Pasta Salad

There are still many opportunities for a summer picnic.  This is a great easy recipe for home or a pot luck.  Enjoy!!!

 

PASTA SALAD

1 (16oz) package tri-color spiral noodles

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in 2-4 pieces

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 (10oz) can black olives, drained

1/2 pound provolone cheese, cubed

1/2 pound salami, sliced in 4-6 pieces

1/4 pound salami, sliced in 1/2

1 (8oz) bottle of wish bone Italian dressing, (I found this size at Dollar Tree)

DIRECTIONS:

cook the pasta per directions, while you wait cut all the ingredients needed for the pasta salad.

When the pasta is done, run under cold water until it is no longer warm, add to a large bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, stir until all combined, chill in fridge, can be served next day, this actually lets flavors blend, but I recommend if you make it ahead of time to make it at night to get the freshest tasting salad.

Tip: cover the salad with plastic wrap to keep the salad from drying out.

Blog Tour. The Redemption Of The Shrew

The Redemption of the Shrew
Scandalous Kisses Book 4
By Barbara Monajem

Barbara has some wonderful prizes to giveaway during the tour. Please be sure to enter with the Rafflecopter below. There is an opportunity every day to enter for your chance to win one of the fabulous prizes. So join us for a fun blog tour journey and be sure to enter every day for your chance to win. You may find all the blog tour locations here. 

About The Redemption of the Shrew:

Nothing is more painful than rejection—particularly when completely naked!

Gloriana Warren doesn’t want to wait for marriage. Beneath her shrewish exterior is a kindhearted woman who uses her fortune for good. It doesn’t matter that the man she’s set her sights on claims impoverishment. She’s in love and determined to marry him. But her attempt at a moonlight seduction ends in disaster.

French marquis Philippe de Bellechasse has had it up to his gorgeous dark eyes with being pursued by lusty ladies. His escape to England from the violence of the French Revolution took a toll on his finances as well. Gloriana may be gloriously naked, but he’s just not ready to submit to her seduction.

But when a precious family artifact is stolen, Philippe must convince Gloriana he’s not the guilty party. He’ll steal it back for her, but on his terms. Gloriana, believing he despises her, has plans of her own. Working at odds is dangerous, but working together can be more so. Is Philippe willing to risk his heart again for a deliciously tempting shrew?

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Excerpt:

A clandestine meeting, particularly where nakedness is involved, is best arranged for a moonless night.
Or so Gloriana Warren told herself, for her mother would never have uttered such a scandalous dictum. Unfortunately, it was tonight or never. Tomorrow, the man she had sworn to love forever would leave Lancashire and return to London—without her. They wouldn’t be able to marry for years because of his stupid scruples about money.
Men and their tedious pride! She and the Marquis de Bellechasse loved one another. They shared the same lofty ideals. She had a substantial dowry. Marrying now made sense. Not only that, her mother would die happy.
So Gloriana was taking matters into her own hands. She had planned the upcoming encounter in glorious detail—every word, every gesture. As she emerged from the summerhouse to greet him, he would stand and stare at her, transfixed by her beauty.
“Darling Philippe,” she would say, reaching for him, offering herself without reserve. “Love is eternal. It cannot, must not be denied!”
“Ah, ma belle,” he would respond, his hand on his heart, his voice throbbing with desire. “I adore you. What a fool I was to think we could wait for years. Even another minute is too long. Tonight, I shall make you mine!”
She would fling herself into his waiting arms, swept away on the tide of his passion.
She wasn’t sure exactly how it would go after that, apart from plenty of kissing, but judging by her previous experience of Philippe’s kisses, it would be the most thrilling experience of her life.
She sneaked out the French doors, arms full of blankets, and glanced back up at Garrison House. Not a glimmer of candlelight showed in the windows. She hurried through the rose garden and skirted the lawn, keeping to the bushes and out of the moonlight. In the secret room under the summerhouse, she and her darling Philippe would be safe. Tomorrow they would announce their engagement to Mama. They would send for a special license and be married within a week.
Ten minutes later, she had set up a makeshift bed under the summerhouse and removed all her clothes. Shivering more from excitement than from the chilly night air, she waited for Philippe to arrive.
Tonight would be the most perfect night of her life.
~~~
The Marquis de Bellechasse left his horse in a convenient copse and made his careful way forward, pausing at the edge of the trees. Garrison House was reassuringly dark, but moonlight reflected off the ripples on the lake. The summerhouse gleamed white on its little knoll, exposed on all sides. He paused, listening. No sound disturbed the darkness except a nightjar complaining from a nearby oak. He hoped and prayed no one else was up and about tonight. He couldn’t afford to get caught with Gloriana Warren, but nor could he bring himself to ignore her passionate plea to see him once more before they parted.
He loved her—to the point of folly, judging by his current behavior. He had already said farewell, and yet here he was, trespassing on her brother’s estate at midnight to say it again. He dreaded her inevitable tears.
The door to the summerhouse stood wide open, which meant Gloriana was here already. Fine. Best to get it over with now. He took a deep breath and set out across the lawn.
He had almost reached the doorway when she came into view, rising from out of nowhere, her face pale, her hair loose around her bare shoulders. He halted, staring, his heart thundering. She continued to rise, her breasts round and luscious in the light of the moon. His eyes slid helplessly down the curve of her hips to the darker patch at the apex of her thighs . . .
Mordieu. He shook his head and began to back away. “No, chérie. We must not do this.”
She set her feet on the floor—she must have emerged from a trapdoor—and beckoned with those sweet arms, smiled with those lush lips. “Philippe, my darling, please come to me. I love you so much.”
“No, ma belle, I cannot.”
“But love—” She faltered, then continued toward him, arms wide. “Love is eternal. It must not be denied.”
Sacrebleu, she was declaiming like a shoddy actress on the stage. The thought revolted him. Surely his idealistic Gloriana could not cheapen herself so. Anguished, he put up his hands to fend her off. “It is not possible, Gloriana. Not yet. It would not be right.”
She hurried forward, her breasts jiggling enticingly. “Truly, we mustn’t delay. My mother may not have long to live, and seeing me married well is her dearest wish.”
He didn’t care in the least about old Lady Garrison, who was the worst sort of snob. He shook his head. “No. To wait is best.”
“Philippe, I cannot wait. I need you now.” She reached for him, her nakedness inches away.
He gritted his teeth and took another step backwards. His imbecile cock was reacting to her, but he had long ago gained control over its demands. “I am sorry, but I must go.” He turned away.
She wailed, a sharp, keening sound, and immediately a shout came from nearby. Her brother? No, he was in London. A gamekeeper?
Whoever the man might be, he was lurking here on purpose. So much for love, Philippe thought. Gloriana was just another lust-crazed woman trying to trap him into marriage. He turned and ran. Pursued by shouts and then shots, he reached his horse and galloped away.

About the Author:

Winner of the Holt Medallion, Maggie, Daphne du Maurier, Reviewer’s Choice and Epic awards, Barbara Monajem wrote her first story at eight years old about apple tree gnomes. She published a middle-grade fantasy when her children were young, then moved on to paranormal mysteries and Regency romances with intrepid heroines and long-suffering heroes (or vice versa).

Barbara loves to cook, especially soups. She used to have two items on her bucket list: to make asparagus pudding and succeed at knitting socks. Asparagus pudding proved to be pretty horrible, and she is too fumble-fingered to make socks. Now she just sticks with writing books. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays.

Social Links: 

• Facebook: facebook.com/barbara.monajem
• Twitter: twitter.com/BarbaraMonajem
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/3270624.Barbara_Monajem
• Website: BarbaraMonajem.com

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Christmas In July

Merry Christmas In July. Are you a fan of the Hallmark Christmas movies in July?  I am. But I have a reason to celebrate because today is my birthday. I have always enjoyed Sharing it with the half way mark to Christmas. I loved it because I had great sleepovers with family and friends and my party was the time of the year. I never had to go to school on my special day and the weather was usually great although a few storms over the years kept us inside.  I hope you all have a great day today. I know I will.

Enjoy!

Rae

Pizzelle

It’s Christmas in July and I have a family favorite, Pizzelle Cookies.  I like this recipe for July because it uses a pizzelle maker that is electric, so no oven needed, keeps your house cool.  Enjoy!!

 

Italian Pizzelle Cookies

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon anise extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Heat pizzelle maker. Let sit while you get batter ready.

Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled melted butter, vanilla and anise.

Add flour and baking powder and mix, just until combined, batter will be stiff enough to be dropped by the spoonful.

drop by the spoonful onto pizzelle maker. Cook until the light on your maker indicates done, or until golden brown.

Let cool on flat surface, sprinkle with confectioner sugar.

 

Blog Tour Snow Jewel

Author: Natalina Reis

Title: Snow Jewel

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Series: The Jewel Chronicles, bk 2
Release Date: June 30, 2018

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Cover Designer: Soxsational Cover Art

 Available now! 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2yC14Vz

All other links: books2read.com/snow-jewel

A princess on the run, an ex-slave returning home. Together they must battle prejudice and superstition if their love is to survive.

When Princess Milenda arrives at Isvärld, a land of snow and ice, she’s hoping for a quiet life with her new husband, Jaali. What she gets is anything but.

Even though happy he’s returned, Jaali’s people can’t see past the color of Milenda’s skin, a color she shares with the hated Mabaya Warriors who have been stealing and selling their children into slavery for centuries.

Freya, a goddess of the icy kingdom, tasked with protecting the princess and her man, doesn’t seem trustworthy, and their only true ally is Milenda’s flying lizard, Mjusi. But even the mutsi is acting strangely.

Will their love for each other and Milenda’s special gifts protect them from the dangers around them or will they meet their doom in the one place that promised them safe harbor?

Snow Jewel is the second book in The Jewel Chronicles. A unique interracial romance set against a breathtaking fantasy world with complex characters and twists at every turn. Let Snow Jewel take you to another world.

“Wait until you see the northern lights.” Jaali had come from behind, silent on bare feet, and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. Milenda felt immediately soothed and turned her face to lightly kiss the corner of his mouth. “When the night sky lights up with the wavering lights of the midnight sun, it’s almost as if looking into another world.”

“Midnight sun? Is that a real thing?” She wiggled in place, so her back would fit better with the curve of his body leaning against her. The sun had not fully risen, still peeking shyly from behind the white horizon and painting the snow in a rainbow of oranges and reds, the same colors of the Afrikan sun at the crack of dawn.

Jaali laughed softly. “Not really. That’s just what we call it.” He tightened his hold on her, turning his face to kiss the sensitive spot behind her ear. “The scientists call it a collision of particles. When the particles of the sun meet those of our atmosphere, it creates this amazing display of lights. It’s pretty romantic actually.”

It was Milenda’s turn to laugh. “Romantic? Particles crashing into each other? A bit too scientific to be romantic, don’t you think?” At the university in Natale, Milenda had never found the time to take science classes, other than the basic ones. Science fascinated her, but not as much as art. She’d chosen art instead.

The Fjorden’s hand starfished across her stomach, the heat of his palm making Milenda shiver in delight. From the corner of her eye, she could see the soft glare of her matangazos reacting to his touch.

“Think about it.” His soft, melodious voice blew a gust of warm air into her ear. “These particles are floating around in space, lonely and lost until they find their polar opposites. Their joining is so overwhelmingly pleasurable and fulfilling that they explode in a colorful firework of lights across the sky.”

 Available now! 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2yC14Vz 

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2lyNlWd 

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2txPp4i 

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2ImAfUN 

Kobo: www.kobo.com/en/ebook/snow-jewel 

iTunes: https://apple.co/2pOWeMM 

Nook: www.bn.com/w/books/1128317067

The Jewel Chronicles 
Desert Jewel
book 1
on sale for 99c

books2read.com/desertjewel

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

Author of We Will Always Have the Closet, Desert Jewel, and Loved You Always, Natalina wrote her first romance in collaboration with her best friend at the age of 13. Since then she has ventured into other genres, but romance is first and foremost in almost everything she writes.After earning a degree in tourism and foreign languages, she worked as a tourist guide in her native Portugal for a short time before moving to the United States. She li

 

ved in three continents and a few islands, and her knack for languages and linguistics led her to a master’s degree in education. She lives in Virginia where she has taught English as a Second Language to elementary school children for more years than she cares to admit.

Natalina doesn’t believe you can have too many books or too much coffee. Art and dance make her happy and she is pretty sure she could survive on lobster and bananas alone. When she is not writing or stressing over lesson plans, she shares her life with her husband and two adult sons.

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Blog Tour The Presidents Wife

The President’s Wife 

by Seelie Kay

Seelie will be giving away  an ebook of The Garage Dweller to three lucky winners drawn via Rafflecopter. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember there is a chance every day to enter to win. You may find all the tour locations here. 

About The President’s Wife: 
What happens when one of your best friends, the First Lady of the newly democratic Republic of Lodatia, appears to be an imposter? If you’re criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant, you pursue the truth like a rabid dog, then wage a battle to save your friend’s life.

When criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant travels to Washington, D.C. to join her former college roommate, Marella de la Aerelli, in celebrating her husband’s election as the first president of the newly democratic Republic of Lodatia, she is met with an unpleasant surprise. Her friend of almost 30 years not only looks unwell, she is cold and distant. After Julianna becomes convinced the woman is really an imposter, she attempts to expose the faux Marella by using a secret only she, Marella, and the sitting U.S. President share. In the process, Julianna helps to uncover an international conspiracy to seize control of the new country, using the president’s wife as a pawn in a dangerous and potentially deadly game. Will Marella be rescued before a coup takes place? Or will she become collateral damage in one tiny nation’s fight to be free?

BUY LINKS:
Publisher
Amazon: coming soon
Barnes & Noble: coming soon

Excerpt:

The state dinner at the White House was in full swing. Waiters were busy delivering food and pouring wine, as guests ate and chatted with others seated at their tables.

Julianna picked at her dinner, some sort of beef dish with quirky vegetables, and continued to study Lodatian President Georges and Mrs. Marella de la Aerelli, as they chatted quietly with the U.S. president and his wife. Marella barely looked up from her plate, and conversation with her hosts appeared to be minimal. God, that is so not the Marella I know. She hasn’t even acknowledged me and I sent her an email informing her that I would be here.

Julianna set her fork down on her plate and nudged her husband, Little River, Wisconsin Police Chief David Manders. “Something’s wrong.” Julianna whispered. “Marella looks wrong. Maybe she’s just tired after the campaign, but she looks sick. Too thin and too pale. And she isn’t smiling. Marella is always smiling, even when she feels like shit. And she hasn’t even looked at me. Why is she ignoring me? Something is not right. I can feel it.”

David looked at his wife and tried to hide his smile. “Jules, you find a conspiracy behind every door these days,” he said quietly. He looked around to ensure that the other four couples seated at their table were otherwise engaged. “I vote for tired, no, make that exhausted. My God, five months ago, she was a farm wife in Lodatia, now she’s been thrust into the international spotlight as the wife of the President. That would exhaust anyone. I know if you ran for president, it would have a negative impact on me.”

Julianna smirked. “If I became President, sir, it would have a negative impact on both of us.”
David sighed and ran a hand through his short, silver hair. His piercing blue eyes gazed at his wife, his fondness apparent. “Well, instead of jumping to conclusions, let’s wait until the reception at the Lodatian Embassy. There are a lot of rules and protocols for visiting dignitaries. Maybe it just isn’t appropriate to buddy up to an old friend at a state dinner. Once you get up close and personal with Marella, you can get a better fix on things. That woman has been through the wringer, what with that opposition group trying to assassinate her husband not once, but twice. I imagine the stress of clinging to Lodatia’s newly formed democratic government is a kind of like hanging on to a cliff, knowing that if you fall, there will be no net to catch you. Cut her some slack and do not tell her she looks awful.”

About Seelie Kay:

Seelie Kay writes about lawyers in love, with a dash of kink.

Writing under a nom de plume, the former lawyer and journalist draws her stories from more than 30 years in the legal world. Seelie’s wicked pen has resulted in nine works of fiction, including the Kinky Briefs series, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, and The President’s Wife, as well as the romance anthology, Pieces of Us.

When not spinning her kinky tales, Seelie ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. Currently she resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, WI, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, the Green Bay Packers, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.

Seelie is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Seelie can be reached at http://www.seeliekay.com, http://www.seeliekay.blogspot.com,  Twitter or Facebook.

Author links:
www.seeliekay.com
www.seeliekay.blogspot.com
Twitter: @SeelieKay https://twitter.com/SeelieKay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Seelie-Kay/e/B074RDRWNZ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1517848564&sr=1-2-ent

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Dirt Cake Cups

This recipe is a great way to get kids involved.  It is easy enough that they can help adults mix, smash cookies and even assemble.  Having fun playing in the dirt!!!

Dirt Cake

YOU NEED

1 (3.9 OZ.) chocolate instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 (8 oz.) tub cool whip, thawed, I use low fat

15 Oreo cookies, crushed, divided

10 worm shaped gummies

 

DIRECTIONS

Beat the pudding and milk in large bowl with whisk for 2 minutes.

Let stand 5 minutes

Stir in Cool Whip and ½ cup cookie crumbs.

Spoon the mix into 10 small cups, top with remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate 1 hour, top with gummy worm just before you serve.

 

This can also be made in a 8X8 cake pan.

 

Great snack for kids. I had them in my fridge for 3 days and they were still good the 3^rd day.   A cool refreshing treat.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

Happy 13th

Pistachio Éclair Cake

This Éclair Cake is a great no bake summer dessert.  You can use pistachio as directed or play around with other pudding flavors.

Éclair cake

This cake needs to be prepared 12 hours in advance.  It needs to be refrigerated overnight

You will Need

• 1 box graham crackers( you will have leftovers)
• 2 boxes (3.4 ounce) pistachio instant pudding
• 1- 8oz thawed tub of cool whip.  Full or fat free is fine, (I use fat free)
• 2 ½ cups milk, (I use skim)
• 1 can chocolate frosting

Directions

Mix pudding, thawed cool whip and milk in large bowl, beat with whisk until smooth

In a 9X13 ungreased pan, layer graham crackers to cover the bottom

On top of graham cracker layer gently spread half of pudding mix. Careful not to move crackers.  ( I put dollops of mix in many areas to make spreading of mix easier)

Layer another row of graham crackers, add last half of pudding mix.

Layer final layer of graham crackers.

On top of graham cracker layer put a tub of chocolate frosting, again careful not to move crackers.  You may want to microwave frosting 20 seconds to make it easier to spread.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.

Cut into slices.

Enjoy!!!

Rae

Pasta With Fresh Tomato Sauce

Looking for a way to use your fresh tomatoes.  This recipe is great to use them in a delicious way.  So you have any fresh tomato recipes that you love please share them in the comments.

Ingredients

•  4 tomatoes 
•   1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
•   1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
•   1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
•  salt and ground pepper
•   1 pound noodles, any shape you like
•   Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions

1.  Finely chop tomatoes, basil, parsley, and garlic, and mix together with oil
2.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until done, see box  directions. Drain pasta, and toss it in a serving bowl with the raw sauce.  Serve with cheese.