I’m here to spice things up. My Taco Soup is easy and it freezes very well which gets bonus points in my book. I always make it in giant batches and freeze it in single servings and larger ones too. I’m also including my homemade taco seasoning recipe that you can use instead of the store bought seasoning packets.

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SJ’s Taco Soup:

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

1 yellow onion diced

1 can black beans with the juices from the can

1 can corn

28 oz crushed tomatoes

8 oz plain tomato sauce

1 pkg taco seasoning or homemade taco seasoning to taste (start with 1 T)

Brown the meat, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer. That’s it! Serve with taco chips and a sprinkling of cheese and sour cream too if you’d like.

SJs Taco Seasoning:

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg

Make this seasoning your own. A few ideas include increasing the chili powder if you want it hotter, eliminating the salt or doubling the salt.

Lydia’s father walked away from her when she was eight. She’s struggled to not let him affect her, but fears she wasn’t loveable enough to make him stay. Jake wants to love one woman, but after scaring the last woman he met outside of the club, he doubts he deserves the right. She protects her heart by sticking with her fantasies and he lives by a set of rules that excludes women who choose a vanilla lifestyle.

The two will be kept in a conference room working together until their special project is complete. If Lydia and Jake hold tight to their bland lives, they’ll always yearn for love that is out of reach. Together they find common ground, passion, and a reason to take chances. Once they discover the grand possibilities of the love they desire, they find themselves in the very place they tried never to be again, facing unguaranteed loved.

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Rob Frietag also loves the beer brewing business and when he returns, after a few jobs in a brewery, he opens his own brew pub in downtown Ann Arbor with his lover/partner, Blake Thornton.

Rob later goes on to host his own successful “Brew Chef Rob” show on the Food Network….but that’s all in the book!

So….I’m letting ROB share his favorite beer-influenced Thanksgiving recipe! This is one that I’m lucky enough to have sampled, thanks to a spouse who loves to cook (but rarely has time)….

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Beer Brined Turkey

Beer Brine Ingredients:

4 QuartsBeer*

4 QuartsIce or Water

2 Cup Kosher Salt

1 Cup Sugar

4 Each Bay Leaves

3 BunchThyme, fresh

3 Each Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped

3 Stalks Celery, sliced

3 Each Carrots, peeled and sliced

2 Each Lemon, quartered

4 Each Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced

1 Each Turkey, preferably free range

Brine Option 1:

If you have planned ahead, this option will give you more flavors as the sugar and salt crystals completely dissolve.  In a large pot, add beer, salt, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, onion, celery, carrots, lemon and garlic.  Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat.  Add the ice or cold water; it will help cool the brine solution.  Refrigerate for 1 hour or until brine is well chilled. 

Brine Option 2:

In a large container or a cleaned ice cooler, add all the ingredients (water instead of ice) except the chicken or turkey; mix well. 

Brine Instructions:

Use either a large 3-4 gallon container or a cleaned ice cooler and add the turkey, then top off with the brine (for the ice cooler, add a few zip lock bags full of ice).  Place in the refrigerator or ice cooler for 24-48 hours.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

Follow either brine option 1 or 2.  Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.  Remove the turkey from the brine and dry well.  This will help the browning of the skin, as moisture will steam instead of roast the turkey.  Truss the bird with twine, to help hold its shape and to aid in cooking the turkey evenly.  I highly recommend using a temperature probe to make sure the turkey is cooked to a certain temperature (165°F) vs a length of time.  If you don’t have a probe, a16-20 pound turkey should take between 3.5 and 4 hours to fully cook at this temp.  Check both the breast and the thigh temperature to make sure the turkey is evenly cooked. 

Let the turkey rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.  This will help the keep a moist turkey by letting the meat relax and re-distribute its juices. 

Smoking Instructions:

Instead of using an oven, use a smoker and keep the temperature at 250°F until the internal temp is 165°F.  For wood chips, I would recommend Apple, Pecan or Cherry wood chips soaked for 30 minutes in the same beer you used in the brine.

· For Beer, my suggestions are: Oktoberfest, Hefeweizen, Bock, Pale Ale, or Brown Ale.  You may use a Stout or Porter if you wish, just cut the brine time to 6 hours or the bird will just taste like a Stout or Porter.

For years, Rob Freitag has resisted anything resembling a true emotional connection, preferring instead to explore life and his own desires without committing to anyone for very long. While he is close to achieving his career goal as head chef of a five-star restaurant in Chicago, he is still very much alone.

Blake Thornton’s heart has been shattered by an intensely emotional relationship with Suzanne Baxter in Ann Arbor. When the two men meet, their lives are changed forever. But time is of the essence for Rob and when he acknowledges his true feelings, he will stop at nothing to keep them together, including finding a surrogate mother for the child Blake so desperately wants.

Lila Warren is recovering from a nasty divorce, needs cash and believes carrying their baby will fulfill her in ways her marriage never did. None of them suspect that the connection they share will provide the final emotional key to their life-long puzzle. When Rob’s secret is revealed, time becomes the one luxury they don’t have, setting in motion a chain of events that shatters the fragile illusion of happiness for them, and everyone around them

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www.lizcrowe.com

www.brewingpassion.com

 

My family likes this recipe so much that I make it all year long. When I don't have leftover turkey, I simply substitute shredded chicken breasts. I frequently double the recipe and freeze one for later.

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Turkey/Chicken Tetrazzini with a New Mexican Twist

Ingredients

8 oz whole wheat fusilli/spiral pasta (or whatever pasta you have in the pantry)

2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion chopped

2 cups shredded Cheddar/Jack cheese

2 cups half and half

2 oz jar diced pimentos, drained, or ¼ cup chopped roasted red bell peppers

4 oz can chopped green chile, drained (I use mild, but if you'd like something spicy, try medium or hot.)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1-2 cups fried onions (Although, I've made it without these when I don't have them.)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook pasta according to instructions. Drain and spread in 9x13 pan. Mix in shredded turkey or chicken.

Melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add cheese, half and half, and pimentos or roasted red bell peppers, green chile, salt and pepper. Stir until thoroughly heated. Pour into pan with pasta and turkey/chicken.

Sprinkle fried onions on top. (If freezing, put the fried onions in a Ziploc and freeze with casserole. After thawing the Tetrazzini, sprinkle the fried onions on top.)

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Hailey Anderson's deep, dark secret? She's been madly in lust with her overprotective brother's two best friends for years. Gorgeous woodworking artist Mark Allen and sexy doctor Tony Adamo have no idea they star in her fantasies every night.

After a nasty breakup with her abusive boyfriend, Hailey's looking for a little distance. Headed for a two-week Hawaiian vacation with her brother and his hot friends, Hailey can't wait to feast her eyes on Mark's and Tony's rock-hard, ocean-slick bodies. Even if she can't touch.

But instead of treating her like their little sister, Mark and Tony have a surprising proposition: a monogamous ménage à trois. The three of them—and no one else. Both men want Hailey and have agreed to share her. The red-hot reality is even better than the forbidden fantasy. Until Hailey's ex threatens their newfound happiness…

When I moved out on my own eighteen years ago, and had family over for the first time at Thanksgiving, I overdid it with too much food. So after I send as much turkey home with everyone as I could, I was still left with over half of the gigantic bird. After much talking to my Grandma, she gave me the recipe that she’d use often and always found most effective.

Considering that I and other Canadians just celebrated Thanksgiving a couple days ago, I thought I’d share this idea for what to do with the leftover turkey!

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Mini Turkey Loaves

Prep: 10 minutes
On the table: 35 minutes

Ingredients

· 3 tbsp apricot jam

· 1 tbsp regular mustard

· 1 lb ground turkey

· 3/4 cup zucchini, finely grated

· 1/2 cup grated onion

· 1 tsp minced garlic

· 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

· 3/4 cup crushed whole-grain shredded wheat cereal

· 1 egg

· 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a muffin tin lightly with oil.

2. In small bowl, mix together jam and mustard.

3. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients until well mixed.

4. Divide among 8 muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes, then generously spread jam mixture on top of each loaf.

5. Continue baking for 10 minutes, until loaves pull away from pan and glaze looks golden.

Serve with favourite vegetables on the side.

A “The Edge” short story

Connected to In the Arms of the Law Series

On leave of absence from the police force and desperate to resolve the intense anger inside him, Ethan James escapes to the Shenandoah Mountains...alone.

During one of the worst storms to hit the area in years, he's surprised when he opens the door to find Shanay Gold, an old friend, and sometime submissive lover, dripping wet and looking sexy as hell. So sexy, he has to keep reminding himself he's kept her at arms-length because of the future she wants. A future he can't give her.

When lightening sparks an old flame, desires blaze to life, and Shanay and Ethan are left with little choice but to roll with passion's Wild Thunder.

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