Eggs in a Nest Recipe

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I needed something quick for dinner the other night, but I had very little in the fridge that I would normally put together. Then, seeing some leftover spaghetti noodles that had no sauce, I remembered seeing a recipe that cooked eggs in spaghetti noodles. It sounds weird, but it looked tasty in the picture. I looked and looked and could not for the life of me find where I had seen the recipe. So I decided to make up my own recipe. It turned out super tasty! Give it a try.

Eggs in a Nest
1 serving

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup leftover (pre-cooked) spaghetti noodles
2 eggs
1 oz shredded gruyere cheese
1 green onion, chopped
pinch of sage
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add noodles and fry until golden and starting to crisp if left sitting. Crack eggs over noodles. Cook until eggs are desired doneness, flipping if necessary. (I made mine over medium). While the eggs are cooking, sprinkle with sage, cheese, and salt and pepper. Remove to plate and top with green onion.

Sometimes being right is not my favorite thing

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I'm kind of obsessed with doing things the 'right' way. Writing my second book was nerve wracking at first because I had learned that there are 'right' ways to write a book. And if I know the right way to do something, it would be ludicrous to do it the wrong way, right?

But. That's not how writing works. First drafts are all kinds of wrong. First drafts are all the wrong stuff in the right place or all the right stuff in the wrong place and sometimes they're just the wrong stuff over and over and over again until you can get all that wrong out of the way and find the shiny right stuff buried at the bottom. Kind of like that scene in Labyrinth where the junk lady is handing Sarah all of her old stuff and Sarah finally has that Aha! moment and remembers all that stuff isn't want she wants anymore.

Image found here.

So in writing, sometimes doing it wrong works in  your favor. And in life, sometimes being wrong works in your favor, too, which was highlighted for me this past week by the one-and-only, glorious big box store, Walmart.

I've had bad experiences with Walmart changing my oil in the past, but this last week was crazy and I only had so much time to both do the grocery shopping and get the oil changed before driving the 60 miles to see my parents. So, I put my prejudices aside and went to Walmart. I drop off the car, do my shopping with three kids in tow, and come back to pick up my car. At which point, the Walmart employee informs me that one of the 'associates' broke the dipstick off in the "oil thing" (no--he didn't even know it was called an oil pan) and they couldn't get it out.

I would have to take it to a mechanic, he said. They'll reimburse me he said. No, there isn't anything in writing about that reimbursement thing, he said.

Well you can bet my arse I wasn't leaving until there was something in writing. So the shaking twelve-year-old employee wrote a note on my receipt, and then I drove it up to my parents house the next day (since it was already after 6pm), got a mechanic to get the old piece of dipstick out, and had him change the oil.

Walmart will not ever get my business for oil changes again. I wish I could say they would never get my business again, period, but in a town that only has Walmart and a grocery store, that just can't happen right now.

So I've got another moral for you tonight: Don't be afraid to be wrong. Sometimes it works out for the best.

(Thanks for the insight Chuck.)

Write new friends . . .

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I need to write every day.

I love to write. It soothes me. It gives me something to look forward to. It gives me purpose and direction.

Also, writing every day makes writing easier. I get into a rhythm. It gets easier to ignore distractions that call to me every time I sit down at the computer. Who needs Facebook? I get to write. This fun story--I'm in it and it's flowing and I don't need no stinking social media. Because these fictional people are at least as cool as the real people I know (but shhhh don't tell them that) (the fictional ones will get big heads).

I'll get by with a little help from my friends

Of course, there are those times when I try to write every day and it's not flowing. And then I feel like I have no purpose, no direction, and nothing to look forward to. There is no soothing. Those times suck. But luckily, they don't last either. Eventually you get out of those times, usually with the help of one of those non-fictional friends. Because non-fictional friends are cool like that.

The moral of the story tonight: Write new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold.

#2bitTues and #1lineWed

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I finally decided I needed to figure out what #2bitTues and #1lineWed were. I've been seeing them on my Twitter feed for ages now, and I knew it had something to do with posting lines from either books or writing, but I never participated because I wasn't sure on the details.

Here's what I found:

#2bitTues is run by Angela D'Onofrio (@AngDonofrio). Each week she posts a new "theme" for the hashtag and you put up a line from your current WIP (work-in-progress) that goes along with that theme. You can learn more here: http://www.angeladonofrio.com/between-the-lines/how-i-spend-my-week

#1lineWed is run by the Romance Writers of America's Kiss of Death Chapter (@RWAKissofDeath). Each week they post a theme for the hashtag on their twitter feed and you can post a line from your current WIP. I wasn't able to find more info than what's on their twitter feed, but the posts each week make the rules pretty clear.

So that means we get to play this game twice a week. How fun is that? A great way to find other talented authors to follow and to support them by retweeting and liking. Also a great way to dive into your manuscript and make sure you're putting in those punchy one-liners that make a novel fun to read. *Rubs hands together*

Here I go!

Along Came a Spider Free Halloween Printable

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I finally got around to decorating for Halloween this week. I made it a priority because if I waited another week, it just wouldn't be worth it. It takes way too much work to only have it up for two weeks.

Decorating for me is often a love/hate sort of thing. I love the crafting, the creative process, and the final result. But more often than not, the whole thing ends up being a time-suck because I try 400 things to get it perfect and it still doesn't look right.

This vignette took me the longest. I had spider webs up at one point, a hanging sparkly skeleton, a banner, and the fans that ended up elsewhere. And I kept adding things and moving things and it never looked quite right. So I tore it all down thinking I needed to start over. And that's when it hit me. . . all it needed was--less. I left it all off and liked it the best.

I put up some picture frames for this vignette and liked how it looked. But the frame still had a picture from my wedding in it, so I had to figure out something more spooky to fill it in.

I found a number of things I liked on Pinterest, including this cute framed saying. I couldn't find a printable at the time, so I had to make my own. (I found it later at houseofsmiths.com.) Lucky you! Because now you get mine for free.

I printed mine on green paper to match my pumpkin, but you can print it on whatever paper works for you! I should also note that my frame was 8x12, which is an odd size. I have three sizes for you -- 8x12, 8.5x11, and 8x10. Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Soup Recipe

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For the past two years, I have grown exactly one cherry tomato plant and one beefsteak tomato plant. Each of these has grown to be the size of a small giant, producing way more tomatoes than I know what to do with. This year, I found a recipe for cherry tomato salsa, and with one round of picking cherry tomatoes, came up with sixteen cups of diced cherry tomatoes. Anyone who doesn't can probably won't think that's a lot, but those of you who do--that's a ton for one picking, right? These tomato plants are out of control! My beefsteaks are starting to ripen, and hopefully I'll get a bunch to ripen all at once so I can make a batch or two of regular salsa. But, right now, I'm getting one or two a day, along with epic amounts of zucchini and squash, and I was stumped as to what to do with any of it.

We eat tomatoes on salads, but that's about it for fresh tomatoes. Then, last night, I was craving cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Not only is this combo tasty, but I can whip it up in under ten minutes. Which is perfect for a day like yesterday (let's not go there--it will get nasty, I promise). But, after searching through my pantry, high and low, I found that I was out of Campbell's trusty Tomato Soup! *Melodramatic swoon* Tragedy strikes.

Enter (stage left) my large bowl of tomatoes staring up at me from the counter. Aha! I thought. I can make tomato soup. Why had I never thought of that before?

Out came trusty Google (stage center, of course) where I found this recipe by the Pioneer Woman, whose recipes have never failed me before. But it called for canned diced tomatoes and canned tomato juice (do people actually keep tomato juice on hand?). It looked so tasty, I decided to wing it with what I had. And it turned out de-lish! The altered recipe is below.

Ingredients

1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
5 large fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups water
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions
Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook until juices are released. Add the tomato paste, water, sugar, bouillon cubes, basil (if using dried--if you're using fresh, add it with the cream), parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine, then heat almost to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Serve warm.

Patio Garden

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I finally got around to writing a prompt. We had done away with them in November and December because the holidays just get too hectic. But Leah has been putting them up again since Christmas and I made myself take the time today to write one. Mostly because the prompt was my idea. :) Leah already did hers and you can read that here.

He sat with his grayed head propped up with his hand, reading poetry, surrounded by friends. He couldn’t see me, with the sun using my window as a mirror to reflect his terraced apartment building. My face hidden by the reflection, I knew my presence would not intrude on his routine.

Every morning he came out, lovingly caring for the plants that were held by every flat surface of the tiny patio. Boxes he built himself rested heavily atop half of the short cement wall that protected the space. Pots of every shape and size lined up behind them. Squash, climbing beans, cabbage, limes—an assortment of life overflowed each one. Above the patio door, he had hung shelves that held spices, petunias, lettuce. Even the second-story window held a small testament to his green thumb.

I wondered as I watched him—a smile only touching his worn face as he trimmed and watered each day—what was his story? Was he a farm boy that lost his love long ago? An honored war veteran no longer needed by his country?

Each of my neighbors held a story. Some I thought I knew, some still remained a mystery. And that is why I watched. Trapped here, in my head, in my body, in my apartment I didn’t choose, they were my only connection to life outside these walls.