson is and how talented he is. I did know that he had an interesting life before celebrity status but I had no idea just how interesting. I found myself reading his story in his own voice and really was intrigued by the details he shares about his first few years in Ethiopia and his journey to being adopted by a Swedish family. He has had an extraordinary life and shares it beautifully in this book that follows his road to culinary greatness.

This Months’s Featured Posts:

These are posts that stood out from the list of linked up posts last month. I hope you will hope over and check out their review. And don’t forget to link-up your own book-centric posts – YOU MIGHT BE NEXT WEEK’S FEATURE!

Alchemy of Secrets

Shared by Honey Bears and Sydney Beans

Useful

Shared by MomLit

The Book Review Linky

Meet Your Librarians…errmmm I mean Hosts!

Melynda	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Estelle	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram

Now for the link-up!

Party Guidelines:

1. Please take some time to poke around and visit some of the other links.

2. Please take some time to check out your hosts and co-hosts on social media.

3. We appreciate the variety of blogs on the www; however, the Book Review Linky is for links related to Books. Please link accordingly.

4. All Captions need to be Family-Friendly and PG. If your post has EXPLICIT content, you must label it in the caption. If you DO NOT DO this your link will be removed.

5. You may add TWO Book-Centric Post per URL.

With your help, we can continue to grow the Book Review Linky Party ! Thank you!

We are looking for Co-Hosts. Help us Rock this party!

If you are interested, please contact Estelle at homemadeonaweeknight@gmail.com

By joining the Book Review Linky, you signify permission for the listed Hosts to share your posts and images here and receive an email reminder when our next Book Review Linky is LIVE.

Weekly Wrap-up & Senior Salon Pit Stop #385

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Welcome to Senior Salon Pit Stop #385

Welcome to this week’s Weekly Wrap-up and Blog Link-up.

It’s a new year at the Senior Salon Pit Stop and it’s time to vroom-vroom to all the great posts that everyone is creating all around the the blogosphere! Scroll down to check out my Weekly Wrap-up along with my Featured posts from the previous Pit Stop!

What’s been going on at Homemade on a Weeknight?

Its our first deer hunting season in rural Montana and my husband was able to get his first ever deer on opening day! We decided to process it ourselves. We will be mostly making ground meat options. I’ve been working on making seasoning blends to make Breakfast Sausage, Chorizo Sausage and Italian Sausage. Do you have any great venison recipes to share?

What have you been up to this past week?

Just #ICYMI – one of the most popular recipes from the blog this last week was my Creamy GarlicPasta & Steak

In case you missed it, here are the recipes that I shared to the blog this week:

Have you had a chance to check out the new Facebook group Yum Hungry Hangout & Giggles? It is a place to share your foodie finds, funny facts and in general hangout and get to know each other more through out shared love of food. Please feel free to check it out and maybe join in the fun!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/yumyumhungryhangoutandgiggles/

By joining the Senior Salon Pit Stop, you signify permission (EsmeSalon privacy policy) to share your posts and images here and receive an email reminder when our next Senior Salon Pit Stop is LIVE.

Show off your feature by adding the “I was featured at the Senior Salon Pit Stop” image to your post. Use this code:

You may also be featured on EsmeSalon as part of the Top featured posts.

These posts caught my eye last week! Please check back each week to see if your post is one of the ones that got a feature!

Shrimp Fried Rice with Pineapple shared by Not So Creative Cook

Sourdough Danish Buns shared by Lou Lou’s Girls

Rice Krispy Turkey Legs shared by Ann’s Entitled Life

Cajun Chicken Broccoli Alfredo from Flour On My Face

Come and meet your Senior Salon Pit Stop Crew.

Meet your SSPS Crew:

Melynda	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Estelle	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Linda	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Esme	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram

SSPS Is Hiring – are you interested in joining the Senior Salon Pit Stop Host Team? Please fill out our Co-Host Questionnaire

SSPS Co-Host Post

A few simple rules for the Senior Salon Pit Stop Link Party:

For every post that you share – make one comment on someone else’s post. Help make their day a bit brighter.

Unlimited sharing BUT we ask that you visit one other blog post for each link you share.

Posts can be on any subject that is family-friendly.

Posts with direct sales, shops, or affiliates must contain relevant post content.

That’s it! Come and join the fun and let’s make it worthwhile!

If you are looking for more fun places to link up your posts – check out our Ultimate Handy Linky Party List – check back often as it’s always growing. And if we have missed your Linky Party – please send me a message and we will get it added in!

Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!

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Home Matters Linky Party #554

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Welcome to the weekly Home Matters Linky Party

A great place to come, share your blog posts and make new friends.

We are so glad you are here with us each week.

I am so excited to be a part of the Home Matters Linky Party Team! I have been participating for quite some time and am eager to make some more contributions to this party. A little about me – I’m a Wife and Mom. My husband, four kids, 5 dogs and 75+ chickens (and counting) all currently live in the rural Montana. We are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime as we live out our dreams of being Homesteaders! Like the name implies – I love to make homemade meals every night of the week for my family. I care about what types of things we are eating and I like to try new things. This blog is all about sharing those journeys and adventures with you.

Now on to this week’s party! I can’t wait to see you there.

Meet the hosts!

Donna @ Modern On Monticello — Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Joy @ Days Filled With Joy — Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook Group

Estelle @ Homemade On A Weeknight — Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

My feature this week!

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

EACH HOSTESS SELECTS THEIR OWN 4 FEATURES EACH WEEK. THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 12 DIFFERENT BLOGGERS FEATURED WEEKLY.

IF YOU WEREN’T FEATURED ON MY BLOG THIS WEEK, YOU MAY HAVE BEEN FEATURED AT Love My Little Cottage , OR Days filled with joy. HOP OVER TO TAKE A LOOK!

My feature picks this week!

Country Sausage and Potato Breakfast Bake

shared by Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

Sweet Potato Bars

shared by Organized Island

Candy Corn Biscotti

shared by Cindy’s Online Recipe Box

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

shared by Scratchmade Food for Hungry People

Home Matters Linky Party Guidelines:

Please take some time to poke around and visit some of the other links.
Please take some time to check out your hosts and co-hosts on social media.
We appreciate the variety of blogs on the www; however, the Home Matters Party is for links on matters of the HOME. Please link accordingly.
We ask that you do not add other Linky Parties, Blog Hops, or Giveaways–unless you begin the party with a new project, recipe or post.
On the same note, please do not add links of an extremist, political or strong controversial nature. (The hosts and co-hosts read each and every blog post linked and will contact you directly if you have linked something that does not fit into the realm of the party.)

With your help, we can continue to grow the Home Matters Party! Thank you!

We are looking for Co-Hosts. Help us Rock this party!
If you are interested, please contact Donna at radforddesignstudio@gmail.com.

Link Up!

By joining the Home Matters Linky Party you are giving permission for all hosts and co-hosts to use and share any part of your post, including pictures, for party promotion, as featured posts, in party photo collages, on blogs, across social media, etc. All credits will be given to the original source.

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Thank you for joining in the fun and excitement at the Home Matters Linky Party. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. We look forward to chatting with you in the comments.

Happy Cooking,

Creamy Garlic Pasta & Steak

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Jump to Recipe

Sometimes you need your weeknight family dinner to be just a little bit fancy. Maybe you had a hard day or need to celebrate a smaller victory with your family. Maybe you just have a hankering for some delicious steak and a creamy garlic pasta. Whatever the reason to add this recipe to your weeks dinner menu, I am here for it – and you! This super simple recipe for Creamy Garlic Pasta & Steak is sure to satisfy your stomach and your soul!

You may recognize part of this recipe as it starts off with my Creamy Garlic Shells Recipe. I decided to use a slightly larger pasta – Fusilli – instead of shells for this recipe so that it could stand up to the chunks of steak. You could also use penne, rotini, or rigatoni.

Substitutes and Variations:

I have another version of this recipe made with chicken in place of the steak- Chicken & Creamy Garlic Shells. You make it basically the same way, just with more cook time. Also my family likes me to serve the chicken as a whole breast instead of cut up and mixed into the pasta. But that’s just preference, either way will work.

Suggestions for Sides:

I made a small Caesar side salad to go with this along with some simple garlic bread. Its a nice combination of flavors and covers all your bases. You could also do a roasted asparagus or green beans. Additionally, steamed broccoli and/or cauliflower tossed in some garlic butter would go nicely as well.

Tools that may make this recipe easier:

I would suggest using a grill pan to sear the steaks. If you don’t already have a grill pan in your selection of cookware I would strongly urge you to get one. They are so useful. From grilling proteins and veggies inside on cold days to making beautiful grill marks on hot sandwiches and on tortillas for Tacos or Quesadillas. You will use it way more than you think, I know I do.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

Creamy Garlic Pasta & Steak

A smooth garlic cream sauce over pasta with a delicious marinated steak

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Chicken, chicken breast, cream sauce, Garlic, garlic sauce, grilled chicken, lmarinated steak, marinated chicken, Pasta, pasta side dish

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Marinating Time 30

Servings

Equipment

1 Grill Pan

Ingredients

1½ lb Small Pasta
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Oil
3 tsp Garlic Powder divided
4 tbsp Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 cup Broth chicken or vegetable
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbsp Parsley Flakes

For the Steak

2 lb Steaks
2 cups Beef Broth
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Onion Powder
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
½ cup Olive Oil

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Add ingredients for the steak to a gallon sized zipper bag. Let marinate at least 30 minutes (up to overnight)
Start water boiling for the pasta.
In a stove top grill pan (or frying pan), over medium high heat, add marinated steaks. Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium and cover pan. Let cook another 5 minutes (or until steak is to desired doneness), Remove from heat and let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into pieces roughly the size of the pasta you chose.
In a sauce pan over medium heat, add oil, butter and two teaspoons of garlic powder. Once melted whisk in flour. Let cook for 3 minutes then whisk in broth, and salt. Cook another 3 minutes and whisk in heavy cream. Let cook another 3 minutes.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water. Return to pot away from heat. Add cut steak to pot as well.
Remove sauce from heat and stir in remaining garlic powder, and parsley. Pour over cooked pasta and steak, then stir to evenly coat.

I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!

Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:

AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS

Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!

A Dozen Soup Recipes #RecipeCollection

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Soup is a hug in a bowl – prove me wrong. Whether it is a cold winter night that you need to warm up from the inside out or a summer’s evening that needs a cozy night in. Soup is a year round meal for sure. There are so many ways to make soup – this is just 12 of them together so you can check out some tried and true and maybe new to you Soup Recipes.

A few key kitchen tools you may want to have to hand when it comes to making these Soup Dishes:

Soup Ladle – you really need a ladle to make serving soup the easiest it can be. The ladle helps you to capture all of the good stuff, while keeping a good ration between the “liquids” and “solids”.
Food Scoops – several of these soup recipes have meatballs (in a variety of sizes) and the best way to get uniform meatballs is with food scoops. You can portion them out and roll them up swiftly.
Stock Pot – when making soup you need a decent sized vessel to cook it in. I like to go for at least 8 qt size but 12 qt is better – this makes it easiler to stir.

And without further adieu – here are My Favorite Soup Dishes from the blog!

Beef Enchilada Soup – Soup is a must for homemade on a weeknight cooking. Soup can bring so much flavor in a short amount of time. I love to play with all sorts of classic dishes and flavors and turn them into flavor packed soup. And that’s exactly what I did with this Beef Enchilada Soup. A silky soup loaded with corn, tomato, jalapeno, black beans and delicious cheesy meatballs.

Creamy Italian Tortellini Soup – Some people, a few from my family, have a notion that soup can not be hearty enough to be the whole dinner. And those same people were proven wrong when I served up this very hearty Creamy Italian Tortellini Soup. It is a creamy soup loaded with kale, carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, sausage, and cheese tortellinis. Trust me, no one is walking away from their bowl hungry!

Dutch Oven Chicken Dumpling Soup – Fall is just around the corner and that means it’s time for cozy meals. And it doesn’t get much cozier than a hearty soup made in a Dutch Oven. There is something so delicious about making every piece of this soup in the same pot. While chicken breast is not always the most tender cut of chicken, but in this soup you add just the right combination of ingredients to keep it moist and tasty. Dutch Oven Chicken & Dumpling Soup is the perfect semi-homemade weeknight dinner.

Lasagna Meatball Soup – Soup is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. It’s so easy to give it huge amounts of flavor when you make it at home. And lasagna is another favorite thing for me to make – but it’s a bit much for a weeknight. So I put the two together and made this delicious Lasagna Meatball Soup. Using roasted tomatoes for the soup base and homemade beef meatballs – you and your family are really going to love it.

Pork & Kale Soup -Soup is such a great #weeknightmeal because it can be so hearty, but honestly so easy to make taste like you worked on it all day. This recipe for Pork & Kale Soup is perfect for the fall and winter months, when kale is naturally in season. When I say this is a warm hug in a bowl – I really mean it. Whenever I know a storm is coming, or even the snow, I plan to make this soup to warm up my family.

Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup– The amazing depth of flavor you get just taking the extra step of roasting the tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs with olive oil. And not just the flavor but the texture is vastly improved as well. This recipe for Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup is perfect for a blustery fall or winter day. The Italian sausage makes it hearty enough to be a whole meal – or what I like to call an #EntreeSoup.

Meatball Couscous Soup– This soup brings together some lovely Moroccan flavors in a delicious broth with scrumptious chicken meatballs. With so many bold flavors packed into this recipe, you do not actually have to do that much work. Meatball Couscous soup is going to be a big hit and makes for a perfect weeknight meal.

Tarragon Chicken Noodle Souup – If you aren’t familiar with tarragon – this is a great recipe to introduce yourself and your family to this delightful culinary herb. It has a sort of anise and pepper flavor to it, sort of a subtle licorice. It is used frequently in French cooking and goes so very well with chicken. This Tarragon Chicken Noodle Soup takes an average homestyle chicken noodle soup to the gourmet level with the great aroma and flavor of tarragon added in.

Chicken & White Bean Soup – A creamy hearty soup loaded with plenty of chicken, white beans and veggies – this recipe for Chicken & White Bean Soup is going to be enjoyed any night of the week. The simplicity of the ingredients is what makes it such and inviting dish. You can’t get much more “home cooking” then theses classic rustic flavors all in a hot soup.

Spaghetti & Meatball Soup – I didn’t think you could make the classic comfort food of Spaghetti & Meatballs even more homestyle – but turns out you can! Spaghetti & Meatball Soup is like a warm hug in a bowl of hearty goodness. The mini meatballs are the perfect addition to this tomato broth, along with some bell peppers and pasta. So if you are looking for an extra comforting, feels like home meal, this is the one for you.

Chicken Teriyaki Ramen – We are a soup all year kind of family and I think more people are than they might realize. There is more to soup than warming your belly up with its cold out, there is something about it making you feel warm from a hug. This Chicken Teriyaki Ramen is going to do just that for your family, no matter what time of the year you make it. The rich flavors of the soy, ginger and garlic mixed with the sweet tang of the teriyaki sauce is undeniable and the slightly jammy egg just sets it all off.

Chicken Tortellini Soup – Full of flavor hearty soups are the perfect cold weather weeknight meals that the whole family will enjoy. This recipe for Chicken Tortellini Soup is fairly simple to put together, with not a ton of active cooking going on. What makes this particular soup special is that it has not one but TWO unexpected ingredients – Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco Sause. You get that deep earthly flavor from the Worcestershire and a pop of heat from the tabasco for a great bite.

Hope you enjoyed my selections of Chicken Recipes – do you have a favorite? Which one will you be trying first?

Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:

AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS

Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!

Weekly Wrap-up & Senior Salon Pit Stop #384

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Welcome to Senior Salon Pit Stop #384

Welcome to this week’s Weekly Wrap-up and Blog Link-up.

What’s been going on at Homemade on a Weeknight?

I am going to frank with yall – I am tired! Its all I got to get this week’s post together. So I dont really have a story this week. But here’s a pretty photo of some carrots I picked from our garden.

What have you been up to this past week?

Just #ICYMI – one of the most popular recipes from the blog this last week was my Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

In case you missed it, here are the recipes that I shared to the blog this week:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/yumyumhungryhangoutandgiggles/

Show off your feature by adding the “I was featured at the Senior Salon Pit Stop” image to your post. Use this code:

You may also be featured on EsmeSalon as part of the Top featured posts.

These posts caught my eye last week! Please check back each week to see if your post is one of the ones that got a feature!

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili shared by Mommy Hates Cooking

Peanut Butter Pumpkins (No Cook) shared by Cindy’s On-Line Recipe Box

Blackstone Shrimp Fried Rice shared by That Guy Who Grills

Loaded Baked Potato Soup (CopyCat Recipe)r from Join Me In the Kitchen

Come and meet your Senior Salon Pit Stop Crew.

Meet your SSPS Crew:

Melynda	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Estelle	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Linda	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram
Esme	Blog	Pinterest	Facebook	Instagram

SSPS Is Hiring – are you interested in joining the Senior Salon Pit Stop Host Team? Please fill out our Co-Host Questionnaire

SSPS Co-Host Post

A few simple rules for the Senior Salon Pit Stop Link Party:

For every post that you share – make one comment on someone else’s post. Help make their day a bit brighter.

Unlimited sharing BUT we ask that you visit one other blog post for each link you share.

Posts can be on any subject that is family-friendly.

Posts with direct sales, shops, or affiliates must contain relevant post content.

That’s it! Come and join the fun and let’s make it worthwhile!

Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!