Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Way Back Wednesday!


With thanks to Mr. Peabody and his boy, Sherman
I have taken the Way Back Machine to 
October 31, 2014
and the biggest Cozy Food Friday ever, courtesy of 
The Cozy Chicks!

Wait until you see all of these wonderful recipes! 

Enjoy! 

It's
Cozy Food Friday!

That means it's time to share a recipe from 
another great cozy mystery!

The month of August, and all this month, I have had the pleasure of hosting the great authors that make up 
The Cozy Chicks
I've featured awesome recipes from their book 
THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN
A Killer Collection of Recipes by the 
Bestselling Authors of the Cozy Chicks Blog 
SECOND EDITION
This fantastic cookbook contains recipes from cozy mystery favorites, 
Ellery Adams / J.B. Stanley
Lorraine Bartlett / L.L. Bartlett/ Lorna Barrett
Deb Baker / Hannah Reed
Kate Collins
Mary Kennedy
Mary Jane Maffini/Victoria Abbott
Maggie Sefton
and
Leann Sweeney

Lisa's Note: Author Duffy Brown is also a Cozy Chick and will be featured on Cozy Food Friday, however, she is not in The Cozy Chick's Kitchen. 

You can follow The Cozy Chicks blog here...
www.cozychicksblog

Today's featured recipes are from 
ALL the Cozy Chicks! 
That's right, a recipe from each wonderful author!

Let's get started!!!

~*~*~*~

WELCOME TO OUR KITCHEN

Pull up a stool and let us pour you a cup of coffee. We'll have a chat as a pot of tomato basil soup bubbles on the stove. While the soup is simmering, feel free to sit back, relax, and listen to the sizzle of lemon chicken cutlets crisping to a golden brown in the frying pan. By the time we catch up on work and family and start discussing the last book we've read, the buttery cinnamon scents of the apple ginger pie baking in the oven will curl around our shoulders like a warm shawl and coax a sigh of contentment from our lips.

AUNTIE KIKI'S FUN FALL DIP
by Duffy Brown
(Note: This recipe is not in THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN)

Ingredients
1can black beans rinsed 1 can corn or use fresh corn from the cob about 3 1/2 yellow and 1/2 red pepper 1 jalapeƱo pepper seeded 1 fresh tomato cut and seeded Red onion 1/4cup chopped cilantro

Mix together 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1-1/2 teaspoon sugar, dash salt and juice of 1 lime
Pour over above ingredients. 
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Serve with Tostitos Scoops



ELLERY'S DARK CHOCOLATE  BANANA BREAD
by Ellery Adams

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 1/2 ounces butter (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon), soft enough for mixing
1 cup superfine sugar
4 ripe bananas, good and smashed
       (Ellery likes to use her fists!)
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Mix the butter, sugar, bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Add chocolate chips.

Add to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix. Ellery likes to fold the dough careful until just mixed. This makes the bread light and airy.

Pure the batter into a lightly greased and floured 8 x 4-inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hours and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf (12 - 16 slices)



STUFFED PEPPER SOUP
 by Lorraine Bartlett / LL Bartlett


Ingredients

2 pounds ground sausage (mild or spicy, your choice)
2 quarts water
1 28-ounces can diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 28-ounces can tomato sauce
2 cups cooked long grain white rice
2 cups chopped green pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper


In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, brown the sausage and drain.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until the peppers are tender. 

Serve with a loaf of warm, crusty bread.

Yield: 8 - 10 servings



KITTY'S FRIED DOUGHNUTS
by Deb Baker (aka Hannah Reed)

Ingredients

5 cups white flour
4 teaspoons baking power
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup butter milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
oil for frying
confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar
cinnamon (optional)


Sift together the flour. baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Add mashed potatoes and sugar. Mix well.

Blend with eggs and melted butter.

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon rind.

Add to flour mix, blend well, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough and cut with a doughnut cutter.

Fry in oil in a pan or deep fryer until golden brown. Turn with a fork, then brown the other side.

Remove and lay on a paper towel to drain and cool.

Shake the doughnuts in a bag with granulated or confectioners' sugar.

Try 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon for a special treat.

Serve warm. Yield: 18 doughnuts



ALL PURPOSE GRAVY
by Kate Collins

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
1 onion, minced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon thyme
5 whole peppercorns


Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add the veggies, cook until soft an well-browned, about 9 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes.

Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil. 

Add the bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

Pour gravy through a fine mesh strainer (or cheesecloth) into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid. Discard the solids, or combine them with the leftover gravy and use as a vegetable sauce over leftover potatoes or rice for another meal. 

Serve with any type meat.

This recipe can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days, or frozen. Reheat over a low heat, whisking to recombine, or microwave 1 to 3 minutes, stirring until smooth. 

Yield: 4 cups 


GLAZED PECANS
by Mary Kennedy

Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
pinch of salt
1 cup pecans


Melt butter in a skillet, add the brown sugar and corn syrup; stir until combined.

Add the pecans and cook, stirring constantly for five minutes.

Make sure all the pecan pieces are covered with syrup.

Spread on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and cool.

You might want to double the recipe; these are delicious and will go fast!

Yield: 6 servings



CHICKEN ROASTED WITH APPLES
by Mary Jane Maffini

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 chicken (about 4 pounds)
2 - 4 apples, peeled and diced (about 2 cups). Gala or Fuji or any one of the                     sweeter varieties.
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or dried (you can use rosemary instead)
salt and freshly ground pepper


Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Heat butter over medium high heat in a Dutch oven or ovenproof pot large enough to hold the chicken.

Brown the chicken on all sides, about 2 minutes a side, until golden.

Remove chicken from the pot.

Add apple and sautĆ©  for 2 minutes or until lightly golden.

Add cider vinegar, chicken stock, and bay leaves, and bring to boil.

Sprinkle the chicken with thyme, salt and pepper.

Baked covered for 60 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 15 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Remove the bay leaves.

Cut up the chicken and serve with the apples and sauce.

Yield: 4 servings



AUNT HELEN'S GINGERSNAPS
by Maggie Sefton

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons freshly great lemon peel
1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar


Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease cookie sheets.

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

Cream butter and brown sugar together in a medium bowl, mixing well for at least two minutes until well-blended, pale and fluffy, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Beat in egg, then the molasses and lemon peel until blended. 

Slowly add half the flour mixture, mixing with a wooden spoon just until blended, then add the remaining flour, mixing well.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.

Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into approximately 1 1/4 inch balls.

Roll the balls in the granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet(s). 

Bake just until puffed and cookies look dry---anywhere from 9 to 14 minutes, depending on your oven. (Do not overbake or the cookies will become hard).

Cafefully remove the cookies with a metal spatula to a wire rack to cool.

Maggie usually doubles this recipe when I make it, because those amounts are easier to work with. But---be prepared for a lot of cookies. 

(Not: At Colorado altitude of 5000 feet, Maggie sets her oven to 325 degrees. Adjust your over accordingly). 

Yield: approximately 32 cookies



SLOW COOKER SPOONABLE LASAGNA
by Leann Sweeney

Ingredients

1 24-ounce jar of your favorite marinara sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 16-ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
1 10-ounce container refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 package lasagna noodles-uncooked


Brown ground beef, onion and garlic in the olive oil.

Add the marinara sauce and simmer. 

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, salt and oregano.

Ladle enough of prepared sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker to just cover.

Break the lasagna noodles. Place about 1/3 of the package over the sauce. 

Spoon the cheese mix in globs over the noodles; spoon 1/3 Alfredo sauce over this. 

Top with a layer of mozzarella and then more sauce.

Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of sauce and mozzarella. 

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. 

It is spoonable the first day, but the second day, after chilled, it can be cut like regular lasagna.

Yield: 6 - 8 servings



Bonus Recipe

RASPBERRY BARS
by Mary Kennedy
(Note: This recipe is not in THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN)

Ingredients

1 package yellow cake mix (regular size)
2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 jar (12 ounces) seedless raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon water


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oats and butter until crumbly. 

Press 3 cups of the crumb mixture into a greased 13 x 9-in. baking pan. 

Bake 10 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes.
                           
In a small bowl, stir preserves and water until blended.

Spread over crust. 

Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. 

Bake 25-28 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Cool on a wire rack.

Cut into bars. 

Yield: 2 dozen. 


I don't know about you, but I'm starving!

Which one are you going to try first?

You can find 
THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN
at 




Welcome to our kitchen! The kitchen is the heart of the home. This sense of warmth and companionship is what The Cozy Chicks try to invoke in our novels. And now, our cookbook will allow you to enter the heart of our cozy mystery worlds—the stories of our characters, of their authors, told through food. For a short while, our heroines have taken a break from crime solving to don aprons and wield spatulas and wooden spoons. And they’d like nothing more than to spend some time with you. THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN is chock full of mouthwatering gems. Everything is here: main dishes, desserts, salads, soups, drinks, and did I mention desserts? Don’t miss this fabulous collection. I’ve got both the ebook version and a hardcopy. Get yours today! --Julie Hyzy, New York Times bestselling author of the White House Chef and Manor House mysteries The Cozy Chicks Are Bestselling Authors: Ellery Adams / J.B. Stanley, Deb Baker / Hannah Reed, Lorna Barrett / Lorraine Bartlett, Kate Collins, Mary Kennedy, Mary Jane Maffini/Victoria Abbott,  Maggie Sefton, Leann Sweeney 
And fellow Cozy Chick, Duffy Brown (Not in The Cozy Chicks Kitchen)

To learn more about The Cozy Chicks,
 check out their blog

Learn more about each author on their websites

www.elleryadamsmysteries.com










A very big thank you to all the wonderful authors that make up 
The Cozy Chicks.


Thank you for your books, your recipes, and your amazing kindness to your readers.


Yummiest trip in the Way Back Machine
EVER!


As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

I would love for you to follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016


So many amazing books coming out today! 
Are any of these on your list?

Paperback

Jenn McKinlay, the New York Times bestselling author of On Borrowed Time, returns to coastal Connecticut, where librarian Lindsey Norris must solve a shooting and a missing person’s case involving two reclusive brothers…

One of the most adventurous aspects of Briar Creek Public Library director Lindsey Norris’s job involves a boat ride out to Star Island to deliver books to elderly hermits Stewart and Peter Rosen. The trip is even more exciting because the captain of the boat is Lindsey’s ex-boyfriend Sully. When Stewart fails to meet their boat, Lindsey and Sully venture onto the brothers’ property to investigate, risking their lives—as the brothers fiercely guard their privacy with deadly booby traps.

Once safely inside the brothers’ cluttered Victorian, they discover Peter—in his wheelchair with a bullet hole in his chest. Stewart is nowhere to be found. Have they stumbled upon a tragic scene of fratricide, or has Stewart fled to escape whomever shot his brother? To discover what really went down on the isolated island, Lindsey will need to untangle a family history of secrets and lies, and determine if this brother’s keeper needs to be rescued or arrested for murder…

Includes a Bonus Short Story: “An Unlikely Meeting”

Hardcover

In the latest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of A Likely Story, a decades overdue book puts library director Lindsey Norris hot on the trail of a cold case...
 
When the Briar Creek Public Library holds its first overdue book amnesty day—no fines for late returns—the volume of incoming materials is more than Lindsey and her staff can handle. In a bind, Lindsey drafts the crafternoon ladies to help check in and sort the stacks of books.
 
But one tardy tome catches her attention—a copy of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, twenty years past due. When Lindsey looks up the borrower, she’s shocked to discover it was a murdered teacher named Candice Whitley, whose killer was never found.
 
Candice checked out the novel on the day she was murdered. Now Lindsey wonders if it could provide a clue to the decades-old cold case. No one noticed who brought the book back in, but could it be Candice’s killer? Lindsey is determined to catch the culprit one way or another, because justice for Candice Whitley is long overdue...

INCLUDES READING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS

Paperback

From the national bestselling author of The Chocolate Clown Corpse, it’s murder, my sweet, for a chocolatier whose love of old crime films plunges her into a real-life murder in which the motives aren’t so black-and-white.
The Warner Pier tourism board is kicking off its Tough Guys and Private Eyes film festival with The Maltese Falcon, and Lee Woodyard and her aunt Nettie are preparing a delicious chocolat noir tie-in at TenHuis Chocolade. What Lee isn’t prepared for is a face from the past: Jeff Godfrey, her former stepson. The last time Jeff showed up in town, he wound up being accused of murder. He says he’s in Warner Pier only to see Bogart on the big screen. Honest.
 
Then Jeff goes missing, the Falcon theme is haunting everyone, and a body falls at Lee’s feet when she opens the front door—just like in the movie. Now Lee is under deadline to rewrite the ending of a cunning killer’s increasingly convincing murder plot....

Includes Tasty Chocolate Trivia!

Hardcover

From the national bestselling author of The Chocolate Falcon Fraud comes an Easter candy caper featuring chocolatiers Lee Woodyard and her Aunt Nettie, and a killer who’s hopping mad...

The approach of Easter means a rush of business at TenHuis Chocolade, and Lee  and her Aunt Nettie need all the help they can get to make their famous chocolate bunnies. Unfortunately, new hire Bunny Birdsong is a clutzy basketcase dropping everything she picks up. But to Lee’s surprise, she’s a whiz with computers and fixing the store’s website so they decide to keep her.

However, Bunny receives a few visitors they could do without: her soon to be ex-husband Beau, his wealthy aunt Abigail, and his new girlfriend and her brother all descend on the shop one day and have a bitter argument. Lee hopes they can find a peaceful way to settle their dispute and not bring any more trouble to TenHuis. But when Abigail’s body is discovered in the vacant store next door, it’s clear to Lee there’s a bad egg in her midst. Now she’s on the hunt to find out who it is...

Includes tasty chocolate trivia! 

Paperback

Molly Pink can’t help seeing a pattern of trouble in the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of Seams Like Murder.

The Tarzana Hookers’ Yarn University has been a big success, and the classes have drawn in a slew of new crochet devotees. A less welcome arrival is the boxy monstrosity in the yard behind Molly’s house. She hasn’t met her new neighbors, but when she sees a couple struggling on the balcony and later spies what looks like someone lying on the ground, Molly wastes no time calling in her ex, homicide detective Barry Greenberg. 

To Molly’s shock, Barry reports that nothing is amiss with her neighbors and asks her to lay off with the amateur detecting. Molly knows she wasn’t just seeing things, but with no body to prove her case she’ll have to unravel the evidence on her own—because someone in Tarzana is tangled up in murder...

DELICIOUS RECIPES & CROCHET PATTERNS INCLUDED!

Paperback

The author of Murder in Morningside Heights returns to nineteenth-century New York City to find Christmas in the air, a police detective and a midwife with love in their hearts, and a wealthy widow accused of murder…

Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt aren't the only ones who’ve recently tied the knot. Family friend Mrs. O’Neill was delighted when her daughter, Una, wed the seemingly wealthy and charming Randolph Pollock. But there’s a problem. Una was found cradling her dead husband’s body. Rendered mute by the ordeal, she cannot explain what happened and now stands charged with murder.

Mrs. O’Neill would like Frank to investigate the case and save Una, yet with Frank and Sarah still on their honeymoon, it’s up to the other members of their newly formed household to do some detective work. But solving the mystery behind Pollock’s death means first discovering the truth about who he really is…

Paperback

A grinch is spoiling the holiday cheer and causing fear in the latest from the author of Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen...

It’s Christmastime three hundred sixty-five days a year in Rudolph, New York, and as Christmas Day approaches, shop owner Merry Wilkinson is enjoying a rare evening off at the Yuletide Inn when she runs into owners Grace and Jack Olsen. With Jack's health failing, Merry is relieved to hear that his son Gord will be taking over the day-to-day running of the Inn. 

But then Gord reveals that his new plans have no room for Christmas at the Inn, and Merry and the other shopkeepers start to fret about the effect a bland franchise hotel could have on their livelihoods. 

When Gord is found stabbed to death, there’s an entire town of potential suspects—and it’s up to Merry to find whoever brought homicide home for the holidays...

Paperback

FIRST IN A VISIONARY NEW MYSTERY SERIES.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that something’s not right on Bay Island...

Since she left her psychiatric practice in New York City to open up a psychic shop in her hometown on Bay Island, Cass Donovan has given her fair share of readings to conflicted customers. But what she sees in Ellie Callahan’s future doesn’t bode well. 

When Ellie’s mother, Marge, publicly confronts Cass about the reading, the embarrassment makes her want to curl up and die. And when she later stumbles across Marge’s body—and is a suspect in her murder—Cass is suddenly the star of Bay Island’s rumor mill.

Cass is determined to prove her innocence and save Ellie from meeting the fate in her unfortunate vision. But even with the help of her friends Bee and Stephanie, Cass will have to channel some serious sleuthing instincts to find the real killer...

Paperback

The latest mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Moldering.

Someone's been slayed! If contractor Shannon Hammer can't nail the real culprit in the St. Nick of time, her dad will wind up in the clink...

Even at Christmastime, Shannon is more spackle than sparkle, which is why she leaps at the chance to transform a grand old Victorian mansion into ten charming apartments for homeless families. Filled with the spirit of the season, all of Lighthouse Cove turns out to help—including her best friends, a troupe of far-from-angelic Santa Claus impersonators, and her father, Jack.

But their merriment is soon dashed by a heated scuffle between Jack and the miserly president of the bank who’s backing the project. When the man is murdered, all eyes are on Jack, and visions of prison time dance in Shannon's head. Now, she needs to pull off a crime-solving miracle, before her father’s Christmas goose is cooked…

 
Paperback

Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan is about to serve up some Lone Star justice in this spicy Taste of Texas Mystery from the author of Here Today, Gone Tamale.

Tourists are pouring into the town of Broken Boot for the annual Homestead Days Music Festival. Opening the celebration at Two Boots dance hall is smooth-talking country singer Jeff Clark, the ex-boyfriend of Josie’s best friend, Patti Perez. When the charming Clark woos Patti onstage in an attempt to rekindle some sparks with his old flame, Josie fears her friend will end up as just one more notch on the singer’s guitar strap.
 
To impress her editor at the Broken Boot Bugle, Josie and her Chihuahua, Lenny, pursue the singer to Patti’s house, hoping for an interview. Instead, they discover Clark facedown in a bowl of guacamole with a bloodied guitar at his side. With Patti suddenly a murder suspect, Josie must use her reporter skills to find out who had a chip on their shoulder—before the killer double dips....

INCLUDES TEX-MEX RECIPES!


Paperback

The new Greek to Me Mystery from the author of Olive and Let Die and Feta Attraction
 
The Bonaparte House is closed for the season, and Georgie Nikolopatos looks forward to fixing up the Greek restaurant and historic landmark—until her renovation plans hit a fatal snag.
 
With her divorce underway, her mother-in-law returning to Greece, and the tourists gone, Georgie finally has life under control—and the Bonaparte House to herself. She quickly hires a contractor for some much-needed renovations to reopen in time for a special Greek-style Thanksgiving meal. Georgie is suspicious though when former dishwasher Russ Riley arrives with the construction crew. He still has an axe to grind with the Nikolopatos family—but is it sharp enough to kill?
 
When Georgie finds the body of her divorce lawyer amid the construction debris and Russ is quickly arrested for murder, something about the case doesn’t add up. While Georgie is no fan of Russ, even a bad egg deserves a crack at justice.
 
Includes delicious Greek recipes!


Paperback

The New York Times bestselling author of Plot Boiler takes us back to Pettistone’s Fine Books, where Hamlet the cat isn’t the only shadowy figure lurking around the Brooklyn brownstone…
 
As Thanksgiving approaches, Darla Pettistone is preparing for the busiest shopping season of the year. They’ve recently launched their online store, where one anonymous bidder is offering a suspiciously high price for an antique book—and Darla doesn’t need Hamlet’s special senses to know that something isn’t quite right. 
 
However, there’s no time to think about that after Darla’s roped into helping bridezilla Connie Capello get ready for her big day. After looking at wedding dresses, Darla and Connie head to an antique store to find her “something old”—but they find someone dead instead. When Darla learns that the shop carried a copy of the book that her mysterious bidder is after, she suspects she’ll need Hamlet’s help to discover who penned the poor soul’s final chapter, before someone else is read their last rites…

So many great choices!


As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.