Snow Day Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings #crockpotdinner

Winter. New York. The first blizzard of 2015.

Time to break out the crockpot!

With the expected snowfall amounts increasing by the hour, I plan to spend my day getting some unexpected words on the WIP...and getting dinner out of the way early is a bonus.

Right now I'm in revision/edit mode on the first in my time travel series to the California Gold Rush in 1851 and having a blast writing my sheriff, Sam Harden. I can't wait to introduce you to him!

Back to dinner...

This is a super easy crockpot dinner that is a favorite in my house (in other words...all three kids will eat it!)

CROCKPOT CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Boneless chicken thighs (I buy the large family pkg - at least 10-12 thighs)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans biscuits
garlic powder & pepper to taste

Toss the chicken in the crockpot. Cover with the cans of soup - add a full soup can of water. Sprinkle with some garlic powder and pepper.  Cook on low about 6 hours.

30 minutes before serving...open the cans of biscuits. Rip each biscuit in half and place on top of the chicken/gravy. Cover and let rise to cook as dumplings. (You CAN use one can...my kids love the biscuits, so I make 2 cans)

Serve with a side veggie and Enjoy!

Dressing Up and Looking Forward

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Yes, I am one of those mother's that got dressed up to go out with her kids. I'm the one who answers my door dressed up to greet the kids in my neighborhood. I just love playing dress-up. Always have and probably always will.

But, this year for the first time in ages...I can't decide what to be!

Which got me thinking about my choices and what's popular and what's not. I even created a little survey over on my Facebook page, please stop by and give me your opinion.


* * *

Over the past few weeks I've been in my little editing and revision cave putting the finishing touches on two books that will be out before the end of the year!

Out first will be a short holiday novella, Muffins & Mistletoe, set in the small fictional town of Starlight Hills in the Adirondack Mountains. I'll be posting the cover next week - but trust me, it's adorable!

Next up will be the first in my Prosperity Creek time travel series, Surrender to the Sheriff...and isn't my cover awesome!

One night in her inherited ghost town plus one sexy sheriff from the past, doesn't equal the future she's planned. Trapped in 1851 and falling for a man she knows will die over a gold dispute, is it possible to earn her inheritance and change the sheriff's fate in the process? Lilly might have to surrender to the Sheriff to find out!

Then I'll be looking forward taking a few weeks off for the holidays.

Now it's back to deciding on a costume, but I'd love to know what you're going to be this year!

Happy travels, my friends. Have a great week!

My Sexy Saturday - Surrender to the Sheriff (C5)

Welcome back to another edition of the My Sexy Saturday Blog Hop!

Every Saturday the participants post 7 sexy words, sentences, or paragraphs from their published books, upcoming releases or a work-in-progress. Now everyone's idea of sexy is different and some of us are hot and some of us sweet - but what fun it is to explore some great writing!

Today I'm offering up a little taste of my upcoming time travel novella, Surrender to the Sheriff. This scene is from Chapter 5.

This scene takes place in Sam's cabin and he's just made the decision to take Lilly back to town...but it appears Lilly has other plans. :)

* ~ * ~ *

He opened the door, determined to set his life back to order, and all rational thought flew from his head.

Lilly stood in front of the fireplace, bent over, apparently inspecting something on her knee. Her breasts threatened to spill over the neck of her dress, and one bare leg shimmered in the light of the flames at her back. Thoughts of that shapely leg wrapped around his waist caught him off guard and he couldn't catch his breath.

She smiled as he stepped inside and closed the door. That tantalizing dimple in her cheek reached down into his gut and twisted it into knots. The words he'd prepared in his head disappeared as she licked her lips and grinned. Dear Lord, he wanted to taste those lips again. Then he imagined those lips trailing down his chest.

He swallowed and blinked while trying to remember what he was going to say. It was something to do with bringing her back to the saloon for her own good, but she didn't look like she wanted to go anywhere right now.

He wasn't sure he could argue with that.

Instead of trying to remember what he wanted to say, he couldn't take his eyes off the waves of her golden hair as it danced along her shoulders. His fingers itched to have the silky stands looped through them while he pulled her against his chest. He could almost smell the fresh lavender on her skin.

She slowly straightened and his hungry gaze followed the hem of her skirt all the way down until it covered her dainty ankles.

He hated that dress.

* ~ * ~ *

Think you know where this scene is headed?

Hope you enjoyed my little taste of Surrender to the Sheriff for this week's Sexy Saturday. You can visit more sexy scenes by clicking on the links below!

My Sexy Saturday - Surrender to the Sheriff - C2 Snippet

Welcome to my first crack at the "My Sexy Saturday" blog hop!

Every Saturday the participants post 7 sexy words, sentences, or paragraphs from their published books, upcoming releases or a work-in-progress. Now everyone's idea of sexy is different and some of us are hot and some of us sweet - but what fun it is to explore some great writing!

Today I'm offering up a little taste of my upcoming time travel novella, Surrender to the Sheriff. This scene is from C2.

* * *

"Lilly, haven't you been involved in enough trouble for one day?"

His free hand reached up, tipped his black hat high on his head, and those emerald green eyes locked with hers once again. The lips that had kissed her with so much tenderness and possessiveness moments ago quirked into a lopsided grin that made her insides tingle and pop with anticipation.

How could she explain something she didn't understand herself? "I just think—"

"Think about this instead."

His sensuous lips were back on hers and he wanted her to think? It was impossible to imagine anything other than the way her body melted into his at that moment and she was pretty sure it wasn’t his gun hardening against her stomach.

With his fingers in her hair, he held her close and nibbled ever so lightly on her bottom lip before his tongue slid inside to capture her mouth fully. The breath caught in the back of her throat—she groaned and grabbed hold of his muscled shoulder.

Dream, fantasy, or just her wild imagination, she was sure she’d never been kissed like this before. His mouth devoured every inch of hers; his tongue explored and retreated, leaving trails of electrified skin in its wake.

If she had to think about anything, it would be that Sam Harden knew how to kiss.

* * *

So, what do you think...sexy? *wink*

Sunday in the Kitchen - Pioneer Skillet Bread

Not cast iron...but works for me.

In my current work in progress, Surrender to the Sheriff, my heroine has traveled from the present to a California Gold Rush town in 1851 and the cast iron skillet has become her favorite tool - but not in the kitchen! Lilly actually uses the cast iron pan as a weapon.

And while the cast iron pan could do some nice damage to a man's leg or shoulder...most woman on the frontier used their pans to make the staples on the trail and keep their families fed.

The cast iron pan could be used over an open fire on the trail or in an oven once they had a kitchen in their new home.

The pan would be filled with dough and moved about the fire, angled in such a way that the bread would eventually rise and cook. Though cooking was difficult along the Oregon Trail,  baking skillet bread was often the only food they could count on as conditions were usually harsh.

Today you and I can grab these items from the pantry and pop them in the oven without barely a thought about the travelers heading west over rugged terrain.

Hope you enjoy this time-tested biscuit!

SKILLET BREAD

3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter (or shortening)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk or sour milk
Shortening for greasing the pan

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter or shortening (on the trail this would have been done with a fork, you can go ahead and use a pastry blender if you'd like!) Cut in the shortening until it's grainy. Stir in the milk. Knead the dough a few times, then push into the greased pan. Bake in a 400 degree oven about 35 minutes or until the bread is  lightly browned and light in weight.

Enjoy!

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  ** Because I love my readers and am grateful you choose to spend some time with me each week, all comments from April 1 to April 30th are automatically entered into my monthly drawing for a 3 pack of mini travel-sized handmade soaps. Details and the scents for the month can be found on the "contest rules" page.

Six Sentence Sunday - Surrender to the Sheriff Teaser

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday!

Today I've got a little teaser from Chapter 2 of my current WIP, Surrender to the Sheriff.

The setup to this scene:

After his bullet grazes her arm, Sam Harden, sheriff of Prosperity Creek in 1851, has just reminded Lilly how he plans to clean up the town and make it a safe place...

A slow smile appeared on Lilly's face, the smile that showed the crescent dimple in her left cheek. The smile that won his heart the moment he'd first seen it. Dreams of waking up to that smile kept him going when he might otherwise have given up on this town. That crescent dimple was the reason he was still wearing the star on his chest and not off mining with his brothers.

She touched his arm and nodded. "I know you'll do it, Sheriff."

He wanted to remind her to call him Sam; he needed to hear his name on her lips. When it came to Lilly, he needed a lot of things, but he couldn't focus on any of those selfish things now.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you enjoyed the teaser, I know I have quite the soft-spot for Sheriff Sam already.

Six Sentence Sunday - Lilly meets the Sheriff

Since my last "Six Sentence Sunday" the previously untitled western time travel romance I'm working on has officially been named!

A few weeks ago we met the heroine, Lilly. Below is a glimpse of her meeting the hero of "Surrender to the Sheriff."

Enjoy and happy Sunday my friends!

Sam's fingers threaded through the hair at the base of her neck, hot goose bumps peppered her skin everywhere he touched. His lips left her mouth to glide along her jaw on the way to her ear.

"I can't do this without you," he whispered.

 By the time he released her with a heavy sigh, her legs wobbled beneath her.

Lillian reached up and traced the edge of his stubbled chin, searched his eyes and squelched the tiny stab of jealousy rushing through her chest for the real Lilly this man so obviously loved and planned to marry. Tall, dark and ruggedly handsome, Sheriff Sam Harden was everything Grandma Rose had portrayed him to be.

Until next time, happy reading.