Friday Freebits LOVE BY DESIGN "The confusion...left her breathless." #frifreebits #excerpt

How has everyone's week been? Busy and productive, I hope, with just enough fun and playtime to make it bearable! Turning our attention to Jasmine's acceptance of a day out with Derrek, we travel along with them, from Jazzy's POV. Enjoy!

Soon they were on the road, traveling down the sun sprinkled coast. Sunbathers, blankets, and giant bright umbrellas peppered the beaches with colors as varied as the rainbow. Daydreams of a lazy day at the beach in Derrek’s arms flickered through her thoughts, his kisses on her skin warm like sunbeams caressing her.

She turned her gaze out the window and let the breeze wash away the heated flush that rose to color her cheeks in the side door mirror. Derrek said very little as he drove. The sky sat before them, clear with tiny puffs of clouds dragging across the heavens. They were so vibrant, soft and fluffy Jasmine thought if she reached out, she could take them down and put them in her pocket.

She took a deep breath, her plans to avoid Derrek tossed out the window. The confusion still wound itself around her heart, tightening in a way that left her breathless. A quick glance in his direction caught him studying her.

“Would you like some music?” His hand went to the knob on the radio and switched it on as he turned his attention back to the road. “Here, you pick.”

She reached across the small distance and pressed the preset buttons until she landed on a channel she knew played songs from the nineteen-eighties.

“You like the good old stuff, huh?”

Click the image below to go to Ginger's Dishin' It Out Blog
There you can find MORE excerpts from other authors.

And note to our fellow authors- prepubbed or currently published-go find out how you, too, can hop on this party train by sending Miz Ging your permalink for your scheduled FridayFreebits excerpt blogpost early in the week so she can include your link in her post.

I still maintain- A party's not a party, till the gang's all here!
(And even better if we can rock it out all weekend long!)

Friday Freebits LOVE BY DESIGN "I'll tell him you're hiding... from him." #frifreebits #excerpt

Welcome back again on this Good Friday! I hope everyone's got lovely plans for this Easter weekend and the weather is enjoyable. Diving back in- Juniper is still teasing Jasmine to go with Derrek...will she?

Here's my offering for the next excerpt, my "free bit" again from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN.

“Then call him back and go.” Juniper’s words were emphatic. “If you won’t call him to come get you, I will.”

“Juniper….”

“I know his number, too, so don’t think I won’t do it. I’ll tell him you’re hiding out here…” Juniper reached for her cell phone that lay on her patio table, "from him.”

“You wouldn’t.” Jasmine lunged toward her.

“You want to make a bet?” Juniper raised an eyebrow. Juni wouldn’t joke about something like that. She would do it.

“Fine,” Jasmine reneged. She swiped her finger across the screen with a few quick motions, found his number in her contacts and dialed him back.

Click the image below to go to Ginger's Dishin' It Out Blog
There you can find MORE excerpts from other authors.

And note to our fellow authors- prepubbed or currently published-go find out how you, too, can hop on this party train by sending Miz Ging your permalink for your scheduled FridayFreebits excerpt blogpost early in the week so she can include your link in her post.

I still maintain- A party's not a party, till the gang's all here!
(And even better if we can rock it out all weekend long!)

The Way to a Man's Heart- Oven Baked Fajitas #goodeats #recipes

 ~The Way to a Man's ♥~

 Oven Baked Fajitas

This is actually a recipe that I got off Facebook- and usually, under normal circumstances, those kinds of recipes are usually an epic fail for me. Not this one. This one is awesomesauce, even if the kids aren't fond of it. I did have to make some cooking time adjustments for it, but now that I have it down it's good to go.

Oven Baked Fajitas

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel- I have to use 2- 10 oz cans because I don't think they make a 15 oz can of it- I use one can original, one can hot for a very spicy fajita)
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips
(I have been known to use yellow and orange ones as well and quite often the entire pepper sliced up rather than just 1/2)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Spray a 13X9 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place raw chicken strips in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, combine oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano and salt and stir until well blended.
4. Pour over chicken and stir until chicken is well coated
5. Next, mix in the Rotel, peppers and onion to the bowl, stir until well mixed and then transfer to greased baking dish.
6. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, remove from oven and stir (chicken will not be done)
7. Return to oven and bake another 25 minutes or longer- Until chicken is cooked all the way through and the veggies are tender.

 Serve in warmed fajita shells with your favorite Mexican extras (refried beans, sour cream, rice)
 

LOVE BY DESIGN "Would you care to join me?" #FridayFreebits #excerpt #frifreebits

Here we are on another Friday Freebits and I'll be kicking the weekend off with a jump, from Derrek and his buddy Fisher, hanging out and shooting pool, to Jasmine hanging with her sister, still reeling from her overexposure at the movie premiere and attempting to avoid Derrek the rest of the weekend so she can have time to "think" about where she wants this whole thing to go.

So here's my offering for the next excerpt, my "free bit" again from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN.

Jasmine excused herself to the bathroom and retrieved her cell phone from her purse. Juniper had said the night before she left messages and Jasmine wondered if there had been any others. She had forgotten to turn her cell back on after the night of the movie.

There were a couple of messages from Juniper, as well as Simone, but another made her heart trip.

“Jasmine, this is Derrek. I know you said the weekend was yours and you weren’t working, but I was wondering if you’d want to go on a drive with me along the coast. It’s seven in the morning. I was thinking of heading out at ten or so. There’s a great little flea market place up the coast. Would you care to join me? Give me a call.”

Jasmine’s face flushed. She glanced at the clock, realizing she still had time. Her face felt scorched as she returned to the pool.

“What’s the matter? You haven’t been out here long enough to burn. Why’s your face so red?”

“I got a call from Derrek. Not about work, but taking a drive up the coast to a flea market.”

Click the image below to go to Ginger's Dishin' It Out Blog

There you can find MORE excerpts from other authors.

And note to our fellow authors- prepubbed or currently published-go find out how you, too, can hop on this party train by sending Miz Ging your permalink for your scheduled FridayFreebits excerpt blogpost early in the week so she can include your link in her post.

I still maintain- A party's not a party, till the gang's all here!

(And even better if we can rock it out all weekend long!)

The Way to a Man's ♥- Hashbrown Casserole #easy #recipe #goodeats

~The Way to a Man's ♥Heart♥~

Hash Brown Casserole

Recently, while talking with a friend, I mentioned to her that I had a recipe for veggie soup and she said she might like to try my recipe. I thought I had already posted it here on the blog and was just going to share the link with her, but after checking, I realized it was one I never got around to posting.

In fact, there were quite a few recipes I hadn't posted yet on my list... So...considering I found pictures on the computer where I had planned to schedule them for my "The Way to a Man's Heart" posts, I figure now is as good a time as any to start sharing again. I took down the "upcoming" section of the list and decided that when I think of a recipe that I find easy or delicious and think would suit the purpose- I will again share.

This is one I had never eaten until I moved here. It's one of my husband's "go-to" recipe when he cooks.

Hash Brown Casserole
1 bag tator tots (thawed in fridge for several hours)
1 can Cream Style Corn
1 Can Cream of Potato Soup
1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
1 8 oz of Sour Cream
1-2 8 oz bags of Shredded Cheddar or Cheddar Blend

1. Thaw Tator Tots for several hours in the bag in a bowl in the fridge.
2. Smash Tator Tots up well and mix all other ingredients together, saving part of the Cheddar for topping the casserole.
3. Spray 9X13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
4. Pour mixture into dish and top with remaining cheese.
5. Bake at 350º-400º for about 30-45 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden and dish is hot all the way through.

Some enjoy it plain while others like it with ketchup.

LOVE BY DESIGN Like a pup drooling over a bone... #FridayFreebits #excerpt #frifreebits

Good FRIDAY morning! It doesn't seem like we're already heading into the 1st weekend of April, does it?

We've hit a snag it would seem, in the Sunday Snippits blog linky list, so, Ginger Simpson has come up with another way to share, that will kick the weekend off with a bang, and hopefully there will be a LOT of "free bits"- excerpts you can go read over the weekend. It will be the same premise as Sunday Snippits, same amount of an excerpt shared, but we're hoping this will also open us up to more visibility if we get the party started on Friday night. You can come party with us over the entire weekend! Isn't that lovely?

So I'm here this lovely Friday, offering the next excerpt, my "free bit" again from my upcoming contemporary romance release, LOVE BY DESIGN.

And as always, please stop by Ginger's Blog- "Dishin' It Out" by clicking on the image above. There you can find MORE excerpts from other authors. Fellow authors- prepubbed or currently published-go find out how you, too, can hop on this party train by sending her your link earlier in the week so she can include yours in her post. 

I still say- A party's not a party, till the gang's all here! (And even better if we can rock it out all weekend long!)

“You look at Jasmine in a way that even surpasses the way you used to look at Tuesday.”

“How’s that?” Derrek didn’t know if he wanted to know Fisher’s theory or not.

“You used to look at Tuesday like you loved her, but it was in more of a friendship with benefits kind of way. You know what I mean, but the way you were looking at Jasmine when she stepped out of that limo the other night… Well, you looked like a puppy drooling over the best bone you’d ever found and would have easily snarled at any other dogs who came sniffing around. We’re actors, man, but there’s no way you’re that good an actor. You can’t fake the genuine desire I saw on your face.”

“That obvious, huh?” Derrek shook his head and took his turn at the table when Fisher missed his shot.

Fisher returned to the bar, took a seat on one of the stools, and sipped his beer.

“If you’re not in love, you don’t have much farther to fall.” Fisher’s statement was matter-of-fact.