The Perfect Comfort Food and YA Mystery Read for March Break...

The perfect comfort food to serve your family or friends in late fall, the dead of winter or early spring, these melt-in-your-mouth chops are the most tender—dare I say succulent pork chops—you’ve ever tasted. Food seems to be the source of comfort in all family matters, and I’ve found that meals bring us together to celebrate, cry or support each other in so many ways. Call me sentimental, but there’s something about those family chats at the dinner table after a long day or weekly family get-togethers on Sunday that you’ll hold in your heart for years to come.

Succulent Sour Cream Pork Chops

6 pork chops
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. (15ml) olive oil
1 large onion, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp. (30ml) flour
1 8 oz. (250 g) container sour cream

SEASON pork with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge in flour.

HEAT a skillet over medium heat. Add oil. When the oil shimmers lightly brown chops.

PLACE chops in slow cooker, and top with onion slices. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water and pour over chops. Cover, and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.

PREHEAT oven to 200° F (95° C).

AFTER the chops have cooked, transfer them to the oven to keep war. Be careful, the chops are so tender they will fall apart.

IN a small bowl, blend flour with sour cream. Stir into meat juices in slow cooker. Turn cooker to HIGH for 15 to 30 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.

SPOON sauce on pork chops, and serve over rice or noodles.

With a prep time of 15 minutes and cook time of 8 ½ hours, there’s plenty of time to get some weekend reading done while you wait for your guests to arrive. May I suggest a visit to Fairy Falls, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, a trip back in time with The Last Timekeepers? Whichever you choose, I guarantee either series will take you on a journey far away from dirty dishes and messy pots.

Here's a glimpse into one of the books from Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls, my teen psychic mystery series.

The only witness left to testify against an unsolved crime in Fairy Falls isn’t a person…

City born and bred, Hart Stewart possesses the gift of psychometry—the psychic ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with them. Since his mother’s death, seventeen-year-old Hart has endured homelessness, and has learned ways to keep his illiteracy under wraps. He eventually learns of a great-aunt living in Fairy Falls, and decides to leave the only life he’s ever known for an uncertain future.

Diana MacGregor lives in Fairy Falls. Her mother was a victim of a senseless murder. Only Diana’s unanswered questions and her grief keeps her going, until Hart finds her mother’s lost ring and becomes a witness to her murder.

Through Hart’s psychic power, Diana gains hope for justice. Their investigation leads them into the corrupt world threatening Fairy Falls. To secure the town’s future, Hart and Diana must join forces to uncover the shocking truth, or they risk losing the true essence of Fairy Falls forever.

AMAZON BUY LINK

This March Break, Balance the Calm and Chaos in your Life with a Sweet Treat and Relaxing Read...

Face it, we all need breaks! A needed holiday a couple of times a year. A long weekend to unwind. A day off to recharge. Even when we’re working, we need to take at least fifteen minutes away from our jobs after we’ve been working non-stop for two or three hours. Hey, we’re not robots, and if our jobs require us to sit, stand, or walk around for any length of time, our bodies will eventually tire, and we lose our focus. And that could cause plenty of headaches for business owners, retail stores, and manufacturers.

  

Even when I’m writing a book, I make sure I include plenty of sequels between scenes. It’s kind of like a coffee break (or tea if you’re so inclined) for your reader. Scenes include plenty of activity and emotion, at times keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Sequels are devised to break the tension where there’s less activity, letting the readers’ emotions rest. I use this technique in both my young adult book series, The Last Timekeepers and Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls. This way, there’s a balance between the calm and chaos in every tale I write, and doesn’t leave my reader feeling exhausted at the end of the book.

Ready for a break? How about a slice of Gingerbread Coffee Cake? It’s a twist on what you would think of as seasonal baking, and trust me, this cake is great for your anticipated time out, whether you’re at work or at home working on your next novel or artistic endeavor. With a prep time of 15 minutes and a total time of 1 hour, 25 minutes, this cake serves about 24 of your closest colleagues.

What You Need:

3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3 tbsp (45 mL) cocoa powder, sifted

1 tbsp (15 mL) ground ginger

2 tsp (10 mL) ground cinnamon

2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda

½ tsp (2 mL) each salt and ground nutmeg

¼ tsp (1 mL) ground cloves

⅔ cup (150 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups (375 mL) sugar

3 eggs

½ (125 mL) molasses

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

2 cups (500 mL) sour cream

What You Do:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease 9 or 10 inch (23 or 25 cm) Bundt pan; dust with flour. In a bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves; set aside.

IN separate bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in molasses and vanilla.

USING mixer on low speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and sour cream, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of sour cream and scraping down side of bowl as necessary.

SCRAPE batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake until tester (toothpick) comes out clean when inserted into center of cake, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool completely in pan on wire rack. Invert onto serving plate. Prepare sauce (recipe below) to drizzle over cake.

Coffee Caramel Sauce

1 ½ cups (375 mL) firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup (60 mL) brewed coffee (brew stronger than package directions)

¼ cup (60 mL) 35% whipping cream, at room temperature

2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ tsp (1 mL) salt

IN medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar and coffee. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until sugar is fully dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 12 to 15 minutes.

REMOVE from heat; stir in cream, butter and salt. Drizzle over gingerbread cake. Slice and serve.

So, now that you’ve baked to your heart’s content, it’s time for your break! Leave those dirty dishes in the sink, pour yourself a cup of your favorite hot beverage, and go curl up on the couch with one of my books. May I suggest a visit to Fairy Falls, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, a trip back in time with The Last Timekeepers? Just remember to pack lightly.

A Tasty Memory for March Break Madness...

When I began writing The Last Timekeepers Time Travel series, I wrote it with the intention of creating a nostalgic, good old days feeling to take tweens and teens (and hopefully many adults too) on an adventure in time that would keep them reading, smiling, and begging for more books. That said, I made sure that each book also included a scene involving food to allow my characters a chance to rest and mull over what has taken place so far during their Timekeeper mission—think family chats at the dinner table after a long day or those Sunday family get-togethers at supper. Call me sentimental, but there’s something about mixing food with a fun read!

This recipe is among one of my favorites my mother used to prepare for family get-togethers or the holidays. With a melt-in-your-mouth texture, this dish is sure to put a smile on any face—even those who cringe at the thought of broccoli or cauliflower on their plates. Easy to prepare with a prep time of fifteen minutes and cook time of approximately sixty minutes, this supreme cheesy feast serves around six of your famished family members or hungry guests.

Supreme Cheesy Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms (pieces and stems)
1 tbsp. butter
Half and half cream
Head of Cauliflower
Bunch of Broccoli
Dash of paprika

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

CUT broccoli and cauliflower into bite size pieces. Drop into a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Drain the vegetables well and set aside.

FRY mushrooms lightly in butter until browned.

EMPTY cans of soup into a saucepan and add one can of half and half cream. Stir until smooth. Set stove to medium heat. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture just to the boil.

PLACE vegetables in lightly greased casserole dish. Pour mushrooms and soup mixture over the vegetables. Garnish with paprika if desired.

COVER with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil to brown, then cook for another 20-30 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Since you’ve got some wiggle room to relax, why not set your butt in the closest cozy chair, and crack open one of The Last Timekeepers books? BTW - these books are the perfect adventure for any tween or teen looking to be whisked away during the March Break. Happy time traveling!