Oatmeal Breakfast in a Mug

One of the first recipes I tried out on Pinterest....oatmeal in a mug.  Again, I'm a sucker for easy recipes, and this was pinned as the "easiest breakfast ever!"  I had to try it.  Here's the pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/247486941993105776/

Easiest breakfast ever! 1/4 cup oats, 1 egg, 1 tsp brown sugar, handful blueberries, splash of milk, dash cinnamon. Mix it all up. Stick in coffee mug in microwave for 2 minutes.

 

 

 

 

It was super easy to mix up and I was pretty excited to see how it turned out.  After just two minutes in the microwave, it was ready.

 

It. Was. Disgusting.

I thought it would at least be okay, but I was wrong.  The texture grossed me out - it was kind of spongy and it was obvious that there was a whole egg in there.  The only good part was the fresh blueberries and I had to pick those out if I wanted to eat them.  I ate maybe half of it before I talked myself into throwing it away - I don't waste food very often!  Unless you're starving and stranded at home with only these 6 ingredients and a microwave with you, don't make this.  (Notice, the pin isn't mine because I deleted it from my "FOOD" board)

 

The Last Word: Grossest breakfast ever!

"Mirror Mirror"

"Mirror Mirror" is a take on the classic tale of Snow White.  It tells the story of Snow White, or Snow, a girl who is locked up in a tower by her wicked stepmother.  Her father, the late King, disappeared several years ago in the forest near the kingdom.  Snow should be ruling the kingdom now, but the evil queen is instead.  At the beginning, Snow is rather shy and doesn't have a lot of confidence, so standing up to the queen is a challenge.  As the story progresses, Snow learns more about herself and her kingdom and fights to restore the happiness that it used to have when her father ruled many years ago.

I enjoyed watching "Mirror Mirror."  It's humorous, romantic, and magical.  The movie isn't too predictable and the characters were all unique and interesting.  The acting is good - better than I had expected.  The prince, played by Armie Hammer, is handsome and does a great job of acting out the parts where he's under the puppy love spell from the queen. :)  I love the seven dwarfs - they are probably my favorite characters!  They're charming and very funny.  If you're in the mood for a fairy tale with a happy ending, watch "Mirror Mirror!"

Snow White and the seven dwarfs

The Last Word: Sweet, silly, and comical chick flick

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Another easy recipe I tried is a Hellmann's Mayo recipe for parmesan crusted chicken:

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

(recipe courtesy of Hellmann's/Best Foods)

Serves 4

Oven 425 degrees F

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Hellmann's or Best Food's Real Mayonnaise

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lbs. total weight or about 5 ounces per breast

4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix. Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread mayo mixture evenly atop each.

Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. Tops will be browned and chicken will be incredibly juicy. Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.

 http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875411616/

I was a little messy in spreading the mayo/cheese mixture on the chicken and forgot to cut the parchment paper to match the pan size. :/

I used four large chicken breasts (some cut in half) and it was a good amount for 4 people - we ended up with one or two servings left over.  They were big enough that it took quite a bit longer than 20 minutes to cook them thoroughly.  I was a little worried that the mayo would make it really greasy and that it would just taste like chicken covered in mayo.  However, I was pleasantly surprised!  The chicken was really moist and was not too oily, either.  The Italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese hid the mayo taste and made it a nice meal.  Even the picky eaters in the family liked it. :) I fried some fresh squash to go on the side and cut up some fresh peaches, too.

The meal went over well - we're keeping the recipe!  Now that I've made it once, it would be a quick and easy fix for those busy days when there isn't much time to make dinner.

The Last Word:  Moist chicken - great for a quick meal

Pumpkin Muffins

Lately, I've been really interested in trying out new recipes that I find on Pinterest.  I'm especially drawn to easy recipes. :) So when I saw this on Pinterest, I couldn't resist:

"BREAKFAST! Pumpkin Muffins - only 2 ingredients. That's right, just the cake mix and the pumpkin. No oil, no eggs, no water, nothing else. Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins."

It was very easy to make - I simply used our mixer to blend the cake mix with the pumpkin.  But what I was expecting was a nice, traditional pumpkin muffin, reminiscent of Thanksgiving; it turned out to be a bland pumpkin cupcake.  To be honest, it was a disappointment.  They were still edible and were really moist, and it helped to put some powdered sugar on top, as well.  But tinkering with the recipe and adding some spices to the mix would certainly make them more enjoyable.  After doing a little bit of research on the recipe, I realized that this is actually a Weight Watchers cupcake recipe, so that explains why there's only a hint of pumpkin flavor.  The blog that the recipe originally came from suggests trying a chocolate cake mix, too - that might be better; you could make chocolate muffins for breakfast! :)

This is what they looked like when I made them.  They had a weird texture on top, but the middle was a normal muffin/cupcake texture.

The Last Word:  Easy-to-make muffins, but in need of some spice!

"Reality Check"

Warning: I LOVE cheesy romance novels (especially by LDS authors), so you'll be reading many reviews on books of this genre in the future!

I just finished reading Reality Check, by Karen Tuft last week.  I couldn't put it down - I loved it!  The book is somewhat based on the TV show, "The Bachelor."  In Reality Check, the main character, Lucy Kendrick, ends up on a reality TV dating show called "Soulmates."  It wasn't her idea to be on the show and she doesn't have expectations of making it very far.  However, things change and she finds herself developing feelings for the "Soulmate," Ethan Glass.  I can't say much more, or I'll give away the book!  The author, Karen Tuft, is LDS so some of the characters are LDS and one of the main morals of the story is standing up for what you believe in.

I really enjoyed reading Reality Check because, though it is fiction, I connected with Lucy.  She's put into situations where she's the only person with high standards, but she sticks up for herself anyway.  I look up to her because she takes risks of sharing her beliefs with others and then she benefits in the end.  The only thing I didn't like was the first chapter of the book - it isn't very well-written.  It almost seems like the author wrote the first chapter a few years ago before she polished her writing style.  But once you get past the first chapter, it's fabulous. :) I will for sure be rereading this book! (This one isn't too cheesy, by the way)

The Last Word: Perfect, clean, modern romance novel

"We Bought a Zoo"

Recently, my family decided to rent a new movie to watch in our home theater.  After a lot of searching and debate, we settled on "We Bought a Zoo."  The movie is based on a true story and is really inspiring.  It's about a single father, Benjamin Mee, and his two kids, Lucy and Dylan, who are looking for a fresh start after their wife/mother died 6 months ago.  They end up buying a house that's on the same property as a run-down zoo and have to update the zoo in order to re-open it.  The father and son have a stressed relationship because Dylan is a bit of a rebel and Benjamin struggles to understand him.  Lucy and her father are very close, in part because Lucy reminds Benjamin of his late wife.  The family of three creates a strong bond with the few workers left at the zoo and they all work together to try to get the zoo open again.

I'm SO glad we decided to watch this movie.  There is real emotion in this movie and it brings real emotions out of the viewers.  The acting is great, as well.  There are humorous parts to balance out the intense scenes and overall, it's just a good family movie.  It will soon be added to my list of favorite movies. :) The only fault with "We Bought a Zoo" was the amount of swearing and other bad language.  It had quite a bit for a PG-rated movie.  Other than that, I definitely recommend it!

My favorite quote from the movie:  "You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." ~Benjamin Mee

The Last Word: A good quality, inspiring family movie

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog, "The Last Word!" :) This blog will be filled with all kinds of reviews - from books, to recipes, to products, and so on.  I'm so excited to get started.  Feel free to leave me feedback and to give any suggestions in the comments.

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