The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection by Wanda E. Brunstetter Book Review

Thanks to Barbour Publishing for the advanced copy of the book through Netgalley. All opinions are 100% my own. 

What's another week without reviewing an Amish cookbook? If you've been a reader of this blog for long, you know I am fascinated by the Amish and really enjoy their recipes, so I am always on the lookout for new Amish cookbooks. The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection is great because it is full of wonderful homemade recipes in all of the usual categories plus a few fun extras: Breakfast Foods, Snacks, Breads & Rolls, Jams & Jellies, Pickles & Relish, Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Desserts, Beverages and Miscellaneous. As you can tell, there is plenty to keep a home cook occupied. I love that throughout the book interwoven with the recipes are little facts about Amish life. Something that I really love about Amish recipes is that for the most part, they use ingredients that make homemade foods, I think that is really important in this time when there is so much processed food and so many people that are sick or have food allergies, I believe from the over-processing of food. With that said, every now and then there are a few convenience foods used, but I don't see a problem with using them minimally. Everyone has days when they don't want to put a huge effort into cooking because they just don't have the energy! Some of the more intriguing recipes include: Honey French Toast, Apple Pancakes, Overnight Breakfast Casserole, Granola Bars, Easy Dinner Rolls, Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread, German Style Green Beans, BBQ Sauce, Potato Soup, Chicken Dumplings, Lazy Wife's Dinner, Lemon Pudding Cake, Funny Cake and Easy Strawberry Shortcake.I can not stress how many fantastic recipes there are in this book. There are some that might take longer than others, but there are plenty of simple recipes for an inexperienced cook.

Throughout the book, you will learn little tidbits about Amish life ranging from Florida to Pennsylvania and many places in between. There are facts about Amish weddings, the hobby of quilting and how the Amish attend church. For someone who already is pretty immersed into learning about the Amish culture, these things won't come as a surprise, but for a newbie just learning about this culture, these are interesting facts about interesting people. I would still encourage people that already know a great deal about Amish culture to pick up this book for the fabulous recipes. Not only are there great food recipes, there are even some recipes in the miscellaneous section for homemade cleaners: laundry detergent, homemade air freshener and even fly spray! I think anybody who loves to cook or loves Amish culture (or both!) will be a fan of this book. I certainly am!


Connect with Wanda Brunstetter on Facebook
Connect with Wanda Brunstetter on Goodreads
Learn more about the author at WandaBrunstetter.com.


The Best of Amish Friends Cookbook Collection will be available on July 1, 2013.
You can pre-order the book on Amazon.com

Magazines.com- Find The Perfect Mother's Day Gift + Win a FREE subscription

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

I have always enjoyed magazines for as long as I can remember. There is just something about getting a new copy every month that is just tons of fun. I especially enjoy cooking magazines. I like that I can thumb through the pages and get many new ideas each month and even for each season and many holidays. It's neat to get a new perspective on something that really interests you in the mail each month. The cool thing about magazines is that there is truly something for everyone. Enter Magazines.com- the perfect place to search for just the right gift for your mom this Mother's Day. They have compiled a list of some of their selections that they think would make great Mother's Day gifts. If your mom loves to cook (like me!!!) you can buy her a gift subscription to Cooking with Paula Deen, Food Network Magazine Every Day with Rachel Ray. If she likes to craft there are several magazines she might like including Quilter's Newsletter or Creative Keepsakes. If she is a health nut you might consider Prevention or Fitness Magazine. There are also several women's interest magazines for the well rounded woman such as Redbook, Ladies Home Journal or Southern Living. The greatest thing about Magazines.com is that you will save a TON on these subscriptions (many are $10 or less) , yet you can send a gift that will keep on giving. In addition to the magazines mentioned above, there are even more listed on the website to choose from, all at great prices. Why not send mom something a little different this year?

Magazines.com wants to give on lucky reader the chance to receive a magazine subscription (up to $10) on them! Enter via the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Broken Wings (Angel Eyes #2) by Shannon Dittemore Book Review

About the book:

Giant angels with metal wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of darkness. And a girl who has never felt more broken.

Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again. He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl, and he’s downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle from sleeping, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon, Damien, from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.

Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question everything she ever thought was true.

Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.

But can she fly with broken wings?

*Disclosure- I was provided a complimentary copy of Broken Wings from the publisher via Book Sneeze. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.
My thoughts:

Last year I feel in love when I was able to debut Shannon Dittemore's debut novel Angel Eyes. I was impressed by the great writing and also the new spin on paranormal fiction featuring angels and demons. I was even more excited to find out that Angel Eyes was to be a trilogy and could barely contain myself waiting for Broken Wings to come out!  That day finally arrived and here I am again impatient for August for the final book in the triology, Dark Halo. I can not wait to see how this series ends!

Broken Wings picks up where Angel Eyes had left off. Main characters Brielle and Jake have graduated from high school and survived some pretty intense stuff (I don't want to be too detailed and spoil the first book for anyone who has yet to read it) In the second novel, Brielle's dad has begun seeing someone new named Olivia, who has Brielle on edge...is it because her dad hasn't been serious with anyone for as long as she can remember and she is jealous or does she have good reason to be weary? Brielle's dad has also become a regular drinker adding more stress to Brielle's already pretty crazy life. The Halo that Jake gave her is not taming her nightmares as they once did. What does this mean? Broken Wings is full of questions and characters and interweaving of stories that I think will be concluded in the final novel of the trilogy. Sometimes the books in the middle of these series can be somewhat boring and drawn out, but not Broken Wings. Dittemere's writing style is just so inviting and addicting. She knows how to keep the reader turning those pages. The writing is so descriptive and vibrant that I constantly keep catching myself thinking I would love to watch this trilogy unfold  in a series of movies. I can only hope that it happens! I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys paranormal fiction or the young adult genre. It will not disappoint.

Connect with Shannon Dittemore on Facebook
Connect with Shannon Dittemore on Twitter
Connect with Shannon Dittemore on Goodreads
Shannon Dittemore's Website

Conscious Box Free Natural Cleaning Kit With Any New Subscriptions Or Gift

Conscious Box just announced a new promotion today! If you start a new subscription and enter the coupon code FREEKIT at checkout you will receive a Free Natural Cleaning Kit ($20 value) You can choose from a classic box, vegan box or gluten free box and there are also options for how long you want your subscription to be. Conscious Box would make an excellent Mother's Day gift and you can keep the cleaning kit for yourself so definitely a good buy! 

Hurry! There are less than 7 days left to order the May Conscious Box of your choice!

Ivanka Trump Perfume Review

*Thank you to People Style Watch for the complimentary perfume. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own. 

I was so excited to be one of the first to try Ivanka Trump's new perfume. I know a lot of people like to have one signature scent, but I like to mix things up and have several to choose from. Besides, there are some scents that are better suited for a night out and then there are some that are more suited to daily use. I think Ivanka Trump's new fragrance is definitely an every day wear kind of perfume. It is light, but full of fantastic notes. The strongest notes are floral including jasmine, rose and peach blossom. This boquet of florals pairs nicely with Italian bergamot, lush apple and pink peppercorn. To top things off there is just a spicy hint of golden amber, patchouli, smooth cedarwood and vanilla brings it all together. I love that it is a nice floral scent, but that some of the more exotic notes add just a little bit of spice, lending to the perfume not being overly sweet, making it truly a floral oriental fragrance. Ivanka Trump is the perfect scent for daily wear, especially for spring and the upcoming summer season!

Connect with Ivanka Trump on Facebook
Connect with Ivanka Trump on Twitter
Ivanka Trump Fragrance Website

Ivanka Trump's new fragrance is available at Macy's and Nordstrom.

Live Below The Line Challenge

Last year I learned about the Live Below The Line Campaign via Bzzagent. I am always looking for ways to help and I think that the world wide hunger crisis really needs our attention. A few dollars really can go a long way! Last year, I attempted to raise money and didn't get a single sponsor. This year I am committed to try again and hopefully have a few people donate and help me and my cousin meet our goal and contribute to Unicef- The United States Fund. The reason we chose this charity to "play" for is we wanted to see the funds we raised be put to use right here in the United States. There are 1.2 billion people worldwide who live below the poverty level and may not know when their next meal will be. Please consider donating, even if it's just $5, every cent counts! My cousin and I set a goal of $250. If we get 25 people to donate just $10 we will have met our goal and helped feed thousands of people. Be a part of this remarkable campaign by donating below. Thanks to anyone who considers doing so!!

As part of the campaign, we are taking somewhat of a walk in poverty stricken people's shoes. We were allotted $7.50 to spend to buy 5 days worth of groceries. That's for breakfast lunch and dinner. I ended up getting oatmeal, ramen noodles, a bag of oranges, a couple of pudding cups and a dozen eggs. It was not an easy shopping trip for me and it has not been an easy week eating. I am on day two and I am definitely feeling hungry a good majority of the day. I have been drinking a lot of tap water to try and fill up a little bit. I know that one week is no big thing in the grand scheme of things. There are people that have to live like this every week. Let's help see to it that less of them have to do so.

I will be writing daily in my diary if you are interested in keeping up with my journey.

If you feel led to donate, you can do so at my team's Live Below The Line page.

Amish Cooks Across America by Kevin Williams and Lovina Eicher Book Review

*Disclosure- Thanks to NetGalley & Andrews McMeel Publishing for the Advanced Reader's Copy. I was not required to render a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own. 

There is just something about the Amish culture that fascinates me. Sometimes I think I was born into the wrong era in time and I long for less electronic addiction surrounding me (and including me), more walking and less car riding, more time with family and friends and more of a feeling of community. On the other hand, I couldn't be writing this blog without technology, still had I not known it existed surely I could live without it. The Amish have continually lived a simple life even in these modern times and I think we can learn a lot from them about community, family and...of course...great cooking.

I have been reading Amish fiction for quite a long time and I have been in search of a great Amish cookbook for a while because I love creating recipes at home from scratch. This is one area that I guess a few Amish have given in to modern conveniences because several of the cook books I have looked through use ingredients like Velveeta or cream of whatever soup, which was disappointing to me. Amish Cooks Across America by Kevin Williams and Lovina Eicher is exactly what I have been searching for in an Amish cookbook. It is full of the from scratch recipes my heart so desires. Not only that, I was kind of schooled in the Amish culture. Naively, I thought that most Amish people settled in Pennsylvania and that they all shared the same types of recipes. Not so on either account. Amish Cooks Across America is not only full of great recipes, it is full of wonderful insight about many different Amish settlements, all the way from Maine, to the deep south of Texas (I mean deep, like almost Mexico deep) and even in places outside of the US like Canada & Central America.. It ties together the places of settlement to the types of food that are popular with the Amish in each different region. This book points out that the Amish are the original Locavores, as evidenced by their menus reflecting where they live. In addition to the wonderful insight the book provides, there are also some beautiful pictures.  If you are interested in Amish culture or love to get in the kitchen and create some wonderful recipes, this is definitely the book for you!

This book points out that the Amish are the original Locavores, as evidenced by their menus reflecting where they live.

Some recipes highlights:

• Blueberry-Lemon Buttermilk Muffins
• Potato Chowder
• Homemade Baking Mix
• Apple Bread
• Hot Fudge Sundae Cake
• Delicious Green Beans
• Fresh Green Chili Salsa
• Breakfast Casserole
• South Texas Rice
• Homemade Yogurt
• Sweet Potato Surprise Cake
• Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Amish Cooks Across America will be available for purchase on May 28th, but can be pre-ordered now at Amazon.com. Fellow home cooks, this is a must have for your cookbook library!