As a gifted cook married to a soldier on campaign, Rose in A Dream Defiant knows how to make the best use of whatever ingredients are available to her. This BLT Bread Salad recipe, which I adapted from similar recipes on Good Eats and in Cooking Light, is the best use I know for the summer bounty of fresh, local tomatoes. I make it year round, but with farmers’ market or garden tomatoes and the best bacon you can find it’s something truly special.

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BLT Bread Salad

(serves 6 as a side dish but can be easily demolished by 2 as dinner)

INGREDIENTS:

6 c. cubed French bread or other firm white bread

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 1/2 tsp sugar

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 bag precut romaine or similar lettuce

5 medium tomatoes or a pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 green onions

4 slices bacon (I sometimes use 6 if I have really good bacon)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook bacon, let drain and cool before crumbling.

3. Chop tomatoes and green onion, set aside. (You can seed the tomatoes too if desired, especially if yours have a lot of squishy, pulpy innards.)

4. Slice bread into bite-sized cubes, place on cookie sheet, and toss with melted butter.  Bake until lightly toasted, 5-10 minutes.

5. Combine vinegar and next seven ingredients (through cayenne pepper) in a small bowl, whisk till well-blended, set aside.

6. Add lettuce, tomatoes, onion, crumbled bacon, and bread cubes to a large salad bowl; toss to blend.  Pour dressing over salad, toss until everything is well coated. Serve immediately.

Elijah Cameron, the son of runaway slaves, has spent his whole life in the British army proving that a black man can be as good a soldier as a white man. After a victory over the French, Elijah promises one of his dying men that he will deliver a scavenged ruby necklace to his wife, Rose, a woman Elijah has admired for years.

Elijah feels bound to protect her and knows a widow with a fortune in jewels will be a target. Rose dreams of using the necklace to return to England, but after a violent attack, she realizes that she needs Elijah's help to make the journey safely.

Her appreciation for Elijah's strength and integrity soon turns into love, but he doubts she could want a life with him, knowing the challenges they'd face. As their relationship grows, she must convince Elijah that she wants him as more than a bodyguard. And she must prove that their love can overcome all obstacles, no matter the color of their skin.

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http://www.susannafraser.com/

Thank you so much for hosting me today. In the second book of the O’Leary series, A GOOD TIME, the heroine, Indy, raves about her sister’s chocolate cake. Indy loves all chocolate (as do I), but Quinn’s chocolate cake is irresistible. By creating the perfect cake in the book, I set myself up for quite a challenge because I didn’t have a recipe to go with it. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to make a cake irresistible. Enjoy!

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Quinn’s Irresistible Chocolate Cake

2 c flour

2 c sugar

1 c cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

¾ c vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 c milk

1 c hot water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch cake pans.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk and mix on low until well blended. Slowly add hot water while mixing. Batter will be runny.

Pour evenly into prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pans for a few minutes and then remove to cool completely. Frost when cool.

Chocolate frosting

2 sticks soft butter

1 c cocoa powder

5 c powdered sugar

½ c milk

Additional milk as needed

Mix butter, cocoa and powdered sugar until combined. Add ½ cup of milk and mix completely. Add more milk to desired consistency. Frost bottom layer of cake. Add top layer and frost.

A passionate free spirit and a sweet-talking playboy sound like a match made in heaven—until life gets in the way of all the fun and games…

Indy Adams values her freedom above all else. She works hard to support herself, moonlighting as a waitress while she fights for her first big sale in the Chicago real estate market. The last thing she needs is to be tied down, so she doesn’t think twice about declining her philandering boyfriend’s marriage proposal. Besides, she just landed a new client, a wealthy lothario—exactly the kind of guy who would understand her no-strings approach…

Handsome, rich, and charitable, most women jump at the chance to even talk to video game developer Griffin Walker, let alone date him. So he can’t understand why Indy wants nothing more than a few steamy nights together. Despite his romantic track record, Griffin longs for real love—complete with a home and family—and he wants it with Indy. But a blessing in disguise may lead them both to a life they never expected, and give Griffin a chance to show Indy that it’s okay to want more than a good time…

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http://www.ShannynSchroeder.com

This is a holiday favorite in my family and made a lot of my dear friends very happy when we were stationed overseas away from our families one particularly rough Christmas. It's super easy and will make you a star. :) While it uses a package brownie mix, any brownie recipe will do. Just substitute the mix for the combined dry ingredients needed in your favorite brownie recipe. :)

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Recipe:

Peanut Butter Buckeye Bars

1 (19.5 ounce) package brownie mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

(Please note I often double the recipe to make thicker bars)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs and oil. Beat until combined. Remove half of the brownie mix and set aside.Spread remaining brownie mix into prepared pan.

Whisk together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in a medium bowl until smooth. spread peanut butter mixture evenly over the brownie mixture in the pan. Separate the reserved brownie mixture into pieces. Flatten each piece with your fingers and place on top of peanut butter mixture.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely in pan or on a wire rack. Cut into bars and serve.

Additional Notes:

This recipe is super versatile. We've them in muffin tins, specialty brownie pans, pie tins, etc. The condensed milk and peanut butter mixture prevents the PB from burning and I've used it several times in other recipes. You can add roasted peanuts, pecans or walnuts to the recipe. Just make sure you mix it in with the brownie mix after adding the wet ingredients.

Melody St. Claire doesn’t believe in ghosts. Until a fire destroys her whole world, forcing her into a beautiful haunted house and the territorial domain of one very real, incredibly mysterious resident spirit.

Sexy Travis Santiago haunts the walls of his family home. Resigned to being alone, he merely exists in a place between the living and the dead until the frustrating little brunette enters his life and his heart. He can give her what she needs, if she would just believe.

The passion he ignites threatens to consume her, heart and soul, but may not be enough to hold back the nightmares. And Melody can’t possibly hope to spend forever with a man who is already dead.

A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

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Website | Twitter | Writing | Facebook

You won’t find any vegetables at a dragon gathering! Here’s a recipe—adapted from dragon-fire temperatures to oven settings—sure to be a hit for any carnivorous species, be they human or reptile!

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Candied Meat Treats (Recipe is adjusted for 8 human stomachs and makes about 60 treats)

Ingredients

1 dash ground black pepper	1 (16oz) package bacon
2 cups brown sugar (more or less if desired)	Toothpicks
2 (14oz) packages Lit’l Smokies™

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F – Line a baking or casserole dish with aluminum foil

Mix black pepper and brown sugar.

Cut strips of bacon into thirds and wrap each lit’l smokie, securing the bacon with a toothpick. Place into backing dish.

Pack the brown sugar and pepper mix around the smokies and cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Bake in oven for 18-25 minutes at 400°F. Remove aluminum foil cover.

Increase the temperature to 450°F and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until brown sugar has melted and thickened.

Serve.

Consoling a sobbing dragon and serving pig buffets are just part of the job for Myrna Banks. Working for a mediation firm, it's her job to get humans compensated for damages caused by the dragons who now rule. But her "typical" day is interrupted by Trian Chobardan, an old flame who sneaked out of her bed two years ago, taking her heart and a handful of classified documents with him.

Myrna would love to show Trian the door, but he's been sent by North America's reigning dragon lord for help negotiating a truce with a powerful rival to avert war. Myrna agrees to help, even though she'll be stuck with Trian as a partner.

As the two work together, Myrna finds Trian to be surprisingly supportive—and still irresistibly attractive. Though her brain tells her not to forget his betrayal, her body feels differently. When they learn the enemy dragon lord is planning something no one could have imagined, Myrna has to learn who she can trust before she loses not only her heart, but her life.

84,000 words

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http://lorendac.com

Having a birthday in the middle of July meant three things growing up: never getting to share cupcakes with my class, never getting an ice cream cake because it would melt too fast, and always having barbecue food for my birthday dinner. I couldn’t even look at potato salad for a long time, at least until I discovered this particular version. Now, it’s a staple in my family’s celebrations, no matter what time of year it is.

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BAKED POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

8 Russet potatoes

1 lb bacon

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Scrub and cut up the potatoes in bite-size pieces. Cover with water and boil for 20-25 minutes, or until fork-tender. Do not overcook.

2. Drain and cool the potatoes.

3. Cook and crumble the bacon.

4. Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together.

5. Combine cooled potatoes, bacon, onion, and cheese.

6. Stir in sour cream/mayo mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.

Nothing has ever excited Tylen Merodine more than being invited by the Regent himself to celebrate the first solar eclipse in his planet’s recorded history. It’s the party of the millennium, and if he has to restrain his normal exuberant instincts to fit in, that’s what he’ll do to be a part of it. His good intentions vanish, however, the moment he’s presented to the Regent. Because there, in a gilded cage, playing music unlike anything Tylen’s ever heard, is the most beautiful alien he could imagine.

For more than twenty years, Dek has lived in captivity, performing at the whim of those who see him as an animal. The Regent is just the latest in a long line of owners, and while he’s kind, he’s still blind to Dek’s sentient nature. Only music gives Dek a voice, until Tylen breaks the rules and sneaks in to see and speak to him alone.

The time they have together is stolen and precious, the minutes ticking away until the eclipse is past and they have to go back to the way their lives were before. But when the Regent shows an unexpected interest in Tylen’s future, they begin to wonder if their worlds need to remain so separate...

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www.viviendean.com

There were many issues facing Alex and Lisbeth, the least of which was the king’s appearance at Glen Kirk Castle but I’ll tell you all about that later. Lisbeth planned a banquet for the king featuring duck breast with berry sauce using her special garden berries. Here is Lisbeth’s recipe. I hope you get the same results she did!

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Sautéed Duck Breast with Berry Sauce – serves 6

Ingredients

6 large boneless duck breast fillets, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken or duck stock
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cups berries: blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Season the duck breast with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the duck breast, skin side first, then flip over, reduce heat and cook other side, about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Remove the duck breasts to a platter, reserving the juices in the pan. Work in batches, if necessary.

4. To make the sauce, add the balsamic vinegar and red wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half.

5. Add the stock and reduce by half again, then add brown sugar, rosemary and berries and cook for 3 minutes.

6. Strain into a bowl and whisk in the butter to finish.

7. Place the duck breast on each plate and drizzle the sauce around.

Note: You can substitute jam for the berries just omit the sugar. You can also substitute chicken for the duck.

Lisbeth winked when she told me this was an old family recipe. If that is so then chef Robert Irvine of the Food Network is a distant relation! I used this recipe from Food Network after we remodeled the kitchen and I wanted a special dinner just for Paul and I. He licked his fingers and gave me a smoldering stare …

 

England, 1290

Lord Alex Stelton can't resist a challenge, especially one with a prize like this: protect a castle on the Scottish border for a year, and it's his. Desperate for land of his own, he'll do anything to win the estate—even enter a proxy marriage to Lady Lisbeth Reynolds, the rumored witch who lives there.

Feared and scorned for her second sight, Lisbeth swore she'd never marry, but she is drawn to the handsome, confident Alex. She sees great love with him but fears what he would think of her gift and her visions of a traitor in their midst.

Despite his own vow never to fall in love, Alex can't get the alluring Lisbeth out of his mind and is driven to protect her when attacks begin on the border. But as her visions of danger intensify, Lisbeth knows it is she who must protect him. Realizing they'll secure their future only by facing the threat together, she must choose between keeping her magic a secret and losing the man she loves.

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Website: www.RuthACasie.com

Blog: www.RuthACasie.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RuthACasie

Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/19jej7y

This super easy and decadent dessert is my husband’s favorite. The recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law, and it’s always a crowd pleaser.

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Death By Chocolate

3 packages chocolate pudding, mixed

1 chocolate cake (cut into bite-size pieces)

2 large Cool Whip tubs

5-6 Skor bars (frozen, then broken into pieces)

Nuts for garnish (if desired)

Chocolate and Caramel Sauces

Layer the chocolate pudding, chocolate cake, Cool Whip and Skor bars in a large glass bowl. Top with nuts and sauces. Freeze. Leave in refrigerator for 4-5 hours before serving.

Book three in the Love’s Second Chance series.

Wynne Carter’s one-night stand with Hollywood bad boy Derek Shaw resulted in life-changing consequences in the form of her precious daughter. Years later, she isn’t prepared to face him or his questions when he returns to her small town seeking answers.

With his acting career on hiatus thanks to his wild past, discovering he has a daughter is reason enough for Derek to stick around. Spending time with her mom isn’t too shabby either, and soon he can’t keep Wynne or her long legs off his mind.

Wynne knows a man like Derek is made for sin, not happily-ever-afters, but resisting him proves pretty darn impossible. For a while, it looks as if the unlikely pairing of the single mom and the heartthrob might make it after all. Until Hollywood wants its leading man back, and their new relationship threatens to fall apart forever.

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http://www.scarsco.com

This is my grandmother's recipe so I've been eating these cookies for as long as I can remember. The recipe has sure withstood the test of time, and even my best friend whose husband is a professional chef uses this easy, versatile butter cookie recipe. I use different themed cookie cutters depending on the occasion….like a cowboy boot cutter to promote my new cowboy book release.

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Butter Cookies

½ lb Butter, softened
1 Egg
1 Cup Sugar
2 ½ Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Lemon Extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
Cream butter with a hand blender or stand mixer.
Blend in sugar. Add egg & extract and blend.
Add flour & baking powder. Blend until smooth.
Chill dough in fridge.
Roll out flat on a floured board to desired thickness. Cut into shapes.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes (or until just beginning to brown).
Can be decorated with sprinkles before baking or iced or dipped in melted chocolate after baking.

IN A COWBOY'S BED

They’re tough as nails and sexy as hell. With their leather chaps and Stetson hats, they’re impossible to resist. They’re cowboys and they like to ride slow and hard. . .

“Two for the Road” by Cat Johnson

Heather London is tired of the squeaky clean acting roles that keep coming her way. But when she takes off in a car one day heading west, she never expects to meet up with two cowboys who show her just how fun it is to get down and dirty. . .

“Soul of a Cowboy” by Vonna Harper

One thing cowboys don’t take kindly to is city girls snooping around the ranch, investigating environmental concerns. But when Kathy Vinoza sets eyes on Mike Moss, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of her body follows. . .

“Trouble in Boots” by Lynn LaFleur

An unforgettable high school graduation night has kept Keely Sheridan and Nick Fallon apart for far too long. But when Nick gets sidelined after fighting a raging fire, and Keely needs Nick’s help with the family ranch, he is more than willing to take control. . .

This book contains adult content

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Preorder IN A COWBOY'S BED now for the July 2013 release!

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