Tasty Tuesdays–Herb Butter from Sloane Taylor

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Cookbooks by Sloane Taylor, food blog, herb butter, recipe, Sloane Taylor, Tasty Tuesdays

My niece JJ is an excellent and creative cook. This past Christmas she gave me a roll of garlic herb butter that is to die for. Not only is great on cooked steak and veggies, it’s delicious spread on crackers. Of course, I had to make another batch right after the holidays because we devoured her amazing gift in a flash. I am confident you and yours will like this recipe, too.

GARLIC HERB BUTTER
½ cup butter at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp fresh rosemary or ½ tsp. dried, chopped fine
1 tsp. fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried, chopped fine
2 tbsp. fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dried, chopped fine
Cream butter in a medium sized bowl with a spoon. A handheld mixer works too.

Stir in garlic and herbs until just blended.

Tear off 6 – 7 inches of wax paper. Lay butter about 1½ inches from the edge. Use your fingers to shape into a log about 1 inch thick. Cover log with that bit of extra paper and roll, shaping the log as you go. After butter is wrapped, twist the ends tightly.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Herb butter lasts 2 weeks in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer.

Oregano and basil are excellent replacements for rosemary and thyme.

May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!

Sloane

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning romance author with a passion that consumes her day and night. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.

Learn more about Taylor’s cookbooks, Date Night Dinners and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire on Amazon.

Connect with Sloane on website, blog, and her Amazon Author Page. Facebook and Twitter.

Tasty Tuesdays–Mother’s Macaroni and Cheese from Gail Pallotta

Tags

Cooking up a Mystery, food blog, Gail Pallotta, macaroni and cheese, recipe, Tasty Tuesdays

Of all of my recipes, people most often ask for my mother’s mac and cheese.

Mother’s Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Elbow macaroni noodles

cheese

milk

eggs

salt and pepper to taste

margarine or butter (optional)

Directions:

Greased casserole dish. (I use olive oil)

The amount of noodles determines the number of servings. To serve four, prepare enough noodles for four.

Drain noodles. Fill a one-cup measuring cup with the cooked noodles and pour them one at a time into the greased casserole dish.

Measure exactly as many cups of grated cheese as there are noodles. (For example four cups of noodles and four cups of cheese) Cheeses can be all one kind or mixed—2 cups of cheddar, 1 cup of Monteray jack, 1 cup of Colby. Use what you like. If there are extra noodles, save them for another dish. The amount of cheese must equal the amount of noodles.

Beat an egg. Stir into noodles and cheese. (Egg Beaters can be used)

Pour milk into the casserole dish until it’s almost even with the mixture of cheese, noodles and eggs.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Completely cover the top of the macaroni and cheese with more grated cheese. Dot with margarine or butter if desired.

Bake on 350 degrees about forty-five minutes or until the entire casserole is firm.

There are over two dozen recipes in the back of Cooking up a Mystery, a culinary, cozy mystery with romance. However, these tasty dishes come from Heavenly Delights, a book compiled and edited by Pam Nichols Griffin, staff writer for “The Destin Log” in Destin, Florida, as a fundraiser for Mission Love Seeds. This charity based in Florida, was created to help children throughout the world. It also responds locally after disasters to demonstrate God’s love. Learn more here.  

Cooking up a Mystery

By Gail Pallotta

Laney Eskridge worked to put her husband through dental school. Then he left with another woman. She’s on edge from the emotional scars and her parents’ deaths. Then she hears unexplained noises in her new tea house, and her anxiety is tripled. Add a budding romance with Eric—a guy with a fear of commitment—and it’s all too much to handle. She cuts ties with Eric and plunges into making her business pay off.

When Eric discovers that Laney’s in danger, he vows to protect her. But can he make a lasting promise? Will she trust him? . . .and when they overhear a threat that could cause national turmoil, will anyone believe them? There’s more brewing than herbal tea in Cooking up a Mystery.

Buy Cooking up a Mystery on  Amazon   Barnes and Noble  Books a Million   Kobo  

About the Author:

 Gail Pallotta is a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A 2013 Grace Awards finalist, she’s a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner and a TopShelf 2020 Book Awards Finalist. She’s published six books, poems, short stories and several hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. She loves to connect with readers.

Sign up for her newsletter. Visit her website and Facebook page.

Tasty Tuesdays-Down on the Farm, Grandma’s Shucky Beans from Catherine Castle

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A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle's Food blog Tasty Tuesdays, Farm living, food, old-fashined bean preservation, recipe, Tasty Tuesdays

Shucky beans from my freezer

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of visiting my grandparents down on their farm.

Mom and Dad would pack us up in the car after Dad got home from work and we’d drive down into the hills of Kentucky for the weekend.

The house would always be dark when we arrived. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t have a phone, so they were never expecting us on our weekend trips. It was probably only nine or ten p.m. when we arrived, but my grandparents were farmers who went to bed with the chickens the minute it got dark outside.

The moment Daddy pounded on the door, my grandparents awoke and the lights came on. After hugs and kisses, we were hustled into the kitchen for hand pies, cornbread, leftover shucky beans, and meat. It never failed to amaze me how much food Grandma had on hand, especially since it was only her and Grandpa there. The hand pies were half-moon pastries made from dried apples Grandma had preserved. The meat varied, depending on whether she’d killed a chicken or they had purchased beef from someone. The shucky beans were the item my mouth always watered for—and still does today. It’s been years since I’ve eaten them, but I remember the salty, silky texture of the once-dried bean.

You say you don’t know what shucky beans are?

Shucky beans are green beans that have been dried in the shell. Shucky beans were always on the table at Grandma’s house. In fact, I don’t remember ever eating any other kind of green bean when we visited her.

Mom and Grandma always used white half-runner beans, although I do remember Mom using other green beans when she couldn’t get half-runners. Every summer we would visit Grandma and help her preserve the veggies from her garden. Getting the shucky beans ready was something I could do as a child, because Grandma preserved her beans the old-fashioned way. She strung them on cotton thread and hung them on the back porches until they dried.

The process was time consuming, but I don’t remember minding it at all. While the black-eyed Susans nodded in the breeze at the front of the yard, I strung my pan of beans sitting on the white porch swing, listening to the chains creaking softly above me and Mom and Grandma talk. There was something satisfying about watching the green column of beans grow on the thread, knowing I was going to enjoy the taste of them in the fall and winter. Grandma always shared some of the crop with us.

Below are the quick instructions for making Shucky Beans as given to me by my mother. My additional clarification comments are in parenthesis. Notice there are no amounts given for beans: Grandma and Mom just strung them until they were all picked from the garden. From my research I’ve discovered a bushel of fresh beans makes about 1 gallon of Shucky Beans.

Grandma and Mom’s Shucky Bean Recipe

Pick white, half-runner beans when they have a bean in them. Do not wash beans. Break ends and remove the string from the beans. Using a sturdy needle and white cotton string, knotted on one end, string the beans. (Pierce the bean pod and not the bean with the needle.) When the string is almost full, tie the ends and place in a warm place to dry: an attic, porch, or in the direct sun.

(Depending on how you plan to dry them, either tie the ends together to make a circle, or make a loop in one end, so they can be hung on a nail. You could also just knot the other end and drape over a clothes line.  I know Grandma hung hers on the back porches, but I’ve read about other cooks drying their beans on sheets laid on patio tables, car hoods, and even spread in the back window of a vehicle. If you don’t want to do this the old fashioned way, you can use a food dehydrator. I actually dried a few of them last year on a rack on the kitchen table. I stored them in a glass jar. I haven’t cooked them yet. I just like to open the pantry door and look at them. I t reminds me of Grandma and those lazy summers as a child.)

Once the beans have dried, they can be stored in the freezer in plastic freezer bags. Just be sure they are really dry before you store them. (When you can run your fingers through a batch and hear a rattling sound, reminiscent of the sound dried corn shucks make, beans should be dry enough to store.)

To Cook: Place the beans, strings and all, in a pot and boil for 30 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the beans. Take them off the strings and place in a clean pot with more water and seasonings. (A cottage ham or slab of bacon works well as seasoning). Cook until tender. (About 2-2 ½ more hours.)

Some recipes call for the beans to be washed before stringing.  Grandma didn’t use pesticides, so she didn’t have to worry about chemicals. If you wash the beans before stringing, make sure they are hung where the air can reach all sides to prevent spoilage. Other recipes also suggest removing the beans from the string before boiling. I’m not sure which method works best, since I can’t recall what I did the one time I cooked the beans.

Have you ever eaten Shucky Beans? How did you like them?

While your beans are cooking, check out Catherine’s Romantic comedy with a touch of drama, A Groom for Mama available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

A Groom for Mama

By Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

About the Author:

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.

Tasty Tuesdays–Chocolate Cherry Loaf from Sharon Ledwith

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Chocolate Cherry loaf, Dessert, food blog, recipe, Sharon Ledwith, Tasty Tuesdays, The Last Timekeepers, YA Timetravel fiction

from Sharon Ledwith

A real crowd pleaser at small gatherings such as book clubs or intimate bridal and baby showers, this chocolatey, sweet treat will tempt even the most disciplined of us. If cherry is your go-to fruit that makes your mouth think you’ve swallowed a piece of heaven, then read on if you dare to concoct this sinful chunk of bliss.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHUNK LOAF

A bit of butter for greasing the loaf pan
1¼ cups + 1 tsp. all-purpose plain flour
¼ cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup granulated or caster sugar
1 cup cherry yogurt
3 large eggs lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup mild vegetable oil
1 cup cherries
¼ cup sweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped, use less if you prefer

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C or 165° for fan ovens, Gas Mark 4).

Grease a 2 lb. (8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½ inch) loaf pan.

Remove the pits from the cherries and cut each one in half. Place cherries in a small bowl, sprinkle the 1 teaspoon flour over top and toss gently.

Sift 1¼ cups flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

Stir in sugar, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Set dry ingredients aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and oil.

Add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients. Beat with a wooden spoon until all the flour is mixed in and the batter is smooth.

Gently fold in the flour-coated cherries.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then remove cake and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

THE GLAZE
1 cup icing sugar, confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp. maraschino cherry juice
1 tbsp. water
Drop of pink food coloring, optional

Pour icing sugar into a bowl. Whisk in maraschino cherry juice.

Gradually whisk in water, a drop or two at a time, until a smooth, drizzle-able consistency is reached.

Whisk in the food coloring, if using.

While you’re waiting on your loaf to bake and cool, how about taking a break by delving into one of my books? May I suggest a visit to Fairy Falls, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, a trip back in time with The Last Timekeepers? Whichever you choose, either series will entertain and engage, pulling you into another time and a different place.

Here’s a glimpse of the premises of my young adult series:

The Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventures…

Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers—legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from the evil Belial—five classmates are sent into the past to restore balance, and bring order back into the world, one mission at a time.

Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the only hope for our past.

The Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventure Series:

The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, Book #2 Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, Book #1 Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Legend of the Timekeepers, prequel Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, and the teen psychic mystery series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, exercising, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a serene, yet busy life in a southern tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, one spoiled yellow Labrador and a moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. Look up her Amazon Author page for a list of current books. Be sure to check out THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS TIME TRAVEL SERIES Facebook page.

Tasty Tuesdays–Medieval Stuffed Eggs from Olivia Rae

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A Life Redeemed, Christian Historical Romance, Medieval Stuffed Eggs, Olivia Rae, recipe, Tasty Tuesdays

Since I write mostly romantic Christian historical books, I started researching and looking up old Medieval recipes to use in my newsletter. I was surprised how many of them evolved into the foods we eat today. For summer, I thought it would be fun to share my Medieval Stuffed Egg recipe (with a few of my own changes). It has a nice fresh exotic taste!

Medieval Stuffed Eggs

Ingredients:

6 to 12 eggs

¼ tsp. Cinnamon, ground

½ tsp. ginger, ground

¼ tsp. pepper, ground

¼ tsp. sage, finely chopped

1 tsp. parsley, finely chopped

1 apple, peeled and finely chopped

bread crumbs

small amount of milk

A small amount of mayo (optional)

Method:

Boil eggs, allow to cool, peel and cut in half

Remove yolks and place in bowl with spices and mix with mayo

Take egg whites and place in milk and then coat with bread crumbs

Drop egg whites in hot oil or butter for a few minutes until bread crumbs are brown

When whites are cooled scoop in egg mixture. You can also not include the mayo and fry the egg whites with the egg yolk mixture inside the egg.  Your choice!

Enjoy this great Medieval summer treat!

When you’re ready to enjoy this new treat, grab your plate and check out Olivia’s Romance  A Life Redeemed.

A Life Redeemed

By Olivia Ray

Everyone has a secret, who can a queen trust?

Upon Queen Elizabeth’s order, Audrey Hayes travels to the borderlands of Scotland to learn where the fierce Laird Armstrong’s loyalties lie. Is he aligned with his mother’s English roots in support of the queen, or does he hold with the beliefs of his father, who wishes to see Mary of Scots on the English throne? The fate of Audrey’s family rests on her success in finding the answer.

After losing his lands in a wager and being betrayed by his kin, Gavin Armstrong entered a loveless marriage to obtain the funds to buy back his family home, Warring Tower. Now a widower, struggling against countless border wars, he is on the verge of losing his home and lands again. With few resources, he reluctantly makes another risky wager, one he cannot hope to win without trusting the secretive Audrey Hayes, a woman he suspects is an English spy.

As the two work together to save Warring Tower, their attraction to one another grows. But when Audrey finally gains the information she seeks for Queen Elizabeth, she realizes that the only way she can save her family is to betray the man she loves.

Want to read more?

A Life Redeemed is available on Amazon:  Barnes and Noble:  Apple:  Kobo:

About the Author:

Olivia Rae is an award-winning author of historical and contemporary inspirational romance. She spent her school days dreaming of knights, princesses and far away kingdoms; it made those long days in the classroom go by much faster. After becoming a teacher, she decided to breathe a little more life into her childhood stories.

Olivia is the winner of the Angel Awards, Book Buyer’s Best Award, Southern Magic Award, New England Readers’ Choice Award, the Golden Quill Award, the American Fiction Award, and the Illumination Awards.

Connect with Olivia on her  Website: Twitter: Instagram: Facebook

Tasty Tuesdays–Cheesy Olive Bread from Tina Griffith

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appetizer or complete meal, bread, food blog, recipe, Tasty Tuesdays, Tina Griffith

from Tina Griffith

You decide. This recipe is easy to prepare and a favorite with my husband and me. We usually add a crisp salad and Voila! we have a complete dinner in a flash. Of course a bottle of red wine adds to the festivities.

CHEESY OLIVE BREAD
1 large crusty loaf French bread
1 – 6 oz. can pitted black olives, drained and sliced
⅓ cup red onion, chopped fine
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ – ¾ cup mayonnaise
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Cut bread in half lengthwise and then in half across the width. You now have four pieces, tops and bottoms. Set them onto an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.

Add olives, onions, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and mayo into a medium size bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Use a spatula to smear the mixture onto the white part of the bread.

Now pop it into the oven. That’s it. When the cheese melts, 15 – 20 minutes, the bread is ready.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tina Griffith, who also wrote twenty-seven children’s books as Tina Ruiz, was born in Germany, but her family moved to Canada when she was in grammar school.

After her husband of 25 years passed away, she wrote romance novels to keep the love inside her heart. Tina now has eleven romance novels on Amazon, and while all of them have undertones of a love story, they are different genres; murder, mystery, whimsical, witches, ghosts, suspense, adventure, and her sister’s scary biography.

Tina has worked in television and radio as well as being a professional clown at the Children’s Hospital. She lives in Calgary with her second husband who encourages her to write her passion be it high-quality children’s books or intriguing romance.

Stay connected with Tina (Griffith) Ruiz on her Facebook group Tina Speaks Out.

Tasty Tuesdays—Grandma’s Meatballs and Spaghetti from Viola Russell

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food, Love At WAr, meatballs and spaghetti, recipe, Tasty Tuesdays, Viola Russell, WWII fiction

picture courtesy of Pixabay

My novel Love at War is a WWII historical romance set in New Orleans.  The family matriarch is a German native, and many of my family members noted similarities between the mother Magda and our own grandmother, Viola.  Of course, many family stories and lore formed the basis for Love at War.

I started writing the book after my mother died when I began reading letters her brothers wrote home while deployed.  The scene that aroused the most discussion, however, was not about battle scenes or historical documentation. Rather, a dinner table scene in the novel resulted in multiple emails, phone calls, and text messages. 

The family had gathered for Sunday dinner; the main dish was meatballs and spaghetti. Many of my cousins expressed horror that I’d described the gravy as “brown gravy.” My cousin Trudy said, “Grandma’s meatballs were never in brown gravy, always red.” Cousin upon cousin emailed about this issue.  “I vote red.” “I vote brown.” The red gravy cousins won. 

My cousin Emmett resolved the controversy surrounding my betrayal of family tradition.  “Grandma’s stewed chicken had the brown gravy. The meatballs were always in red gravy.”

 Well, I’m almost certain I remember some brown gravy with the meatballs, but I agree that she fixed meatballs more often with red gravy than with brown.

Pardon me, Grandma, for my inaccurate recollections! 

My mother used her mother’s recipe for meatballs and spaghetti, and I want to share it with this audience.

Grandma’s Meatballs and Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1. Shallots–3 stalks
2. Butter–1 Tablespoon
3. Breadcrumbs–1 cup
4. Ground meat–1 pound
5. Salt–1 Tablespoon
6. Pepper–1 Tablespoon
7. Lea and Perrins Sauce-1 Tablespoon
8. Cooking oil–1 teaspoon
9. Onion powder–1teaspoon
10. Garlic powder–1 teaspoon
11. Sugar–a pinch
12. Bay Leaf–3-4
13.  1 can tomato paste
14. Parsley–1 teaspoon
15. Oregano–1 teaspoon
16. Flour–2/3 cup
17. Bell pepper–1/2 of a bell pepper

Steps:

1. Chop Shallots into a bowl with the ground meat
2. Mix ground meat, shallots, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Lea & Perrins sauce into a mixing bowl.
3. Roll the ground meat in flour into compact balls and place in a pot.
4. Heat cooking oil in another pot and fry the ground meatballs. (The balls must be compact. My mother used to say that keeping things tight and compact was also good advice in life)
5. Set aside the meatballs.
6. Drain excess grease into an empty can.
7. Put a pinch of sugar and bay leaf into the tomato paste can.
8. Stir shallots and bell pepper with butter in a pot. 
9. Spoon tomato paste into the pot.
10. Add water or beef broth.
11. Stir while seasoning with parsley, oregano, salt & pepper.
12. When seasoning comes to a boil, add the meatballs.
13. Cook on a medium flame for one and one half to two hours.
14. Cook spaghetti for approximately 10-15 minutes.
15. Spoon gravy and meatballs over spaghetti.

While the sauce is simmering, check out Viola’s book Love at War, available on Amazon

Love At War

by Viola Russell

Nuala Comeaux and her brothers are part of a typical working-class family living life on the brink of World War II. Like most Americans, they pray war won’t come their way, but Nuala is more preoccupied with her budding romance with the handsome and intoxicatingly sexy Keith Roussell. Nuala willingly gives in to his charms, but soon, the tides of war will engulf Nuala and her family. Nuala marries Keith, and soon, Keith and her brothers are overseas, facing the enemy. 

Keith’s talent with a rifle earns him the respect of the top brass, and he soon works as a sniper under the command of ranking officers. When Nuala learns of Keith’s death at the hands of a dangerous German general, she joins the female branch of the military. From there, she is recruited for OSS and joins her highly decorated brothers on clandestine operations. Even though patriotism plays a part in her motivation, Nuala is also consumed with the desire to seek revenge for the murder of her sniper-husband. 

About the Author:

Viola Russell is the pseudonym for Susan Weaver Eble. A homegrown New Orleanian, she holds a doctorate in English literature from Texas A & M University. She has traveled far and wide and relishes the memories she has made in places as distant as England, Ireland, Canada, and Jamaica and as near as Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, California, and Massachusetts. She lives with her husband Ben, the love of her life, in a New Orleans cottage and is most comfortable at her computer creating the worlds that drift into her imagination.

Connect with Viola on her website

Tasty Tuesdays—A Potluck Favorite from Judythe Morgan

Tags

Fitzpatrick Family Series, food blog, green beans, Judythe Morgan, new potatoes, Potluck, recipe, Sweet romance, Tasty Tuesdays, vegetables, When Love Endures

POTLUCK FAVORITE

There’s a church potluck scene in When Love Endures, which always makes me think about my favorite potluck dishes. These green beans and new potatoes are always a big hit. That’s why I chose to share with you today.

The recipe is an adaptation of how my grandmother and mother cooked green beans. You can also find dozens of recipes in Southern cookbooks or on food websites. But this one has family twists like cooking in chicken broth, using red onions, not white, and a secret ingredient—that dash of Worcestershire sauce. All of which give the green beans a flavorful taste.

I don’t think my mother or grandmother ever used a recipe. They simply washed and snapped the beans, quartered the new potatoes, and simmered on the stove all afternoon, filling the house with the most delicious aroma.

I usually cook our beans in my six-quart crockpot. They taste as wonderful as those cooked on the stovetop. I can tell you, folks gobble them up whenever I take green beans and new potatoes to church potlucks along with a batch of corn bread muffins.

Same as Nick pigs out on Sarah Fitzpatrick’s Zucchini cake at their church potluck.

~~

FRESH GREEN BEANS with New Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

6-8 slices of bacon, chopped

1 large red onion sliced

2-3 pounds of green beans, trimmed and snapped (can be left whole if desired)

8 small new potatoes, quartered or sliced

32 ounces chicken broth

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

Dash of Lea and Perrin Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

Cook chopped bacon in a skillet over medium heat until evenly browned.

Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel-lined plate.

Cook the sliced onion in bacon drippings until translucent.

Place cooked bacon and onions, green beans (snapped or whole), and quartered or sliced new potatoes in crock pot and cover with chicken broth.

Simmer on low heat until the green beans are tender. 6-8 hours. You can also cook in a Dutch oven on stovetop until done.

Before serving, sprinkle with vinegar, Lea and Perrin Worcestershire sauce, and pepper to taste and toss.

Yummy when serve with cornbread, rolls, or biscuits. It’s sure to become a family favorite and a hit at potluck meals.

FYI: All portions can be increased or decreased depending upon how many servings you want. Nutritionists recommend one cup cooked green beans per person. I find most people come back for seconds so I plan accordingly.

While you’re letting the green beans cook, check out Judythe’s  Fitzpatrick Family Series: Eight Preacher Kids Each with a Sweet Love Story of their own.

When Love Endures Fitzpatrick Family: Sarah

By Judythe Morgan

Sarah Fitzpatrick, pianist extraordinaire, gave up on true love when her high school boyfriend, Nick Stephens, ran off to marry his pregnant ex-girlfriend.

Nick’s daughter shows up in her music class eleven years later. One look at the man, and old dreams come back to life. She must find a way to keep the little girl and Nick out of her heart. She won’t risk losing everything again.

Nick Stephens has other plans. Sarah is, and always has been, the love of his life and he’s back in Burton, TX to prove it. But there are secrets Nick must keep, from Sarah and his daughter. Secrets that could destroy everything he hopes to build.

Can their second chance survive new secrets?

Want to read more? You can find When Love Endures on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

About the Author:

Judythe Morgan traveled a lot as an Army brat then Army wife. She’s been a teacher, an antiques dealer, former mayor’s wife, and sometimes-church pianist. Mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and a Maltese named Buster, there’s always a wild adventure brewing on their walks.

Her diverse experiences make her life full, her characters vivid, and her stories authentic and award-winning. Besides fiction, she writes a weekly blog at www.judythewriter.com  Sign up for her free newsletter at https://judythemorgan.com/contact/ to keep up with her latest news and subscriber-only sneak peaks.

Connect with Judythe on Facebook: Twitter: Goodreads

Tasty Tuesdays–My Nan-Nan’s Special Coffee from Bonnie Engstrom…and a Giveaway!

Tags

Bonnie Engstrom, Christian fiction, Clean fiction, giveaway, Natalie's Red Dress, recipe, Sweet romance, Tasty Tuesdays

Nan-Nan and Pap-Pap lived in a small house on the back of our half-acre property. Pap-Pap and his son, my Uncle Jimmy, were master carpenters who built the small house so we could be close. As a child I often wandered to visit Nan-Nan, especially because I knew I would get a coffee treat. At eight years old coffee was a special big deal.

Nan-Nan had a special trick that I still use today when I make real coffee. Back then she filled a rose-patterned cup with lots of milk and then elaborately added coffee – probably two teaspoons! Plus a lot of sugar. Finally she took her kitchen salt shaker and shook it over the brew.

What she told me when I grew up and graduated to real coffee has become a ritual to me. Scoop the grounds into the filter. No there were no paper filters in her day! No electric coffee pots, either. But every night when I prepare my pot for the next morning I take a big pinch of Kosher salt and sprinkle it over the grounds.

Does it make a difference? Does it enhance the flavor of my Starbucks coffee grounds? I think so, but maybe it’s my imagination or embracing a memory. Try it. Can’t hurt. If you like it please say, “Thanks, Nan-Nan, for the tip.” Enjoy!

Coffee plays a big role in my CANDY CANE SERIES. Seven women meet at a Starbucks in Newport Beach, California where they pray for each other, and two of them fall in love there.

ABOUT THE CANDY CANES

Twenty years ago six high school freshmen in Newport Beach, California formed a swim team that became legendary. They won the state relay swim championship four years in a row. In addition to their skill and devotion to daily practicing, they prayed together and vowed to be sisters forever. Another thing that set them apart was they chose their own swimsuits making them a team within a larger team. They chose red and white diagonally striped swimsuits and thus, became known as the Candy Canes. They always will be.

There are nine books in the series. Each book is written as a standalone, although the stories begin when the women are in their twenties, they build on each other as the women progress in age. Each book touches on a social situation: abuse, alcoholism, interracial marriage, infidelity, serious disease. Finally, after being forgiven by Doreen for causing the accident that altered her life and her leg forever, Melanie is accepted into the group and has her own stories.

NATALIE’S RED DRESS is Book Nine, the final story in the series. It is about a life-threatening disease and a sensitive subject. Please read with an open mind.

Will Natalie, the one whose friends call “the tough girl,” overcome her fear with the help of her best friend, Melanie?

Maybe Alan’s impromptu proposal will boost her morale when nosy neighbor, Gladys, accuses her of being a loose woman.

Natalie’s group of friends, the Candy Canes, gather to pray for her at their favorite Starbucks and even have a silly, unconventional pizza party with crazy ingredients to cheer her up. But stubborn Natalie doesn’t cheer up easily.

Hoping a change of attire from everyday gym clothes to something fancy will calm her fears she goes on a rare shopping spree. The effusive saleswoman persuades her and she splurges on an elegant RED DRESS. So not Natalie! When and where would she ever wear it? Unless, maybe, she invites a special man to dinner. But will he accept? What if he really loves someone else? Could he love a deformed woman?

A SPECIAL SALE ANNOUNCEMENT!

The entire Candy Cane Series goes on sale next week for only one week as an eBook Boxed Set Collection for only $9.99. But you have to wait until Monday, April 26. Sign up for my newsletter so you will be sure to get the link. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Some readers like to read the last page of a book first. If you are a last-first reader and want to read NATALIE’S RED DRESS first it is on sale for $3.99 at Amazon

GIVEAWAY FROM BONNIE!

Have a read or a cuppa coffee on Bonnie!

“I would love to give away an eBook of NATALIE’S RED DRESS and a $5 Starbucks gift card,” Bonnie says.

To be entered in the drawing leave a comment for Bonnie on this post. The winner of the book and the winner of the Starbucks gift card will be randomly chosen from the commenters next Monday 11 p.m. EST. Winners names will be announced Tuesday in the comment section of Bonnie’s Tasty Tuesday post. Be sure to check back to see who wins these great prizes!

About the Author Bonnie:

I’ve decided I don’t like impersonal bios written in the third person. I would rather explain who I am since I know best who I am.

I am a wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother who goes by the moniker Grammy. My husband and family are my life. But Jesus is first. He has led me down many paths from PTA volunteer, newspaper columnist, online prayer chain moderator and author. Each path has been lined with wonderful treasures of love. But the best path has been and still is the Grammy path.

I love the image in Exodus 17:12 of Aaron and Hur lifting up Moses arms. I am blessed to have many Aarons and Hurs holding me up when I get tired. To see six of mine and the one who has held me up for almost 56 years go to my website link below.

Life has taken me from Pittsburgh to Ohio to Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles to Newport Beach and finally to Scottsdale, Arizona living on a lake as I’d dreamed of for years.

Dogs are part of my life. Lola, the scruffy one, is on the cover of Melanie’s Blue Skirt. Lucy and Sam have cameo appearances in Cindy’s Perfect Dance and Melanie’s Ghosts respectively. Jake, our precious Min Pin on the cover of Connie’s Silver Shoes, is in doggy heaven. Sweet Arthur on the cover of Doreen Finds Her Groove was lent to me for the story by my friend Lisa. Sandy, the Golden Retriever on the cover of A Winning Recipe, is a characterization of Almond Roca, my friend Dorothy’s dog who jogged with me for many years.

Cats have always been important members of our family. Mr. Sunday was first. My mother named him because he came to our door on Sunday. Spats was a rescued laboratory cat when hubby was in grad school. He was super smart and could fetch and play tennis with a ping pong ball. Our kids had Licorice, Mudball who swallowed a needle, Dr. Pepper who insisted on jumping on all laps, and Aphrodite who lived to be 21 and a half. Our own children now have Blackey, Vader, Loco, Poco and Bingo – all black!

Now you know who I am. And maybe more about the stories I write. I hope you like the stories and will read them and post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Please check out the links below to contact me. I love to hear from my readers.

Thank you for supporting my books!

Connect with Bonnie on her FB author page : Website/Newsletter sign up : Book Bub  and Amazon author page to see all my books: 

Tasty Tuesdays–Corned Beef from Sloane Taylor

Tags

Corned Beef, dinner, entree, food blog, recipe, Sloane Taylor, St. Patrick's Day, Tasty Tuesdays

Many Americans cook this meal as a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal, which is only a St. Paddy’s Day tradition in the good old USA. You’ll never find corned beef served anyway on the Old Sod. That’s right. Our Irish brethren look at us in amazement, but that’s never stopped us Yanks from creating traditions. Here’s another news flash. You don’t have to reserved Corned Beef for the wearing o’ the green. So get out your pots and enjoy this non-traditional non-Irish meal from cookbook author Slaone Taylor anytime of the year.

MENU
Corned Beef
Cabbage
Carrots
Potatoes
Bakery Rye Bread
Horseradish Sauce
Mustard
Irish Beer and plenty of it

Corned Beef

1 5lb. corned beef brisket*
2 med. onions, peeled and quartered
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3 bottles of beer, not Lite
water to cover

Preheat oven to 300 F°.

Place beef in a Dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients, including spice packet that comes with the beef.

Bring to a boil on stovetop. Place in oven and roast for 3 hours or until meat is fork tender.

*Don’t stint on the beef. It cooks down to approximately half. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Here’s a tip from my butcher Raoul. Always buy corned beef flat cut. It has less fat than the point. Therefore you get more meat for your money.

Vegetables
6 med. red potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 carrots, scraped and cut into 2″ pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 2″ pieces
1 med. green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
1 cup corned beef cooking liquid
water

You can prep all the veggies and store in a large container covered by cold water until you’re ready to cook them. Refrigerate so vegetables remain crisp.

Place veggies in a large pot. Stir in corned beef cooking liquid. Add water to cover vegetables by 2 inches. Cover pot. Set cooking temp at medium. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat so the pot doesn’t cook over, but maintain a soft boil. Cook about 30 minutes or until veggies are fork tender.

Horseradish Sauce

1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. prepared horseradish
1 tsp. fresh chives, snipped short

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well.

Transfer to a serving dish, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!

Sloane

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning romance author with a passion that consumes her day and night. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.

Learn more about Taylor’s cookbooks, Date Night Dinners and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire on Amazon.

Connect with Sloane on her website, blog, on Facebook and Twitter.