Banana-Chip Oatmeal Cookies (gluten free)

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It’s been a while since I’ve done anything gluten-free and I was jonesing for dessert.  Once again, I bought too many bananas.  (Actually, I think I bought the same number of bananas that I normally do, but no one in the family ate them this week.  Maybe it is a conspiracy to encourage me to have to come up with banana dessert  recipes).  Well, I wasn’t in the mood to make banana muffins.  I really don’t like repeating recipes too many times.  I checked my pantry.  I found some milk-chocolate chips.  Score!  In the end, Banana-Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

Geneva West – Brian Gets Taken

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HOLY HOT quick read.  Love the cover, because all I keep thinking about is the two men wiping each other down with oil.  Well, to be honest, I can’t stop thinking about the rest of the book, either.  I like that the book can incorporate a bit of humor in a steamy scene.  Brian notes the difficulty in coordinating and multi-tasking.  No worries, he prevails in his endeavors.

This is actually the second in the series – Brian’s Package: Brian’s First Man, Brian Gets Taken, and Brian’s Domination.  While I probably would have enjoyed it more had I read the first in the series, it wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy every minute of this 20 minute story.

Screen Shot 2014-10-22 at 8.55.28 AM to Geneva West!

Oreo in a Cupcake

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oreo cupcake

If you look, the Oreo is smiling at you.  After everyone ate these, they were smiling, too.  This is a really well-balanced cupcake – just enough vanilla and just enough chocolate.  The cookie becomes soft inside the vanilla cupcake.  To top it off, is a chocolate buttercream with crushed Oreos for decoration.

Thanks again to my daughter for photographing the cupcakes!

Laura Wright – First Ink

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This is the first in the series – Wicked Ink Chronicles

Awesome quick read!  It’s got all the ingredients for a great bedtime read – (1) Hot, muscled, talented tattoo artist that rides a motorcycle; (2) long-lost teenage love; (3) hot love scenes.  I would definitely recommend this book.  I’m looking forward to the next in the series: Shattered Ink, and Rebel Ink.

Screen Shot 2014-10-22 at 8.55.28 AM to Laura Wright!

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

lizellyn Sweets ,

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photo taken by my daughter – Screen Shot 2014-10-22 at 8.55.28 AM

Bailey’s Irish Creme is a fantastic compliment to desserts.  This is a mocha flavored cupcake with a Bailey’s buttercream.  To get the perfect buttercream you need have the right balance of liquid to powdered sugar and must whip the buttercream for a sufficient period of time.  A good buttercream will be fluffy.  If you add too much liquid, the buttercream will not hold its shape.  If you do not add enough liquid, the buttercream will be stiff and difficult to pipe.  Do not stress – just keep taste testing your batch until it is perfect.  Taste testing – one of the perks of baking!

Erika Foxx – A Taste For Kylie

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Great bedtime read, particularly with a spouse/mate at your side.  Why?  It’s a great conversation starter.   A married couple has a good loving marriage, but the husband has had a strong desire for many years for a particular sexual fantasy (which does include his wife).  He has to find a way to approach his wife and get her on board with the idea.  Perhaps, it can spark a conversation between you and your partner about your own fantasies.

Screen Shot 2014-10-22 at 8.55.28 AM to Erika Foxx!

 

Results of Favorite Jaci Burton Play by Play Cover

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Which was voted the favorite Jaci Burton Play by Play Cover?

The results were close because all the covers were sensationally sexy.  It was a difficult and fun challenge to just pick one.

The winner …

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Quarterback Draw (Book 9) will be available on Feb. 3, 2015 and is currently available for pre-order on amazon.

I cannot get enough of this series!  My life comes to a halt when I bring one of these books home.  Ripped sports guys that have depth, too.  The characters are amazing and I adore how  the characters from all the books are intertwined.  I’ll be racing faster than Gray Preston, in One Sweet Ride, to get the next in the series.

Screen Shot 2014-10-22 at 8.55.28 AM to all that Voted!

Blueberry Cake

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Blueberry Cake and Blueberry Cake 10 minutes later.  My teenage son doesn’t even like blueberries and he ate three pieces of cake.

Here’s the back story on tonight’s cake.  It was snowing, I didn’t feel like going to the grocery store to get anything for dinner.  After looking in my refrigerator, I decided that I would make a breakfast dinner.  If you’re not familiar, that’s when you eat breakfast foods for dinner.  My kids are convinced that breakfast foods taste better at dinnertime.  I decided to make scrambled eggs and sausage.  I considered starch options: toast, bagels, or biscuits.  Then I thought to myself, if I make muffins or a coffee cake it’s like a combination of a breakfast starch and a dinner dessert.  Hence, I chose blueberry cake – it was like killing two birds with one stone.  Looking at the empty plate above, it’s more like my family killed-off the cake.