Tuesday Treats – Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Silver James

Spinach-artichoke dipSee this? This is the dip we ordered at a family favorite restaurant last night. The James Gang gathered to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays and this dip is always on the Must Get Appetizer list whenever to go to Nomad’s. After some fiddling and a lot of trial and error, here’s my close approximation of the very yummy stuff.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 medium onion chopped (approximately 1 cup)
2 10 oz. packages frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained!)
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 8 oz. tub sour cream
1 cup total shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
1 cup total shredded Parmesan cheese (3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Corn chips or crackers

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Stir in spinach, artichokes, cream and sour cheeses, salt, and 3/4 cups each of Jack and Parmesan. Stir until well blended and heated through. Pour mix into a 1/2 quart casserole dish and top with remaining shredded cheeses. Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese starts to brown, about 10 minutes.

Warning, this stuff is addictive, which is why I make it in big size–about four cups. It can also be made with low fat/no fat cream cheese and sour cream. I may have to make some as comfort food to get through to the end of BLUE MOON. See the word counter? Yeah…I’m over 30K. And somebody dies. Shhhh. shifty-eyes-ani2faster

No. I’m not talking…. *zips lips*

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Monday – The Day of No Labor

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Silver James

This is what I feel like doing:

Jamie Fraser

This is what I AM doing:

BeAWriter

Have a great holiday for those of you who are off. I hope y’all save some beer and BBQ for the rest of us!

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Friday Sinema: Hot Time Tonight

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Silver James

You never know what goes on in a firehouse when no one is looking…

Enjoy your Friday and have an awesome weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Perspective Part 2

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Silver James

universeLast week, I had two quotes from the Universe about putting things into perspective and how sometimes, one needed to change their perception. Yeah, the Universe is still talking about it, but this time, it’s all about finding what works best. I know last week, I was all about the disciplined work ethic and slapping words onto paper. Then I read this:

Tell me, when you think of taking consistent action in the general direction of your dreams, Silver, do you imagine discipline, stamina, work, sacrifice, monotony, courage, and strategies, or are you thinking adventure, discovery, new friends, excitement at the crack of dawn, magic, surprises, fun, laughter, and, on occasion, the Macarena?

Cool! Me too, “HEY!”
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Your chosen perspective, Silver, changes everything.

I’m at almost 20K words on BLUE MOON. I’ve found my rhythm. And I might just make the Wolves dance the Macarena because…Hey! Macarena! Okay, okay. Mac is shooting me a dirty look, Sean’s crawling under Drover (my Highlander) with a suspicious looking package, Nate’s scowling, Lightfoot is cleaning his sniper rifle, and Danny’s all “Heck, yeah, let’s do it!” Antoine? Antoine’s a little busy at the moment, claiming his mate. I don’t anticipate the others will see him and DJ for awhile. 😉

So, y’all pick one of the fun things above and figure out how to change your perspective with it. Me? As soon as I get the dang song out of my head, I’ll be figuring out what Sean can blow up next because…adventure! Crack of dawn! Surprises! And Sean sure has fun doin’ it. 😉

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Wednesday Words of Random Fun

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Silver James

mobile phone and booksAfter a dearth of fun quotes in my reading of late, four popped up right in a row!

From the book I’m currently reading, Julie Leto’s PHANTOM PROMISE:

Men are easy to understand. We want what we want when we want it.” ~Paxton Forsythe, the Phantom hero

Some great, to-the-point and FUN! descriptions from Laura Kaye’s HARD TO HOLD ON TO:

Shane McCallan, one of Easy’s Army Special Forces teammates, who now sat at the other end of the big backseat wrapped so far around Jenna’s older sister, Sara, that they might need the Jaws of Life to pull them apart.

and

Besides, he couldn’t sleep worth a motherfuck, so the bed was about as useful to him as a screen door on a submarine.

And finally, from A CURSE AWAKENED: A WEIRD GIRLS NOVELLA by Cecy Robson:

Steps led up to a ramshackle house competing for the title of most likely to hide dead bodies and serial killers.

Tell me, readers…any good words you’ve come across?

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Tuesday Treats – BJ’s Southern Peach Cobbler

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Silver James

Well….hell. It’s Tuesday. I normally set up the blog the day before, setting it to go live about 4:00 a.m. my time. Yeah. About that…

I started yesterday. Really I did. I was researching cornmeal “crusts.” Because Lawyer Guy and I had the most fabulous dessert at BJ’s Brewhouse for his birthday. It was peach cobbler. With a cornmeal crust. Served warm. With three scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and sugared pecans.

Now, I’m born, bred, and raised in the South, y’all. I can tell you all about fried okra, with cornmeal breading. I can make cornbread from scratch and serve it with red beans. White beans. Beef stew. Hush puppies? (Little cornmeal slider thingies.) I’m all over those with fried (in cornmeal breading) catfish. But I’d never in my life heard of cornmeal pie crust or batter. How the hell had I not!??!??! Google it. It’s a real thing.

Y’all…I’m tellin’ you, it was like eating custard only with substance. With peaches. And ice cream.

NEW Peach and Candied Pecan Cobbler
A southern‑style cobbler with flavors of lemon zest and vanilla, baked in a golden brown cornmeal batter. Served warm and topped with vanilla bean ice cream and candied pecans. Click on the picture to go to BJ’s dessert page.

If you have a BJ’s nearby. Give it a try. In the meantime, I plan to experiment to see if I can come anywhere close to approximating the batter/crust at home! If not, BJ’s isn’t that far away. 😀

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It’s Monday! Darn it…

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Silver James

funny-dog-pictures-not-ready-for-monday Why is it that this day rolls around every week? I don’t know why Monday is such a big deal. Yeah, when I had the day job, Monday meant the end of a brief respite, unless I was on call. Then days, nights, and dates all sort of rolled into a mishmash of time. Now, I work weekends as often as not. Sometimes I take a break but not lately. Magic Bean Sprout is still here Monday through Friday and though I love the little snickers dearly, he seriously cuts into my writing time. I have to make up for it on the weekends. I did a LOT of writing Saturday (around 5K) and spent most of Sunday plotting and moving scenes around. I want to get BLUE MOON finished ASAP.

Still in love with OUTLANDER. Still probably won’t read the book but damn if the series hasn’t hooked me. I DVR the shows even though I watch each episode “live.” I’m keeping all the episodes and I’ll watch them back-to-back at the end of the season. I’m also giving LEGENDS a try on TNT. Love Sean Bean. Not sure about this new series. I did’t appreciate the opening of the first episode–an aerial view of the Murrah Federal Building bombing. PTSD is such a lovely thing to suffer. 😛 Needless to say, I’m totally behind what Laura Kaye is doing in her Hard Ink series.

I’m done reading contest entries for the time being. That’s like 10 more books to add to my yearly reading challenge. I also managed to squeeze in Karin Tabke’s BREAKING BAD. It’s sexy-hot and as much as I wanted to slap Jack with a clue-by-four, I still have the hots for him. 😆 I’ve started Laura Kaye’s HARD TO HOLD ON TO, the latest in her Hard Ink series. Laura is donating all proceeds from this book bought until September 1 to the Wounded Warrior Project, a group I support wholeheartedly and with my Amazon.Smiles account. The hero is suffering PTSD and depression, to point that suicide seems like a viable solution. I applaud her for taking this subject on, as it’s an on-going theme in the series. Grab all the books! I highly recommend them. The next full-length novel comes out in November.

030luAnd one last thing to leave you with–a link of total awesomesauce! Have you ever looked at those Old Skool Fabio covers and wondered what the hell he was thinking? Go HERE. Now you know. 😆

What did y’all do this weekend? I hope you had fun!

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Friday Sinema – Words Not Needed

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Silver James

Watch the video:

Even if it’s a silent commercial with commentary in Russian…it speaks volumes.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Perspective

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Silver James

universe In looking for words of wisdom from the Universe today, I came across two that seemed destined to be together, to me at least. Perspective plays such a large part in life. I look at the news and want to grab people and shake them, all the while shouting, “Don’t rush to judgement. Wait until all the facts are discovered.” I’m trained to read autopsy reports, to examine evidence, to shift through eye-witness reports. Far as I’m concerned, people need to keep their opinions to themselves until all the evidence is in. And that’s about as “political” as I’ll get. But because of my feelings, this Universal tidbit touched a nerve.

Whenever your perspective on something creates emotional pain, Silver, it’s always because your perspective is still so narrow that you’ve yet to see all the good it will make possible.

Because it will.

Always,
~The Universe

Feelin’ better, Silver? You will.
©www.tut.com®

I’m not going to limit the above to the world at large. It also tucks in close to home, to me as a writer. As some of you know from Facebook, I’ve been struggling with the opening chapters of BLUE MOON, the next Moonstruck book. I’m now on my third rewrite/start-over. I’m frustrated, and yes, my perspective is too narrow. And that leads me to the next little message from the big U.

It’s not what one says, Silver, that determines whether it’s true or false, but what they tried to convey. Listen with your heart.

All ears,
~The Universe

And speak, dear Silver, with your heart, for mere words can be chameleons.
©www.tut.com®

How true is this for a writer? Well, as a person, too, given what I said at the beginning. But I’m withdrawing into my writer’s world so that’s how I’ll approach it. Where this book is concerned, I’ll widen my perspective and I’ll listen with my heart. Okay, characters, start talkin’!

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Wednesday Words: Naked Chickensoup

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Silver James

mobile phone and booksOh yeah. Figured that title would get your attention. 😆 Monday evening, I was looking for something to read. I had books arriving on my Kindle on Tuesday–books I couldn’t wait to dive into, but I had a few hours to kill, and hopefully fall asleep. I have some short contest entries to read but I wasn’t in the mood. I wanted something I could sink my teeth into but that I could put down to read new stuff and then come back to. Want to guess what I downloaded from my Kindle library? You get three guesses and the first two don’t count. Of course it was JD Robb’s NAKED IN DEATH. I ❤ that book like damn and whoah! And yes, I share snippits from it. A lot. But tough. Here’s more. FYI, these are just random lines that caught my eye during various rereads of the book.

Broadway was noisy and crowded, a party where rowdy guests never left.

She scanned the building first, fifty floors of gleaming metal that knife into the sky from a hilt of concrete.

The sun was bright as a sword but the air had the snapping bite of a petulant child.

His voice was smooth, with a whisper of the charm of Ireland over it, like rich cream over warmed whiskey.

“I make money, you make justice. Neither is a simple matter.” ~Roarke to Eve

Okay. I’ll stop. I have pages of these marked on my Fire. Someday, I’ll quote the scene where Roarke reveals the button. Even thinking about it chokes me up until I’m all full of AWWwwwwWWWWwwwwWWWWW. *sniffle* Awwww! And yes, I still want to be LaNora/JD when I grow up!

So, readers. Tell me. If you had four hours to read, what book would you pick up? What book would be your automatic go to, no matter how many times you’ve read it?

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