Tuesday Treats & Titles: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Butter Caramel Sauce

There’s still time to grab supplies and whip up this yummy dessert in time for Thanksgiving. And if you are in a part of the world who won’t be eating turkey, ham, turducken, *insert meat of your choice plus all the trimmings, I’m sorry. A traditional Thanksgiving meal is one of my favorites. I love turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes with giblet gravy, hot rolls, sweet potato casserole (that’s the one with Karo syrup and marshmellows), and even green bean casserole. Well, as long as the fried onions are on top. Add in hot rolls or bread, and DESSERTS! Pumpkin anything. Pecan pie. Okay, any pie! And Redi-Whip. Lots and lots of Redi-Whip. Anyway, this one isn’t all that quick or easy but it sure looks tasty!

Total Time: 7 Hr. 5 Min, (including refrigerating)
Prep Time: 35 Min.
Cook Time: 6 Hr. 30 Min.
16 servings

Sample the flavors of fall with our Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Butter Caramel Sauce. Pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice come together in perfect harmony to make this dessert irresistible. Our Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Butter Caramel Sauce makes any occasion special.

What You Need
1/2 cup butter, divided
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla, divided
4 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 325°F.
2 – Melt 1/4 cup butter. Mix with graham crumbs and 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
3 – Beat cream cheese and 1 cup of the remaining granulated sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
4 – Bake 1 hr. 5 min. to 1 hr. 10 min. or until center of cheesecake is almost set. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hrs.
5 – Melt remaining butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue to cook 2 min. or until butter is light golden brown in color with a nutty aroma, stirring constantly. Add brown sugar and 1/2 cup whipping cream; mix well. Bring to boil, then cook 5 to 7 min. or until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
6 – Beat remaining whipping cream with remaining granulated sugar and vanilla in small bowl with mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Spoon over individual servings of cheesecake before topping with the caramel sauce.

My Food & Family is my go-to site for recipes so CLICK and check out all the nutritional details. Thanksgiving in Blaidd’s Gap is always a family affair. FYI, Sean “Boomer” Donaldson deep fries his turkey, in competition with Mac. His mate Annie is big on the candied sweet potato casserole–you know the one, sliced sweet potatoes, Karo syrup and marshmellows and her addition is chopped pecans. Jacey is all about pecan pies and Amy handles the dressing while Connor and Harjo are ham and brisket. Amy provides the pumpkin pies and Lightfoot provided the turkeys, sharpshooter that he is. Rudy will wash dishes and Izzy has the homemade rolls and bread–for turkey sandwiches–covered. Antione wisely joins Rudy on KP and DJ, with a lot of help from Miz ** has figured out mashed potatoes and giblet gravy. That only leaves Hannah. Who threatens to boycott every year, but grudgingly provides the relish tray because “How f*cking hard is it to open a bunch of different pickle and olive jars, celery, baby carrots, and Lipton Onion Soup dip. I mean, that’s soup mix and sour cream. Also, no f*cking way in hell will I ever serve stewed okra, no matter what that crazy Cajun wants! And who the f*ck actually eats that canned cranberry jelly sh*t! So hell no, I’m not letting it leak on a plate and contaminate the other stuff.”

Ahh, Hannah. She’s one of a kind, yes?  MOON SHOT is technically the “end” of the Moonstruck series–at least as far as the Wolves of the 69th are concerned. They’re living their best life but dang if they don’t get involved with other Wolves so it’s not like they won’t be around. Now, y’all want to know know who contributed this awesome cheesecake to the feast, right? You can thank Granny Mae teaching Liam and Joy how to mix up all the ingredients. (To be honest, Liam mostly licked the spoons and bowl but hey, he was right there cheering Joy on! 😉 And he did do the dishes so there’s that…) MOONS SHOT is now at many on-line booksellers so just click on a pic or the title to grab your copyl. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Me? I’m all about the turkey sandwiches made with leftovers.

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Monday of Thanks

This month is getting closer to the end. After today, there’s only one more Monday. Months should NOT have FIVE Mondays. Because there’s never a month that only has three. Right? Here in the US, Thursday is Thanksgiving Day or Turkey Day or Get Together With Family and Argue Over Politics Day. We’ll be heading into the city for lunch at Uncle Fix-It and Aunt Hooey’s house. I’m taking hot rolls and pecan pie. They’re predicing about 25 people, most are in-laws. It’s okay. We sit at one table, they sit at another and we all get along. Mostly. So long as no one discusses anything beyond the weather. 😉

So…last week and the weekend. Both happened. As time does pass, don’cha know. And stuff happened. I think. My circadian rhythms are so screwed up, I have no sense of time any more. Let me think…

Writing. I did a little. I’m up to almost 37K words. I still hope to have 50K by the end of November–because NaNoWriMo–though I doubt that will be the end of the book. I did som prompt writing which helped with new words and then I took some “orphan” scenes and figured out where they belong in the timeline, got them inserted with intros and extros and some edits and new words as I filled out the particular scene. I know most of you are aware that I’m a Puzzler. I always mean to be a normal Pantser and just right the book from beginning to end but…yeah. I get distracted. An idea comes to me for a scene and I have to write it down. Then I save it, knowing that my subconscious has a place to put it when the time comes. It sort of works for me and it’s seldom that I actually jettison a scene because there is no place for it. Anyway, the Boston Wolves are mostly playing nice so there’s progress. I have two books coming off Kindle Select/Unlimited (whatever the ‘Zon is calling their subscription program these days). WOLF MOON and MOON SHOT will get their back matter updated this week. They go off on Thanksgiving day so not sure how that will affect getting the books wide. I’ll upload them on Friday, making sure they are OFF KS/KU, and take them wide.

In sports news, the real OSU won, as did OU. I was really hoping that Michigan State would beat that other OSU but nope. Ah well. I’m counting on Michigan to take them down this weekend! Of course, my OSU and OU play Bedlam this Saturday. It should be a good game, if a nailbiter. Go Pokes!

On the reading/audio book front, STILL doing the marathon of Jayne Castle’s books. Hey, I’ve been actually working on the Wolves so not listening as much. And there are like 16 books and I’m on book 6. It’s a fun paranormal/SciFi/romantic suspense series. Three of my fave genres wrapped up in one series, FTW!

TV. Yeah. It’s been on. I’m back to watching news because I can’t believe some of the crap that’s being bandied about. Whatever happened to truth and justice? Still doing the paranormal reality shows at night, and working slowly though some of the DVR’d stuff, which is crime, history, and paranormal. Hey, when you conk out at 9 p.m., it’s hard to stay current and most drama shows seem to have agendas and I’m tired of that shitstuff. Sadly, there haven’t been any movies that have caught my attention. Weird head space–sort of like I was in my reading not long ago. That said, I’m sorta sad that I didn’t watch the Masked Singer this season. Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame was unmasked last week. Three guesses on his costume and the first two don’t count… He was the MALLARD! 🤣 And nobody guessed him!

No drama going on around here. No funny Lawyer Guy stories, Loki tales, or doggo shennanigans to report. OH! THE BOSS AND HIS COWGIRL has been released in Korea. And BILLIONAIRE COUNTRY is available in Germany, both translated. Covers and titles for foreign editions sometimes boggle me. That’s pretty much all the news fit to print in my neck of the woods. I’ll be updating back matter, writing new words, making rolls, and baking pie this week. What’s up in your world?

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Friday Sinema: Sing Along

So…I saw this… And I thought, “Self, you’d go to Mass with this priest.” And I would. Father Ray reminds me a lot of the Episcopal priest who officiated at my dad’s memorial serive. As we were planning things, I mentioned that dad really liked “Amazing Grace,” and had mentioned truly enjoying hearing the kids in the church sing it with accoustic guitars. Father Tim grinned and mentioned learning how to sing the “Gilligan’s Island Theme” to the tune of “Amazing Grace” while in seminary. He then proceeded to sing it. I laughed and it truly lightened my heart. And yes, the kids did their version of the song at the service. Anway, I stumbled across this and thought two things–I’d go to Mass and this guy needs to be on Britain’s Got Talent.

Lo and behold, the next video up…

Can I call ’em or what? Have an uplifting weekend, all.

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Truth

I normally try to stay away from politics and what’s happening in the world when I’m out in “public.” People are entitled to their own opinions and beliefs and I’m good with that, so long as they return the favor. Current events have drawn me back to watching the news and I’m…appalled. The misinformation and absolute lies being passed off as news is…🤯 When scrolling through my files for today’s Thoughts, this one caught my eye.

Nothing heals, helps, cures, mends, builds, clears, stabilizes, fixes, balances, restores, corrects, inspires, enables, empowers, enlightens or tickles, Silver, better than the truth.

Ask for it by name,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Though, Silver, one should never underestimate the power of a good tickle, too.

I write fiction so why should the truth matter? I mean, I make stuff up. All the time. But truth DOES matter. Especially in the real world. And most especially if it’s NEWS. In a fictional world, it is just as important. The characters have to remain true to the story. The story has to remain true to the plot. And the plot has to be believeable. When a writer creates a world, they create rules for that world. This is especially true in Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and SciFi. It’s also true with mystery, thrillers, and romance. As a writer, we need to tell our own truth in our stories. But our readers know this is fiction and they aren’t going to take our stories as gospel. Journalism is a whole different story. Unless one is writing an opinion piece/editorial, the truth is important. Who matters. What matters. When matters. Where matters. Those are the facts. Creating fiction masquerading as news to fit an agenda–on either side–is NOT the truth. Truth matters, people. Just sayin’. Where’s Joe Friday when we need him?

And that said, I’m now returning to my made-up FICTIONAL world where I get to create the rules that everyone has to follow. Where the truth is mine for the telling, because it’s fiction. As for the Universe’s last caveat? Not sure a tickle would help at this point, but hey, it can’t hurt. At this point, all we can do sometimes is laugh.

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Wednesday Words: Turning Feral

When I first saw the #1lineWed THEME for today, I wanted to turn cartwheels. I didn’t because…reasons. LOL But I wanted to. **FERAL** How perfect is that? It’s a word I use often to describe my Wolves. Once again, I’ve come up brain dead on whether I’ve shared this snippet or not but I can saw that it’s been edited and that I added a bit to the scene. Devlin O’Reilly is turning into one of my favorite characters. His still waters do run deep–as do his feelings. This snippet is fairly self-explanatory but I will add that Tommy Gallagher has been…targeted, shall we say, by the Wolves and Devlin is on his trail.
****
Devlin did not have to be in his wolf form to recognize the sound of a hard fist slamming into flesh. The need to protect the woman roared through him in a fierce tide that was feral in its intensity. His palms burned as he retracted his claws. Control. He was quickly loosing it and as much as he’d enjoy letting his other half out to hunt their prey, he couldn’t. It wasn’t time yet.

Still furious, Devlin followed his target, his wolf’s claws now sheathed just enough to keep his anger in check. He’d overheard the argument out there on the street. How did the neighbors not? Why did they do nothing? That was the thought process belonging to the wild side of him. Human logic laid it out in stark black and white—the bastard was a cop. She was his wife. No one wanted to get involved. So they ignored it. The sound of flesh on flesh and the sharp, painful cry that followed echoed in his psyche. He had a job and it hadn’t been breaking into that house to make sure the pretty woman who lived there was okay.

So now he watched the sleazeball harass the girls working the stroll on Kneeland Street from his hidden position. The arse was an infinite tool. It wasn’t a question of who or how. No, it was simply a question of when. Tommy Gallagher was a dead man walking. Because Devlin would kill the corrupt cop and feel not an ounce of guilt. He would someday soon put a bullet between the bastard’s eyes, and do it happily, with a smile on his face. Fitting that would be the last thing the bastard saw.

Gallagher crowded a few working girls against the wall of a building and leered at them. As one of them turned to leave, he grabbed the prostitute’s ass as she tried to squeeze past him and Dev tensed. Not yet. He couldn’t end the asshole yet. Not until Ronan and Brian gave the go-ahead. They had a plan in place and taking matters into his own hands would only screw things up. So he watched. And waited. And bid his time.

His thoughts turned to Gallagher’s wife. She’d be better off without him but did she love him so much that she wouldn’t leave him? They’d been married in the Church and she went to mass every Sunday. Dev knew this because he followed her too. So was it that whole until death do they part thing? Is that what kept her with him? Or was there something else? Something…darker. His wolf clawed at his insides, no longer a patient hunter. “Soon,” he whispered to his inner beast. And to the woman. “That’s a promise.”
****
I am making progress, if slowly. Yes, there were detours while I fixed MONTANA MOON and updated MOON SHOT so I could republish the former and go wide with both. That’s done. Now I have to get back in the mindset to produce new words. I’ll admit that I’m doing something I normall don’t do–going back to previously written scenes and editing them–not typos so much as adding words, making them deeper and more cohesive. I have such a weird writing process to begin with so watching it sort of…evolve is interesting. Anyway. Writers, any feral words to add? Readers, ever been so anger you wanted to go feral?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Cinnamon Chocolate Pudding

Want something quick? Have a hankering for a seasonal flavor? This fast treat will just hit the spot. Be sure to stock up on supplies so you can indulge whenever the urge hits. Because this dessert is largely sugar free, it’s a winner in my book!

Total Time: 5 Min.
Prep Time: 5 Min,
4 servings, approximately 2/3 cup each

Healthy Living: Simply add cinnamon to a chocolate classic for a weeknight delight.

What You Need
1 pkg. (1.4 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Sugar Free Fat Free Instant Pudding
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup thawed COOL WHIP Zero Sugar Whipped Topping

Let’s Make It
1 – Beat pudding mix, cinnamon and milk with whisk 2 min.
2 – Stir in COOL WHIP.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Substitute: Prepare using COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping.

Tip 2 – Make Ahead: Desserts can be made ahead of time. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tip 3 – Nutrition Bonus: Trying to eat right? Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make low-fat dessert.

This treat comes compliments of MY FOOD AND FAMILY. Click on over for the nutritional details. I happen to be a big fan of both cinnamon and chocolate, and anything I can whip together in five minutes to curb that craving? Oh, heck yeah! I’m totally on board. And I’m not the only one. Self-described nerd girl, Lauren Reilly, the heroine of MONTANA MOON is also a big fan of this dessert, treat, indulgence. She makes sure that her mate, Wolf shifter Tait McCord always has the ingredients on hand because living where they do out in the sticks of Montana? Yeah, dashing to the grocery store is like mounting an expedition. Where his freezer used to filled with meat, he now has to dig through cartons of Cool Whip. Good thing it freezes. 😉 While their story remains basically the same, there have been some changes and about 3000 new words added to their story under a revision of rights. The book is now available wide in most major on-line booksellers with more to follow. Grab it while its “hot off the presses,” mix up some cinnamon chocolate pudding and enjoy! Simply click on either pick or the title to head to Books2Read to get the link to your favorite store. What about y’all? Cinnamon and chocolate together: yay or nay?

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Inflatable Monday

I feel like I need floaties to keep my ahead above water/all this idiocracy as we begin the week. Our local gas station hiked gas from $2.84 to $3.14. I’m hitting Wallyworld this morning and lord only knows how much stuff has gone up (or will be available) since my trip last week. But hey, those in charge insist everything is under control. Really?

Okay, getting off my soapbox before I devolve into a rant, and no more current affairs. I gave up and had to go back to the news because I was tired of being blindsided, but I try very hard not to drag my readers into the fray. Moving on.

Welpers. College football was crazy this weekend. The real OSU scored big against TCU on the night the amazing Barry Sanders was honored with a statue and his name on the wall of honor, along with retiring his jersey number. They moved up to #9. OU lost to Baylor and ouch. They dropped out of the top ten and their playoff/National Championship hopes are pretty much toast. Ah well. In similar news, Kansas beat Texas. Kansas had only won one game so far. This is apropos to nothing as far as y’all are concerning but us locals and supporters of the Big 12 Conference are biting our lips because OU and Texas announced this year that they are moving to SEC when the current B12 contract runs out. Too bad, so sad.

In other sports news, my Cardinals were named the Best Defensive Team in the National League. Five of them also recieved gold gloves, and one received a platinum glove. It’s how many days to pitcher/catchers reporting?

Still in the midst of my marathon listen to Jayne Castle’s Ghost Hunter/Harmony SciFi/Paranormal/Romance series. The newest book, GUILD BOSS, drops tomorrow. Due to business stuffs, I haven’t been listening as much so it’ll be awhile before I’m ready for the new release.

Speaking of business, MONTANA MOON is completed and is back live on Amazon and is being added to other on-line retailers as I type. All mention of copyrighted characters have been removed and new characters added, along with a bit over 3K new words. Additionally, MOON SHOT is also going wide. It’s basically the same book, with only the back matter updated. As more books come up for KU/Kindle Select renewal, they’ll be going wide too. Next up will be WOLF MOON and DOUBLE CROSS, right around Thanksgiving. That means there’s still a little time to “read for free” with a subscription.

In other writing news, I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned that ALL of the Penumbra Papers are now available to check out from Hoopla, along with MOONSTRUCK: LIES, NIGHT MOVES, and NIGHT FIRE. There is no rhyme or reason to the order that Hoopla accepts them. I’m just glad they are getting there. I use Hoopla as a patron of my local library system. If you have a library card, you might check with your library. The app has digital books, audio books, music, and movies. Pretty handy.

Not much else going on in my neck of the woods. Got some new words in–mostly on the revision of MONTANA MOON though I did manage some on the Boston Wolves. I got my News Page updated on here on the website and got links updated for the two “new” books. I’m still gritiching about whatever time warp we’re currently in and I’m prone to naps lately as a result. Pretty boring stuff. Oh, one last thing. The meme used today is my new favorite. Just sayin’…

How’s your world? Boring? News? What’cha readin’, writing’ or watchin’? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Friday Sinema: Skye Song

I watched “Outlander” for a few seasons. I never read the book, much less the series, though. While I enjoyed the HBO series (for awhile), I found the best part of it was the soundtrack. One of the songs sprinkled throughout is the Celtic folk song, “The Skye Boat Song.” This video popped up at the end of another video I watched, and besides the “commercial” sponsorship, I found the history and the music very interesting. Grab your beverage of choice and settle in for about 10 minutes to learn and listen. Have a great weekend, all!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Conspiracy

The world is all topsy-turvy again. There’s so much going on and the number of people who refuse to listen, to see, to understand boggles my mind. Hence my using this emoji — 🤯 — a lot. Along with these: 🙄😱😡🤬 Sometimes, I get lucky and I get to use these: 🤗🥰🤣😉 And sometimes, the Universe drops a message into my inbox that causes me to stop, look, listen, and feel.

Silver, look between the sights, hear between the words, feel between your thoughts, and there you’ll find me conspiring on your behalf, with magic, miracles, and more.

Living between the moments,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Silver, you are among the VERY BEST “THINGS” that has ever happened to me.

And that’s just how I feel about all of you, my wonderful readers! Y’all are the VERY BEST “THINGS” that have happened to me. I just want y’all to know you are appreciated and cared about even when the world seems so crazy and unreal. So… 😉🤣🥰🤗 Have an awesome day! Pssst. Pass it on. And lest I forget, today is Veteran’s Day. Let’s not forget those who have and are serving in the military to keep us safe despite desperate tolls on them (and their families) personally and professionally. Thank you for your service and prayers of gratitude to those who made the supreme sacrifice in carrying out their duties.

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Wednesday Words: Chaos

The #1lineWed THEME of **CHAOS** pretty much sums up my current writing life. Between final edits on MONTANA MOON and updating two seperate editions–one for Amazon and the other for everyone else, since I’m publishing it in wide distribution. Additionally, I’m trying to keep up with NaNo words and I meant to do some free writing on the theme but I had a different scene to finish and didn’t get around to it. So, I’m grabbng an existing snippet and I can’t remember if I’ve posted here before or not. It was originally written based on a #ThursdayThreads prompt, which is a flash fiction challenge sponsored by a writer friend, Siobhan Muir. Anyway, this is a visit with Devlin and Kathleen–sort of, as we’re strictly in Dev’s brain. He’s an enforcer for the Boston Wolves and Kathleen…well, just keep reading. FYI, I didn’t post Kathleen’s half of this scene. Her backstory is raw brutal and there’s a lot revealed in the words that follow these. They’ll wait for the book.
****
Devlin took one look at her and his immediate thought was, Fuck me. She was a cop’s widow. A cop he put six feet in the ground. The guy was a wrong cop but still. He’d killed her husband. He recognized her the minute he walked in the place. She’d been all over the news a year ago. The grieving widow. The Boston Police Department let her have the glory, even though they knew the truth about her scumbag husband. Hell, they all knew. Even that bevy of hens cackling around her now. Her friends. Two of ’em had been bangin’ Tommy the whole time. And she’d been the clueless, sweet little wife. A fucking kindergarten teacher before they got married, for Chrissakes.

Their party was a loud one. What did they call it now? Bachelorette party. One of the bitches was getting married. Not Kathleen though. They’d obviously dragged her out. Decided it would be good for her to dip her pretty little painted toes back into life. She’d mourned the asshole for a year, yeah? Time t’find a new man. Dev knew the way they were thinkin’.

He also knew exactly what had gone on behind the closed doors and shuttered windows of the house she’d shared with her husband. He stalked Tommy Gallagher for weeks, as man and wolf both. He heard. He saw. And he waited. Then he followed the boss’s orders and pulled the trigger. With no regrets. Until now. Because her she was.

Once a month, the club gave the girls a night off and brought in the boys. Horny women lined up around the block t’get in. The Borus made a killin’ off high-priced fancy drinks and the mob’s lads got the chance to nail the ladies in the VIP rooms. With the widow’s group, things had gone from rowdy to chaos and the manager had called Mick. Mick called Dev. The bugger always called him to keep a lid on things. And t’kill bad cops.

Her name was Kathleen Gallagher and his fuckin’ cock let him know it was alive and kickin’ every time he saw her picture. Havin’ her sittin’ across the room where he could all but fill his lungs with the scent of her, and the damn thing was doin its damnedest to bust the zipper on his britches. His feckin’ wolf wasn’t behavin’ much better. He had t’focus to keep his animal half buried because the damn thing was scratchin’ at his skin t’come out and play. With her.
****
And there you have it. I can honestly say that Devlin’s emotions are a little chaotic at the moment. Writers and readers both, any chaos to share today?

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