What’s Cooking Wednesday
With Traci Hall
Winter is perfect for curling up on the couch with a good book as dinner simmers enticingly across the room from the kitchen—garlic, cumin, and onion stuffed around a pork shoulder in the Crock pot.
What I love best is doing all the preparation, clean up, and then forgetting about it as you go on about your day. I used to have one when the kids were little, and we lived in Spokane, Washington, but it didn’t make the move and I never really missed it. Then about two years ago, it was given to me as a gift and now it is my favorite appliance (other than the electric kettle) that I use.
If it was a miracle worker back when I’d had young children, it is amazing how useful it is now that I write all day. You might think, hey, fulltime author, nothing but champagne and caviar, but the truth is that I am usually so focused on plot or story, or deadline, that I’m lucky to get cheese toast. I am addicted to Goldfish and cheese sticks. Making dinner is more of a chore now than it ever was because I go for easy every time.
I used to read a book a day. I devoured romances, or mysteries, or if I wanted something heavier, I’d choose historical fiction. This was before the Internet’s world takeover where cell phones didn’t do more than call or text.
Now, I read stories—writing, editing, creating—for a living. Reading isn’t the pleasure that it used to be, snuggled up on an armchair beneath the afghan, with a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I really missed that feeling of unplugging. So recently, I bought some books—not my ereader or computer, but books, and now I make time to sit and lose myself for a few hours. Not as often as I’d like, but the pleasure of the story is back. I’ve also brought back Sunday dinner. It is so simple to do, and I really love the homey way it makes the apartment feel. Chicken in the Crock pot is wonderful for chicken and noodles or chicken dumplings. Roast beef comes out so tender.
Today I’m making shredded pork tacos, and I’m reading Alyssa Maxwell’s Murder at Ochre Court. She is an auto-buy for me, combining my love of historical fiction with mystery and a hint of romance.
Crock pot pork roast
What you need:
Pork roast shoulder
Onion
Garlic
Cumin
Chicken broth
For tacos:
Tortillas
Lime
Sour cream
Cheese
Black beans
Cilantro
Diced onion
Diced tomato
What you do:
Place pork roast in the pot on high
Slice onion and put around the pork
Add garlic—I used minced, about two teaspoons
Cumin, about a half teaspoon
Cover with chicken broth so the meat is covered with liquid
Cook for a minimum of eight hours
Remove to a platter and shred with a fork
For tacos, we like flour, but you can use corn—warm the tortillas, and create your masterpiece!
Now, it might be hard to read and eat tacos at the same time but it can be done
Xoxo
Traci
In the Dog House, Entangled Bliss 2 11 2019
Check out Tracy’s new release In the Dog House!
Ten years ago, Jackson Hardy joined the Marines, leaving behind a woman he still dreams about. When he’s called home to care for his ten-year-old nephew, no one is more shocked than he to run into Emma again. Or to still have those same feelings. But Jackson isn’t looking for love, and neither is Emma, especially not with him. His precocious nephew, though, and a retriever named Bandit, are about to change that.
So what if Emma Mercer is an overachiever? She has plans to get her doctorate in psychology and create a no-kill shelter for the EST dogs she trains. Which leaves absolutely no time for romance. She’s fine with a furry family—dogs don’t teach you to love and then rip your heart to shreds. But young Matty’s situation tugs at her heartstrings and there’s no way she can’t help him…and Jackson.
She may have hotter-than-ever chemistry with the soldier, but forgetting the past isn’t easy.
With an impressive bibliography in an array of genres, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall has garnered a notable fan base. She pens stories guaranteed to touch the heart while transporting the reader to another time and place. Her belief in happily ever after shines through, whether it’s a romantic glimpse into history or a love affair for today.
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