Thursday Recipe - Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I post a lot of dessert recipes. I think I have a sugar problem. But they are so tasty. So here's a great main dish recipe. It takes a little work, but then you can throw it all in a crockpot and leave it on low for several hours until you are ready for dinner. Toss rice in the rice cooker, and you are set for a great meal.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 1/2 lb hamburger (lean works better for this, or use ground turkey)
1 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1 t. ground ginger
1 t. seasoned salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

Sauce:
1/2 c. water
3 T. vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. salt

1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits OR 2 c. fresh pineapple, chopped small
1 c. diced red and/or green bell peppers
1/2 c. diced onion

Make meatballs - mix all meatball ingredients together until blended. Shape into small balls, about 1 T. mix per ball. Place on foil lined cookie sheet. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes, until the outside is browned. Place in large crockpot. Add pineapple, bell peppers, and diced onion. Stir gently to mix.

In a saucepan, mix together water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and salt. Stir well. Cook over medium heat until it thickens and boils. Pour over stuff in the crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 1-3 hours.

Serve hot over rice.

New Book Release for Angie Lofthouse!

Angie Lofthouse is releasing a brand new sci-fi novel and it looks wonderful! Check it out -

On the vast generation ship, the Kingdom of Heaven, President Jeremiah Black’s word is law. It is doctrine. It is the voice of God.

Four hundred years ago, the First Families boarded the Kingdom of Heaven to leave behind a wicked Earth and find a new home where they could build Zion—on a planet they named Canaan, a place the ship wouldn’t reach for a thousand years. Only their descendants would see this new world. But after so many years, conditions on the Kingdom of Heaven are much different from what those First Families had planned.

When Nephi Packard of telestial deck runs afoul of President Black and his High Council, he learns the hard way why leftovers like him don’t mingle with the celestials. While recovering from his harsh punishment for violating the rules with Black's own granddaughter, an archangel appears to Nephi, and a calling to restore the true gospel to the Kingdom of Heaven turns Nephi’s life upside down. Now, armed with the word of God, Nephi and his friends from telestial deck must bring light, truth, and freedom to the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven without getting cast out of the ship into outer darkness for heresy by President Black and his celestials.

The Glory of the Stars is a tribute to faith, courage, and the power of God.

Links and a bonus freebie are all on her website. Check it out!

Thursday Recipe - Beefy Potato Soup

This was one of those throw-it-together-and-hope-it-tastes-good dinners. Yep, it tasted great, good enough that my daughter wants me to remember the recipe. So here it is. It's also easy - chuck everything in a crockpot and let it cook all day.

Beefy Potato Soup

1 lb lean hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped
4-5 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size chunks
1 c. mushrooms, washed and quartered
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. salt
1 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dill weed

Brown hamburger and onion in a large saucepan until hamburger is cooked and onion is soft. Drain off the grease, then dump the meat and onion into a large crockpot. Add potatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper, and spices. Add just enough hot water to cover everything. Stir it gently, then cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Stir well. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Cover and cook on low for another 2-4 hours until potatoes are very soft.

Goes well with fresh bread.

Monday Giggle

The internet is not a happy place these days. I refuse to participate until I believe we can have a civil disagreement that does not devolve into name-calling and hurtful words and baseless accusations.

So, instead, I have created a Dungeons and Dragons meme to share based off this article in the National Geographic a while back along with the whole "murder hobo" descriptions of D&D players who just hack and kill their way across the landscape looking for loot.

You're welcome. I could have shared my latest favorite stupid songs from YouTube instead. At least I have spared you from earworms.

Thursday Recipe - Fruit Salad Dressing

This is an easy one. It's a very tasty dressing for fruit or other desserts.

Lemon Ginger Fruit Salad Dressing

1 c. vanilla yogurt
1 T. candied ginger, chopped fine
1 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. lemon zest

1/8 t. cardamom

dash salt

Mix everything together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Stir well just before serving. Drizzle over fresh fruit salad when serving. Or use as a dip with fresh fruit.

Thursday Recipe - Tapioca Fruit Salad

Yeah, it's Monday. But last week I posted two Monday posts so this week I'm posting two Thursday recipe posts.

Since it's November, the month of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share some of my Thanksgiving recipes and traditions. Growing up, my mom used to do Thanksgiving dinner as a five or six course feast. It was served all day long. As each course was ready, we'd eat it. So breakfast was the fruit salad course, mid-morning was the veggie tray/pickle course, about one pm was the turkey and hot side dishes course, mid-afternoon was the salad and stuff we forgot about course, and then my favorite, the evening dessert course which was about twelve different kinds of pie. We then spent the rest of the weekend eating whatever leftovers appealed to us because my mom cooked enough for a large army. I did have eight siblings...

So today, I'm sharing a fun fruit salad.

Tapioca Fruit Salad

1 can pineapple tidbits in juice
1 can mandarin oranges in light syrup
2 fresh kiwi, peeled and sliced
2 c. cut up fresh fruit - apples, pears, whatever you like
1/4 c. pearl tapioca

Drain juice from pineapple and mandarin oranges into a measuring cup. Add enough water to make 2 c. total liquid. Pour into small saucepan.

Add tapioca to liquid in saucepan. Let soak for 15 minutes. Cook liquid and tapioca over medium high heat until mixture thickens and boils. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, add pineapple tidbits, orange slices, kiwi, and cut up fruit to a large salad bowl. Pour cooled tapioca over. Toss gently to mix.

Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

*If you want it more like ambrosia, add 1/2 c. shredded coconut and 1 c. miniature marshmallows before refrigerating.

*Tapioca pudding can be made with coconut milk or regular milk instead of fruit juice if you prefer.

Guest Post - Timeless by Crystal Collier

Yes, it's Thursday. Because of scheduling issues, look for my usual Thursday recipe to show up next Monday. Meanwhile, check out this new book - 

Welcome Crystal Collier here to share her brand new book!

Title: TIMELESS
Series: Maiden of Time, #3
Author: Crystal Collier
Pages: 253
Publication: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Raybourne Publishing
ISBN: 9781629830056

TIME IS THE ENEMY.

In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.

In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.

Can Alexia escape her own clock?

Buy: Amazon | B&N

What reviewers are saying:

“A magical, fast-paced, romantic adventure…” --T. Drecker, Bookworm for Kids

“A story of love...true and forbidden love. There's mystery…tension, action...everything.” –Chrys Fey, author of Ghost of Death

"SWOON." --Sherlyn, Mermaid with a Book Reviewer

Leofrik straightened the chainmail net and backed away. He’d been observant and invisible, and now his efforts would pay out. Metal links spanned the spot she always appeared, suspended between a tree and the burned out house.

A chilly breeze washed over him. He grinned, poised to pounce. Success was about to be delivered.

Wind rattled the chainmail and a shriek rent the air. Nothing but mist one second, woman the next. She hit the metal links with the force of a horse-drawn carriage, and the mail caught around her, torn loose from the tree and building. It tangled over her. Leofrik rushed in as she ripped at the metal. He hugged it tightly about her, securing it like a blanket around her torso and knocking her to the ground.

She jerked, arms secured in the web. She kicked at him, but he crushed her legs beneath his own. Her teeth snapped at him. He leaned away, one arm pressed against her collarbone.

Silver eyes glared death at him through a mess of snowy-blonde hair with a hint of sunshine. Cautiously, he brushed the strands back from her face. Thin brows crushed down over upturned eyes. The pink of rose petals warmed her cheeks, and berry wine lips pursed, twitching in rage. She smelled of lilac and a hint of rain—such an intriguing mixture.

Lovely. Beyond lovely. She belonged in men’s dreams, not the light of day.

Her chest heaved beneath him, and he became aware of her form, a shape quite pleasingly proportioned from what he could feel.

Head out of the bedsheets. To your duty, man.

She twisted again, a futile attempt to break free. She slammed the back of her head into the ground with a growl. The sound startled him. Had it come from a wolf or lion it wouldn’t have surprised him, but from a young woman who fit the image of an angel?

READ MORE EXCERPTS

Crystal Collier is an eclectic author who pens clean fantasy/sci-fi, historical, and romance stories with the occasional touch of humor, horror, or inspiration. She practices her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese.

Find her online HERE.

(Email address is required for awarding prizes.)