Book Club Day 1

The Historian

By:Elizabeth Kostova

  

 I thought it would be interesting to start up a kind of book club/book review on my blog. But lets get real; this is really just to get me into reading again... 

So I have quite the collection of books but never have the patience to actually read them. Plus it doesn't help me that there is a Half Price Book Store just 10 minutes from my home. So to get myself motivated to start reading again and actual be able to say I read that book and it was good/bad.

I am hoping that this post will motivate others that are having the same problem. The book that I am starting with will be the one above. Let me give you a small intro into this book. The following is coming straight from the back of the book:

"Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes and adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe -- in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world."

Now as a reader tell me that doesn't sound so awesome! I found this treasure in the clearance section of Half Price Books for only $2.00 US. Yes, you read that right. The book retails for $9.99 US. Oh yeah did I get a steal! 

This book interested me the most because it sounded like a mix of Anne Rice, Dan Brown, and maybe a little Stephen King. Which are all of my all time favorite authors. 

So if you are reading and are interested in this book; go ahead and pick it up. I will be posting blogs after every 10 chapters about what is going on so far in the story. I would love if you read along with me. If anyone sees this post and has read this book please post in the comments about what you thought of the story.

Thanks for reading.  

The Seven Deadly Sins (Anime Version)

Review on The Seven Deadly Sins (anime version)

 So I stumbled upon this show once I opened Netflix to watch something. This is a Netflix Original...but I guess in terms of "original" they must of bought a contract out to dub the show and show it on Netflix first. The details aren't available to me but that is what I am assuming.

Here is a little information regarding the show.

This was originally a manga in Japan that was shown within the Weekly Shonen Magazine. The author and illustrator is Nakaba Suzuki. Most of his work is shown within Shonen Jumps/Shonen Magazines. The Seven Deadly Sin's is one of the few that he has created. I believe he has about a 6 or 7 manga. 

Obviously the anime may be slightly different from the manga but don't take me up on that. I have not been given the chance to locate and read them yet. Here is what you need to know about the story.

The Seven Deadly Sins were an active group of "Holy" knights. Now I put the "holy" in quotations mainly because after watching the show I believe that the Sins were way out of the "holy" knight's league skill wise; but back to the information. They reside in the region of Britanna. The Sins were disbanded after they were supposedly plotting to overthrow the Liones Kingdom. Their defeat was at the hands of the Holy Knights, but rumors still spread that they were still alive. Ten years go by, and the Holy Knights stage a coup d'etat and capture the king to become the new, tyrannical rulers of the kingdom. The 3rd princess starts out on a quest to find and bring together the Seven Deadly Sins in hopes to rescue her father and the kingdom.

There are many different characters within this anime, but trust me you will learn about each and everyone of them by the end the show.

Let's start with one of the two main characters. So I don't want to give away his name mainly because it will rune the first episode before you watch it. He is the young owner of the Boar Hat bar. His great skill is selling awesome ale, but his weakness is horrible cooking. The second main character is a beautiful young girl named Elizabeth. She just shows up at the Boar Hat bar in a huge rusty armor suit. When the bar owner asks what she was doing; she explained that she was looking for the Seven Deadly Sins because she needed their help.

Now I wish I could explain more, but the story starts right at the first episode. This leaves me with very little room to tell more because I could give it away. However, I can tell you all the names of the people that you will see in the show.

1. Meliodas
2. Hawk (bar owner's pet pig)
3. Merlin
4. Diane
5. Gowther

You won't see the characters in that exact order, but I will say that 4 out of the 5 will be members of the Seven Deadly Sins.



I wish I could explain more about the series (ONLY ONE SEASON!!!! D'X). You will just have to take the chance and watch the show. It is for sure one of the best I have ever watched. I hope that you enjoy it as well.

Let me know what you think of the show in the comments. If I missed anything please let me know!

Garlic Basil Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

Garlic Basil Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

I apologize for the fact that I was only able to get one picture of the chicken. When I attempted to pull the chicken out of the crock pot with tongs (you insert the tongs into the chicken to lift it from the breast bone) the chest bong slipped right out... So unfortunately, the "result" picture was a no go.
However, I can guarantee that this recipe is really good! Now bare with me on the amounts of seasoning that you will need. You can change it to how you would like it of course.

Ingredients
1 whole Tyson chicken
1/2 stick of butter
1 large garlic clove or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp basil paste/2 or 3 finely chopped basil leaves

1. Take some aluminum foil and ball the up into about palm size. You will need about 9 aluminum foil balls (depending on size of crock pot).
2. Place the aluminum balls into the bottom of the crock pot.
3. Take the chicken out of it's wrapping and wash it with cool water.
4. Remove the bag of giblets from the inside and throw it away (unless you like that stuff...keep it).
5. Place the washed chicken on a cutting broad and pat it with a paper towel to take off some of the water.
6. Mix together the basil, garlic, and butter together. If the butter is too hard, stick it in a bowl and microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
7. This is where you will get a little messy. With your hands, gather up some of your seasoning mixture and rub it all over the chicken. Include under the skin of the breast.
8. Once the chicken is fully covered and you have used all the seasoning, place the chicken on top of the aluminum foil balls.
9. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
10. Once the chicken is done, use some tongs and a knife to take off parts of the chicken (breast, wing, leg, etc.)
11. Serve and enjoy!

Now I know you are all wondering why the aluminum foil balls...well as the chicken cooks in the crock pot the fat and juices will drip down into the area that the chicken isn't touching. If you would like you could turn the drippings into gravy. I didn't get the opportunity to, but the next time I make this recipe I will definitely have to try it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. I kind of just whipped it up when I saw the whole chicken was on sale and let me tell you there are A LOT of leftovers. So a delicious salad for lunch the next day at work would be yummy!

Semi-Homemade Chicken Wings

Semi-Homemade Chicken Wings

This recipe came about on just a quick fix with what I had around the house. I originally wanted to cook the wings in the crock pot but I didn't have any time seeing that the chicken was still a little frozen. Bad on my part because I forgot to take them out of the freezer with enough time to defrost...

That is what I am making the first step to this recipe. DEFROST THE CHICKEN. It is fine if you don't but plan ahead some extra cooking time to make sure that the chicken is cooked through all the way.

Here is all the things that you will need to make this dish.

1 or more packs of Tyson Chicken Wings (I only purchased the wings no drums)

Baking Powder

Black Pepper

Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce in Buffalo (or whatever sauce you prefer)

 A baking sheet (or a few if you have a lot of wings)

Aluminum foil

Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Paper towels

A small mixing bowl & A large mixing bowl

Tongs (or any kitchen utensil that will help you flip the hot wings)

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

2. Rinse off your chicken wings with water.

3. Pat your wings with a paper towel to remove some of the moisture/water. Set your wings aside on a plate.

4. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

5. In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup of baking powder with a 1/2 tsp black pepper.

6. Lightly coat your chicken wings with this mixture and pat it in.

7. Shake off any access and place on the lined baking sheet.

8. Stick the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes.

9. Once the 30 minutes is up, change the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes.

10. Take the chicken out of the oven and flip them over. Place them back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes. *Please note: That the cooking time may vary if the wings are frozen. Please add an additional 15 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.*

11. Pull the chicken out of the oven. In the large mixing bowl, add some chicken pieces and your preferred amount of sauce. 

12. Lightly toss the chicken around in the mixing bowl. If you are uncomfortable with lightly tossing, stir the chicken around in the sauce until they are coated with it.

 13. Serve up the dish and enjoy!

 *Please note: The chicken will be hot.*

My spouse really enjoyed them. If he is pleased with these wings they must be good. He is what you would call a wing exporter. Wings are taken very seriously in this household and I hope that you will enjoy them as well. If you recommend an sauce recipes or other versions of making delicious wings please them in the comment section of this post. Thank you for viewing my recipe everyone.

WELCOME EVERYONE!!!!

Welcome to all visitors!

Thank you for stopping by my blog page (even if you were just surfing the internet). I would like to introduce myself. My name is Anissa and I am a mother of one adorable little boy. I do have a spouse that will also be participating in my blog posts. Food, anime/manga, video games, and comics are just the tip of what I am interested in. These will also be some of the topics that will be included on this site. Lets take a quick look at what to expect with those topics shall we.

For starters the food part. Everyone loves food and if you don't I am sorry that you don't enjoy such a wonderful part of life. Making some delicious and creative dishes are my specialty. Usually baking is the easiest for me to do and teach/show others how to do; but I will be dappling in the main course type dishes for all my viewers. In addition to the page showing you how to make them, I will try to post a video that will assist with those who learn better visually. But don't be upset. This will not just be a food blog like so many others. Next topic is coming up.

Anime/Manga are a huge genre of movies, TV shows, and books. My spouse and I have grown up watching and reading this genre of entertainment our whole childhood. Here we will be sharing our views on new and old anime/manga. There are too many shows and manga out there; and for someone like me who works full time, I don't have time to look up about every single one before watch/reading them. Here viewers will get a small taste of what to expect and if they might be interested. If there is an anime/manga that a viewer recommends please let us know and we will gladly take a look at them. We will also include any anime conventions that we might attend. There will be a review; as well as, A LOT of pics. We enjoy attending as many as we can, but our son is still to small to go too far from home. So we will have to review any that are close to our location. However, once baby boy is old enough we will be able to travel a little further (we are hoping). Now off to the next topic!

On to video games!! Woohoo!! This is something that is fun and easy way to get your family and friends together. If you are someone who prefers to play alone that is OK too. These reviews we will just be discussing some of the games that are fun in whatever genre they are in. For example, if the game is a little too violent, we would recommend not to playing it when any children are present in the room. However, we will also include family-friendly games as well and to add to those you would be surprise what silly looking family games can bring together your friends. A little alcohol and everyone has some fun...wait don't take that to heart. I don't condone irresponsible drinking. I'm just say that even when you don't expect something to be fun; once you have the people you enjoy being with fun just happens. Now we can go to one of the topics that my spouse loves the most.

COMIC BOOKS/NOVELS!!! This will be one very controversial topic. By that I mean, there will be long discussions include any viewers that would like to join in. But I ask that you don't start a rude or insulting discussion on this page. All views from others are respected here. It is interesting to get everyone's minds running in debates that are as vast as comic books/novels. I will also try to include good comic books shops to visit and/or places online that are trust worthy to buy comics from. Believe me when I say that I have run into some shady online accounts that lie about what they are selling. This way anyone who runs into this page and is new to the comic book scene will be an expert on comic book buying...if that is even a thing. I would have been ecstatic if I found something like this back when I was looking for gifts for my spouse! So I am hoping this might help others.

Now I will try to put in reviews on movies as well. Movies are a hard topic to review because so many people like and view them differently. That is total fine. The reviews that will be posted here will include all the different aspects of the movie; and what my spouse and I liked and disliked. We aren't people who see a movie and think we LOVED IT or we HATED IT. Movies are always reviewed as the extremes of TERRIBLE or INCREDIBLE. Oh please... 

To conclude this "well thrown together welcome message"...I would like the viewers to know that this is a place to meet new people that like the same things you do. I know that there might be some arguments in regards to some of the topics because when isn't there; but I ask that no one insults are disrespects anyone and their opinion. It is their opinion for a reason. On a nicer note, if anyone would like us to review something please leave a comment and we will try to review as many as we can. Thank you for coming and taking to time to read this crazy long post...I know I just like to ramble sometimes...