Make-Ahead Berry French Toast Casserole

2012 is going to be a big year for me. In addition to putting out four brand new Fool’s Gold books plus one Fool’s Gold novella, I’m launching a new series set on fictional Blackberry Island, Washington. The first Blackberry Island novel will be BAREFOOT SEASON, which will be released on March 27. BAREFOOT SEASON is available for pre-order now. Here are a couple of places where you can pre-order it: Barefoot Season from Amazon | Barefoot Season from Barnes & Noble.

As we speak, my webmaster is hard at work on www.blackberryisland.com. The website will have a free excerpt of the book, the bookclub discussion guide, a map of the island, pictures, a little history of the island, and lots of delicious, original blackberry recipes. (You don’t want to miss my Blackberry Chipotle Sauce, which is shockingly delicious.)

I decided to use Christmas as an excuse to come up with one more delicious blackberry recipe, though this time I mixed it up a bit with other berries, as well. I prepared the casserole on Christmas Eve and put it in the fridge. On Christmas morning, I popped it in the oven, and it cooked while we had a relaxing cup of coffee and opened presents. I thought about waiting to share it but then realized that you might like to have the recipe for a late brunch on New Year’s Day.

You'll find a printable version of this recipe at SusanMallery.com/recipes.php.

Recipe: Make-Ahead Berry French Toast Casserole

1 loaf of French bread
8 eggs
1 C buttermilk
½ t cinnamon
1 T sugar
¼ t salt
1 3-oz package of cream cheese
1 16-oz bag of mixed berries, divided
½ C corn syrup

Cut the French bread into 1-inch chunks and place in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs through salt. Pour over the French bread and toss to coat thoroughly. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Add half of the bread. Dot with half of the cream cheese and a quarter-cup of berries. Add the remaining bread and dot with the remaining cream cheese and a quarter-cup of berries. Refrigerate overnight.

Put the remaining berries and juices in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan with the corn syrup. Heat to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to simmer until the mixture is thickened. I did this the night before as well, so it only had to be warmed up in the morning.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole for about 30 minutes, until browned on the top and firm in the center. Serve with syrup.

Cheaters Chicken Stroganoff from Laura Marie Altom

Welcome to Laura Marie Altom, whose latest book is A BABY IN HIS STOCKING, a heartwarming Christmas romance. (How cute is that cover and title?!) In a moment, Laura Marie is going to share an incredibly heartwarming Christmas story from her own life. Seriously, it's going to melt your heart. But first, here's a little bit about A BABY IN HIS STOCKING:

Wyatt Buckhorn is only a pal. If sharing scorching kisses that leave a woman feeble-brained means they're pals! But that's all the oilman-slash-rancher can be to Natalie Lewis. Five months pregnant and jilted, Natalie refuses to trust any man, least of all a man who is the definition of playboy. Throw in that every run-in turns into a fiery encounter, and "just friends" gets complicated. Which is a shame, because Natalie's life is messy enough.

Besides, she knows Wyatt's secret--he's sterile, and so enforces a strict kid-free rule. But when circumstances have them caring for a whole clan of Buckhorn youngsters over the holidays, Natalie sees a side of Wyatt that's definitely kid-friendly. Weakening defenses, and even weaker knees, have Natalie determined to destroy Wyatt's anti-family policy . . . before he leaves town for good.

A Chat with Laura Marie Altom

Share a special holiday memory with us.

When our boy/girl twins were high school freshmen, our son asked if a friend could stay with us for two weeks. His mother had just been evicted and he had nowhere to go. Of course, we welcomed him into our home. He was skinny and literally had nothing except the clothes on his back and a few extra, threadbare shirts. Two weeks flew by and Russell grew more at ease in our home. When the time came for his mother to get him, he became sullen. Only she didn't come.

Months passed and she still hadn't picked up her child. By this time, I was mad. How could a mother do this to her kid? My husband and I called a family meeting and had a talk with our twins about how they wanted to proceed. Would they be okay with us claiming Russell as our own? They agreed and we hired a family law attorney. Russell's mother finally made an appearance--in court. With a simple signature, Russell officially became our son.

We wanted that year's Christmas to be extra special. What could we possibly give Russell to show him how much he'd grown to mean to us, and how permanent his new home was? We decided to give him a kitten, but that was easier said than done! You would think in a town the size of Tulsa, Christmas kittens are easy to find--wrong! LOL!! Hubby and I drove for an entire day to pick just the right kitty.

For two days, our dogs pitching a fit, we hid the kitten in the master bedroom. Keeping the secret was so much fun, and when it came time for Russell to be given the coveted last gift of Christmas morning, we placed Foxy in his arms. That was such a special year. We take for granted how blessed we are to have the basics, but seeing our lives through Russell's eyes, everything felt new.

Russell and our twins are now college sophomores. Like any family, we've had our share of emotional ups and downs. With Christmas 2011 fast approaching, I'm excited to put all of the year's worries aside to instead focus on what's truly important--family.

These are pics of Foxy then and 23lb Foxy now!! She dwarfs our Yorkie, Daisy!!

If you were to win an all-expenses paid vacation, where would you like to go?
Bora Bora!!! I have a serious thing for palm trees, and that crazy aqua-colored water you only see in the tropics. My idea of the perfect day would be exploring some isolated cove, snorkling and lounging and maybe picking up a few shells. If a hunky waiter wanted to bring fancy umbrella drinks, that would be great, too!!

Your parents sent you to a dude ranch when you were a kid. Did that experience inspire your Buckhorns series?
Hmm, wish I had some great romantic tie-in, but nope, the Buckhorn Ranch is WAY ritzier than the place I stayed!! LOL!! I do have magical memories, though. Learning to barrel race, escaping our cabin in the middle of the night to stare up at the stars, jumping into the pool on sweltering Oklahoma summer afternoons. Dude ranch was the best!!

Cheaters Chicken Stroganoff

Since Hubby's an engineer and works a traditional nine-to-five day, I always feel a little guilty for living the writer's lifestyle of lounging in my PJs all day. Sure, I might be typing away, but still, I know I've got it pretty good!! LOL!! As such, I pretty much always have dinner ready for when Hubby gets home. We've been married 22 years, so I guess he likes my cooking!

I loathe following recipes--it's way more fun to just play, so this is my much easier take on a traditional beef stroganoff that usually gets me nice, clean plates. To my way of thinking, that's the best compliment my family can give!!

That said, here are there ingredients. Feel free to add more or less of everything. For me, it's all about personalizing it for your family's tastes.

• Three or four skinless, boneless chicken breasts split and diced into bite-sized cubes • One diced medium sweet onion • 1/3 of a stick of butter. • Salt to taste

Melt butter in a generous skillet, then saute chicken and onion until chicken is cooked. Sprinkle salt over all a few times while stirring.

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup • 1 cup sour cream • 1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine • 1 small can of mushrooms or 1 cup fresh (If using fresh, saute them with the chicken and onions.)

When chicken is cooked, add remaining ingredients and stir. Now's the time to get out your tasting spoon. You might want to add more wine or salt.

I usually pair this with a fresh veggie, or as in the picture, a light spinach side salad. A nice glass of wine is always yummy!! Hope you enjoy!!

Did Laura Marie's adoption story touch your heart? Be sure to post a comment here to let her know. And don't forget to buy A BABY IN HIS STOCKING!

Mac and Cheese ala Marin Thomas Plus Contest!

I'm delighted to welcome Harlequin American Romance author Marin Thomas. Marin's latest book, A RODEO MAN'S PROMISE, is available now. Marin will choose a random commenter today to win a free copy of A RODEO MAN'S PROMISE (US and Canada only). Be sure to post a comment, and then check back tomorrow morning to see if you've won. She will post the winner's name in a comment, along with her email address so you can claim your prize.

Buy from Amazon: A RODEO MAN'S PROMISE

Hot, Young Cowboy...
Winning dominated Riley Fitzgerald’s mind...until the day he met Maria Alvarez. Now, all the rodeo champ can think about is winning Maria’s heart--a task that may be tougher than busting broncs.
Beautiful, Older Teacher...
As a struggling teacher of at-risk teens in an impoverished, gang-infested neighborhood, Maria doesn’t trust the affections of a rich, hot-shot cowboy, especially one who’s ten years her junior. But she can’t deny the attraction between them--and luckily, Riley’s never been one to back down from a challenge.
Is She Out Of Her Mind?
There’s only one thing that’s more important to Riley than earning another world title, and that’s earning Maria’s trust. He’s got one chance to prove to Maria that he’s all the man she’ll ever need, and she’s the only woman he’ll ever want.

Three Random Questions for Author Marin Thomas

Susan: You’ve lived in a lot of different places and recently moved again. What’s the hardest adjustment for you to make when you move to a new state, a new town, a new home?

Marin: New State…Adjusting to a change in political climate…whether it's a red state or blue state every aspect of our lives is affected by the predominant political party of the state we live in….school districts, social programs, taxes, TV news coverage and general laws specific to that state.

New Town…Finding new doctors and dentists.

New Home…Starting from scratch creating that "homey" feel. I hate having to prioritize my wish list of home repairs and makeovers…I want everything done now!

Susan: What’s a non-writing accomplishment that makes you proud?

Marin: My Academic-All American status when I played basketball at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Susan: You write wonderful cowboy heroes, including this month’s A RODEO MAN'S PROMISE. What’s something interesting that happened to you in real life while learning about cowboys and rodeos?

I attended my first rodeo at age 16 in Colorado. I was wowed by the good looking, larger-than-life cowboys strutting their stuff around the arena. My uncle knew the father of one of the bull riders so he took me down to the cowboy-ready area and introduced me to the bull rider. The cowboy grinned, flashing his missing front teeth then dug around in his gear bag until he found his dental bridge. He stuck it in his mouth and said, "There, now I can talk." That took all the romance out of my cowboy fantasies. When I began writing rodeo stories I decided then and there that my cowboy heroes would not be missing any of their pearly whites!

Marin Thomas's Mac and Cheese

1 (12 oz) container cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
4 cups cooked elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Sharp or Mild)
½ cup 2% Milk
1 green onion, chopped
½ Teaspoon pepper
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Egg
Topping
½ cup Breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon paprika

Mix cottage cheese and sour cream in blender until smooth. Combine all ingredients with the noodles and pour into greased baking dish. Mix bread crumbs and paprika, sprinkle on top of casserole then coat top of dish with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 more minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Variations: You can use low-fat dairy products in this recipe and it tastes just as good. For a heartier “crunch” use homemade croutons instead of the bread crumbs. Lightly toast croutons in butter and garlic salt spread over casserole and sprinkle with paprika. My husband loves the flavor of crisply browned croutons as you can see in the photo.

Cheesy Cilantro Rice

My latest book, ONLY HIS, is at #11 on the New York Times bestsellers list for mass market paperbacks and at #34 on the USA Today bestsellers list tracking all books! This is my best third-week showing ever, and came on the heels of my best debut ever (#3) and my best second week ever (#8). And in the same month that Cosmopolitan Magazine published an excerpt of the first book of the trilogy, ONLY MINE. Such a thrill! Thank you to everyone who rushed out to read the romances of the Hendrix triplets of Fool’s Gold! If you haven’t picked up ONLY HIS yet, click here to read an excerpt: ONLY HIS.

And now… back to the kitchen! I haven’t done many rice recipes on this blog, so I decided now was as good a time as any. I wanted to come up with a different spin on rice. My first thought was cheesy rice. Almost everyone loves cheese! The Cheesy Cilantro Rice is a delicious side dish, especially good when accompanying a Mexican dish.

Recipe: Cheesy Cilantro Rice

2 C uncooked rice
4 C water
1 C fresh cilantro, minced
1C sour cream
4 oz Monterrey jack cheese, cut into ¼-inch chunks
1 small can diced green chilis
½ t salt

Put the rice, water, and cilantro in a heavy-bottomed pan and heat to boiling. For sticky rice, stir a couple of times as it’s heating to release the starches. Once the rice boils, cover the pan and lower the heat. Simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is done. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Mix the cooked rice and remaining ingredients and put in a casserole dish. Cover and bake at 325 for 30 minutes, until heated through.

Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Pie

Read free excerpts of Susan Mallery books at www.susanmallery.com! (Plus, you’ll find more free recipes there, too.)
Here we go again! ONLY HIS was released yesterday, which gets my emotions all in a tangle. It’s very much like Christmas morning. After you’ve spent months on a handmade gift, you wonder whether your loved one will treasure it. Anticipation and excitement mingle with nervousness as you watch your loved one’s face, interpreting every nuance of expression. Does he love it?
The difference is, of course, that I can’t see readers’ expressions to interpret their reaction to ONLY HIS. I have to rely on the sales numbers for the first week to tell me the story. If readers love Fool’s Gold as much as I do, and if they’ve been eager to get their hands on Nevada Hendrix’s story, I’ll know it because they’ll rush out to buy the book this week. But until I know, all I can do is try not to fret too much. Comfort food helps.
I was in the mood for chicken pot pie, but I wasn’t in the mood to spend all day in the kitchen. So I came up with this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Pie. It took less than ten minutes to put together, and then I turned on the slow cooker and forgot about it until dinnertime. And it was good!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Pie

1 lb. uncooked chicken, cubed
1 family-sized can (26 oz) cream of chicken soup
½ C white wine or milk
1 can corn, drained
1 16-oz bag of frozen peas and carrots
1 small onion, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme
½ t sage
½ t pepper
3 red potatoes, sliced thin
Put all of the ingredients except the potatoes into the slow cooker. Mix well. Layer the potato slices on top of the chicken mixture. Cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Dana Marton's Stovetop Chicken Casserole

My friend Dana Marton is the author of fabulous romances filled with international intrigue. Her heroes are powerful, dangerous men with hearts of gold and a desire to serve and protect their country, their family... and the women with whom they fall in love.I recently had the pleasure of reading the first two books of Dana's latest ebook trilogy, Agents Under Fire, starting with GUARDIAN AGENT and continuing with AVENGING AGENT. If you love romantic suspense, you must check out these books!

Amazon: GUARDIAN AGENT, AVENGING AGENT
Barnes and Noble: GUARDIAN AGENT, AVENGING AGENT

When she's not writing, Dana uses her creativity in other ways... such as creating this delicious Stovetop Chicken Casserole. Mmmmmm! It looks as creamy and delicious as the heroes in her books. And now here's Dana Marton...

Recipe: Stove Top Chicken Casserole

(As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I came up with this stove stop recipe when my husband broke my casserole dish, and found that I can make something very similar in less time than it would take in the oven. Which leaves extra time for reading!)

4 chicken breasts chopped into cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 package of your favorite noodles (I used wide egg noodles)
1 can of Cream of Broccoli soup
1 cup of milk
1 package of frozen broccoli
Grated parmesan cheese

Take a large non-stick skillet, add olive oil and chicken. Salt, then cook over medium heat. When the chicken is almost done, add frozen broccoli, soup and milk, and stir well. Cover with lid. While that cooks, prepare and drain noodles. When both the meat and the broccoli are ready, stir in hot noodles. Cook for 5 more minutes without the lid. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Anyhow… that’s what someone watching me would see while I cooked this. Now here is how it goes in my head. Yes, writers’ brains are that weird.

Love is a Complex Dish

(a story of romance and danger)

“Help!” she cried, despair burning through her.

And he was there, once again, to save her.

“Agent Broccoli,” she sighed his name with relief, even as the dancing flames surrounded them. Did this mean that he’d forgiven her?

He cut the ropes that bound her and dragged her out of the smoke-filled Parmesan Pantry, the cheese store that had been in her family for three generations. Then he dragged her into his arms. “I’ll always be there for you.” His seductive voice whispered into her ear. “And not just because you’re a hot chick. I love you.” His olive color eyes darkened as he kissed her.

But, as the last time, a new wave of attack interrupted. He pushed her protectively behind him to face their evil enemy.

He charged at Wide Noodle, fury pushing him forward, his masculine lips twisted into a growl.

Lord, she loved those lips, his wild, full head of hair, those wide shoulders… She loved everything about him.

“I love you!” she called after him, admitting it at last. She was done pushing him away.

He fought with renewed strength, ignoring his injuries, until Noodle lay limp at his feet, begging for mercy.
His reinforcements were arriving by then, and carted the villain off to the Skillet County Jail.

Then it was just the two of them, and she threw himself into his arms, where they finished that kiss at last. Love really was the salt of life, she thought, dazed by the emotions that swirled through her. She knew now that what she had with him was worth fighting for. She was never going to run from love again.

Hope you enjoy both the dish and the story!
Author, Dana Marton
www.danamarton.com

Kielbasa Potato Pie

Prepare yourself. Today’s recipe is likely to cause overeating. It is deeeelicious! You can now get printer-friendly versions of all my blog recipes at my newly redesigned website, susanmallery.com. Hover over the Members Only Lounge button, then click Recipes.

Have you ever woken up and found yourself in the mood for kielbasa? No? Well, me either, so color me surprised when it happened to me today. But I also knew that I needed to make something I could put on the blog, and kielbasa on its own just isn’t complicated enough. What would my recipe say? Warm kielbasa, the end?

Wouldn’t exactly make people race to follow my cooking blog.

So I asked my Facebook fans what they were having for dinner, and someone used that magical phrase, “comfort food.” Which instantly made me think of mashed potatoes and chicken pot pies. Could I come up with a recipe for Kielbasa Pot Pie, but with a mashed potato crust?

I Googled “potato pie crust” and found this terrific looking recipe for Fiesta Potato Pie from Cake, Batter, and Bowl. It looks excellent, but I thought the kielbasa might make the mashed potatoes too soggy, and I thought shredded potatoes would give a more interesting texture. So then I found this recipe from, of all places, Breastfeeding Moms Unite: Vegetable Pie with Grated Potato Crust

With the crust settled, I moved onto the filling. I thought about using canned cream of mushroom soup as the liquid in the Kielbasa Potato Pie, but I was afraid it would be too salty. Kielbasa (also known as polish sausage) is very salty on its own, so I used a simple white sauce instead, with no added salt. If you’re in a rush, try low sodium cream of mushroom soup and be sure to let me know how it turns out.

Kielbasa Potato Pie

Crust:
2 baking potatoes, grated
¼ C onion, grated
¼ t ground pepper
2 eggs
1T melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grate the potatoes and squeeze out as much moisture as possible with paper towels. Put the grated potato in a bowl with the onion and pepper. Toss with a fork until well mixed. Crack open the eggs on top of the potatoes, mix the eggs with the fork, and then toss it all together.

Spray a deep pan with nonstick spray. Put the potato mixture in the pan and press down. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then brush with melted butter and bake 5 more minutes.

Filling:

3 T butter
1 C fresh mushrooms, minced
3 T flour
1 ½ C milk
2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch chunks
½ C frozen peas
1 can of whole kernel corn, or 1 C of frozen corn
1 lb Polska Kielbasa (polish sausage), sliced into ¼-inch rounds.
½ C sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour one tablespoon at a time, then add milk a bit at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the carrots, peas, and corn and simmer for 10 minutes.

When the potato crust is done, remove it from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Place half of the kielbasa slices on the crust in concentric circles. Top with half of the vegetable mixture. Add the rest of the kielbasa, then the rest of the vegetables. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Top with cheese and broil until the cheese is browned, 2-4 minutes. Check every minute to be sure the cheese doesn’t burn.