Add Spice to Your Life

Our longtime friend Bonnie creates tasty recipes and loves to share them. This snack is one of our favorites. It's easy to prepare and downright addicting.

BONNIE’S SPICED UP OYSTER CRACKERS

¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup Frank’s RedHot sauce
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing
¼ tsp. lemon pepper
¾ tsp. dill dried
¼ tsp. garlic powder
12 oz. oyster crackers

Preheat oven to 250° F.

Mix all ingredients, except crackers, in a small bowl.

Scatter crackers into an ovenproof pan.

Pour herb mixture over crackers. Stir gently to coat crackers well.

Bake 20 minutes. Stir halfway through baking time.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan. Store in plastic bags or airtight containers.

Enjoy!

Pretzel Crack – the Addictive Snack!

My dear friend Middle Grade author Sharon Ledwith is here to get us hooked on an awesome treat that works on the appetizer table as well as family night with a good movie. The kitchen is all yours, Sharon!

Looking for a great family snack that’s easy to make and soooo addictively wicked, you’ll need to lock those ranch-dressed, salty bites under lock and key if you want to make them last until your next movie night? Then look no more. Seriously. You’ll be hooked with your first nibble.

And guess what? No baking is required. Even your kids can help with this recipe.

What you need:
32 ounce bag of pretzels
16 ounce bottle of Orville Redenbacher’s Buttery Flavor popcorn oil
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (dry)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoon dill weed
1 deep foil tray (from dollar store)

What you do:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.
2. Mix in the popcorn oil.
3. Coat pretzels evenly, then spoon out onto a deep foil tray.
4. Air dry pretzels in foil tray, stirring every 15 minutes until dry (approximately 1-2 hours).

Store your freshly made pretzel crack in freezer bags. Voila. Done. Ready for consumption.

Warning: If you find that you or a family member eats a whole bag in one sitting, it’s time for an intervention. Do what you must. Be firm. Then, since the bag is empty, go ahead and make some more. You know you want it.

While waiting for the pretzel crack to dry, might I suggest you enjoy a trip into the past with The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis?

Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the only hope for our past.

When 13-year-old Amanda Sault and her annoying classmates are caught in a food fight at school, they're given a choice: suspension or yard duty. The decision is a no-brainer. Their two-week crash course in landscaping leads to the discovery of a weathered stone arch in the overgrown back yard. The arch isn't a forgotten lawn ornament but an ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis.

Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers--legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from the evil Belial--Amanda and her classmates are sent on an adventure of a lifetime. Can they find the young Robin Hood and his merry band of teens? If they don't, then history itself may be turned upside down.

To read an excerpt of The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, please click HERE.

Check out The Last Timekeepers series Facebook Page.

BUY LINKS
Musa Publishing - Amazon Link - Barnes & Noble - Kobo

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, The Last Timekeepers, available through Musa Publishing. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, yoga, kayaking, time with family and friends, and single malt scotch. Sharon lives in the wilds of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, a water-logged yellow Labrador and moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy New Year!
Sloane

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

To help you celebrate your holiday of choice in style, Studs came up with a beverage that’s easy to make and lip smackin’ good.

VODKA & PINEAPPLE
3 pineapples cored, peeled, and cut into rings
1.75 liters of your favorite vodka
Large wide-mouth glass container with a secure lid

Place the pineapple rings at the bottom of the container in any design you fancy. Pour the vodka on top. Be sure to cover the pineapple by at least 2 inches. You don’t have to refrigerate as the alcohol preserves the fruit. Check periodically to be sure the vodka level is still well over the pineapple.

To serve, pour over ice in a cocktail glass or swirl it with ice and then pour into pony glasses.

Here are two more drinks for your pleasure.

CITRUS CHAMPAGNE PUNCH
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cups superfine or granulated sugar
4 cups vodka
1 bottle Limoncello
3 tbsp. dry vermouth
4 bottles chilled dry Champagne or sparkling wine
2 lemons sliced thin
1 bottle ginger ale

Combine lemon juice, sugar, vodka, Limoncello, and vermouth in a large nonreactive bowl. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add sliced lemons. Cover and refrigerate 1 – 2 hours to chill.

Add Champagne then gently stir to blend. Add the ginger ale if the mixture seems too strong.

Serve in a punch bowl with ice on the side. Makes approximately 5 gallons.

For a smaller crowd, scale down the recipe by at least half. Fill tall glasses with a few ice cubes. Add the punch and enjoy.

MOCK CHAMPAGNE PUNCH
2 bottles ginger ale, the 2 liter size
1 pineapple juice, 46 oz.
1 bottle white grape juice, 64 oz.

To make an ice ring:
Fill a ring-shaped cake pan half full with ginger ale.
Freeze until partially frozen. Lay pieces of fruit around the ring. I used blueberries and orange slices. Fill the pan with ginger ale and freeze until solid.

Chill the second bottle of ginger ale and juices for several hours.

In a large punch bowl, lay the ice ring. Pour the ginger ale and juices over the ice ring and serve.

Another Studly Gem

Drinks served at a bar or restaurant on those nice little napkins can be a pain when the paper clings to the bottom of the glass and smacks you in the chin. To avoid the problem lift your glass and sprinkle salt on the napkin. Voila! No more stick.

And no cocktail is ever complete without a little nosh.

BLACK OLIVES IN OIL
1 can medium pitted black olives
3 garlic cloves
Olive oil
Glass jar with a secure lid

Drain the black olives and pour them into the jar. Crush the garlic into the jar. Pour in the olive oil to cover. Refrigerate at least 1 week. The mix will become thick and cloudy. It’s okay, that’s the oil solidifying.

To serve, set the jar on the counter until the oil becomes clear and normal consistency, which will take several hours. Spoon out the quantity of olives you wish to serve into a pretty dish. Be sure to have toothpicks. Put the jar back in the fridge for future use. You can refill with more olives and the mixture can stay good for up to three months.

I'll be back Monday with Dorien Grey. Until then...

Please drink responsibly.

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page