Thank Benjamin Russell Jr. for Sweatshirts

I freely admit that when the temperature drops into the 30's outside, I wear a sweatshirt and sweatpants inside. Yes, I'm cold-natured since I've lived most of my life in a hot climate.

Even though I have central heating, I keep the thermostat at 69 or below so my wardrobe of sweatclothes gets trotted out. I have colorful shirts but mostly navy, gray, and black sweatpants.

You may laugh that I follow fashion "rules" when it comes to sweats, but why not be stylish if one can be stylish in sweats.

This morning when it was below freezing, I said to Darling Hubby, "I don't know who invented sweatshirts and pants, but I'd like to thank them.

Of course, that started me on the research trail of whom to thank. As it turns out, it was Benjamin Russell Jr., a 1926 football player who was tired of itchy wool jerseys and had an idea for an all-cotton practice football jersey.

He went to his father who turned Junior's idea into reality. Thus Russell Athletic was born with the production in 1930 of the crew neck sweatshirt. 

Of course, the label sweat was attached to the cotton jersey shirt because men who wore it played football—one could justifiably call it iron man football back in those days—and they sweated.

TODAY'S SWEAT CLOTHING

If you have a sweatshirt with a triangular piece set in at the neckline, then you have a traditionally styled sweatshirt. 

In today's world, that triangle of cloth, originally meant to collect perspiration and to keep the neckline from stretching out, is often missing. 

Most sweatshirts are loose-fitting garments with long sleeves and a crew neck,and they're still designed for warmth, and the best, in my opinion, are 100% cotton. 

Russell Athletics still makes and sells a quality sweatshirt and pants. Darling Hubby has some Russell Athletic wear that is about 10 years old, and the garments still fit well, retain their shape, and are soft and comfortable.

WOMEN AND SWEATS

Ironically, the first pair of sweatpants for women was introduced in the 1920s by Émile Camuset, the founder of Le Coq Sportif, who saw them as pants a woman could wear for comfort and ease.

Yet, it seemed to take a man "inventing" them for men for them to become commonplace. Was it that the idea didn't cross the Atlantic, or perhaps the French design was different from the American design?

Now the Fashion Police deride any woman who appears in public in sweats. Personally, if I'm wearing sweats and need to go to the store, post office, etc. 

I do not hesitate to appear in public. In fact, if I lived in a cold climate, I probably wouldn't wear anything but sweats 24/7.

In the 1960s, sweatshirts began sporting more than a university's name. Slogans, mottos, and graphics began appearing on them.

I found this "Booktrovert" sweatshirt on sale today at Amazon for $15.99 and couldn't resist ordering it.

In the late 1970s, bright colors began to be offered in sweats, and women adopted them immediately.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I love my sweats in the winter, and I love that they are offered in every size range because I wear a petite, and it's so hard to find pants short enough for my petite size, and long enough for my model-height daughters. Sweatclothes manufacturers do a good job of this.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

February 2025 - 99¢ Sale Book

Good Winter Morning to you!

Here on the Texas Gulf Coast, it's 32° F. But wait, it's going to get even colder with mid-twenties forecast for tonight. 

That means it's great for staying inside, under a warm blanket, and reading.

You might want to stock up on ebooks because this winter storm hitting the country is going to hang around a few days.

I know there are a lot of 99¢ sale books so take advantage of that.

The ebook edition of SCENTS AND SENSUALITY, one of my most popular romantic comedy novels is on sale this month.

I've been reading the AI-generated summary of what reviewers say. I guess this was done to aid readers who don't have the time to read individual reviews. For this book, here is the Amazon AI summary of reviews:

Customers enjoyed the book. They found the story clever and enjoyable, with a background story about creating perfumes. The book included humor and action, making it a great romance read for those who enjoy humor. Readers appreciated the well-researched storyline and felt the characters' reactions.

ABOUT SCENTS AND SENSUALITY

Perfumer Amanda Whitfield no longer sees the science geek when she looks in her mirror—thanks to the makeover her best friend gave her.

But inside she still feels like that geeky girl. 

She knows all about the Science of Sex Appeal, in a purely intellectual way, but when it comes to a practical application of the knowledge, as in Romance and Sex, Amanda draws a blank.

Desperate for a date to her cousin's wedding, Amanda, follows her best friend's advice to portray an empty-headed hottie whose bra size is a bigger number than her IQ. She'll do whatever it takes to get a date for her cousin's wedding because there's no way she'll go without a man on her arm.

Enter a matchmaking mom with a son to marry off. Computer genius Harrison Kincaid is fed up with his mother's crazy schemes. He's determined to teach her a lesson, but, first, he must deal with her latest prospect, Amanda Whitfield. He hatches a plan to ensure that Amanda will kick him to the curb.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

For only 99¢, heat up your stormy winter evening with this comedy of errors romance. Happy reading!

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Review - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry - Netflix

I watched the most delightful movie last night. When I say delightful, I mean that it had interesting, compelling characters, an emotionally moving plot, and a setting that, if you're a book lover, you'll adore.

The story is about love and loss and new love and new loss and the heartbreaks, challenges, and triumphs along the way. In other words, it's about life—in this case, a life lived well.

Oh, and there's a bit of mystery too which I knew the answer of immediately, but you may not. However, when you find out what took place and why, you'll see that it's true.

I laughed, I cried, and I immediately texted my daughter to tell her to watch it. Now I'm telling you.

The film was a 2022 American comedy drama with the screenplay written by Gabrielle Zevin who also wrote the book on which the movie is based.

Directed by Hans Canosa, it stars Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale, Christina Hendricks, David Arquette, and Scott Foley. Actually, I watched the movie to see if Nayyar had managed to get  a role where he wasn't the comic relief—usually the rather crude comic relief.

I'm happy to report that the movie and his performance were wonderful. 

I'm always a sucker for any movie about booksellers, bookstores, writers, readers, and books. I really enjoyed this one. If you have the same love for anything to do with books, watch this. If you're not a Netflix subscriber, you can rent it on Amazon or some of the other streaming services.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

It's rare to find a movie like this. In fact, I'd say this is family viewing except for a couple of scenes. Let's call it PG13. Watch and enjoy.

Sign up for I LOVE READING, Joan's free newsletter.

Monday Magic - Free Computer Virus Check App

When you receive a URL in an email or message, do you dither about it and wonder if you should delete it, open it, or just leave it alone?

That happens when I get jokes from a friend. It seems to be legit, but people can get their computers hacked, and the email that goes out is a lure to get someone to click it. Then your computer is also hacked.

If you're tempted for whatever reason to click a link or go to a website you don't know, the best practice is to check out the link, the file, or the website with VirusTotal, this week's app you should consider using.

Their mission statement is: "Analyse suspicious files, domains, IPs and URLs to detect malware and other breaches, automatically share them with the security community."

This free—for non-commercial use—app is easy to use. When the home page opens, you'll see the search bar at the top where you can enter a URL or IP address. In the middle of the page, you'll see the selections: File, URL, Search, and a box below to Choose File.

VirusTotal is like a second opinion to your antivirus software.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Anything that helps you deal with the scams and tricksters out there is a good thing. Sign up for a free account today.

Sign up for I LOVE READING, Joan's free newsletter.

Sunday Thoughts - Weather Lore

Yesterday, my brother Vernon and I were talking about how weird the weather has been this year. Eighty one day and forty the next. Rain, snow, tornadoes, and all the other anomalies.

That led us to memories of our grandfather who had an old saying about weather to fit every occasion.

You see, our grandfather was 100 years old when he passed. My mother was his only child, and she was born when her parents were in their forties.

They were from the 19th century, and she was from the Roaring Twenties. It's mind-boggling to think how my grandparents were born a decade after the Civil War ended. They saw 2 world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and from horse and buggy to astronauts.

My mother wrote about it all in her memoir, Memory Lane, which I helped her put together and publish in 2008. I included a chapter on Weather Lore in the book. Today, I thought I'd share a little from the book which is still available in print on Amazon.

EXCERPT, Memory Lane: My Sentimental Journey

"I greatly admired my father. I remember how he had pithy little sayings to fit every occasion, and they always sounded wise and wonderful. What really amazed me though was his wealth of weather lore. Remarkably, he seemed able to accurately predict what Mother Nature would do.

"This was back in the days before CNN and The Weather Channel so everyone was more in touch with the elements and the earth. People had to depend on their ability to predict weather so there were many imaginative ways to do so. Here are a few of my father’s sayings about weather."

(1) Thunder in February means there will be a cold spell or a frost the same number day in April.

(2) If the weather fairs off at night it won’t stay that way very long.

(3) Thunder before seven; rain before eleven.

(4) A ring around the moon means it will rain within twenty-four hours.

(5) Early Easter, late spring. Late Easter, early spring.

(6) Rain the first three days of the beginning of the month means there will be more rainy days than clear days in that month.

(7) If you see lightning in the north, look for rain within forty-eight hours.

(8) Dandelions blooming in April means a wet July.

(9) Rain on June 1 means pecan trees won’t bear.

(10) Big wooly caterpillars appearing in late summer means a hard winter ahead.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

By the way, that's a photograph of my mother, age 3, on the cover of the book. Her right foot is blurry because she was tapping it impatiently, hating that she had to sit still instead of being allowed to go play.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Saturday Share - Easy Hot Cocoa vs. Instant Mix

 On dreary cold, rainy days I like to indulge with a cup of hot cocoa. In the past, I would buy the large canister of (name removed since I don't want to get sued). In reading labels on several of these mixes, I learned that the ingredients are about the same on all of them.

This started as a short post to give you my healthy, delicious recipe for a cup of hot cocoa that's an alternative to the mixes you buy at the store.

That recipe is at the end of this post if you want to skip the research I did on these instant hot chocolate mixes.

Since I'm all about staying healthy, I think it's important to share with you what I discovered about the questionable ingredients in instant cocoa mixes so you can make an informed decision before consuming them.

Questionable? OMG. This led me down a rabbit hole, and I learned far more about the ingredients that convinced me I didn't want them in anything I consumed. Those ingredients begin with sugar and corn syrup (2 forms of sugar!!)

This is what I learned about the ingredients that are listed after the sugars and what can be surprising side effects from them. Here's what I learned about those ingredients in order of prominence.

Modified whey—a form of whey protein that has been altered through chemical, physical, or enzymatic processes.

Potential side effects: digestive issues like bloating, gas, nausea, and diarrhea. Those with kidney problems should consult a doctor before consuming modified whey as it may put additional strain on the kidneys.

Cocoa processed with alkali—this is what is called "Dutch-processed" cocoa which means the cocoa beans are treated with an alkaline solution like potassium carbonate. 

This neutralizes their natural acidity and results in a milder taste, darker color, and improved solubility. Unfortunately, it also reduces the beneficial antioxidant content (the flavanols) which is the main health benefit of cocoa.

Hydrogenated coconut oil—coconut oil that has had hydrogen added to it to make it more solid and extend its shelf life. This hydrogenation process creates trans fats, which can increase one's risk of heart disease.

Nonfat milk—milk that has had all of its fat removed. This is a good source of the benefits from milk, but the problem is that the fat was removed and replaced by the hydrogenated cocnut oil.

Salt—1 serving gives 170mg sodium which is 7% of the daily value. To give you an idea of what amount that might be, 1/4 teaspoon is 575 milligrams so I guess 170mg isn't too much.

Dipotassium phosphate—can cause side effects like muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat, and gastrointestinal issues as well as allergic reactions like itching, swelling, rash, and difficulty breathing. 

Mono-and dyglycerides—a type of food additive classified as emulsifiers. They help mix oil and water together and are typically derived from vegetable oils. They are considered generally safe if consumed in normal amounts. 

Problems arise when someone consuming them are also eating a diet high in saturated fats. (I imagine since these ingredients are in many food products people can consume too much without realizing it.) Potential side effects can include increased risk of heart disease if consumed in large quantities. 

Natural flavor—Wow. This one is really problematic because food manufacturers are not required to tell consumers the source of the natural flavor. 

Sources considered natural are fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and even animal products. It's used to enhance the taste of the product in question without adding any nutritional value.

You should know that "natural flavors" may come from plant or animal sources, but the process of extracting and manipulating the flavor compounds happens in a lab.

Be sure and read my follow up on Natural Flavors that publishes Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.

I think the "generally considered safe" label probably doesn't mean anything because the potential for allergic reaction is real since the consumer doesn't know the source of the flavor. Where's the transparency regarding souce, processing, etc.?

Then there's the moral issue of people who are vegetarian who may be consuming a product from an animal source. 

MY RECIPE FOR EASY HOT COCOA

This may take a couple of minutes longer than the "instant" hot chocolate mixes, but it's healthy.

Here is the basic recipe. Adjust amounts according to the size of your cup and your taste.

Ingredients

1 microwave safe mug (I use a tall one as shown at right)

whole milk

1 tablespoon Hershey's Cocoa Powder

boiling water

1 tablespoon sugar (I use organic sugar)

small pinch of salt

Directions

(1) Pour milk into the mug, filling it to the halfway mark.

(2) Heat the milk in the microwave to very hot

(3) Remove from microwave and add cocoa powder. Mix well. I have a tiny whisk I use.

(4) Pour boiling water to fill the mug.

(5) Add sugar and salt and whisk well.

That's it. You get natural ingredients, the health benefits of real dairy and real dark chocolate. You control the amount of sugar and salt, and you get nothing weird with potential side effects.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

The more I learn about what's in our food supply, the more determined I become to eliminate as many as possible from my kitchen and the food I prepare.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Get Your Flirt On - It's Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day! Flirt with the one you love because flirting isn’t just for attracting a man or woman for that initial contact.

Flirting should be part of the ongoing relationship. Just because you’re settled into a relationship doesn’t mean you can’t add sizzling sexiness to the mix and have some fu doing it.

In my romantic comedy, Scents and Sensuality, heroine science geek Amanda  gets lessons in flirting from her free-wheeling best friend. Too bad her BFF didn’t give her the tips below!

By the way, if you have small children, it’s probably best to wait until they’re asleep. There’s nothing that takes the sizzle out of a romantic interlude like a child banging on the bedroom door and hollering, “Mom, Fido barfed on the rug.”

Older kids probably have music blasting into their ears or they're glued to their phones or video games so no worries.

HOW TO FLIRT USING A ROMANCE NOVEL AS A PROP

1. Have your lover read to you. Aloud. A love scene from your favorite romance novel.

Did you ever see the movie, In Her Shoes (written by Jennifer Weiner), starring Toni Collette as Rose, Cameron Diaz as Maggie, and Mark Feuerstein as Simon? 

There’s a scene where Simon, pursuing spinsterish Rose, finds the romance novel she has stashed away. He picks it up and begins to read this torrid love scene aloud.

He finishes the passage, turns to her, and says: “I don’t know about you, but I’m officially turned on.”

2. A variation of the above: you be the reader. Same result.

3. Don’t want to read? Buy an audio book. Queue it up to a scene you love. Run a bubble bath for two, turn on the audio, and dive in.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Flirting with your significant other is akin to “dancing like no one’s watching.” It takes courage. Carpe nocte. (Seize the night.)

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Sunday Thoughts - Good Advice

I think when many of us were very young, we first heard words of wisdom—from someone other than our parents—from this man who is the source of today's wisdom.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." —Dr. Seuss

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Have a happy day and always choose wisely.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Saturday Share Recipe - Southern Coleslaw

Coleslaw. You either like it or hate it. Coleslaw started out as a pickled food way back in the 18th century in the Netherlands.

In the days without refrigeration, preparing a food with vinegar was a way of preserving the food.

Over the years, this salad that often comes as a side at a barbeque or fried chicken joint has undergone many changes and probably doesn't resemble the one from the 18th century.

However, cabbage is an excellent vegetable to eat for good health so perhaps finding a recipe utilizing it that you like would be a good thing.

Personally, I like how we make it in the South. Maybe you'll like it too. Yes, it uses buttermilk which seems to be found in many southern recipes so add that to your shopping list and give this a try. This serves a crowd so you might want to cut it in half.

By the way, if this sounds like a lot of sugar, remember it's an ingredient for a dressing over 8 cups of shredded cabbage. You can always decrease the sugar a little at a time to see if it still tasts good with less sugar.

SOUTHERN STYLE COLESLAW

Ingredients

5 tablespoons of white sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon groound black pepper

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 T. white vinegar

2 1/2 T. lemon juice

8 cups finely shredded cabbage (usually 1 large head)

1/4 - 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots

Directions

In bowl or large measuring cup, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Beat until well blended.

Shred the cabbage and carrots in a food processor.

Place shredded vegetables in a salad bowl and pour dressing over veggies. Toss well. Cover the salad bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

This is really good coleslaw so I hope you'll try it. Because it uses milk products and mayo, be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Fun Facts - February, the Cake Month

I had a lot of fun gathering these Fun Facts about February, a short month with several nicknames.

(1) Let's begin with why February has that name which comes from the Latin word februum meaning purification.

It all has to do with the old Roman calendar  which called for a purification ritual called Februa to be held on February 15.

Some historians assert that the purification was all about purging from fever or the sweating that comes from fever or the Latin word febris.

(2) Everyone knows February has 28 days except once every 4 years when it has 29, thus calling the year Leap Year. Did you also know that because of this 28/29 days cycle that once every 6 years, February is the only month to have 4 full 7 day weeks?

FREE this weekend

(3) The Saxons called February Sol-monath, meaning cake month because they offered cakes to the gods during that month. 

(4) The Welsh called this month y mis bach, meaning little month. 

(5) Native American tribes usually named months based on natural phenomena that occurred  during that period of time. The full moon in each month was always significant so months are usually called by their respective names for the full moon.

Some of those tribal names are:

Algonquin called it Snow Moon because of the heavy snowfall that often occurs then. 

Cherokee called it Hungry Moon or Bony Moon becuase of the scarcity of food during winter which affected hunting. 

Ojiibwe called it Bear Moon because this is when bear cubs are born. 

(6) February is the least common birth month, and the rarest day to be born is Leap Day, February 29. The odds of being born on February 29 are about 1 in 1,460. Most people born on this day pick either Feb. 28 or March 1 to celebrate their birthdays, but some choose to celebrate on both days.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I learned a lot. Did you? I say it's time to celebrate February with cake. In fact, I made my cake recipe book FRIDAY IS CAKE DAY, recently revised and updated to today's ebook format. Bake a cake and celebrate February!

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Review - Streaming Service Known as Tubi

Today's review is a little different. Instead of reviewing a movie, I'm reviewing one of the free streaming services known as Tubi., owned by Fox Corporation.

If you ever wondered whether Tubi was worth it, I'm here to tell you it is.

Did you know that Tubi is the most watched free ad-supported television strreaming service in the U.S.?

As of December 2024, Tubi surpassed 100  million monthly active users and 10 billion streaming hours. In May of last year, Tubi had its most-watched month ever—an average of one million viewers every day.

In fact, it consistently outranks Peacock, Max, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ in total viewing time.

WHY IS TUBI WORTH IT?

It's free, and free is good especially now when people are struggling to make ends meet. 

Sure, it has ads, but so does Amazon Prime, and now so does Netflix which has ads in its basic subscription of $7.99 per month.

If you want ad-free on Netflix, that's $17.99 per month.

Other services, offer a Basic subscription, usually with limited selections, and they all have ads. 

Here are a few other than Netflix that offer low-cost basic tiers: Disney $9.99, Hulu $9.99, Paramount+ $7.99, Max $9.99.

Tubi which has a truly impressive selection of movies and TV series with more than 275,000 library movies and TV episodes in their catalog, and that dwarfs the offerings from their competitors. Even better, they rotate offerings often so there's almost always something new when you browse even if it's day to day.

The Tubi interface is easy to navigate, and it's easy to set up an account which I recommend you do. No credit card needed! 

The reason to set up an account is you can then add items to "My List" which is an easy way to manage browsing through their huge catalog.

Decision fatigue can be a real thing with so many selections. If you see something and think it might be interesting, add it to your list right then.

Why? Because by the time you get to the end of that "row" you will have forgotten the title or be too tired to scroll all the way back. *g*

OTHER STREAMING SERVICES

There are a few other free streaming services which I'll review this year since I think people are looking for alternatives.

When you find a free streaming service that's easy to navigate and has good content, that's a win-win I want everyone to know about.

I know a lot of viewers rotate their streaming services. When they have watched everything that appeals to them on Hulu, they'll cancel and reactivate their Netflix or other service. 

They'll do this, rotating services to get the content they enjoy at a price that fits their budget.

I can understand why people do this when they may subscribe to 2 or more services. That can be a big chunk of cash each month.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

If you're looking to save $10-20 bucks a month, try Tubi. You may find some of the same movies there that you find on other streaming services.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

How Wednesday Became Hump Day

Last  Wednesday, in my post, I posed the question, "Why is Wednesday called hump day?"

I had searched Google for an answer to that question and received an AI response that the expression could not be attributed to a specific person.

I wasn't satisfied with that because I knew there had to be more to it than that. As Paul Harvey would have said, "Here is the rest of the story."

MUCH MORE TO THE ANSWER

I dived deeper to find information from human sources. A quick perusal of the SERPS showed a response a few years ago from someone on Quora  who stated that the phrase originated in 1965 from a man standing around a water cooler at a Dupont plant.

I could find nothing to back up that assertion. The same Quora respondent also said that in 1975 J. J. Cale wrote a song titled Friday, and that the phrase “Wednesday's hump day," was part of the lyrics.

Intrigued, I tried to find that song and found it mentioned in various Google SERPs, but I couldn't find the lyrics or other information. Next, I went to Lyrics.com and searched there.

Apparently, Cale wasn't the only one who used the phrase in a song. In fact, the search engine at Lyrics showed "968 lyrics and 126 artists matching the "hump day" search string.

At that point, I decided I'd wasted enough time on the quest, but I did have fun making a cute graphic I'll use in future Wednesday posts.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Being curious eats up a lot of time that I probably could have used in a better pursuit—like working on my book in progress. Do you ever get distracted like that?

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Thought For The Week - Struggle

Everyone wants to win. Everyone also hates the struggle—hates the hard work, hates the uncertainty, hates struggling against great odds.

Guess what? Only through your struggle do you grow stronger. Sure, it would be nice if success just fell into your lap, but that probably isn't going to happen.

Success requires commitment, consistency of effort, hard work, and persisting long after you want to quit. All of that makes you strong and capable.

Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said, "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."

So the moral of this story is hardships, struggles, and challenges are stepping stones to emotional strength. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Thanks for listening. I'm tired and needed that reminder of why I'm working so hard to achieve something amazing—even if it be amazing to only me. Perhaps this reminder will help you too. Have a great week!

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Saturday Share Recipe - Spicy Chicken and Rice Casserole

 Happy Saturday! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Gulf Coast Texas with a high projected to be 70 degrees F.

I would love to be outside, but I'm working on more book covers today. I've set a deadline for myself—all new book covers by the end of this month.

So I'm cooking easy things like this Spicy Chicken and Rice Casserole for tonight. Actually, this is my adaptation of a recipe from my Mom's generation.

You can use cooked chicken in this or raw chicken breasts. Just adapt the time to reflect cooked chicken.

Also, this recipe calls for Uncle Ben's Wild Rice which includes parboiled long grain white rice. If you want to use plain wild rice instead, add your own spices and adjust the cooking time. 

I should point out that now Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice and Wild Rice now sports a label that says "No Artificial Flavors and No Colors from Artificial Sources." 

If you choose to use plain wild rice, here are the spices and/or fresh vegetables to add. These amounts are based on my family's taste palate. You may want to use more or less depending on your taste.

CREAM SOUPS

Using Campbell's cream soups has long been part of making casseroles in America. However, not all cream soups are equal. Read the label ingredients. I have found that some house brands at supermarkets tend to use less of what I consider unhealthy ingredients.

Also, many home cooks have cracked the code of what makes a cream soup. I'll publish a post about those recipes eventually.

However, using a canned cream soup once in a while is like having a piece of candy once in a while. It shouldn't greatly impact your health regimen as long as you're not eating it every day.

Spices to add to sauce mixture if using plain wild rice

1 teaspoon dry parsley OR 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon dry minced onion or onion powder OR 1/4 cup small diced onion

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds OR 1/4 cup diced celery

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, sage, thyme, marjoram, and  rosemary and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

SPICY CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE (Serves 6 - 8)

Ingredients

6 medium size chicken breasts, washed, patted dry, salted, and browned in olive oil or butter

1 can cream of celery soup or cream of chicken

1 can cream of musroom soup

1/2 can of water

1 seeded and finely diced poblano or jalapeno pepper, optional

1/4 cup diced carrots

1/4 - 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, seeded (I actually use half a can of Rotel)

1 small box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Mix

Directions

(1) Preheaat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176 degrees C.) and prepare a rectangular baking dish.

(2) In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix the two soups, water, vegetables, and wild rice mix. If using plain rice, add the spices.

(3) Pour this mixture into the baking dish and arrange the chicken breasts on top.

(4) For raw chicken, bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breast. Use a meat theremometer if uncertain. For cooked, chicken bake 20-30 minutes until rice is done and casserole is heated through.

There is a certain percentage of the population who think a casserole should always be topped with bubbly cheese. If that's your household, feel free to sprinkle the top with grated cheddar cheese and pop it under the broiler before serving.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

That's it for me. I'm headed to the kitchen to throw this family pleaser together. Bon Appétit.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.