I learned almost all of my cooking skills as an adult. Growing up, I just wasn’t that interested. The sole exception was at Christmastime, when I hovered over my mother’s shoulder as she made such delectable treats as divinity, pecan pralines, and Martha Washington candy. Once I hit middle school, she started putting my annual burst of interest to good use. I didn’t have the skills for divinity or pralines—in fact, I’m not sure I could make them now—but I could dip pretzels in chocolate, simmer mulled cider…and make these simple but addictive savory treats:

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Sausage and Cheese Balls

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage, crumbled

3 cups Bisquick

1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine uncooked sausage, Bisquick, and cheese in bowl; mix well.

Shape into small balls; place on baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes or until brown; drain on paper towels.

Gabriel Shepherd has never forgotten his humble origins. So when he discovers a war orphan at Christmastime, he resolves to find a home for her—even if that means asking help from the very family who found and raised him, only to cast him out for daring to love the wrong woman.

Lady Catherine Trevilian has spent five years poring over the British Army’s casualty lists, dreading the day she sees Gabe’s name. She’s never forgotten him, and she’s never forgiven herself for not running away with him when she had the chance, though she’s agreed to a marriage of convenience with a more suitable man.

When Gabe returns home on Christmas leave just days before Cat’s wedding, a forbidden kiss confirms their feelings haven’t been dimmed by distance or time. But Cat is honor-bound to another, and Gabe believes she deserves better than a penniless soldier with an orphan in tow. How can Cat reconcile love and duty? She must convince Gabe she’d rather have him than the richest lord in all of England…

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http://www.susannafraser.com/

When I'm busy writing, dinner is the last thing I want to worry about- but when it comes to the crock-pot, I've always been a little picky. This easy comfort food recipe is one of my favorite go- to meals when I have a lot to do. Bonus: Not only is it a crock-pot recipe- it only takes 2 1/2 hours from start to finish!

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Busy Day Mac and Cheese

2 1/2    cups macaroni ( uncooked, elbow )
5    tablespoons butter
3   cups medium cheddar cheese ( grated )
1/2    cup sour cream
10 1/2    ounces (1 can)   cheddar cheese soup ( condensed )
1/2    teaspoon salt
1    cup milk
1/2    teaspoon dry mustard
1/2    teaspoon black pepper
2 Tbps dried onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder

Boil the macaroni in water for six minutes and drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Heat over medium high heat and stir until the cheese melts. Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Combine cheese mixture, sour cream, soup, salt, milk,  and spices in your slow cooker. Add the drained macaroni and stir again. Cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Sophia Randall had no intention on returning to her home in the polygamist community she grew up when she left Hiram Jefferson just hours before their wedding. Though she cared deeply for Hiram and his family, she was young and impulsive.
Ten years, two children, and one monogamous marriage later, returning to Green Valley after the death of her husband is the only option left.

Hiram was devastated when Sophia left him at the altar. With everything already on his plate-- between his job as the district superintendent, his large family, and one sick wife, the last thing he needs is the headache of Sophia being back in town.

When his wives go behind his back and form an alliance with Sophia, what is left for him to do but show them the error of their ways with a little old fashioned discipline. But what will happen when he finds out the true reason Sophia left him in the first place?

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http://rayannajamison.blogspot.com/

When we have winters like the one we just had, I turn to comfort food, and one of my favorite comfort foods is the simple but delicious macaroni and cheese. I have a recipe handed down by my granny. She had a trick: she used some of the water used to boil the macaroni mixed in with the milk. That kept the cheese from separating.

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2 cups half and half

1 cup water from boiled macaroni

(bring water and half and half to a boil)

3 Tablespoons flour added to boiled milk mixture with a wire whisk to thicken.

Once milk mixture is thickened, add 1 pound of cubed extra sharp cheddar cheese.

Stir until melted. Pour over cooked macaroni noodles. Bake 1/2 hour @ 350°F.

Granny never specified an amount for the macaroni. You’ll have to judge for yourself what balance of cheese sauce vs. pasta you prefer. I like to experiment with the type of pasta I use, and I also like to play with different kinds of cheese. Be creative. Mix cheeses. Add crumbled cooked bacon, or bread crumbs mixed with a little melted butter sprinkled on top. It’s delicious, easy and it’s been passed down through my family for three generations. Make some. Curl up with a good book, and enjoy!

A life hangs in the balance . . .

A king held for ransom, a country under thumb, clans at one another’s throats. Malcolm of clan MacKintosh has enough to worry about without finding a mysterious lass sleeping on the side of his road. He tries to help her—in his overbearing, arrogant way—and winds up flat on his back. God’s blood, who is this woman . . . and why does she captivate him so?

And only she can tip the scales.

The fortune-teller said something about saving a life, then zapped Alethia Goodsky back to fifteenth-century Scotland—a land bristling with broadswords and intrigue. Alethia is no damsel in distress, though, even if brawny, blue-eyed Malcolm has sworn to protect her. With her wits and special abilities, she races to solve the gypsy’s mystery and protect those she’s come to love. The stakes climb higher and enemies close in, forcing Alethia to choose between finding her way home... and staying true to her Highlander.

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www.barbaralongley.com

This is a great appetizer or something quick to whip together yet looks difficult. Maybe to impress that special someone. *wink wink* My kids love this, especially after a day spent skiing.

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Ingredients:

1 tube of crescent roll dough

1 round of brie cheese (do not remove rind) (For those who never tried brie, it’s very mild)

Raspberry jam or other sweet jam

Brown sugar

 

Instructions:

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

· With a paring knife, cut a thin layer of the rind off the top of the brie. This will make the pastry dough stick to the cheese when eating it.

· On a non-stick cookie pan flatten crescent roll dough and set cheese in the center.

· Place jam on top of cheese. The amount is to your liking. Fold the dough corners over the cheese and pinch together.

· Place a handful of brown sugar on top.

· Bake for 30 mins then let cool for 10 mins before serving.

 

Options:

Instead of brown sugar you can use maple syrup.

You can eat it with crackers.

You can add apples slices.

Love blooms across species, culture, and time.

Chronicles of Eorthe, Book 1

Stranded in another dimension, on a primitive version of Earth, Dr. Susan Barlow needs to find a way to survive. There’s no electricity, no cities, and to her shock, no humans. Instead, she faces a population of werewolves, vampires and incubi. The people are vicious but she must find her place among them. And live.

An illness is killing Sorin’s pack. As alpha it’s his responsibility to save them, but it’s a battle this warrior doesn’t know how to fight. Then a blue light in the sky brings a creature he’s never seen. She calls herself human, but to him she smells like hope.

Sorin offers Susan a safe haven in return for a cure, but she’s not that kind of a doctor. She’s a doctor of physics, not a physician. Yet as they search for a cure to save a dying people, they find something special—each other.

But even with Sorin’s protection, Susan can’t help but wonder how long she can survive in a world without humans…

Warning: Feral shifters, power-hungry vampires, and a sole human female suffering culture shock.

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http://www.annienicholas.com/