#COOKING WITH CLORIS FEATURING ANN MYERS' SOUTHWEST-STYLE EGGS IN PURGATORY

Ann Myers, author of the Santa Fe Café Mystery series, loves cooking, crafts, and cozy mysteries. She’s also one of the authors who contributed to We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips, for which a percentage of the profits of are donated to No Kid Hungry. Learn more about Ann and her books at her website. 

Southwest-Style Eggs in Purgatory

I love the name of this dish of eggs suspended in a bubbling tomato sauce. It’s also quick, inexpensive, and flexible. Classic recipes use Italian or Middle Eastern herbs and spices, but here the fire comes from Southwest chili.

Prep time: 10 min.

Cooking time: 25–35 min.

Serves: 4

1 T. olive oil

1 sm. onion, diced (about 2/3 cup)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tsp. chili powder, to taste

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4–1/2 tsp. salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

Red pepper flakes (optional)

2/3 cup water or broth, divided

28 oz. canned diced tomatoes (or an approximate equivalent amount fresh tomatoes, whirled in a food processor until saucy but still chunky)

4 eggs

1/2 cup grated cheddar, Monterey Jack, fresh farmer’s or Mexican cheese

Corn or flour tortillas, crusty bread, fluffy sopapillas, or rice

Optional garnishes: sour cream, Mexican crema, chopped cilantro and/or chives, diced avocado dressed in lime juice, and salt.

Heat oil in lg. skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions, stirring frequently until onions are soft and translucent.

Mix in minced garlic, cumin, coriander, and red chili. Stir 1-2 min. Add tomatoes, 1/3 cup water or broth, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer gently about 15 min.

Taste for seasoning and check that the mixture is still somewhat soupy (add the extra water or broth if it seems dry.) Create little wells for the eggs in the tomato mixture. Crack an egg into each well. If you’re concerned about stray shells, crack each egg into a bowl and pour from there into the tomato mixture. Cover and cook eggs 5-7 min. or more, depending on how you like your eggs. Check occasionally, jiggling the pan so that the eggs don’t stick to the bottom. Sunny or medium-side up works well in this recipe because the eggs will cook more when broken into the hot tomatoes.

When eggs are nearly done, uncover and sprinkle with cheese, aiming for the tomato and egg whites rather than the yolks. Let the cheese melt 1-2 min. Serve immediately in wide pasta or soup bowls, garnished with the optional toppings and a side of seasoned pinto beans or green salad.

We'd Rather Be Writing

88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips

Have you ever wished you could find more time to do the things you want to do, rather than just doing the things you have to do? Most authors juggle day jobs and family responsibilities along with their writing. Because they need to find time to write, they look for ways to save time in other aspects of their lives.

Cooking often takes up a huge chunk of time. In We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll find easy, nutritious recipes for meat, poultry, pasta, soup, stew, chili, and vegetarian meals. All of the recipes require a minimum of prep time, freeing you up to read, exercise, garden, craft, write, spend more time with family, or whatever.

Within the pages of We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll be introduced to authors who write a wide range of fiction—everything from mystery to romance to speculative fiction to books for children, young adults, and new adults—and some who write nonfiction. Some of the authors write sweet; others write steamy. Some write cozy; others write tense thrillers.

Some are debut authors with only one published book; others are multi-published and have had long publishing careers. Some are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who may or may not be familiar to you, but being a bestselling author doesn't mean they still don't have to juggle their day job along with their writing.

The authors who contributed to this book are a rather creative and resourceful bunch when it comes to carving out time from their busy lives. So in addition to timesaving recipes, within the pages of this book you'll find timesaving and organizational tips for other aspects of your life. And if you happen to be a writer, you'll also find a plethora of great ideas to help you organize your writing life.

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WEDNESDAY TIMESAVING TIP

We’re busy people. Any time we can save time, we jump at the chance. Saving time on things we have to do enables us to spend more time doing things we want to do. If you’re like me, daily household chores fall into the former category. So any time I can find a way to shorten the time I spend on chores, I’m all in.

Many people I know stack their dirty dishes in the sink and on the kitchen counter, meal after meal, until they have no choice but to wash the dishes. Then they curse themselves as they scrub and scrub to remove all that dried on food and grease. Here’s a tip that will cut down on both the elbow grease and the cursing:

Fill a spray bottle with 8 oz. of water and a tablespoon of dish detergent. Keep it on your counter next to your sink. Spray each dish as you add it to the pile in the sink. When you finally get around to washing the dishes, you’ll find you spend a lot less time doing so.

Want more timesaving tips? Check out We'd Rather BeWriting: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips.

Have you ever wished you could find more time to do the things you want to do, rather than just doing the things you have to do? Most authors juggle day jobs and family responsibilities along with their writing. Because they need to find time to write, they look for ways to save time in other aspects of their lives.

Cooking often takes up a huge chunk of time. In We'd Rather BeWriting: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll find easy, nutritious recipes for meat, poultry, pasta, soup, stew, chili, and vegetarian meals. All of the recipes require a minimum of prep time, freeing you up to read, exercise, garden, craft, write, spend more time with family, or whatever.

Within the pages of We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors ShareTimesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll be introduced to authors who write a wide range of fiction—everything from mystery to romance to speculative fiction to books for children, young adults, and new adults—and some who write nonfiction. Some of the authors write sweet; others write steamy. Some write cozy; others write tense thrillers.

Some are debut authors with only one published book; others are multi-published and have had long publishing careers. Some are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who may or may not be familiar to you, but being a bestselling author doesn't mean they still don't have to juggle their day job along with their writing.

The authors who contributed to this book are a rather creative and resourceful bunch when it comes to carving out time from their busy lives. So in addition to timesaving recipes, within the pages of this book you'll find timesaving and organizational tips for other aspects of your life. And if you happen to be a writer, you'll also find a plethora of great ideas to help you organize your writing life.

A percentage of the profit from the sale of We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors ShareTimesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips will be donated to No Kid Hungry.

Buy Links

Paperback

Kindle 

Nook

Kobo 

iTunes 

Google Play

~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to enter the Spring into Mystery Giveaway for a chance to win more than 35 cozy mysteries PLUS a Kindle Fire. Click here to enter.

MONEY-SAVING TIPS--NAIL POLISH: IT'S NOT JUST FOR NAILS

Nail polish. It’s not just for adorning the tips of your fingers and toes. Every woman knows that a dab of clear nail polish will stop a run in a stocking from continuing to run. However, nail polish can be used in various other ways from everything to saving money, saving time, and even preventing paper cuts on your tongue. Yes, you read that last one right! So instead of tossing those half-empty bottles of thickened polish or colors you decided didn’t quite work for you, put them to use in other ways. Here are a few ideas:

1. Are you someone who has to carry around a key ring loaded with keys? How often to you stand in front of a lock, trying one key after another before you successfully open the lock because so many of those keys look alike? Dab different colored nail polish on the heads of your keys to tell them apart. Choose colors that correspond to the locks: red for your front door, silver for your car, etc. or match up the first letter of the color to the first letter of the item, like green for gym locker or orange for office.

2. Ever notice how the labels on prescription meds seem to smudge and fade over time? If the medication is one you don’t take daily, you might forget when you were supposed to take it or how. On an empty stomach or with food? First thing in the morning or before going to bed? Paint several coats of clear nail polish over the labels, and you’ll never face this dilemma again.

3. Have you ever had a can of shaving cream leave a rust ring on a bathroom counter, tub, or shelf? Brush some nail polish around the bottom of metal cans that get exposed to water, and you’ll never be faced with this problem again.

4. If you have little kids or grandkids, you’ve probably discovered holes in your window screens from time to time. For some reason kids love to poke at screens. Maybe it’s the springiness of the screens and/or the sound they make that fascinated them. Replacing the screens is costly but not plugging up the holes lets in bugs. Repair the screens by covering the holes with a patch of fabric slightly larger than the hole. You’ll need one piece of fabric for the inside and a second piece for the outside of the screen. Secure the fabric to the screen with several thick coats of nail polish to keep bugs out.

5. And now we get to those paper cuts on your tongue. They usually occur from sealing envelopes. And man, do they ever hurt, especially if you make the mistake of eating something citrusy before the cut heals. Of course, you can splurge and buy self-sealing envelopes, but they can be extremely costly, especially if you often have to mail quite a few envelopes. Instead, seal your envelopes with a swipe of nail polish and save your tongue.

Looking for other money-saving and household tips as well as quick and easy dinner recipes? Check out We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips.

The authors who contributed to this book are a rather creative and resourceful bunch when it comes not only to carving out time from their busy lives but also saving money. And a percentage of the profits from the sale of the book will be donated to No Kid Hungry.

Buy Links

Paperback

Kindle 

Nook

Kobo 

iTunes 

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR JUDY ALTER

An award-winning novelist, Judy Alter is the author of the Kelly O’Connell Mysteries, the Blue Plate Café Mysteries, and the Oak Grove Mysteries. Her work has been recognized with awards from the Western Writers of America, the Texas Institute of Letters, and the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame. She has been honored with the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement by WWA and inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame and the WWA Hall of Fame. Learn more about Judy and her books at her website and blog.  

Cookbooks? They’re a dime a dozen these days. And what do writers know about cooking—they spend their days at computers and order in pizza, right? Hold on and take a look at We’d Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Time-Saving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips. The title is a tip-off—most writers would rather be writing than cooking (disclaimer: not always this one, and I do have a recipe in the book). But there are some great recipes here, from meat dishes to fowl and fish and soup and chili, vegetarian and even a few vegan ideas. Some recipes will be familiar sounding—stews, enchiladas, and the like. But they’re shortcuts, much quicker than the way you’ve been doing them.

And a few were downright new and intriguing to me. As the author/contributor writes, “Peas are polarizing—you either love them or hate them.” She loves them and so do I, so I’m going to try peas pureed with crème fraiche, Parmesan and mint. Want to make soup out of it? Add chicken broth. Or blend with mashed potatoes and top with a fried egg.

How about eggs in a tomato-spinach sauce? Or eggs in purgatory, which is much the same thing and one of my favorite dishes. Recipes suggest main-dish smoothies, a good yogurt sauce, all kinds of things that writers rely on and you’ve probably never thought of.

But the unique thing about this cookbook is the timesaving tips, divided into cooking tips, household tips, organizational tips, writing tips, and miscellaneous. In the latter category, I like “Let it go.” If it’s not major in your life, don’t waste time stewing over little things. A tip we all know about but don’t always do: meditate. And one from me: nap.

In the cooking tips, I found an old friend—the soup pot. Just put leftovers in a refrigerator container and once a week, see what you’ve got. I called it soup of the week, but my kids called it “brown soup” because that’s how it always came out. This book has better instructions than my haphazard version.

One tip that appears in several sections is to list, list, list. Errands to run? Make a list of them in geographical order. Grocery shopping: organize your list according to the layout of the store. Too many extraneous details demanding our attention? List them and then check them off one at a time.

And a tip for all of us: if your plate is full, learn to say “No” to that extra volunteer project, that speaking gig you don’t have time to prepare for, even that charitable cause you can’t fit in. You can only stretch yourself so far and trying to accomplish more only results in stress.

In short, this is much more than a cookbook. It gives ideas for feeding the body, of course, some of them outstanding, but it also gives ideas for feeding and caring for the inner you, the soul if you will. It’s a great book to explore.

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Judy's latest mystery is:

Murder at Peacock Mansion

Arson, a bad beating, and a recluse who claims someone is trying to kill her all collide in this third Blue Plate Café Mystery with Kate Chambers. Torn between trying to save David Clinkscales, her old boss and new lover, and curiosity about Edith Aldridge’s story of an attempt on her life, Kate has to remind herself she has a café to run. She nurses a morose David, whose spirit has been hurt as badly as his body, and tries to placate Mrs. Aldridge, who was once accused of murdering her husband but acquitted. One by one, Mrs. Aldridge’s stepchildren enter the picture. Is it coincidence that David is Edith Aldridge’s lawyer? Or that she seems to rely heavily on the private investigator David hires? First the peacocks die…and then the people. Everyone is in danger, and no one knows whom to suspect.

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HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE--MORNING SMOOTHIE TIP

photo by Marcus Quiqmire

Do you enjoy breakfast smoothies but find you rarely have time to make them as you’re rushing to get out of the house on time? Here’s a timesaving tip that will make smoothies a snap each morning.

Purchase two 1 lb. bags of your choice of frozen fruits. Divide the fruit up into six quart-sized freezer bags. Add half a peeled banana. Place bags in the freezer.

In the morning, simply empty the contents of one of the bags into your blender, add milk or juice and some yogurt, cover, and push the button. Voila! Instant smoothie!