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Woohoo. I received my first round of edits for my story, A CHRISTMAS GIFT, yesterday. Melissa, my editor with Whimsical Publications, said, “This epilogue was so good. I cried through half of it.” So readers, get your tissues handy when you read this book of mine! At least I hope people will buy it!

I haven’t given a recipe for some time. I’m copying my favorite recipes and Emily’s in a recipe book for her. If you’ve eaten at Red Lobster, I’m sure you’ve enjoyed their cheese-garlic biscuits. This is the recipe for them.

CHEESE-GARLIC BISCUITS (As served at Red Lobster)

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat vigorously 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

(10 to 12 biscuits)

Sorry I’m late posting today! This morning I worked on chapter two, did emails, posting at yahoo groups, and treadmill. Then my sweet husband took me out to an early lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I ordered the crab cake dinner but decided his looked better. He ordered the New Orleans seafood platter. He had a coupon for $10 - he’s great at clipping restaurant coupons! When I came home, I finished the paperwork for my at-home scoring job that I will be starting later in March. One difference is when I worked for another scoring company in the city, I was on the clock when I did the paperwork.

FEBRUARY CONTEST: Since I’m giving a signed copy of my chick-lit mystery, A FIERY SECRET, to a lucky commenter for this month’s contest, I’ll have some fun posts next week. I’ll draw the winner’s name on March 1st! If the winner should live outside the U.S. or Canada, then an ebook of A Fiery Secret will be substituted for the print copy.

QUESTION: Would you like to be emailed the follow-up comments after you comment here on my blog? I’m thinking of adding this feature in March. My tech person, Dee, told me that I have an old version of Wordpress and she can do an update for me. Dee Tenorio does my updates to my website since my other designer quit to take another type of job. I’m so glad they recommended Dee - she’s great. By the way, she’s also a talented writer. Click here to visit her website.

I’m sharing a recipe I’ve used when I make coffee cake on Sunday. This recipe makes a delicious cake.

Coffee Cake Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached flour.)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
1.In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and beat until combined. Pour half the batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. (I used my bundt pan) Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle half of topping over batter. Add remaining batter and topping. Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes or until done.

On Monday, I was craving chocolate no bake cookies! I don’t feel guilty about eating them and going off my diet because they have so many healthy ingredients. They have to be good for you! My next dessert will be pumpkin pie sometime. Another healthy recipe.

Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white sugar
3 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
3 cups quick cooking oats

DIRECTIONS

Have peanut butter and oats, measured in separate bowls and ready to add after mixture boils!

Combine the milk and butter or margarine in a saucepan. Turn on medium heat. Add the sugar and cocoa. Stir more than occasionally until it reaches a ROLLING BOIL. (It will continue to boil as you CONSTANTLY STIR.) Start timing at the rolling boil. After it boils for a good minute, turn off heat and immediately add vanilla, then peanut butter and stir some more. Add oats and stir until mixed and all peanut butter is melted. The trick really is the rolling boil and constantly stirring so the sugar doesn’t burn.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Allow cookies to cool for at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container.

Mine didn’t make it into a container - I only made half the recipe and we ate all of them instantly. Also I like the chunky peanut butter the best for these cookies, but some might prefer the smooth type.

I did two of my favorite things yesterday - made cookies and ate a few - yes, just a few baked ones because I ate some cookie dough, too! When Amanda came home from school, we baked M & M cookies. I had bought some Christmas candy so opened the red and green m & m bag. I also bought a few more gifts and wrapped them.

Here’s the recipe:

M & M Cookies

3/4 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
________________________________________
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter or margarine, brown sugar, vanilla, and sugar until fluffy. Add 2 beaten eggs.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to cream mixture. Stir in M & M’s.
4. Drop by teaspoon on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes.

If you want to make a cookie cake, I’ve used a pizza pan for this. Allow an inch around it so the dough has room to expand. I didn’t do this when I baked a birthday cake once and the dough oozed over the edge and hit the bottom of the oven and caught on fire. Our daughter, Christina, said it was the best-tasting cookie cake ever. Bake 15 - 17 minutes for a cake.

While I was walking in the park, it occurred to me that I better mention what my prize is for this month’s blog contest.

GIVEAWAY FOR SEPTEMBER: Winner gets to choose an ebook format of one of my Samhain books. I decided to make it easy so I don’t have to do the snail mail. My three books are: NO GREATER LOSS, A FIERY SECRET, OR NEVER THE SAME.

Each time you leave a comment during September, you’ll be entered. Contest ends: September 30th! I’ll pick the winner in the evening!

Well, my OSU Buckeyes won on Saturday against Ohio University. And my husband and son are happy that Notre Dame won their football game. But I don’t want to talk about how the Bengals played on Sunday against the Ravens.

I’m going to make Taco Salad for our evening meal today. Here’s the recipe:

TACO SALAD RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup water
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans (I prefer the dark kidney beans.)
1 (16 ounce) bottle Sweet and Spicy French dressing
1 medium head iceberg lettuce
1 (13 ounce) package tortilla chips
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup or more of chopped tomatoes

Preparation:
Brown beef in a skillet; drain off excess fat. Sprinkle taco mix over beef and stir in water. Simmer, uncovered, until liquid cooks away. In an extra-large salad bowl, layer half of the lettuce, then half of the cheese, beans, ground beef (wait until the beef is cooled so it won’t melt the cheese), and tomatoes. Repeat the layers once more, then top with crushed tortilla chips.

Before serving, add the dressing and toss well to coat. Yield: 12 servings

Since there are only 4 of us, I’m going to use less chips and etc.