One of the foods my family has always enjoyed on Christmas Eve was tortière. It is a French-Canadian meat pie that my mother learned to make when she grew up in Northern Ontario.

~ ~ ~

TORTIÈRE

2 lbs ground pork

1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp butter
1 large or two medium potatoes
1 large onion (diced into tiny pieces)
2 teaspoons allspice
pepper to taste
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
4 Deep Dish pie shells (I use pre-made)

1. Peel, cut up, and boil potato(s). Mash them well. Put aside. They will be used later in the recipe.

2. In a large skillet or pot, melt the butter. Add onions until they've turned clearish.

3. Add the ground pork and ground beef until well cooked. Drain the grease.

4. Add the mashed potato and mix well.

5. Add the allspice, pepper, and cinnamon. Mix well. 

6. Add enough water to cover the mixture and let simmer for a few hours, allowing the potato to thicken the mixture.
7. Once the mixture is thickened, divide equally into two of the pie shells. Cover each with one of the remaining pie shells and pinch the edges, using a wee bit of water to bond them. I always cut an eight-point star into mine to vent them well when cooking.   
8. Bake at 425 degrees F until edges are golden brown and pie dough cooked. I usually undercook one just slightly so I can freeze it and just pop into the oven to reheat without the pie dough getting burned during reheating. The other one I cook fully for dinner.

In one week, Princess Ro’sa will board a spaceship, leaving her home on Minjet to be with her betrothed on Earth. The only problem is, she detests the prince’s selfish and arrogant ways, preferring to spend time with his personal aide, a man who stirs her desires in ways she never imagined possible with his radiant blue eyes and smouldering lips. And oh, the way he touches her.

Earth’s post-apocalyptic landscape offers little but the alliance offers much and a princess must do her duty, no matter the danger to her person and to her heart.

~ ~ ~

jessicasubject.com

I admit it. I found this recipe when I had a pound of ground beef and was too lazy to go to the market for hamburger buns. When it turned out to be delicious, I was doubly happy, because Becca Chen, the heroine of my book, Across the Line, has a café that specializes in soups and a daily offering of lettuce cups. I hope you like this one as much as I do.

~ ~ ~

Asian Beef Lettuce Cups

16ish Boston Bibb, butter, or iceberg lettuce leaves

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, chopped

¼ cup hoisin sauce (found in Asian section of the market)

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon ground ginger (or you can use a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger)

a couple dashes of Sriracha or other hot sauce

1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Rinse and pat dry the lettuce leaves.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef and cooking oil in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease; transfer beef to a bowl. Cook and stir onion in the same skillet used for beef until slightly tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir hoisin sauce, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and hot sauce into onions. Add water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; cook and stir until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Spoon some of the filling into the lettuce cups and enjoy! This would probably make a wonderful salad, too. I found myself wanting a higher lettuce to meat ratio. This would also be yummy with white rice and some steamed veggies.

Calder Griffin needs to get back in shape. Sidelined last season by a knee injury, he's determined to return to the San Diego Barracudas and play the best hockey of his career. This might even be the year he gets out of his talented older brother's shadow.

For months, Becca Chen has poured her energy into Cups, the restaurant she owns, desperate to prove to her parents that she can succeed in the career of her choice, not theirs. But after she spends a five-hour plane ride flirting with charming, magic-on-the-ice Calder, she tells herself she needs a fling.

Becca and Calder can't keep their hands off each other, but they know the relationship can't last. They live on opposite coasts, and they're both too devoted to their careers. All they have to do is prevent their feelings from crossing the line from lust to love...

~ ~ ~

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Hello romance lovers! We all know falling in love isn’t easy. That is, unless you’re falling for my favorite slow cooker Italian beef. Looking for a meal as flavorful as your favorite hero? Give this a taste:

~ ~ ~

Slow Cooker Italian Beef

Ingredients (about 10 servings)

3 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 bay leaf

1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix (Make it ZESTY!)

1 (3-5 pound) rump roast

Directions

1. Combine water with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.

2. Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat.

3. Cover, and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 5 hours. When done, remove bay leaf, and shred meat with a fork.

4. Serve on fresh hoagie rolls.

As the nights turn cool and you’re looking for a little something to warm you from the inside out, give this recipe a shot. You can’t go wrong.

Of course, I said the same thing to the hero and heroine in my latest release, The Last First Date….

First date number forty-eight comes to a screeching halt for detective Langley Sheppard when his date lifts a pack of gum from the local convenience store. But things start looking up when he encounters spunky damsel in distress Jessica Vickers, who's stranded in the store parking lot. Now Lang is about to discover that on a night when everything goes wrong, falling for Jessica feels spectacularly right.

~ ~ ~

Maggie-Wells.com ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ GoodReads

Can you cook and clean up with one hand? It’s hard right? Well, that’s me. I had hand surgery and it’s not an easy task. Especially if it’s your main hand.

So I’m pretty much useless right now. But! Here is a fab recipe that needs TWO hands to prepare. And as a side note. My son, chef trained, got a job today in a bakery. Let’s hope he brings home the bacon...er bread.

~ ~ ~

Easy Beef Wellington

It really is easy and don’t let it intimidate you. Have everything ready beforehand and read the instructions first so you know what you’re supposed to do when. The puff pastry is probably the trickiest part, but don’t sweat it. Make sure surface is floured just enough to keep it from sticking and the pastry will get sticky if it gets warm, so you do have to move quickly with it.

2 tsp canola oil

2 lb centre cut beef tenderloin, trimmed and string removed

½ tsp each salt and pepper

1 pk whole bella mushrooms, or portabella finely chopped (the finer the better) in processor or with knife

1 tsp unsalted butter

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped – hold one end of the stem and run your nails down the stem gently pull against the leaf so they come off in your fingers – easy way to get them off

3-4 slices prosciutto

1-2 tbsp flour

1/g package puff pastry, thaw according to pkg directions

1 egg for egg wash

1 tbs water

½ tsp kosher or coarse salt

Take a deep breath and have a glass of wine handy

· Heat 1 tsp oil skillet over med-high heat.

· Season beef with half S&P on all sides and sear in skillet, cooking 2 minutes on each side until brown. Set aside on a towel lined plate and refrigerate to cool

While beef cools

· Add 1 tsp oil and butter to used skillet – cook shallots til soft and fragrant but not browned

· Then add mushrooms, rest of S&P and sauté stirring constantly until mushroom give up their liquid and brown slightly

· Stir in thyme and put in small bowl, cool completely – put in frig if you have to and stir it around to cool

Once everything is cool...probably about half hour to 45 minutes – so have a sip of wine!

· Lay out a larger piece of plastic wrap and lay prosciutto evenly

· Spread mushroom mixture – proper term for this is duxelles (pronounced dook-SEHL J)

· Dry bottom of meat with paper towel and place in centre

· Pick up one edge of plastic wrap and roll it around the meat to make a cylinder, twist ends and refrigerate

Now the tricky part: puff pastry – which really isn’t so tricky if you RELAX

· Beat egg and water together to use as a glue for the pasty ends and for a wash and set aside

· Dust work surface with flour and roll pastry into a rectangle as best you can about 1/8 inch thick

· NOTE- it has to be big enough to cover the meat completely and extra inch or two around

· Place meat in centre of pastry

· Paint ends with the egg wash and wrap around the beef, if it’s too big, trim off but make sure there is a slight overlap

· Tuck ends in

· Place seam side down on parchment paper lined baking tray.

· Cover and chill minimum 20 minutes or up to two hours – this helps to stop the pastry from getting soggy during cooking – note mine still did a bit and I think next time I would put it on a broiler type pan with holes still using the parchment paper and poke holes in the paper so the juices drip through to the catch pan

Time to cook!

· Preheat oven to 425°

· Paint chilled pasty with remaining egg wash

· Cut 3 diagonal slits across the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with coarse salt

· Roast on 2^nd rack from bottom

· 45 minutes for medium or until thermometer reads 160°

· Let meat rest for at least 10 minutes and if possible not in its juices because that means a ‘soggy bottom’

· Cut into 1 inch slices using a serrated knife. Don’t push down the pastry. Put your forefinger and middle finger on one side of pastry and thumb the other lightly and the knife between your forefingers...saw gently until cut through.

· Plate it

· Ta da!

Spectator Sex. Intriguing. Risqué. The idea of watching other people have sex excites Tara to distraction. She hopes Joe is as eager as she to slip into voyeur mode so they can take another step in their sexual adventures. The last thing she expects is to evolve from watching ménages to being part of the show. Or for the two hot men who join her and Joe to not be able to keep their hands off each other.

~ ~ ~

You can find me at:

www.cristalryder.com

https://twitter.com/#!/CristalRyder

The Cabal of Hotness

https://www.facebook.com/cristal.ryderauthor

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Sybarite Seductions

I lived in Kenya for several years during the late 90's, and started this story while I lived there. Little scraps of descriptions I saw before me eventually turned into Samburu Hills, a story set in the early days of colonial Kenya. With everything happening there recently its on my mind and I wanted to share some of the country I knew.

~ ~ ~

Pigeon Pea Sauce
1 cup pigeon Peas
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Ghee or butter
2 onions
seasoning
1 cup milk
Cook the peas in the water until soft.  Fry the onions in the ghee until golden brown and add the peas.  Cook until all the water is dry.  Mash the peas into a paste.  Season well and add the milk.  Reheat and serve with mashed potatoes or bananas.

Ugali
¾ cup water
½ cup maize meal
½ dessertspoon dried skim milk powder
salt
Boil water. Sieve maize meal, dried skim milk powder, and salt.  Add sieved flour to boiling water.  Cook for a few minutes stirring continuously.  Serve with stewed meat.

Beef stew
Ingredients
1 lb beef (not ground) i.e..: Cut meat
2 carrots
2 green peppers
4 tomatoes
4 onions
Coriander
Curry powder
Black pepper
Seasoning salt, Crisco cooking oil, salt
1. Fry the onions that have been chopped until they turn brown (use Crisco oil)
2. Add tomatoes and chopped green pepper
3. Add carrots, black pepper and coriander
4. Wash the cut meat and sprinkle it with seasoning salt
5. When the carrots have become slightly soft add the cut meat
6. When meat is almost cooking add some curry powder and salt to taste

Pilau rice
Ingredients:
1.5 LB rice (water according to rice)
0.5 LB green peas
2 tbls pilau masala (type of spice)
3 onions
3 tomatoes
Crisco oil
Salt
1. Wash the rice with cold water
2. Boil the peas until it’s cooked
3. Chop onions and then fry them until they turn slightly brown. Then add tomatoes that have been peeled and cut
4. Boil some of the rice water with the pilau masala until it boils. Add some salt to taste
5. Add the rest of the water to the fried onions and tomatoes
6. Then add the green peas when the water starts boiling and the rice.
Let it cook.

Chapati
Ingredients
1 cup of flour (white)
1 tablespoon shortening
1/2 tea sp or less salt
Directions
Melt shortening in a small frying pan DO NOT boil it.
Mix shortening with flour and salt.
Then mix with warm water (add just a little bit of water at a time and mix the dough thoroughly, make sure the dough is not hard) keep for at least one hour. Then separate dough into small rolls similar to oven cupcake buns. Use rolling pin and roll the dough balls each on a large flat surface as you roll the pin spread a little shortening on the dough and then tear the now flat pizza like dough spread from the center by pulling evenly to all edges and cut one side so you are left with a long lean piece of dough in your hands. Roll it into a coil (snakes) from each end in opposite directions (one clock wise and the other end counter clock wise) when they get together, then twist one of the collected coil and put it over the other.
Clean area over the oven top and keep a wide flat heavy/thick frying pan on the cooking range, turn on the cooker at low. Leave the dough for about 10 minutes then roll with rolling pin on flat surface into an evenly spread round (pizza like) thin spread. Turn the heat on to medium using oiling brush, spread a little shortening evenly all around the pan and cook the chapatis. Keep turning (rotating it) to ensure even cooking and turn over and keep pressing after turning and also put shortening on top but not too much and keep on pressing in the frying pen until light brown.

When Celeste Reed steps off the boat in the fledgling colony of Kenya, East Africa she finds out the man that she was to marry doesn't even care to get to know her let alone listen to a word she says.

Life is miserable and then he has the nerve to die leaving her to run an estate without any money. It seems he spent all he had to impress the colony and she was just part of the package.

Africa is unforgiving to the weak, but it can be the people that you least expect that make it.

And then there's Edward.

~ ~ ~

www.jennifermuellerbooks.com

I love baked ziti.   My very favorite is rich and decadent and has no meat.  My hubby likes it, but in deference to his carnivorous nature and in an effort to lighten things up (yes, this has 2 pounds of meat and is LIGHTER than the meatless ziti I prefer–I wasn’t kidding when I said the other version is decadent), I created this extra meaty ziti (which is also loaded with veggies–that’s the light portion). 

~ ~ ~

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1 pound turkey breakfast sausage cooked
• 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
• 4 ounces sliced black olives, drained
• 30 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers,diced
• 8 ounces gluten free pasta
• 1 cup light cottage cheese
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced
• 3 tbs tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, less 2-3 minutes.  It’s going to cook more in the casserole itself.

3. Brown the ground beef.

4. Drain and rinse.

5. Brown the sausage.

6. As the sausage is cooking, add the chopped mushrooms and cook until softened.

7. Add the ground beef back in.

8. Turn off the heat.

9. Add the olives, both cans of tomatoes (undrained), the roasted red peppers, tomato paste, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and cottage cheese, and fresh mozzarella and mix thoroughly.

10. Add the pasta and mix until well incorporated.

11. Pour into greased 9×13 casserole dish and cover with foil.

12. Bake for 30 minutes.

13. Remove the foil and top with the shredded mozzarella and bake for another 15 minutes, until cheese is melty.

Paranormal beings exist among us. 

Their strictest rule: Keep the secret.

Forsaken By Shadow

A mission gone wrong.  An operative captured and disavowed.  A daughter, determined to save the only family she has left.  Out of options, Embry seeks the help of the only man she ever loved.  He has a new name, a new life, and no memory of her world.  Can Cade remember who he was before its too late?

Devil's Eye

Trouble.  That's what wolf-shifter Mick thinks when a beautiful woman appears in his New Orleans bar with a hurricane at her back.  His apprehension grows when Sophie starts asking questions about his missing waitress.  Mick will do anything to protect a member of his adopted pack--even form an alliance with a woman with a badge.

Blindsight

Isla's ability as a Seer has made her a life-long captive of a paranormal crime lord.  Fae assassin, Ransom, offers her a chance at escape, but when she touches his hand, she sees blood, horror, apocalypse.  What reason can Ransom have for wanting to rescue her?  And can she trust a man who deals in death?

Three novellas of danger and sizzling, magical attraction.

Genesis...it's only the beginning.

~ ~ ~

http://kaitnolan.com

Thanks for coming by to check out my romance recipe. Now, granted, this isn’t going to be something sexy, and since my main characters have all been vampires, you can guess they don’t eat this sort of thing for themselves. However, my husband and I LOVE this recipe. It originally came out of the American Heart Association Cookbook (7^thEdition).

~ ~ ~

Vegetable oil spray

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 lb lean ground beef

1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella (AHA calls for Monterey Jack)

14.5-ounce can tomatoes, undrained (AHA says unsalted, we don’t bother)

16 6-inch corn tortillas, halved

1/2 cup salsa (this is somewhere you can add spice)

15-ounce can navy beans, rinsed and drained (AHA says no-salt added)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 can whole-kernel corn (AHA says 1c frozen)

1 cup fat-free/low-fat ricotta cheese

7-ounce can sliced black olives (AHA says 1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 375◦, lightly spraying a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, cook beef for 7-8 minutes (medium-high), or until browned, stirring occasionally. You can drain/rinse the beef, but we generally don’t. If you do, return beef to skillet.

3. Stir in tomatoes, salsa and salt, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes or until warmed through, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, but leave skillet on the stove.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, chili powder, and cumin.

5. Arrange 8 tortilla halves in the baking dish (they can overlap, that’s to be expected).

6. Spread half of the beef mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle using half of your mozzarella (or Jack, if you use the Jack).

7. Arrange another 8 tortilla halves.

8. Spoon 1-tablespoon mounds of the ricotta mixture over the tortillas, then flatten each mound slightly, pouring the beans and corn on top.

9. Put on another layer of tortillas.

10. Add remaining meat, sprinkle with the last of the cheese, add the olives.

11. Put on the last set of 8 tortilla halves.

12. Cover with aluminum foil.

13. Bake for 30 minutes, or until warmed through.

14. Enjoy!

If this is too bland for you as is (it was the first time we tried it), Tabasco sauce works wonders, as does adding a jalepeno pepper and/or hot salsa rather than mild or medium.

One hundred ninety-eight seasons after the mushroom-shaped clouds first blossom to poison the humans of the Rising Sun, near the beginning of the Season of Inundation, Atlantis will return.

With those words ringing in their ears, vampires Christine Javert and Jordan MacNaught find themselves in a race against time to stop the return of Atlantis. As they hunt for the deadly Ares, they discover the true depths of his plot to incite a world-wide species war, turning the humans against all the non-humans, not just the vampires as they’d originally thought.

~ ~ ~

www.torymichaels.com

http://torymichaels.blogspot.com

Lemme tell ya, for those of us that work 8-12 hours a day outside the home, (yes, I have a day job) the crockpot is an absolute LIFESAVER! Nothing like coming home to “supper’s done.” Makes the whole house smell yummy—and makes everyone hungry. I love mushrooms, so this recipe is right up my alley! You want to add the sour cream last minute, so it doesn’t break down.

~ ~ ~

3-4 lbs. beef sirloin steak, cubed

2 cans chicken broth

1 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms

1 can regular cola

½ c. chopped onion

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

½ tsp. black pepper

***

2 envelopes dry country gravy mix

2 c. sour cream

Hot cooked egg noodles

In slower cooker/crock pot, combine first nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for7-8 hours until meat is tender.

With a slotted spoon, remove beef & mushrooms. Place gravy mix in large saucepan, gradually whisk in cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, cook & stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Add sour cream immediately before serving. Serve beef & mushrooms over noodles, top with gravy.

Worst case of mistaken identity EVER…

Guardians of Light, Book 6

As a teacher, Maili is adept at juggling multiple tasks, but this is ridiculous. Erotic dreams make her sleep anything but restful. Her father wants to marry her off to a neighboring chieftain’s son. Her grandmother’s whispered blasphemy about doubting the gods has the local volcano threatening to split wide open.

As she prays in the temple for mercy on her grandmother, Maili expects the mountain to smoke and rumble. She doesn’t expect Afu himself to pop through a dark fissure and squash her flat.

The last thing Dax remembers is vowing to prevent his queen’s assassination. He wakes up in an island paradise, where the primitive natives worship the statue of a troll named Afu. And they expect him—their fyre god incarnate—to stop their cranky volcano from blowing up.

As an incentive, they’ve given him a maiden sacrifice/bride, a dark-eyed beauty who’s just as determined to seduce him as he is to return home in one piece.

While she’s less than thrilled to be traded like a chicken, one thing is certain. Dax is the man in her dreams…and she’s hell bent on making them come true. Or her people may die.

Warning: Contains erotic dreams, volcanic-hot love scenes, one edgy F/F interrogation scene and some self-loving. Also treason, black sorcery and an evil witch doctor who shrinks heads.

~ ~ ~

http://reneewildes1.wordpress.com

On Passover last year, my family was in charge of bringing the brisket. Since I notoriously can’t cook (When I moved from our house in New York, my neighbor told me she’d miss seeing me every night, opening the front door to fan the smoke out of the kitchen!) my husband insisted on making a “back up brisket.” I made this one, and he made another one in the oven.

Everyone loved and gave the highest compliment: “Shoshanna, we never in a million years would have guessed you made this brisket all by yourself.” LOL *Hangs head*

~ ~ ~

Easy Crock Pot Brisket:

Ingredients:

A big package of brisket (it’s a fatty cut of beef)

A jar of Garlic Onion Tomato sauce

Directions:

Slather the brisket in tomato sauce and put it in the CrockPot. Pour the entire jar in there on top, too.

Cook for 10 hours on low.

That’s it!

Ellie's been pushed back in time by her vengeful ex-lover. Now a tribe of frighteningly large, muscular, and very sexy cavemen are holding her captive. And they *all* want a turn.

Warning: This 45 page short novella contains dubious consent, forced seduction, the threat of real violence, some m/m action, and a four-cavemen-against-one-modern-woman gangbang--not rape. This is not a romance, it's erotica. Just to be clear...happy reading.

~ ~ ~

Sexily *Evers* After… www.ShoshannaEvers.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShoshannaEvers

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shoshanna.evers

My current favorite to make for holidays is a BBQ brisket, or brisket tacos. The brisket is a tougher cut of meat and therefore needs to be handled well to keep it moist and soft.  Since I’ve picked up brisket as one of those things I can do well, I get asked a lot about how to figure out cooking it. I’ll share my easy calculations for how to make a great brisket at home in your oven.

~ ~ ~

What you’ll need:

· Brisket

· Onion

· Salt

· Pepper

· BBQ, seasoning, dry rub, beer batter or other dressing

When you cut the packaging open on your brisket, go ahead and give it a quick wash. Keep that wrapper handy though, you’ll need it toward the end. You’ll see that one side of the brisket has a fatty layer, usually half an inch to an inch thick. Put the brisket in a pan with the fat side up. This way as the brisket cooks the fat can keep the meat moist.

Dice up the onion to add some flavor. Some people here in Texas like to add some peppers and jalapenos as well. I’m simple, so I prefer a plain onion.

Season your brisket to taste. This can mean a few things. I personally prefer a good BBQ brisket, so I will either make up a quick batch of BBQ from scratch or use my favorite brand of store bought sauce and slather the entire brisket in a bottle so the flavor can cook through the meat. You can also experiment with beer batter, various rubs or sauces.

I usually pour a cup or more of beef stock in the bottom to add more flavor and ensure that the meat stays as moist as possible. This is something you can take or leave, it’s just my preference.

Another tip for those who want easy clean up and chose to skip the broth, you can wrap the brisket in foil inside the pan so there’s even less scrubbing to do.

When you’re brisket is ready to pop in the oven, it’s time to calculate how long you will need to allow for cooking. If you’re a well-done person, I’d suggest something around 275 degrees. I’m more of a medium-rare girl, so I cook my briskets around 225 degrees.

Go back to your wrapping that you removed at the beginning and see how much your brisket weighs. For every pound of meat, you will need to cook the brisket for one to one and a half hours. The more you cook it, the more well done it will be.

So say you have a five pound brisket and want it well done. You’d cook it at about 275 degrees for up to seven and a half hours. Say you want it on the rare side. That same cut of meat would be cooked at 225 degrees for as few as five hours.

If you have a meat thermometer you can cook until the inner temperature is between 145 to 190 degrees.

When it’s finished, cut and serve to your preference, be that sliced and slathered in BBQ sauce or diced and in a taco!

A woman who doesn’t believe she deserves love…

Toe-curling kisses and enough sex to fill a weekend were all Pandora wanted from a fling with her teenage crush. She’s never forgotten how he played the knight in shining armor to her damsel in distress. She’s ready to say thank you in several naughty ways, so long as she can walk away when it’s over with her heart intact.

A man moving on from tragedy…

Brian has no intention of allowing the feisty tattoo artist to leave him after one taste. He hasn’t had enough of her inked curves. The packaging might have changed, but Pandy is the woman he hasn’t been able to excise from his memory. He’s ready to put together a new life, one that includes her. But he’s not the only one vying for her attention. Someone else wants her, dead or alive.

~ ~ ~

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The best thing about fall is that it’s socially acceptable to eat pumpkin again, not to mention stick it in all your favorite recipes. I make my easy pumpkin-kale chili year round, so I use a lot of canned ingredients, but feel free to sub them out with the fresh alternative!

~ ~ ~

INGREDIENTS
·          2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)
·          1 large onion, diced
·          2 cloves of minced garlic
·          1 bunch of chopped kale
·          1 can corn, drained
·          1 can kidney beans, drained
·          1 can tomato juice
·          1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
·          1 can pumpkin puree
·          1/2 packet of chili seasoning (or one tablespoon of chili powder)

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot, cook the beef until it’s brown; drain. Stir in the onion, garlic and seasoning, and let it cook for a few minutes longer. Add all of the other ingredients and let it simmer for about an hour. Best served with crusty warm bread.

This recipe is extremely forgiving, which is what I love best about it. Feel free to add or subtract whatever vegetables and ingredients you would like. You can even throw everything into a crock pot if you like. Go nuts.

Night Whispers, Available November 6 from Samhain Publishing!

When every night is a battle for survival, love is an endangered species.

Analyst James Bennett has spent the years since humankind fell victim to the Illness living underground. Part of an elite group of survivors determined to save their race, his only interaction with the blood-drinking Shadows roaming the Earth is through surveillance technology carried by his team of search-and-rescue agents. Scarred by vicious events, he has no desire to leave the safety of his bunker for the dangerous world outside—until he recruits a tough, haunted young woman clear across the country.

Former gang member Jules Guerrero learned two things early on: the value of loyalty and never backing down from a fight. Both of those teachings come in handy now that her job
description includes protecting humans and kicking Shadow ass. But it’s hard to keep her mind strictly on her mission when all she can think about is the man whose voice keeps
her sane through the depths of each dark night.

When Jules is captured and threatened by a rogue organization even more bloodthirsty than the Shadows, James must draw on all of his courage to fuel a furious cross-country
chase through the lawless land…before the Jules he loves is destroyed forever.

Warning: Contains a hero who would fight monsters for his love, a heroine out to save the world, a treacherous wasteland, poetry as foreplay and flesh-eating enemies.

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You can find Alisha on Twitter at twitter. com/AlishaRai or visit her on the web at alisharai.com.

Hi everyone. Nothing is more romantic than a cookout on a warm summer night, right? Cord and Dillon certainly enjoyed their cookout.

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Cookout beef and vegetables

Pre-cut twelve-inch squares of aluminum foil (two per person)

Fold them over your fist into pockets

Line the bottom of the pocket with thin slices of lemon to keep the food from burning, as well as adding extra flavor.

Then add some strips of dried beef, chopped potatoes and carrots cut small, peppers, onions, a small can of beans and a few shakes of garlic, salt and pepper.

Top each tube up with maybe a quarter cup of water

Fold the top edges of the pocket closed, and set it directly into the hot coals.

They take half an hour to cook slow roasting in their own juices.

Cord’s a werewolf and the holiday season makes Cord’s skin itch, his head ache, and his wolf side agitated. Usually he goes on vacation at this time of year but he wants to be with Dillon.

Cord decides to rent a little cabin in the mountains for the holiday week and Dillon agrees to come with him. They have a few wonderful days together, then Cord asks Dillon about werewolves and Dillon reveals his abhorrence of the animals and his animal heritage. Cord’s heart is breaking that the man he loves could be so mistrustful of him. How can they have a future without trust?

Warning ADULT erotic MM story, with a campfire and a cookout.

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http://berengariabrown.com/