Friday, January 20, 2017

Finicky Friday - Rocky Road Brownies

Rocky Road Brownies
Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again!





These chocolaty treats are topped with a chewy layer of marshmallows, nuts, and even more chocolate. The kids will hardly be able to wait until the brownies are cool!





PREP: 10 MINS 

TOTAL TIME: 45 MINS 

YIELD: MAKES 16



INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan

1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup chopped nuts, such as cashews, pecans, or walnuts



DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter paper.

In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, combine butter and 1 cup chocolate chips. Heat, stirring occasionally, just until melted, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat; stir in sugars and salt, then eggs, and finally flour, stirring just until combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips, then marshmallows and nuts. Bake until chocolate is shiny and marshmallows are puffed, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.


~COOK'S NOTES

To prevent toppings from sinking into the batter, sprinkle them on after brownies are baked. An extra 5 minutes in the oven melts the topping together for easy slicing.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Finicky Friday - The Best Parmesan Chicken Bake



The Best Parmesan Chicken Bake

Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again!

Recipe by: Chef John
"This chicken Parmesan is done casserole style (so, no breading or frying!), but still offers up that irresistible combination of tender chicken, crunchy/cheesy coating, and flavorful sauce."




6 servings
477 cals
Cook: 35 m
Ready In: 50 m


Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

2 cups prepared marinara sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 (5 ounce) package garlic croutons



Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic and hot red pepper flakes.

Arrange the chicken breasts in bottom of the dish, and pour marinara sauce over chicken. Sprinkle basil over marinara sauce, and top with half the mozzarella cheese, followed by half the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on the croutons, then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese.


Bake in preheated oven until cheese and croutons are golden brown and the chicken is no longer pink inside, about 35 minutes to an hour, depending on the shape and thickness of your chicken breasts. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chicken breast should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Rights back on my ARe books

So the good news is I have the rights back on Nighttime Wishes, Nighttime Promises, Beyond the Surface, Riding the Tide, and Paws and Claws.

Sarah York is doing the covers for the Nighttime series. I'm really excited to see new covers for these books, and they have a wonderful sci-fi feel to them.

As far as the mermen series, I'm not tackling that right yet, nor Paws and Claws, because I have a deadline of February 1 for the dragon book that I have to get Dreamspinner on time.

I'm seriously thinking about putting the Nighttime series in KU, mainly because this will be the third time the book has been released.

Now, not so good news. I talked to a lawyer, and after much debate, decided to take the deal ARe offered in order to get my right back. So any money I earned for the fourth quarter is a dead loss. Yes, I could have sued. Yes, I could have joined a class action suit. The thing is, from Dec 28 until Jan 10th, those five titles were still up and earning money—money, it was becoming clear, I was never going to see.

So yes, I took a substantial hit by doing this, and it isn't the first time a publisher has screwed me royally. I'm damn well tired of people running off with my money. My blood pressure has also been through the ceiling pretty much since this blew up to. The day it happened was the day I was going in for my three month checkup, which is normal since I'm a stroke patient. It was 198/90. And no, that is seriously not good, especially since I am on high blood pressure medicine anyhow. *sigh*

Simple fact is, I can't allow my health to be affected in such a way especially since I'm already predisposed to stroke since I've had one. So I took the deal, and I have my rights back. The Nighttime series will be up just as soon as possible, as will the rest of them. :)

~M

Friday, January 6, 2017

Finicky Friday - CHICKEN & BROCCOLI ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE






Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again!




PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

SERVINGS: 6



INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp. butter

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 jar RAGÚ® Classic Alfredo Sauce

1 package (12 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1 package (12 oz.) fettuccine pasta



INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken, in batches if necessary, stirring occasionally, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken and set aside.


2. Stir sauce and broccoli into same skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve over hot fettuccine and sprinkle, if desired, with grated Parmesan cheese.


Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Texting, Autocorrect, and a Prius is under contract with DsP!



Yay! Dreamspinner took the novella, and it's under contract now. The release date is July/Aug. This is the contemporary story based in a meme about texting.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Bass Pro Shop pics - A Country Boy at Heart

For those of you who read A Country Boy at Heart, here are some pics of Bass Pro Shop in the Memphis Pyramid. The family and I met with the in-laws in West Memphis New Year's Eve to eat lunch. After we were done, the hubby's brother came back with us. Since it was only ten minutes from Bass Pro Shop, we decide to stop.

There should be several things you notice from the book like: The General Store. That's where Lonnie got the fudge. And yes, I brought home a bag. Trust me, it's wonderful.

There are also pictures of the glass elevator where Sandy and Nick ended up trapped. The kids and I went up (the hubby didn't lol), and we went out on the observation deck. Unfortunately it was so cloudy you can't see the Memphbis skyline very well. And part of the floor is all glass... so you can look straight down. Yeah lol.

Hope y'all enjoy the pictures!



       Front of the store. :) We had a really close parking spot too!




     


















 Remember the hotel inside? This is it. They look like cabins and are on the third floor. Unfortunately, the kids and I never made it to the second and third level. We only had an hour to shop before the place closed for New Year's Eve. 






Courtney's fiancĂŠ being silly LOL.




 Huge fish tank. When we first arrived, there was a scuba diver inside. That was pretty cool.

















Remember I said there were man-made lakes all over the bottom floor for the Pyramid? Well, this is one of them.





Damn turkey scared me half to death LOL. It like perched up there looking down at you. o.o










And the glass elevator!!!! That's the one that Sandy and Nick got trapped in. Also, that really did happen Opening Day. Swear to God.



Very, very tall. Did I mention tall?






Going up in the elevator.




Don't look down!!!!





Okay, this is The Lookout. It's a bar/small restaurant and has a huge fish tank in the middle of the bar.











This is the Memphis skyline on the observation deck. Unfortunately, it was really foggy so you can't really see much of anything.




Okay, she'll probably kill me for posting that lol. We're on the observation deck, looking out over the skyline. Do you see you what they're standing on? That's actually clear glass. It was so foggy it looked opaque, but normally you can see straight down. LOL, can you guess how she felt about standing on that? :)





Yep, this is where that delicious fudge came from. Lonnie sure did like it. ;)





That's what I brought home. MINE!!!!!

Hope y'all enjoyed the pics. 
~M

Sunday, January 1, 2017