Chili, the Second Time Around

 from HL Carpenter

Stretching leftovers is always a good plan, especially now with our over-the-top food bills.  

So, you’ve prepared your favorite chili recipe. Friends and family said yum! Now you have leftovers, but not enough to feed everyone another meal. Here’s a tasty trick.

Buy a yam or a sweet potato for each member in the family. While the taters are microwaving, heat the leftover chili. When the sweet potatoes are done, place on individual plates slice open long-ways and fluff. Spoon the heated chili on top of each potato.

Before you say, “Yuk,” fork up a taste of this sweet, spicy savory combo. You may need more leftovers.

Enjoy!

Once upon a time there was a mother/daughter author dup named Helen and Lorri, who wrote as HL Carpenter. the Carpenters worked from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories was unreal but not untrue. Then one day Lorri left her studio to explore the land of What-If, and like others who have lost a loved one the magical place lost much of its magic. But thanks to family, plus an amazing group of wordsmiths named Authors Moving Forward (AMF), the magic is slowly returning.

Helen Carpenter loves liking and sharing blog posts from other authors. She lives in Florida and appreciates every day, especially those without hurricanes.

Stay connected on her blog and Facebook.

ANTICIPATION

from HL Carpenter

Anticipation. That's the title of a great song, the jingle for an ancient advertisement, and a marketing tool for authors. Oh, and anticipation makes good food better too. What more could you ask of a word?

You already know the classic song (thanks, Carly Simon!), and if you're of a…ummm…certain age, you probably remember the ketchup commercial too. (Sorry if the jingle is now an earwig! Confess—you're humming, aren't you?)

We tried anticipation as an author marketing tool by offering our young adult novel, Walled In, for pre-order a few weeks before the actual publication date. Results were mixed, probably because we're not the best marketers in the world. Still, we're always ready to try new techniques, and we'll repeat the pre-order experiment with our next release.

As far as making good food better—our barbecue pulled pork recipe is DEFINITELY worth waiting for! Put all the ingredients together, then grab a good book to read while you're anticipating the meal to come.

While you're eagerly awaiting your delicious lunch, we invite you to enjoy an excerpt from our young adult novel, Walled In.

PULLED PORK

½ cup ketchup
1 ½ cups barbecue sauce, divided
1 cup water
1 onion, chopped (or a similar amount of frozen chopped onions)
1 tsp. garlic, chopped
3 ½ pound pork roast (a shoulder cut works well)
Hamburger buns

Mix ketchup, ½ cup barbecue sauce, and water in a small bowl. Stir in the onions and garlic.

Set pork roast in the crock pot and pour sauce mixture over it, coating the meat well. The liquid should almost cover the meat. Add more if necessary. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

Remove the pork roast from the crock-pot, let cool, and shred with a fork. Set aside.

Empty the liquid from the crock-pot. Put the pulled pork back into the crock-pot, add the remaining barbecue sauce, and mix well.

Cook on low for two more hours; then reduce setting to warm until ready to serve.

Serve on buns.

Tips and Tricks
Crock pots are ideal for tenderizing less expensive cuts of meat. The longer the cooking time, the more tender the meat becomes.

Feel free to add more sauce to the first cooking; meat cooked in liquid is moister.

For an added crunch, serve chips of your choice as a side dish.

If you want to serve the pulled pork for lunch, set up the crock pot to cook overnight.

Seventeen year old Vandy Spencer lives like a princess. Sheltered by her wealthy family, she happily makes plans to spend a before-college gap summer with her gorgeous boyfriend.

Then her dad is accused of financial fraud. The victims of her dad’s swindle vow revenge, and her dad flees.

As accusations and innuendos pile up, Vandy retreats to a hermit-like existence in her childhood tree house and struggles to separate reality from lies. Was her perfect life truly so perfect? Did she ever really know her father?
When family secrets come to light, revealing an unimaginable betrayal, Vandy learns to appreciate the simple richness of sincerity and truth.



EXCERPT
A branch cracked behind me and leaves rustled. I scrambled to my feet.

Stenny had come after me! He really did love me, enough to follow me, and…

Pete Hawthorn stepped out of the woods, holding a flashlight. The backglow lit his face, which was drawn into the frown he wore lately whenever he saw me, and his mouth turned down into a scowl. "Don't you have any sense at all, Dandy-Vandy?"

I should have known Stenny wouldn't traipse through the woods searching for me. Running through the dark wasn't his style. He'd use his phone.

My own phone, tucked in the pocket of my shorts, burst into the first bars of Boyfriend. I ignored the noise and poked a finger at Pete's chest. "Quit calling me that. Don't you have better things to do than skulk around the woods in the dark? Like maybe going to work?"

"I took the night off." He peered at me. "Why are you crying?"

"None of your business!" Then, as his words sank in, I asked, "Why'd you take the night off? Is Gus okay?"

"Gramps is the same as he always is." Pete slid the button on the flashlight and the bulb dimmed. "I stayed home because we heard the news about your dad. We're going to help, in whatever way we can." His voice barely carried across the small space between us, the words and tone sincere.

"That means a lot. Thanks. Tell Gus thanks too."

"Yeah." Pete turned the flashlight on bright again and waved it in a searching arc. "Where's the jerk-off? He leave you alone out here?"

My gratitude evaporated like dew off grass. I planted my hands on my hips as my phone played Boyfriend again. "Stenny's not a jerk-off, and he's probably at the tree house, where I left him."

"How nice to know he'll stay where you tell him to. At least you won't need to put a leash on him when the two of you are wandering around France." Pete narrowed his eyes. "The woods are really dark, Dandy-Vandy, in case you haven't noticed. Do you have a flashlight? Or am I gonna have to walk you home?"

I didn't need him to babysit me. I opened my mouth to say so, and then reconsidered as the sounds of the night surged around me. He was right. The darkness crackled with noises I hadn't paid much attention to during my rush to get away from the hurt of Stenny's doubt. The air seemed ominous too, full of a sickly-sweet odor, a combination of gasoline, motor oil, and damp dirt. The mix stunk the way I imagined zombies – or worse, vampires – would.

"Thanks, Pete. That's a good idea."

"I have them occasionally." He gestured with the flashlight. "The path's this way."

We strode along single file without speaking. The dry leaves crackled beneath our feet and the occasional haunting cry of a bird shredded the air.

"Nightingale," Pete said.

We reached the end of the path, coming out of the woods behind a row of bushes fencing Kingsway's open lawn. A line of solar lights illuminated the back yard, glowing against the pool cabana and the house's white walls beyond – big, ornate…and home.

I smiled despite my worries. "I love how pretty our house is at night."

Pete shut the flashlight off. "I'll send you pictures while you're enjoying your European adventure with the jerk-off."

I was turning to him when a man carrying a portable video camera dashed across the lawn. I gasped. "He's headed for the house! I have to warn Dad."

BUY LINKS

AMAZON - SMASHWORDS

Florida-based mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter write sweet, clean fiction that is suitable for everyone in your family. The Carpenters write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, they enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. Visit their website to enjoy gift reads and excerpts and to find out what’s happening in Carpenter Country.

Stay connected on Pinterest, Linkedin, Google+, and their Amazon Author Page.

CREATIVE COOKING

by HL Carpenter

Some days we like to prepare delicious, artistically-plated meals fit for royal company, like the meals served in our cozy mystery A Cause for Murder.

And some days we look in the refrigerator and find half-empty jars of gravy, dollops of extra veggies, bits of cheese, and slices of cooked chicken. On those days, we eat – and enjoy – leftover leftovers. To get your imagination working on your own version of Leftover Leftover Delight, here's a quick and easy recipe that recently graced the Carpenter Country table.

Leftover Leftover Delight
½ package cooked lima beans
¼ carton feta cheese
¾ jar chicken gravy
1 cup leftover cooked chicken
2 cups crushed potato chips

Preheat oven 350° F.

Place all ingredients except chips in an 8x8 pan. Mix well.

Cover with chips.

Bake until warmed through, about 30 minutes, or use your toaster oven on days when you don't want to heat up the house.

The best feature of this recipe is the variations – you can add any veggie, substitute cream soup for the gravy, use beef or pork instead of chicken, and crush corn chips for the topping instead of potato chips. So go crazy with those leftovers!

And while you're waiting for your Leftover Leftovers to heat up, enjoy an excerpt from our cozy mystery, A Cause for Murder.

Septuagenarian sleuth Emma Twiggs thinks her neighbor’s death was an accident – until her friend Arnie says he suspects murder.
Arnie is convinced he knows the killer’s identity. He wants Emma to prove it.

Is Arnie right? And is he right in his belief that Emma’s best friend is the killer’s next target?

As Emma navigates madcap mayhem, multiple mysteries, and murderous motives, she discovers more than one person is hiding deadly secrets.

The question is, who has a cause for murder?




EXCERPT
It wasn’t the food. Happy Haven Retirement Community’s chef prepared delicious, artistically plated roast beef and mashed potatoes every Sunday evening.

Emma Twiggs set down her fork. No, the food wasn’t the problem.

It wasn’t the chatter or the whispers in the dining room, or the sidelong glances of other Happy Haven residents. Happy Haven was a hotbed of gossip and rumors. Being the topic du jour was familiar territory.

It certainly wasn’t her dinner companion. Arnie Bracken was always charming, kind, and intelligent, no matter what her best friend Olli thought.

No, food, chatter, and Arnie, combined or singular, were not the cause of her uneasiness.

The problem –

"I know what you’re thinking, Em," Arnie said.

"Do you?" She picked up a glass of lemon-spritzed water and tried to swallow past the tightness in her throat. She could only hope he had no idea of what she was thinking.

"Sure." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You’re wondering how someone as fit as Jo accidentally drowned in the swimming pool."

Emma froze. Her fingers tightened on the glass. The chatter in the room faded into muted background noise. She had deliberately not been thinking about Jo. She would not think about Jo. How did Arnie know she'd been thinking about Jo?

"I’ll tell you how," he said. "Jo was murdered, and Cahan murdered her."

"I am not thinking about – Murdered?" The lump in her throat expanded to the size of the Brussels sprouts on her plate. "By Todd?"

"Murdered. By Cahan. And we need to prove he did the deed."

"Arnie." Emma set the glass on the table and uncurled her fingers from it. She coughed to clear the non-existent Brussels sprout from her throat. "The paramedics told us Jo’s death was accidental. An accidental drowning."

"Yeah, I know all the euphemisms they used."

Emma did too. The headline in Harmony Notes, the local daily, had read TRAGIC ACCIDENT AT HAPPY HAVEN. Unfortunate was the word murmured most frequently at the funeral service, followed closely by regrettable.

She said, "Harmony’s police department and the district medical examiner agreed with the paramedics."

"They’re wrong."

A trickle of condensation wept down the side of the glass and puddled into a teardrop on the table. All the words used to describe Jo’s death were wrong. Wrong and inadequate. Words were inadequate now too.

Because this was the problem she had been avoiding.

Her role in Jo’s death.

AMAZON BUY LINK

Florida-based mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter write sweet, clean fiction that is suitable for everyone in your family. The Carpenters write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, they enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. Visit their website to enjoy gift reads and excerpts and to find out what’s happening in Carpenter Country.

Stay connected on Pinterest, Linkedin, Google+, and their Amazon Author Page.

It’s Wednesday, so what’s cooking? Leftovers.

That’s right, a tasty way to use those bits of beef you’ve frozen and promised yourself to reheat before they ended in the trash. This recipe works well with all types of beef and pork, or a combination of the two. Be sure to include any of the juices that have collected in your container.

Shepherd’s Pie
Salad
Fresh Italian or French Bread
Beer – for this menu, my favorite is Harp

The Filling
2 TBL olive oil
1 TBL butter
1 large onion chopped fine
1 large carrot chopped fine
3 gloves garlic pressed
1 ½ pounds leftover beef chopped bite size or smaller
4 sprigs rosemary leaves removed or 1 teas. dried
4 sprigs thyme leaves removed or 1 teas. Dried
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teas. Worcestershire Sauce
½ can tomato paste
¼ cup dry red wine
½ cup beef stock

Pour olive oil into a large, hot frying pan and stir in butter. Sauté onion and carrot until the onion is translucent and tender, but not brown, about 5 - 7 minutes.

Add garlic and stir for about 30 – 60 seconds.

Blend in the meat, herb leaves, and pepper.

Stir in Worcestershire Sauce, stir, tomato paste, stir, red wine and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour the stock into the pan and heat through for 3 minutes.

You don’t have to be adamant on all the times. They are merely guides so you don’t rush the process.

Mashed Potatoes
5 russet potatoes
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
3 ½ TBL soft butter
1 egg yolk
Freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup Parmesan cheese

Peel and quarter potatoes. Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender. Drain pan.

Add sour cream, some of the milk, all of the butter, and the pepper to the pan. Mash the potatoes. Add small amounts of additional milk until you achieve the consistency you prefer. Add the egg yolk and half the Parmesan cheese. Stir well.

Cover with aluminum foil to keep from drying out until you assemble the pie.

Assemble the Pie
Preheat the oven to 400F

Scoop the meat into individual ovenproof dishes or a deep casserole. I prefer the individual dishes as this recipe freezes well or will hold in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Fill bowls no more than ¾’s.

Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top and spread to the edges. This can be a little tricky. Don’t press down on the spoon or the juice will flood over the potatoes. Sprinkle with a generation portion of Parmesan cheese.

Set bowls on a cookie sheet to protect the oven should they boil over. Bake 20 minutes or so to lightly brown the potatoes and set the pie.

If you use the individual bowls, serve them on a dinner plate to protect your tabletop from the heat. The pie is extremely hot. Be sure to warn your diners so no one burns their mouth.

Tossed Salad
Lettuce from 2 different types torn into bite size pieces, red leaf and head are excellent choices
Tomatoes chopped
Cucumber peeled and sliced
Zucchini diced
Green Onions sliced, be sure to add some of the green
Mushrooms sliced

Combine everything, or any grouping you like. Cover with a damp paper towel and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Toss with your favorite dressing, for this menu I prefer Italian. Be careful not to add too much dressing or the lettuce will get soggy.

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Are you a Vin Diesel fan? If so, my good friend Yasmine Phoenix is blogging about The Chronicles of Riddick at on her website. Check it out.

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I'll be back Monday with Raine Delight and her thigh-clenching book STICKY MAGIC. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
www.sloanetaylor.com