Category Archives: Recipes

Corn Pudding #Recipe by @Donna_Fasano

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Corn Pudding is a side dish that’s served in many homes in Southern USA. If you’ve never tried this, you are in for a treat. It’s very easy to make and it tastes so good. I should point out that other Corn Pudding recipes call for up to 1/2 cup of sugar. I find that way too sweet. One eighth cup of sugar adds plenty of sweetness for me and my family. Oh, I also should mention that this casserole cooks from the outside in, so don’t skip the last instruction to stir the ingredients half way through the baking time. This step assures that the pudding will be cooked all the way through. Remove the corn pudding from the oven, stir thoroughly, then return to the oven for the final 30 minutes of baking time.

Corn Pudding

INGREDIENTS:
  • 12 ounces frozen whole kernel corn
  • 2 (17-ounce) cans cream-style corn
  • 5 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1⁄8 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons McCormick’s seasoned salt
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 shallot, finely minced
  • 1⁄2 cup whole milk
  • 1⁄2 cup butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Stir together the whole corn, the cream corn, and the eggs in a bowl and set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine corn starch, seasoned salt, dry mustard, and shallot.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
  4. Stir in the milk and butter.
  5. Pour into an oiled 13-inch x 9-inch pan. I use cooking spray.
  6. Bake at 400 for 60 minutes, stirring thoroughly after 30 minutes.

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This is my USA TODAY Bestselling Romance. I am proud that so many readers have enjoyed this books.

About the book: When her teenager lands in serious trouble with the law, Tyne Whitlock knows she must reach out to the boy’s father—a powerful attorney who is unaware he has a son.

Monkey Bread #Recipe By @TaylorLeeWrites

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Monkey Bread is sticky, delectable, and surprisingly simple! This recipe comes from the inimitable Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, who insists “The smell is to die for, but the taste is life itself. I would endorse this monkey bread as the next presidential candidate.”

Monkey Bread

I tend to agree.  It was the hit of our Christmas morning brunch. You owe it to your family and friends who crave recipes that are simple to make and sinfully delicious to test-drive this terrific recipe!

You can pull off pieces by hand or, if you’re civilized, feel free to use utensils. (But then you will miss the treat of licking the cinnamon sweetness off your fingers!)

Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

  • 3 cans buttermilk biscuits (the non-flaky ones)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2-3 tsp, cinnamon
  • 2 sticks butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar

Directions:

  1. Reheat the oven to 350°.
  2. Open up all three cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.
  3. Next, combine the white sugar with 2 to 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. (3 teaspoons of cinnamon gives it a fairly strong cinnamon flavor. If you’re not so hot on cinnamon, cut it back to 2 teaspoons.) Dump these into a 1 gallon zip-up bag and shake to mix evenly.
  4. Drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mix. Once all the biscuit quarters are in the bag seal it and give it a vigorous shake. This will get all those pieces unstuck from one another and nicely coated with cinnamon-sugar. Spread these nuggets out evenly in the Bundt pan.
  5. At this point, you’re going to want to melt the two sticks of butter together with 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. This can be light or dark brown sugar. Cook butter-sugar mixture, stirring for a few minutes until the two become one. Once the brown sugar butter has become one color, you can pour it over the biscuits.
  6. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until the crust is a deep dark brown on top. When it’s finished cooking, remove it from the oven. If you have the willpower, allow it to cool for about 15 to 30 minutes before turning it over onto a plate.

Now, I’m not completely sure why this stuff is called “Monkey Bread,” but I think it has something to do with the fact that people seem to stand around it making primitive noises, jumping up and down, and picking at it incessantly. Taste it and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

ENJOY!!

While you’re snacking on these sinful nuggets, dive into my equally sinful book:

The Unstoppable Detective Brooks

The Unstoppable Detective Brooks

Not all Christmas reunions have sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads.

Some include murder.

Detective Piper Brooks is as beautiful as she is outrageous. To the chagrin of her famous legal family, she disdains  her Harvard law degree, declaring she prefers to be a cop. Now lead detective in Denver’s police department, her motto in the words  of the irascible General Patton is “Lead me, follow me…or get the hell out of my way.” The latter being the most applicable.

The newly elected District Attorney Ethan Matthews is as powerful as Piper but sports a sophisticated patina that masks his background as a fierce undercover agent and wealthy attorney. As honorable as he is fierce, Ethan makes it clear that while the blonde bombshell is a force to be reckoned with, no one including Piper should underestimate him.

And while you are at, don’t let this holiday season go by without snatching up these two terrific boxsets by my ABB colleagues:

Irresistible — Unexpected Christmas Gifts

Christmas Romance

And

Unforgettable Christmas Miracles—Unforgettable Memories

Unforgettable Christmas Miracles

Caramel Stuffed Double Chocolate Cookie Recipe

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I made this cookie recipe for Thanksgiving and the chocolaty, rich cookies were a big hit!  I hope you enjoy them.

Cookie

Caramel Stuffed Double Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips, or semi-sweet
  • 30 soft caramel candies, unwrapped (I used Werther’s Soft Caramels)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat baking mat and set aside.
  2. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter until smooth and creamy, about a minute or so. Add the brown sugar and the granulated sugar. Continue beating on medium speed for 2 more minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
  3. Add eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Mix until smooth, scraping sides of bowl to fully incorporate ingredients.
  4. In a separate bowl, measure out the flour, sift in the cocoa, and stir to combine the two. Turn mixer to low and add the flour/cocoa mixture to the wet ingredients, a little at a time, mixing until just until the dough comes together.
  5. Remove the mixing paddle and stir in chocolate chips with a large spoon.
  6. Flatten caramels a bit using a rolling pin.
  7. Scoop dough using a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop and then form a well in the middle of each ball of dough. Press a caramel into the indention and seal dough around caramel, making sure no caramel is exposed. Place cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
  8. Bake for 9-11 minutes until edges are set. Do not overbake. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you enjoy holiday romance novels, I have several to offer.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING – AND YET A SAD ONE, TOO

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THANKSGIVING will be a different holiday this year. Although many can still celebrate with their family and friends, so many will not. It has been an extremely difficult year for most people—not only in America but around the world.

Thanksgiving

My heart breaks for all those who have suffered so greatly, with storm after storm, and Ian the worst Hurricane to ever hit Florida—devastating so many homes and families—ripping away their lives, their homes, their businesses, and for some, their hopes and dreams. Only a few days ago another hurricane, Nicole, made landfall on the east coast of Florida, destroying more homes and oceanfront. The beaches are being washed away.

I can’t imagine the pain of losing all your photos, all your special moments and memories, gone forever. Actually, I can. Unbearable pain. And yet, the citizens have plunged in to help each other, to rebuild what they can, keep their dreams alive, and refuse to be beaten.

How heroic is that? Around the world we see the same tragedies and atrocities and a very real danger, but the people come together and show compassion and a friendly hand in the worst of all times. Their resilience is to be admired, their strength and combined hope for a better world, a safer place for all to live in.

Hopefully, I haven’t depressed you all, and if I have, I’m sorry. Please enjoy this Thanksgiving and be grateful for all that you do have. Family, friends, neighbors, and your beloved pets are there to help lift you up.

Now, how about a nice Thanksgiving recipe to pick you up?

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

From AllRecipes—this top-rated cheesecake pie is shockingly easy to make with cream cheese and refrigerated crescent rolls.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:
  • cooking spray
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 3/4 cups white sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
  • 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup honey
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
  3. Unroll crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each sheet into a 9×13-inch rectangle. Press one piece into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Evenly spread cream cheese mixture on top, then cover with remaining piece of crescent dough.
  4. Mash remaining 3/4 cup sugar, butter, and cinnamon with a fork until combined. Dot mixture over top of dough.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven until crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan for about 2 hours before cutting into 12 squares.
  7. ENJOY!

Here’s a romance series that is sure to brighten your day!

Serendipity Falls 3-book Set

This set is sold as an eBook Anthology for Kindle Readers. It is also available as a free read for Kindle Unlimited members.