Chicken Corn Chowder #recipe @vmburns #giveaway

 VMBURNS: I love chicken corn chowder. It is one of my favorite soups. Some days, I want soup and this was one of those days. On a normal day, I probably would have used boneless/skinless chicken and made it completely from scratch, but I was feeling a tad lazy. So, instead of taking the time to do that, I bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Most of the chicken went in the soup. The remaining chicken was ground up in my food chopper and turned into chicken salad. Soup and Sandwiches all from one rotisserie chicken. 

CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER

 

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 Strips of bacon
• 4 Cups of Chicken broth
• 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, died
• 2 Cups rotisserie chicken, shredded or cut into smaller pieces
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 Cup cheddar cheese
• 2 Cups heavy whipping cream or half and half
• 1/3 Cup flour
• 3 Cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 Cup red bell pepper, diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
• 1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained
• 1 Teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Worcester sauce
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 Teaspoon sal, oregano, paprika, mustard powder, chili powder, cumin
• 1 /4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 
  

• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry the bacon in a 4 quart pot over low heat. Once it's cooked, remove it and set on a paper towel to drain. Remove all but 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease.

   

   
   
   
2. Combine the chicken broth, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings in a large cup.

   

   
   
3. Add the butter to the pot and allow to melt. Then, add the diced onions, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers to the pot and saute until all are soft. Lastly, add the garlic. NOTE: I didn't find this recipe spicy, but if you're worried about the heat level you can reduce the number of jalapenos or remove the veins and the seeds. 

   

   
   
4. Add the flour and cook for about 2-3 minutes until it browns. You don't want this to burn, but you also don't want it to TASTE like flour.

   

   
   
5. Add small amounts of the chicken broth mixture and stir until incorporated. Then, repeat until all of the liquid has been added and incorporated. NOTE: Take your time and do this slowly or you will break your roux and it won't thicken. Trust me.
   

   
6. Add the cream in the same slow manner, stirring until incorporated before adding more.
7. Add the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer.

   

   
   
8. Add the diced potatoes and cook until tender, approximately 20 minutes.

   

   
   
   
9. Add the shredded chicken and corn.

   

   
   
   
10. Add the cheese gradually and stir until melted.

    
11. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
12. Crumble the bacon and add as a garnish to the finished soup.







READERS: Do you have a recipe shortcut that you're willing to share? Leave me a comment below. I'll enter your name in a drawing for a Kindle copy of MURDER is a Piece of Cake.  Please include your email address in the comments to be considered (US ONLY). 







MURDER IS A PIECE OF CAKE






With small town New Bison’s Spring Festival just around the corner, the pressure is on Maddy to continue her late great-aunt Octavia’s legacy. That means scoring the top prize and transforming Baby Cakes into Southwest Michigan’s must-visit bakery, even though her inexperience in the kitchen brings nightmares of humiliating tagged photos and scathing reviews.

 

There’s another reason for lost beauty sleep. A second bakery is opening in town under the ownership of CJ Davenport, a shrewd investor with a reputation for sabotaging anyone who gets in his way. And savvy, flashy Maddy tops his list. It’s a sticky spot to be in—more so when Davenport turns up dead with a Baby Cakes’s knife stuck in his back.

 

Maddy’s whole life just went from #thriving to barely surviving. Now, supported by the crafty Baker Street Irregulars and her new boyfriend, she must find the courage to face off against a killer who could very well get her name trending for the first and last time . . .




BUY LINK

Spotlight on Kallie E. Benjamin aka Valerie (V. M.) Burns #Giveaway

 Once a month at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, we each take a turn under the spotlight. Today, I'm going to introduce you to my newest (and hopefully last) personality. You've already met V. M. Burns and Valerie Burns. Now, it's time to get acquainted with Kallie E. Benjamin.

My writing career started with three series using my initials, V. M. Burns. My reasoning was simple. I wanted readers to be able to find me. ValerieBurns.com wasn't available, but Vmburns.com was. So, I wrote my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series and two other mystery series as V. M. Burns.

Dog Club Mystery (Lyrical/Kensington) by V. M. Burns

RJ Franklin Mystery (Camel Press) by V. M. Burns

In 2020, I decided to close out my Dog Club Mystery and RJ Franklin Mystery series. At the time, it looked as though Kensington wouldn't continue the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. So, I needed a new start. I wrote a proposal for a culinary cozy mystery, the Baker Street Mystery series, and my agent sent it out. Initially, it looked as though no publishers were interested. So, I wrote another proposal for the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. After five months (yes publishing is slow), my editor at Kensington called my agent and said he'd "changed his mind." I wasn't sure what that meant. I thought they'd decided to continue my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, but NO. That wasn't it. He decided that he liked my Baker Street Mystery series after all. WHEW! I had a three-book deal and I got to continue writing. The only hiccup was that Kensington wanted me to use a new name. A new series. A new name. A fresh start. Okay, well I chose Valerie Burns (maybe not very original, but it was the best I could do at the time).

Baker Street Mystery Series (Kensington) by Valerie Burns

I had a book deal, but I had been writing three series and I knew I could do more. My new Bailey the Bloodhound proposal was still out on submission, so maybe, just maybe, I could write these two new series. That's when I got a surprise. My agent called to tell me that my editor at Kensington "changed his mind, AGAIN." My first thought was, "they don't want to do my Baker Street Mystery series?" Imagine my surprise when she said, "No. They want two more Mystery Bookshop Mystery books." Well, yippy! I love writing about Samantha, Nana Jo, and the Girls from Shady Acres Retirement Village. I was thrilled to get to keep writing about them.

Mystery Bookshop Mystery (Kensington) by V. M. Burns

I had two series and I was happy. A few months later, I got word that Berkley (a division of Penguin Random House) was interested in my Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series which was still out on submission. I had dreamed of getting a contract with a big five publisher and here was my chance. The only caveat was they wanted to differentiate this series and wanted a new pen name. 

So, I needed to come up with a new pen name. If I was going to use a different name, I wanted one that meant something (at least to me). This was the birth of Kallie E. Benjamin. Kallie was my great-grandmother's name. E. is for my mom (Elvira). Benjamin was my dad's name. My mom died in 2013 and my dad died on December 21, 2023, just three weeks after my first Kallie E. Benjamin book was released, so this series is even more special to me. I hope readers will enjoy getting acquainted with Pris and her faithful companion, Bailey. There are also lots of other family connections in this series which starts from the setting. This series is set in the fictional town of Crosbyville, Indiana which I named after one of my great-nephews, Crosby.

Bailey the Bloodhound by Kallie E. Benjamin

Different series. Different names, but it's still the same author and the same wholesome fun. Just looking at the covers, readers will notice that regardless of the pen name, there are common themes in my books. The New York Times said,  "Books, dogs and food — and a well-structured sense of fun — connect almost all of Valerie Burns’s cozy mysteries, regardless of pseudonym." (NYTIMES, December 1, 2023)

Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia with her two poodles.

She also serves as an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA.

READERS: I have poodles and my books all include dogs. If you like dogs, do you have a favorite breed? Let me know in the comments for a chance to win a copy of SNIFFING OUT MURDER the first book in the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery Series (US Only). Please remember to include your email address if you want to be included in the giveaway. 

SNIFFING OUT MURDER

When a murder unleashes a widespread investigation through Crosbyville, children’s book author Pris and her trusty bloodhound, Bailey, must sniff out the truth before the whole town goes to the dogs.

After deciding that life as a teacher wasn’t right for her, Priscilla found inspiration for her first children’s book in her three-year-old bloodhound’s nose for truth, and so The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound was born. After the book’s massively pawsitive response led Pris to move back to her hometown of Crosbyville, Indiana, to continue the series, she’s surprised by how things have changed in the town, but even more so how they haven’t.

Pris is frustrated to discover that newly elected school board trustee Whitney Kelley—a former high school mean girl—is intent on making Crosbyville more competitive by eliminating “frivolous spending” on the arts and social programs, including Pris and Bailey’s beloved pet-assisted reading program. A minor altercation between them isn’t anything unusual, but after Bailey sniffs out Whitney’s body in a bed of begonias, locals start hounding Pris and Bailey as suspects for the crime.

With Bailey’s sharp senses and Pris’s hometown know-how, can they prove to the community that they’re all barking up the wrong tree?

BUY LINK

V. M. (Valerie) Burns Bolognese Pasta @vmburns #recipe

 VMBurns: I've been in the mood for Italian food for over a week. Of course, I'm supposed to be dieting. I need to reduce carbs (so says my doctor). So, although I've been craving it, I have not indulged. Until today. Sometimes, the only way to stop a craving is just to eat it. So, today, I made Bolognese sauce. This isn't just any Bolognese. I made Marcella Hazan's Bolognese sauce. Who is Marcella Hazan? Apparently, she is the Queen of Italian cooking. Now, I made modifications to the original. Not because I know more about Italian food, but out of necessity. The original recipe calls for 3/4 pound of ground beef. I compared several recipes and one recipe mixed ground pork with ground beef. I had ground pork which needed to be used, so I mixed it. Also, I'm not big on tomatoes. The original recipe used imported plum tomatoes. Yeah, those weren't an easy find in the South. So, I went with whole tomatoes.  NOTE: There is tomato paste in the picture, but it is not used in the recipe.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1 can whole tomatoes

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

2/3 cup carrots, diced

1 cup whole milk

1 1/4 cup white wine

4 Tablespoons butter 

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1/8 Teaaspoon nutmeg

2 grindings of fresh Black pepper

2 pinches Kosher salt

1/2 lb Pappardelle pasta

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the vegetable oil and 3 tablespoons of butter to a large pot. When the butter melts, add the chopped onions and cook on medium and cook until the onions are translucent.

   

   
   
2. Add the celery and carrots to the onions and stir and cook for approximately 2 minutes..

   

   
   
3. Add ground beef, pork, a large pinch of salt and a couple of grindings of black pepper. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the meat. Stir and cook until the meat is browned. 

   

   
   
4. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the milk. Let it simmer gently while stirring frequently until the liquid has reduced.

   

   
   
5. Add nutmeg, and stir. Then, add the wine. 

   

   
   
6. Let the mixture simmer until all of the wine has evaporated. 
7. Add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. Cook on low for 3 1/2 - 4 hours uncovered.
8. Check the sauce periodically to make sure that it has not become dry. If it is dry, add 1/2 cup of water and continue to cook until all of the water has evaporated and the fat has separated from the meat sauce.
   
   
   
9. Follow the instructions on the package and cook the pasta. Drain and coat the pasta with the remaining tablespoon of butter.
10. Toss the pasta and Bolognese sauce and serve with parmesan cheese.

MURDER IS A PIECE OF CAKE

With small town New Bison’s Spring Festival just around the corner, the pressure is on Maddy to continue her late great-aunt Octavia’s legacy. That means scoring the top prize and transforming Baby Cakes into Southwest Michigan’s must-visit bakery, even though her inexperience in the kitchen brings nightmares of humiliating tagged photos and scathing reviews.
 
There’s another reason for lost beauty sleep. A second bakery is opening in town under the ownership of CJ Davenport, a shrewd investor with a reputation for sabotaging anyone who gets in his way. And savvy, flashy Maddy tops his list. It’s a sticky spot to be in—more so when Davenport turns up dead with a Baby Cakes’s knife stuck in his back.
 
Maddy’s whole life just went from #thriving to barely surviving. Now, supported by the crafty Baker Street Irregulars and her new boyfriend, she must find the courage to face off against a killer who could very well get her name trending for the first and last time . . .
 
Praise for Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder
 
“Snappy dialogue, a well-drawn supporting cast and an irresistible canine companion all add delicious flavor. Gulp this book down or savor it, but consuming it will guarantee a sustained sugar high.” —New York Times Book Review