It's

Cozy Food Friday!

That means it's time to share a recipe from 

another great cozy mystery!

This week's recipe is from

A CRFATER HOOKS A KILLER

Book 2 in the Handcrafted Mysteries

by Holly Quinn

Sure to delight fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, A Crafter Hooks a Killer is the second installment in Holly Quinn’s Handcrafted mysteries.

Community Craft proprietor Sammy Kane suspects that a tantalizing thread links the deaths of her best friend and a bestselling author. But can she weave together the clues?

Samantha “Sammy” Kane is settling into her new life in idyllic Heartsford, Wisconsin, running her late friend Kate Allen’s craft shop, Community Craft when one early June day, bestselling crochet author Jane Johnson visits Heartsford. Captivated by Community Craft, Jane devotes a chapter in her new book, Behind the Seams, to the store. Sammy is honored, though satisfaction quickly turns to shock when she finds Jane strangled to death—her cold hands clutching a copy of her most recently published book, with the words “THE END” raggedly scratched into the cover.

Heavens to Etsy! Not only must Sammy contend with the author’s inauspicious demise, she has to untie some knotty details from her own past. It turns out Kate’s death was not what it seemed, and instead somehow hooked to Jane Johnson’s demise. Handsome Detective Liam Nash is on the “skein”, more than happy to see the shop owner again, if less than enamored by her sleuthing interventions. But this was Sammy’s best friend—she has to know.

Fortunately, Sammy has a “lace” in the hole. As a child, she formed the S.H.E. detective team with her cousin, Heidi, and her sister, Ellie. Having already reconstituted their partnership, the S.H.E. team searches for a pattern behind the latest death. As the case starts to unravel, will Sammy and team be able to sidestep Liam quick enough to stitch together the clues?

🍽🍽🍽🍽🍽

KANE FAMILY LASAGNA

photo property of kirbiecravings.com

Your finished dish will vary in appearance

Ingredients

9 lasagna noodles

½ pound hot Italian sausage

¾ pound ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

½ of a green pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (one 28 ounces, one 15 ounces) crushed tomatoes or 2 quart-sized       

   mason jars of Aunt B's stewed tomatoes (drained)

2 cans (16 ounces each) tomato paste

⅔ cup water

2 to 3 tablespoon sugar (helps reduce acid)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried basil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

16-ounce carton ricotta cheese

4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

¾ cup grate Parmesan cheese

photo property of SimplyRecipes.com 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook sausage, beef, and onion over medium heat. 8-10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking up meat into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Drain.

3. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, seasonings, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

4. In a small bowl, mix egg, ricotta, and a dash of basil.

5. Spread 2 cups meat sauce into an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, additional sauce to cover, and a third of the ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce and cheeses (dish will be full). Bake, covered, 25 minutes. Baked, uncovered, 25 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. 

photo property of  CafeDelight.com

📖📘📖📙📖

MY REVIEW

I enjoyed the first book in this series, A CRAFTER KNITS A CLUE, so much that I couldn’t wait to get A CRAFTER HOOKS A KILLER in my hands. It was well worth the wait!

Setting aside an interruption free day to read this book was one of my better ideas. Once I started, I didn’t want to put it down. I was immediately transported to Heartsford, Wisconsin and back with the characters I enjoyed so much from book one.

I was pulled into this wonderfully plotted mystery. I suppose I should say two mysteries since author Holly Quinn expertly weaved together a present day murder with one from protagonist Sammy Kane’s not so distant past. With more twists and turns than my current crochet project, I really had no idea how it was all going to come together. When the link between the two cases and all of the motives behind the murders came to light, I was really taken by surprise. Wow.

A CRAFTER HOOKS A KILLER is perfect summer reading! It’s perfect anytime reading!

📖📘📖📙📖

Please keep reading to check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

Both the BB and 56 are from

A CRAFTER HOOKS A KILLER

📖📘📖📙📖

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader

Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading.

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's okay.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you. *Post it.

My Book Beginnings

The early summer sun warmed Samantha Kane's shoulders as she tacked the advertisement to the outside display window in front of Community Craft. The air was warm and dry outside her storefront; not humid yet. She wished the summer would stay this picture-perfect temperature, but she knew it wouldn't last.  

My 56

"Yes. That would be dreadful!" sammy said a little too quickly.

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by submitting your email in 

upper right hand corner of this page. (on the side bar).

Reading from your phone? Scroll to the bottom of your page and click"View web version". Then follow the above directions.