Special Wednesday Blogs!

Christmas lights
There’s lots going on today at home. Getting ready to start the food shopping, finish decorating, wrapping and then, time to start cooking!

In the meantime, I’m visiting friends at various places and having giveaways, so please take a moment to drop by and leave a comment for a chance to win some of my books and other goodies.

I hope all your holiday preps are going well. I’ll have more pictures and things for you in the next few days.

tree

Trifle with Berries and Sour Cream

cookiesThe other day I needed to clean out fridge and freezer in anticipation of the space that I would need for all the Christmas Eve food prep! But what does one do with frozen berries and sour cream (they had a sale so I went a little overboard!).

Then there was the box of vanilla wafers just sitting on the shelf and I thought, why not a variation on a simple trifle. It took just a little prep, some sitting in the fridge and even my hubby, who is not a dessert person, loved it.

So, next time you want something quick, semi-healthy and light, try this Trifle with Berries and Sour Cream!

Ingredients

    1 lb frozen blueberries
    2 lb frozen strawberries
    1 pint sour cream
    1 cup mini marshmallows
    1 capful vanilla extract
    4 packets of Splenda
    1 box of vanilla wafers

Directions

  • Empty frozen strawberries and blueberries into a bowl. Let them thaw and cut strawberries in half. In the summer months you can use real berries, but you’ll need to put a little sugar on them to generate the juice you get from the frozen berries. Set this bowl aside.
  • Dump sour cream into another bowl. Add capful of vanilla, Splenda and marshmallows. Mix well and place in fridge to set a bit. About an hour.
  • Use a quart and half clear glass bowl (it looks nice to see the layers of cookies, berries and sour cream!). Line the bottom and one row up with the vanilla wafers. Spoon some of the berries onto this layer, but try to leave the liquid behind for now. It’ll make it’s way to the bottom anyway.
  • Cover with about a cup of the sour cream mixture, spreading it out all over the berries.
  • Add another layer and row of vanilla wafers above the sour cream mixture.
  • Cover this vanilla wafer layer with more berries and again, another layer of sour cream.
  • Place some of the vanilla wafers in a plastic sandwich bag and crush them until they are a little coarser than bread crumbs. It’s okay if you’ve got a few pieces that are chunkier, but not too big. Sprinkle these pieces on top of the sour cream layer.
  • Refridgerate for several hours.

Easy, right? Now there are several variations you can do to this recipe. For starters, use light or fat free sour cream to reduce the calories. If you don’t like Splenda, substitute confectioner’s sugar. Real sugar will be too coarse in the sour cream mixture. Want to make it a little more adult? Add a touch of alcohol to berry mixture. Amaretto, Frangelica or Navan vanilla brandy would all be delightful. If you want to do strawberries only, try adding Godiva Chocolate Liqueur.

You can also add frozen or fresh raspberries to the mix. Just keep the ratio of 3 pounds to the one pint.

If you find as you’re doing the layers that you’ve got left over berries/sour cream, just keep on layering. You can also puree some of the berries for a sauce that you can drizzle over the trifle once it’s served.

Hope you enjoy this little treat!

Special Guest Blog with Catherine Bybee

bindingvows_w2739_300I’ve got a slightly different Guilty Pleasures Monday for you today – an interview with my friend and fellow author Catherine Bybee! Catherine writes a number of different paranormal romances that she is going to share with us in a very special way today – via a video guest blog! So sit back and enjoy this interview with Catherine.

If you can’t see the video, you can click here for the Catherine Bybee interview.

For more information on Catherine, you can visit www.catherinebybee.com. Catherine will be popping in during the course of the day, so feel free to leave any questions or comments for her to answer.

Donna Grant Dishes on Fears

DangerousHighlander_200x300First, thank you, Caridad, for inviting me to guest blog!

We all have something we fear whether it’s a monster we saw in a movie or something we face every day like…oh, I don’t know…spiders. (yes, I’m deathly afraid of the little buggers).

Having those fears is partly what makes us humans. When creating characters, authors want readers to connect to those characters, to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love with them, and even to fear with them.

So, I like to give my characters fears. Little Man (my 7 year old son) thinks I’m being mean by doing this, but I like to think of it as doing what comes naturally.  After all, if I’ve got to deal with my fears daily, so do my characters.

In DANGEROUS HIGHLANDER the heroine, Cara, has a fear of the dark that borders on the extreme. When you’re poor in Medieval Scotland, you don’t waste candles when sleeping. But Cara does.

It stems from when she witnessed her parents murdered by monsters. Of course, as she grew older, she thought what she had seen was changed by her young mind. (Our minds do have a way of shifting things without us even realizing it sometimes.)

That is until she meets up with those monsters again.

How each of us face our fears is what, ultimately, shapes us into the person we are. Some run from their fears. Others face them head on. Which type are you?

I’ll be giving away a signed copy of either MUTUAL DESIRE or THE PLEASURE OF HIS BED to a commenter that tells me what their fear is.

Hugs,
D
www.donnagrant.com

Elf Yourself

Before we get into full Fun Friday mode, just some quick things –

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting at JoJo’s Book Corner and we’ll be having a little giveaway!

On Sunday, my friend and fellow author Donna Grant will be here guest blogging and she’ll have a little surprise giveaway as well, so be sure to visit.

But now . . .

With Christmas only ONE WEEK AWAY, it’s time to really get into the Christmas spirit if you’re not there already!

I’m almost there, but I think this little Elf Dance is sure to push me over the edge into full holiday mode. You can Elf Yourself also at ElfYourself.com! Now don’t worry if disco isn’t your thing. You can choose from several other dance styles.

For me, being married to an ex-disco boy from Brooklyn, there is only one dance to do! Do I have the moves or what?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas at the Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is my favorite building in New York City. I love the exterior look of it with all the little touches that speak of its original owners. I know it may be tough to see from the ground, but look up anyway for a gander at the metal hubcaps worked into the outlines of cars along the one story. Also check out the gargoyle-looking metal corners which are representations of the hood ornaments of the Chrysler cars of that time.

Inside the building is just as lovely. This morning as I walked in, I decided to share with you the gorgeous Christmas tree in the lobby. They’ve also been having music at lunch hour to get you in the Christmas spirit.

If you look closely in this picture, you can see the beautiful marble on the walls, the metal sconces and other Art Deco metalwork on the building directory as well as a piece of the artwork up on the ceiling of the lobby. That’s actually a canvas that was painted offsite and then placed on the ceiling. I understand it’s considered the largest work on canvas in the world.

Hoping this is adding to your holiday spirit!

Chrysler Christmas Tree