FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS--GUEST AUTHOR AND #FOODIE MARY MARTINEZ

Mary Martinez loves to travel, loves music, loves her garden--as long as she doesn't have to weed it--but she especially loves her family. Mary writes mostly romantic suspense, but has been known to branch out into romance, women's fiction and most recently middle grade/young adult. Oh, and did I mention I love to cook? Learn more about Mary and her books at her website. 

Hi everyone! First I’d like to thank Lois Winston for inviting me to be a guest blogger. I am going to discuss one of my favorite things. No, not writing. Though next to family, that is my favorite thing.

I’m talking cooking. I love to cook. It gets out my frustrations at the end of the day. I have a dreaded day job because I’m not lucky enough to be able to write full time and make a living. Therefore, I write when I can.

We have to eat. Unfortunately I could use a little less calories around my bottom half. That’s neither here nor there. Anyway, I have been known to come home after a long, stressful day at work and cook for an hour and a half or more. Eating about 7 pm or sometimes later. My kids think I’m nuts. You’d be amazed how you can really work off that frustration from work. When I have had a particularly bad day, I like nothing more than to chop, dice, cube, anything I can use a knife forcefully. As I chop I pretend it is someone from work that pissed me off… I think you get my drift.

Ultimately I’m a FOODIE. I love to eat. Good food and wine is the best at the end of the day, or the beginning, or hey, the middle.

I had plans to do a cookbook, called The After Work Cook, but the formatting was so frustrating and time consuming I decided to do a virtual cook book instead. I have a YouTube channel and it’s my play list. My husband starts the video off, and then I video the rest as I go. I will admit, what you see is what you get. I’m a total dork. Hey, I have fun, isn’t that what matters?

There is no rhyme or reason as to when I upload a video or blog the recipe on my cooking blog. It’s whenever the mood strikes. And sometimes I have some videos that I save for whenever. You can find me on The After Work Blog. You can find my playlist on my YouTube.

I’m going to share my Bodacious Bison Burger recipe today.

Bison Burgers
1 lb. Ground Bison
1/8 cp. Chopped shallot 
1/8 cp. Chopped mushroom
1/8 cp. Chopped Jalapeno 
2 - 3 cloves garlic chopped
1 sliced tomato
1/4 lb. sliced white cheddar cheese
lettuce
Salt, pepper, and crushed pepper to taste

Mix the ground bison together with some of the chopped garlic and spices to taste. Make in to 6 thin patties. In three of the patties make a little 'bowl' to put in the chopped filling--shallots, mushrooms, garlic, and jalapenos. Once filled place another patty on top of each. You can then grill on a BBQ or on the stove in a frying pan. Brown bottom half of the bun, place the burger on it, top with cheese and melt*, while melting the cheese brown the top of the bun. Garnish with a tomato and lettuce and serve with chips or homemade fries.

*If you're grilling you can melt the cheese on the burgers a few minutes before removing them from the grill. Enjoy!

Here is the video for the burgers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99PpzFt6fsQ

Classic Murder: Mr. Romance

Adam enjoys a lifestyle most men only dream of. Then one day he wakes up to find the morning headlines blaring, "Another victim falls prey to Mr. Romance. Who is next?" He suddenly realizes his way of life is not only frivolous, but deadly.

Dubbed Mr. Romance by New York society for his romantic adventures, Adam Fernando Russo loves women. But lately he realizes how lonely it is coming home to an empty house. Can he settle for only one woman? After he makes a list of qualities worthy enough to merit giving up his desirable existence, suddenly recipients of his coveted attention mysteriously fall prey to a murderer. The murders seem unrelated with one exception--all the victims have recently returned from a fabulous weekend rendezvous with Mr. Romance.

Adam’s assistant, Katie Sinclair, knows Adam is innocent with airtight alibis. The police are at a loss so Adam and Katie work together to discover the link between the murders. As luck would have it, their plan to prove the murderer is copying classic Cary Grant movies goes astray just as Adam realizes his perfect woman has been by his side all along.

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