Thursday Threading Blog Hop- come on over and link up!

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Joy over at Catharsis asked me to co-host her hop this week. So Welcome to Thursday Threading Blog Hop!  This is her 4th week of the hop. Thanks to all who continue to link up and welcome to new hoppers! Have fun threading from one blog to the next! 

This week's lucky and gracious co-host is Susie of SusieQTpies Scraps Of Life (spot #2).  (Thanks to Random.org for helping me in selecting our co-host).  And thank you again, Susie!!  

As usual, the rules are simple.  Just follow Joy in the (spot #1), and my blog SusiesQTpies Scraps of Life blog (spot #2) and then feel free to link up below.  Visit as many of the other blogs as you'd like and make sure you comment so they know you've visiting and/or following them. 

Strawberry Recipe Round up! Link up recipes with Gooseberry Patch

Time to link up anything Strawberry with the Gooseberry Patch link up! If you are stopping in today for the link up, leave a comment and say HI! I'd love to come visit your blog, too!
I'm sharing my Strawberry Margarita Jam! It is yummy.

It's time for shortcakes, quick bread, muffins, jam and so much more...thanks to everyone on our Page on Facebook who voted
for this fresh-picked theme!

Have a favorite recipe that calls for STRAWBERRIES?
Link up with today's Recipe Round-Up!

Here's one to inspire you from Mom's Favorite Recipes...
it's our Cookbook of the Week!

 
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Thanks to Michele Olson of Safety Harbor, Florida, who shared this recipe with us. It looks so elegant, but it’s a snap to make!

2 bunches spinach, rinsed and torn
1 pt. strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. sesame seed
1 T. poppy seed
1-1/2 t. onion, minced
1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. paprika
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. cider vinegar

Toss spinach and strawberries together in a serving bowl; set aside. Add the next 7 ingredients to a blender; gradually add vinegar, blending until thickened. Pour over salad before serving. Serves 8.

Link up YOUR strawberry recipes below and,
if you're joining this hop, link back here
by using our handy button below.

Quick and Easy Christmas Cookbook Giveaway with Gooseberry Patch Recipes

Welcome to another Gooseberry Patch cookbook review and giveaway! Most of their cookbooks are around 200 recipes and cost between $16-$20.  I have easily cooked at least 1/4 of the recipes in each book.  So for 40-50 new recipes I pay $20.   Such wonderful and tasty value for the money.

This month, as an Early Cookbook Reviewer for Gooseberry Patch, I bring to you the brand spankin' new Quick & Easy Christmas Cookbook. It will not be released for sale until Mid-June.  So you have a chance to get this hot cookbook in your hands before the general public! That is very exciting and I hope you win! The more entries you do, the greater your chance of winning. 

I did a poll a few weeks back to see which categories/chapters that you wanted me to cook from.  Here are the Chapters, a few of the tasty recipes and the winning 3 chapters with recipes! Enjoy.

1. Breakfast & Brunch- Creamy Cinnamon Rolls, Auntie Ruth's Shoo Fly Pie, Artichoke Squares, Yuletide Orange Smoothie, Brandi's Egg & Spinach Bake, Creamed Eggs on Biscuits
2. Snacks & Appetizers- Doodads, Chutney-Topped Brie, Feta Squares, Holiday Ham Cracker Spread, Dill Pickle Dip, Peanut Butter Popcorn, Warm Welcome Reuben Dip
3. Soups, Sides & Salads- Dad's Fried Stuffing, Beckie's Garlic Soup, Walnut-Parsley Pesto Linguine, Easy Cheesy Orzo, Quick Cream of Chicken & Leek Soup, Asparagus Casserole
4. Mains-Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken Rosemary Pizza, Trim-the-Tree Casserole, Fric-A-Dilli, Southern Sausage & Pintos, Spicy Baked Linguine, Cabbage & Noodles
5. Desserts- Cherry Christmas Pizza, Eggnog Cake, No-Bake Fruitcake, Man Bars, Eggnog Fudge, Licorice Caramels, Molasses Popcorn Balls, Grandma Ruth's Hot Fudge Sauce
6. Slow Cooker- Vegetable Beef Soup, Simple Stew for Two, Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup, Corn Pudding, Unfried Refried Beans, Tangy Ham Steaks, Coconut Curry Chicken, Chicken Cacciatore, Mediterranean Pork Tenderloin, Hoolipsey, Wacky Beef Roast, Citrus Party Fish

Continue reading to get the recipes and ENTER THE TASTY Cookbook Giveaway!

Dill Pickle Dip (printable copy)

Ingredients
8oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 c. sour cream
5-6 whole dill pickles, chopped
1 1/4 t. garlic salt or to taste
pickle juice (optional)
potato chips

Directions
Mix together all ingredients except chips. Stir in pickle juice to get the consistency you want. Cover and chill 24 hours. Serve with chips. Serves 6-8.

MY KITCHEN NOTES: I didn't read the directions before planning the dip so I made it on the day we needed to eat it.  It was VERY TASTY and I wondered why you needed to wait 24 hours to eat it. We had leftover dip so I covered it and put it in the fridge. I pulled it out the next day and WOW I then discovered why you should eat it the next day. It was even better after the ingredients had time to form together. Very tasty and we will make this again, and again and again.

Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu (click for printable copy)


Ingredients

2 tablespoons margarine
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
.87-oz chicken gravy mix
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. dry white wine or apple juice
1/4 c. deli ham, chopped
1/4 c. shredded Swiss cheese

Directions

In a skilled over medium heat, melt margarine. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until browned; drain. In a bowl, combine gravy mix, water, wine or juice and ham. Pour gravy mixture over chicken in skillet. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a broiler pan; sprinkle with cheese and broil until cheese is melted. Serve chicken with gravy mixture. Serves 4-6.

MY KITCHEN NOTES: I used butter instead of margarine. I also used a sweet red wine instead of the dry white.  This recipe would be great to use the leftover holiday ham for sure.  I've always loved Chicken Cordon Bleu but have never made it from scratch because I thought it was too much work.  Just a month ago we had some premade and I was making a comment on how it is too much work to make.  This recipe solved my problem because it is SO EASY to make and SO TASTY! Love it and will make it again and again.

 Coconut Curry Chicken (click for a printable copy)


Ingredients

6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast
14-oz can coconut milk
2 tablespoon yellow curry
cooked rice (click to get my Coconut Rice recipe which went PERFECT with this recipe)

Directions
Place chicken in a slow cooker. Mix together coconut milk and curry; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 4 hours, or on high setting for one to two hours, until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice. Serves 6.

MY KITCHEN NOTES: This recipe was extremely easy and tasty! Serve it with my coconut rice. It went  with it perfectly.

GIVEAWAY ENDED

1 copy of Quick & Easy Christmas

USA/Canada

Ends June 4, 2011

Mandatory Entry: Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect (right side bar) and tell me something that you like cooking around the Christmas Holidays. Leave your email address with this entry so you can be contacted if you win.

*Each entry below is a bonus. Do as many as you want. The more you do the greater your chance at winning. If an entry is worth more than ONE entry then you leave the same exact entry that many times more. So if it is worth two entries, leave that same entry twice.  GOOD LUCK! and Check back over the next 2 weeks for more recipes from this cookbook AND extra bonus entries*

BONUS ENTRIES:

1) Follow my blog via Twitter, Facebook, Email subscription or RSS Feed (Click link or find ALL on right sidebar.) Each with 2 bonus entries

2) Stop over at the Gooseberry Patch Blog and leave a comment on one of their blog post. Come back here and tell me which one so I can verify your entry.  This is worth 2 entries and you can do it as many times as you want.

3) Follow Gooseberry Patch on Twitter or Facebook. Tell them SusieQTpies Scraps of Life sent you. 2 entries each.  (IF you are already following them, still leave the comment and you still get the bonus entries)

4) Go check out my SusieQTpies Personal Recipes and leave a comment on any of them. 2 entries for each one you comment on and unlimited. Come back here and tell me which ones so I can verify your entry.

5) Two weeks ago I did a POLL so you could tell me which chapters to cook from.  IF YOU participated in that poll (Comments #1-45) you get 5 BONUS entries into this giveaway.  Leave a comment that you entered. 

Thanks for playing! The winner will have 48 hours to contact me once I email them that they won. Thanks to Gooseberry Patch for a copy of the cookbook to review and one to giveaway to one of my readers. My own tasty words and opinions are expressed here.

Strawberry Margarita Jam *Quick and Easy for the freezer

Strawberry Margarita Jam *Quick & Easy (click to go to printable copy)

Ingredients

2 c. fresh, mashed strawberries
4 c. sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Fruit-Fresh^® Produce Protector (optional)
3/4 c. water
1 (1 3/4 oz.) pkg. powdered pectin

Directions

1. Mash strawberries by hand and add in Fruit Fresh.
2. Add in sugar and lime juice.  Let it dissolve for 10-15 minutes.
3. Place water and pectin in a small pan and boil for 1 minute. Stir constantly.
4. Remove from stove and add in berries.
5. Stir for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add jam into freezer jars leaving at least a 1/2 inch unfilled.
7. Close and let it set at room temp for 12 hours.
8. You can eat this now or store in freezer.
Yields 4 cups.

Kitchen Notes
*I am not sure how long this jam last in the freezer but I have some in there from 3 years ago that I still pull out and use.  It taste as fresh as it did the day I made it.
*As a frozen jam, you can mix this into shakes, smoothies, ice cream, etc
* Let thaw over night to use the next morning. Wonderful for scones, muffins, toast, pancakes and more!
*If I'm in a hurry I just thaw it out in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time.  Stir and thaw until it is the consistency you want.
*This is the freshest, best strawberry jam, ever. I could eat it by the spoonful!

May is National Strawberry Month! So enjoy this tasty month. In Southern Illinois where I live it is the best time to pick strawberries. We've been out twice already picking very tasty berries.

Check out the Strawberry Spinach Salad, Strawberry Peach Smoothie and Happy Margarita, too! 

Friendly Wednesday Blog Hop! Come link up

Welcome to Feeding Four's Friendly Wednesday Blog Hop! I'm glad you're here!

 

*If you leave a comment to let me know how you are following me I will follow back!

 

How to Participate:

Follow the hostesses located in the first and second spots - Feeding Four (click to visit and get the blog hop button) and SusieQTpies Scraps of Life Blog (This is ME!). If you want me to follow you back, please leave a comment letting me know how you are following me and I will follow back. All my ways to follow are on my right side bar- Email, GFC, Facebook, Twitter and Networked Blogs.

• If you want, create a new Friendly Wednesday blog post on your own blog and be sure to use the button provided on the side bar if you want to!

• Enter your information into the linkup below.
  

• Follow all the other blogs you want. This is a great way to get more followers!

While you are here, check out my TASTY recipes in the tab labeled "SusieQTpies Personal Recipes" and giveaways on right side bar! Have a great day!

I Just Won 50 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

IF you don't use Swag Bucks to search online then you are missing out on free prizes. I've been using Swag Buck for over a year now and the gift cards roll in!

Super easy to do! Just click HERE to find out how! If you need help or have questions, let me know!

This morning I won $50 swagbucks! I usually win 10-12 at a time so I was thrilled to get $50.

I Just Won 50 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

Hybrid Review by Brian O'Grady

 HYBRID IS THE ULTIMATE POWER WORTH HAVING

IF IT COMES FROM THE ULTIMATE EVIL?

 

What sort of untapped abilities lie within the human brain? Could we summon the powers of telepathy, telekinesis or mind control if we only knew how? Dr. Brian O’Grady, a neurosurgeon, explores these intriguing questions in his pulse-pounding medical debut thriller HYBRID (The Fiction Studio; April 7, 2011).

“We have limitless connections between the nerve cells in our brains, yet we only use about 10 percent. Imagine if we could unlock our vast potential?” he asks. The key in Dr. O’Grady’s debut novel is a virus, which unleashes a chain of events in the same spine-tingling spirit of suspense as The Andromeda Strain and the X-Files.

Seven years ago, everyone died in the Honduran camp from the EDH1 virus, but Red Cross worker Amanda Flynn. Airlifted home to America, medical professionals tried to identify why Amanda survived when others died gruesome, agonizing deaths or became violent savages. Little did they know that anyone who survived…changed.

Since her escape from quarantine, Amanda has been in hiding slowly realizing the powers that could have only come from her infection. She can sense things, do things using her mind, things that are incredible and sometimes incredibly dark. But as she resists the pull toward violence, a new survivor has entered her consciousness – one without her willpower to block evil impulses. One who revels in blood lust and seeks to expand his mastery by forcing the end of human society. And he’s coming for Amanda.

A sharply written and engaging cast of characters adds to the fever excitement and suspense – Dr. Phil Rucker, the coroner whose Asperger’s syndrome comes complete with its own demons; Father John Oliver, the kindly priest whose faith is brutally tested; Rodney Patton, the homicide chief who sees what others miss; and Greg Flynn, Amanda’s father-in-law and the man whose moral center guides others in the storm.

 Scraps of Life Book Club Review

This week I had the pleasure of reading Hybrid by Brian O' Grady.  In a way, Hybrid is a medical thriller, reminding me of early Michael Crichton books of the same genre.  Hybrid has a very well-defined story line with an unlikely -and sometimes deadly- infected heroine.

As the story unfolds, we untangle the efforts of government agencies, scientists with agendas and a desire to be rich and famous, and several people just trying to stay alive.  This book is a high energy, fast-moving thriller with enough twists and turns to keep a Dean Koontz fan guessing, and flipping pages.

At this point in my book reviews, I usually point out the ways in which the book spoke to me, or how I might apply what I read and learned in my own life.  In this case, if I have to apply any of this to my own life, I am currently in hiding and sending this from an undisclosed location!  Hybrid is a thriller at heart, a nail-biter designed to keep you on the edge of your seat, and up past bedtime!

About the Author

Brian O’Grady (www.brianjogrady.com) follows in the tradition of Michael Crichton as a physician who brings his in-depth medical knowledge to his craft. A practicing neurosurgeon, O’Grady is a graduate of the University of New Mexico who completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic. His deep insight into the mysterious workings of the human brain brings HYBRID realistically to life.

A copy of the book was given to participate in the Booktrib Book Tour.  SOL Book Review contains our own tasty words and opinions.