Orange Slice Treats and an Old Fashioned Christmas

 So, I was at our little bitty, local IGA yesterday—love this store--and ran across the old fashioned candies I remember from childhood. Frankly, I never liked the taste but I LOVE the smell so I bought some. They smell like Christmas to me.
As I was talking to the checker, she told me this recipe. I’ve yet to try it, but it’s simple and yummy looking and adds a festive attitude to the plain old forerunner to gummy bears. Let me know if you try it.

                                                              Orange Slice Treats
Orange slice candies
Powdered sugar
Pecans, chopped or ground
Put candy in microwavable bowl and microwave until soft. Twenty seconds is plenty in my microwave. Immediately, place the candy between slices of plastic wrap, waxed paper or parchment paper and roll out until flat. Dip in powdered sugar and then in pecans.
Let cool and enjoy!

YUM UPDATE:  A marvelous Facebook friend gave me an even better idea! Cut the orange slices in half lengthwise and dip in melted dark chocolate.  Oh, yeah!




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The Memory House  is coming March 31, 2015 - available for preorder now, y'all!!

Welcome to Peach Orchard Inn, a house that's rich in secrets, history and sweet possibilities....

"The Memory House is a  beautiful, rich, memorable story filled with tenderness and heart." NY Times Bestselling Author, RaeAnne Thayne

Preorder from any retailer including these:
Amazon   Barnes and Noble  Indie Bound  eharlequin

Debbie Macomber and me!!

I am thrilled to announce that In the Spirit of Christmas, my very first book for Love Inspired is being re-released as a 'bonus' book. And the most exciting part is that it is being released TODAY with one of Debbie Macomber's wonderful Christmas stories, The Gift of Christmas.

If you haven't read these heartwarming stories, I do hope you'll pick up a copy. Debbie writes wonderful, clean stories and I consider it an honor to be included in one of her publications. Order Here or download to ereader.

 

You have to look really close down at the bottom to see my name. lol!  I don't mind a bit.

Cornbread dressing!

Thanksgiving dinner conjures up memories of heavenly smells,  family, laughter, and a belly so full we all have to watch a little football before we can play Scrabble or move outside to play cornhole. I LOVE Thanksgiving when all my enormous family crowds into my small house for a day. Pure heaven.

My favorite, favorite, favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving--and Lord knows I have many-is cornbread dressing with cranberry sauce, slathered in turkey gravy. Oh, yeah!! So, I'm always on the lookout for tasty new dressing recipes. Down here in Oklahoma, we call it dressing but if you call it stuffing, that's okay. It tastes great either way.

This is a new recipe I'm trying this year.  It comes from Paula Deen's website. Thanks, Miss Paula!
 

Bacon and Pecan Stuffing or Dressing

Save some of the bacon drippings to rub into the turkey skin for extra crispiness and flavor. (Linda's note: or be naughty like me and dump it in the dressing.)

Makes about 7 ½ cups, enough for a 12-pound turkey

4 cups (firmly packed) diced day-old firm home-style bread (crust and all)
4 cups day old skillet cornbread, crumbled
8 slices bacon, diced
1 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 medium)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup toasted and roughly broken pecans
½ cup minced parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons crumbled, dried sage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons crumbled, dried thyme
About 1 to 1½ cups turkey broth, made from neck and giblets
Salt and whole black pepper in a peppermill
Whole nutmeg in a grater
2-3 tablespoons butter, cut into bits

Position racks in the upper and lower third of the oven and preheat to 225 degrees F. Spread the bread and cornbread on large, rimmed baking sheets and bake until almost dry. Meanwhile, sauté the bacon in large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat until browned. Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings, add the onion and celery, and sauté, tossing, until golden but not browned, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Toss together the bread and pecans in large mixing bowl until mixed. Add the onion, celery, and herbs and moisten well with broth, but don’t make soggy. Season liberally with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, toss to mix, and if made ahead, cover and refrigerate. Let it sit at room temperature for thirty minutes before proceeding.

If using this to stuff the turkey, put it in the skillet in which onions cooked (or use 2 if you don’t have one large enough). Turn on the heat to medium heat and heat thoroughly, tossing. Spoon it loosely into the turkey while hot. Truss it as usual and roast the bird at once. Do not stuff it ahead and let it sit or refrigerate it.

If baking it separately as dressing, position a rack in the center of oven and preheat it to 350° F. (I put it in the oven when the turkey comes out, so that it bakes while the bird rests.) Lightly butter a 9" by 13" baking pan or dish that will hold all the dressing in a single 1-inch-deep layer. Pour in the dressing and pat flat. Dot the top with butter and bake until the center is set and the top golden brown, about 45 minutes.

 

 

THE CHRISTMAS CHILD

Available October 1 - Book 4 in the Redemption River series.  Preorder:  at Amazon.com

REDEMPTION RIVER  series in order of release:

Finding Her Way Home - book 1 - still available on Amazon
The Wedding Garden - book 2 - on Amazon now
A Place to Belong - book 3 -  on Amazon now
The Christmas Child - book 4 -  Oct. 1, 2011
The Last Bridge Home - book 5 -  winter of 2012

Thank you to reader "Rose" for asking!

COWBOY DADDY, JINGLE BELL BABY

Even though the title is hokey and the cover not much better, I hope you all enjoy my latest traditional romance from Harlequin Romance. In the story, the cowboy is cuter and the baby is newborn!

But tell me, do you think that baby on the cover is real? Or does she look like a doll to you?  Just saying....

Territorial Birthday Gift

Oklahoma is 100 years old this year. I'm having a birthday too but I'm not quite that old. However, I love old historical things and Oklahoma is full of late 1880s history. In fact, one town, Guthrie is a step back int time. The old buildings and homes of this first state capital town have been beatifully perserved. Every December, Guthrie hosts the Territorial Christmas celebration. Townsolk dress up and step back in time. There are carriage and trolly rides, historical tours, and at night a Victorian Walk in which the shop windows are filled with living Christmas cards, shop owners welcome you inside with a cup of wassail and warm cookies, carolers abound, children in period dress sell peanuts on the streets, and an entire building is filled with Christmas trees decorated by hand in wonderful old-time methods.

Visiting Guthrie and partaking of the great historical fun was my birthday present this year. And it was also GREAT research for the historical Christmas novella I am currently writing for Barbour.

Advent thoughts

My family never celebrated advent. In fact, I didn't understand the concept until recently when I decided to put more Christ into my Christmas and less of the media's idea of the 'holiday'. I will never be politcally correct because, no matter how much a small, deluded group of people try to change it, Christmas is Christ. And more importantly, Christ is everything. And everything He brings into life, everything He stands for and wanted for us, is so wonderful and so positive and so loving. I cannot understand why anyone would want to push Him out of the season--or out of their lives, for that matter.

One of the ways I'm keeping focused on Jesus this season is by reading a scripture each day from the Old Testament that pointed to the coming Messiah. I am amazed and blessed to see how clearly God heralded Christ's birth and ministry over a thousand years before it happened! Check it out for yourself: Isaiah 9: 6 is perhaps the most amazingly clear, but there are many others.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Life is short--Pray hard and play hard, too!

Life is too short for drama & petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!"--unknown

I don't know who wrote that, but I wish I had! It truly describes my feelings about life. We just don't have time for pettiness and unforgiveness. Life is a gift from God to relish and live as fully as we can. One thing I've learned along the journey is an absolute truth: Happiness is a choice that we make or don't make. And every moment we spend fussing or unhappy is a moment we'll want back some day.

Be blessed and joyful today and every day throughout this holy season of Jesus' birth.