Deb Baker - The Cozy Chicks Kitchen

The Cozy Chicks Kitchen

If youre looking for a great cookbookone youll actually turn to again and again. Search no more! THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN is chock full of mouthwatering gems. Everything is here: main dishes, desserts, salads, soups, drinks, and did I mention desserts? Dont miss this fabulous collection. Ive got both the ebook version and a hardcopy. Get yours today! -- Julie Hyzy , New York Times bestselling author of the White House Chef and Manor House mysteries

Copyright 2012, Cozy Chicks LLC.All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the authors imaginations, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

Publishers Note: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The Cozy Chicks are not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The Cozy Chicks are not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

From the Cozy Chicks

Welcome to our kitchen! Pull up a stool and let us pour you a cup of coffee. Well have a chat as a pot of tomato basil soup bubbles on the stove. While the soup is simmering, feel free to sit back, relax, and listen to the sizzle of lemon chicken cutlets crisping to a golden brown in the frying pan. By the time we catch up on work and family and start discussing the last book weve read, the buttery, cinnamon scents of the apple ginger pie baking in the oven will curl around our shoulders like a warm shawl and coax a sigh of contentment from our lips.

Friends, food, and fellowship. That is what home feels like. And the kitchen is the heart of the home. This sense of warmth and companionship is what The Cozy Chicks try to invoke in our novels. And now, our cookbook will invite you to enter the heart of our cozy mystery worldsthe stories of our characters and of their authors, told through food. For a short while, our protagonists have taken a break from crime solving to don aprons and wield spatulas and wooden spoons. And theyd like nothing more than to spend some time with you.

Enjoy!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

by Lorraine Bartlett / LL Bartlett

Katie Bonner, of the Victoria Square Mysteries , dates the owner of the Squares pizza parlor. While she loves pizza, she doesnt want to eat an entire pie in one sitting. Instead, she often makes this dip. So it isnt really a pizzaits got a lot of the same flavors and is great when she wants the taste, but not the calories of a whole pizza.

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

3 teaspoons Italian seasoning

teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

cup pizza sauce

cup finely chopped green pepper

cup finely chopped sweet red pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Spread on the bottom of a greased 9-inch pie plate. Combine the cheeses and sprinkle half the mix over the cream cheese layer. Top with the pizza sauce and peppers. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm with crackers, chips, or pretzels.

Yield: 3 cups.

by Heather Webber/Heather Blake

True enough, lost-love locater Lucy Valentine, from the Lucy Valentine romantic-mystery series, doesnt cook very much. She and stoves dont get along all that well, and whenever they fight, the fire alarm is often involved. Its fortunate that Lucy is currently dating a former firefighter. That being said, Lucy is fairly good at making breakfasts, and this recipe is one of her favorites.

Ingredients

8 ounces sage-flavored sausage

cup chopped green onions

cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 large eggs

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

(You can pretty much mix and match your favorite ingredients with this recipe. Use bacon instead of sausage; veggies instead of green onions, etc. Have fun with it!)

Preheat the oven to 350. Heavily grease a mini muffin tin. In a skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat. Set aside in a bowl to cool for a few minutes. In the same bowl, add in the green onions, cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and milk until smooth. Use a ladle to fill a mini muffin cup full of egg mixture. Place 1 teaspoon of the sausage mixture into each cup. Bake for 8-10 minutes or so until done.

Yield: three dozen frittatas.

by Kate Collins

I love hummus on pita chips and am always tinkering with recipes to make my own. Heres a great starter recipe. You can add your choice of flavors. Mine is minced red or yellow sweet peppers and finely chopped Kalamata olives.

Ingredients

1 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained

4 tablespoons Tahini sauce

cup lemon juice

1 clove garlic, peeled

1-2 teaspoon sea salt to taste (optional)

cup water

paprika

Blend the first 4 ingredients in food processor, adding water gradually to keep machine running. The consistency should be smooth and creamy. Empty the contents into a bowl. Sprinkle with paprika. This will keep for weeks but should be refrigerated.

Yield: 2 cups

by Maggie Sefton

Ive served this appetizer dip for years and years. I tinkered around with several recipes until I found this combination of flavors. Its always a crowd-pleaser and works for any occasion. It can be served with crackers or all sorts of veggies. Its perfect for potlucks and picnics, football parties, holiday open houses, or any social get-together.

Ingredients

16 ounce cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons cream or milk

1 cup sour cream

2 2-ounce packages dried deli beef, diced

cup finely grated onion

teaspoon black pepper

4 tablespoons butter

cup or more bottled Worcestershire sauce, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Cream and the beat softened cream cheese with the milk or cream. Add sour cream, dried beef, onion, and pepper. Mix well, then add Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir until blended, then put in a casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Best served warm, not hot. Serve with crackers or veggies.

Yield: 3 cups

by Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker)

Story Fischer, of the Queen Bee Mysteries , grows tomatillos in her backyard garden every year. They sprout like weeds and taste magnificent in this easy salsa. Not only that, they bloom profusely, which keeps Storys honeybees happy gathering nectar. (This recipe also appears in Buzz Off , from the first Queen Bee Mystery.)

Ingredients

20 tomatillos

1 onion, quartered

2 jalapenos (or to taste)

4 Anaheim peppers

cilantro (optional)

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Roast the tomatillos, onion, and peppers for 15 minutes. Put the roasted vegetables in a food processor with the cilantro and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add salt.

Yield: 6 servings

by Lorraine Bartlett / LL Bartlett

Onions are good for you. Theyre an antioxidant. They help to neutralize free radicals in your body. Onions are thought to prevent heart disease. Okay, you may shed a few tears when you peel and cut them, but its worth the pain (and squinting). And these easy-to-make breadsticks are worth the time to prepare them. (Its just the dough rising that takes timeotherwise theyre easy and fun.)