Recipe Friday: Beef Stroganoff

"Any of us would rather kill a cow than not have beef." Samuel Johnson

I must agree with Samuel Johnson! I love beef and here's an easy recipe that'll taste like you've slaved over a hot stove for hours, cooking it to perfection. You guessed correctly, a crock pot version of beef stroganoff.

Impress your spouse, impress your friends with a simple version that takes only minutes to prepare.  This is one of my favorite dishes from Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookery. Hope you like it!

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs round steak
1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1 onion, sliced
1/4 t garlic salt
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t paprika
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can condensed beef broth
1 T ketchup
2 T dry red wine
1/4 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 T cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 cup sour cream
cooked rice or noodles

Cut steak into 1/4 inch strips.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place steak and onion in slow cooker.  Mix garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, broth and ketchup in a bowl. Pour mixture over steak. Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours or until steak is tender.  Turn control to high. Add wine and mushrooms. Dissolve cornstarch in water in small bowl. Add to meat mixture, stirring until blended. Cover and cook on high 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Stir in sour cream; turn off heat. Serve with rice or noodles.  Serves 6.

Do you have a favorite beef stroganoff recipe? Thanks for visiting, and have a great weekend!

The Wednesday Discussion: Are You Going to the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together?

Lori Foster

Attending a big conference is an awesome experience, but usually pretty pricey, and sometimes even overwhelming.

If you'd like to attend a smaller, more affordable conference with a big time feel, consider going to Lori Foster's Reader and Author Get Together, June 3-5 in Westchester (near Cincinnati), Ohio.  The conference cost is only $50 and that includes dinner on Friday night, and all three meals on Saturday!

This is the 7th year best selling authors Lori Foster and Dianne Castell, along with Barnes and Noble's Linda Keller, have put together this event for readers and published and aspiring authors. 

Although the conference is geared toward romance writers and readers, the information presented in seminars is useful to all pursuing a writing career.

Take advantage of agent, editor and publisher appointments and learn lots from programs offered regarding marketing, publishing and writing craft!  Hope to see you there!

Think you can come? Please share info on any affordable local writing conferences that take place near you. Thanks for visiting!

Monday's Writing Tip: Subscribe to Advanced Fiction Writing E-Zine



Randy Ingermanson


"I help turn wannabe writers into gonnabe writers." Randy Ingermanson

If you're not familiar with Randy Ingermanson's AdvancedFictionWriting.com, you don't know what you're missing!  Randy is the author of Writing Fiction for Dummies.  He's also known as "The Snowflake Guy" because of this article.  It outlines the way he designs/constructs a novel, by starting small, then building up until it looks like a story. Hence the snowflake metaphor. You start with a paper triangle, then keep cutting until you make a more elaborate design emerge.

Randy, a writer and award winning author of six novels and one non-fiction book, is also a physicist and self proclaimed computer geek.  To learn more about him, click here.

His website is great, and his e-zine is free! It's a monthly publication that provides some great secrets for novelists who want to develop their craft and better market their fiction.  In addition, once you subscribe, you'll also receive his 5 day course entitled "How to Publish A Book," along with his free report on Tiger Marketing.

Visit Randy today and take advantage of all of his great free stuff!  Do you have a favorite writing website that you'd like to plug?  Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

Recipe Friday: Chicken Cacciatore

"You don't age while seated for a meal." Italian Food Quote

Italian Food is one of my favorites! Here's a quick and easy recipe for the crock pot that can be thrown together in minutes.  It's from Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookery. Hope you enjoy it!

Chicken Cacciatore

1 3lb broiler chicken cut up
1 onion, chopped
1 t dried basil
1/2 t lemon pepper
1/4 t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup rose wine
1 T sugar
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
Cooked pasta

Combine all ingredients, except mushrooms and pasta in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on Low 5 to 6 hours Tune control to High and add mushrooms. Cover and cook about 10 minutes. Serve over pats. Makes 5-6 servings.

Do you have a favorite Italian meal for the crock pot? Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

The Wednesday Discussion: How Did He Get Away With That?

"All words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind." Kahlil Gibran

Getting those words published is the hard part! If you're a prepublished writer, have you ever read a book containing all the things we've learned not to do, then wondered, how did he/she get away with that?

I read something not long ago filled with head hopping, cliches and repetition--big no no's, so I've read and been told on numerous occasions! What kinds of things have you run across in published works that you wouldn't dare put in your own?

Please refrain from mentioning specific books or authors.  This is just a fun conversation not meant to offend!

Thanks for visiting, and happy writing!