My Love of English Drama

 

Like much of the country, I am enthralled by the drama, costumes, scenery and characters of Downton Abbey. I waited and waited for Season 2 to come to Netflix, but it never did. I was determined to find a way to watch it, before I started watching the new season and am happy to say thanks to Amazon and now the PBS app for my iPad, I am caught up and immersed in 1920's England, once again.

The post war era will be fascinating, as inevitable change comes to the Grantham family. After Lady Edith's latest heartbreak, I am interested to see how she will make her way and wonder if the changing roles for women will affect her the most. Many do not like her character, but I find her the most interesting, in her role as the middle and not quite attractive daughter. She fights for any bit of attention and when rewarded, her change in demeanor is remarkable.

My all time favorite English drama is the movie Sense and Sensibility. It is another story of three sisters, similar to Downtown Abbey, in many ways. The scene where Marianne and Edward Ferrars realize they are in love, is amazing and memorable. I have watched this movie many times and always find something new to see.

Other favorites include Becoming Jane, Emma, and Pride and Predjudice; both the newer movie, as well as the mini series with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy ( the best Mr. Darcy by far). If you love Downton Abbey and have not seen these, I would recommend watching them when you have a chance. Curl up on the couch this winter with a blanket and a cup of tea and enjoy the romance of a wonderful English drama.

Have a great day and tell me - do you love these movies too?

 

Linking with Mockingbird Hill Cottage

 

Posted with Blogsy

Back to Healthy - Orzo Stuffed Peppers

 

We had a pretty quiet weekend around here, but I always feel the urge to be at home and relax in January, so the slow pace was fine with me. I did make a trip to East Lansing to take Melissa out for breakfast and bring her everything she forgot to take with her, when she went back to college, after break. Her things do tend to get spread around the house when she is home :-)

We are getting back into healthy eating, going to the gym and walking when the weather permits. I have made a meatless version of this recipe a couple times before, and it has a lot of great flavor and is different than the usual stuffed peppers, made with rice. Orzo pasta is easy and quick to prepare and the addition of zucchini, tomatoes and ground turkey, as well as the brightly colored peppers, make this a healthy, filling and pretty dish.

Recipe for Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Adapted from Giada's Kitchen

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 zucchini, chopped fine

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups orzo pasta

1 pound ground turkey

6 -8 sweet bell peppers (red and yellow)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cook and brown the ground turkey, until just done. Drain on plate with paper towel.

Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a large bowl. Add the zucchini, cheese, olive oil, garlic, ground turkey, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the orzo and cook for 6 - 8 minutes until almost done. Drain and reserve the chicken broth. Add the orzo to the vegetable and turkey mixture and stir to combine. Transfer the chicken broth to a baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove seeds. If necessary cut a thin slice from the bottom, without cutting through. This will help the peppers stand up.

Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers and place in the baking dish, with the chicken broth. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle each pepper with a little grated parmesan cheese. Continue baking for 15 more minutes.

Happy Monday!

 

{Linking with these friends}

Gooseberry Patch

Savvy Southern Style

Between Naps On The Porch

Rattlebridge Farm

This Gal Cooks

Back For Seconds

Mom's Test Kitchen

Must Try Mondays

Stonegable

Semi Homemade Mom

Homemade Ginger

Simple Living and Eating

Barns and Noodles

Cheerios and Lattes - Iron Chef Mom

 

Posted with Blogsy

A Change by Blogger

 

Right before Christmas, I started to notice a change in how the blogs I read appeared on my iPad. After some research, and by leaving a question on the Blogger product forum, I was able to determine that Google had made a change without any announcement. All iPads users were now only able to read blogs in mobile view. This means I cannot see your full web version, including your sidebar, unless I scroll down and click through to that choice each time. Tedious, to say the least.

There has always been the option to disable mobile view, so readers with iPhones can see the full version of your blog. I had done that previously, but now it also applies to your iPad readers - 13% for my blog.

Blogger users can disable the mobile view very easily. Under your dashboard, click on Template, then the gear under Mobile view. Choose option to show full web version on mobile devices.

This is what it should look like after the change. It is totally up to you how you want your blog to be viewed by readers on mobile devices, but as one who uses my iPad 99% of the time - I would love to see your pretty blog as you designed it to be seen, without having to make extra clicks :-)

Have a great weekend! After seeing some of the pretty Valentine crafts some of you are making, I plan on getting some supplies together this weekend and attempting a couple projects.

 

Posted with Blogsy