TITLE: Reclaiming Hope
SERIES: Home for Hope #3
AUTHOR: Shell Taylor
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
COVER ARTIST: L.C. Chase
LENGTH: 210 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2016
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Shell Taylor here today to talk about food and their latest release, Reclaiming Hope. Welcome, Shell!
Hi, everyone! Thanks so to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting me! Today, I wanted to talk about one of my most favorite things in the world… FOOD! If you’ve read any of my books, you’ve probably figured that out. I love the idea of family dinners – I had them growing up every night and my family has them now every night. To me, it’s the perfect way to bring people together to share about their days because no matter how busy we all get, everyone has to eat!
First I wanted to talk about The Homeplace, which is a real thing. It’s not in Raleigh but located near Roanoke, VA, where I lived for several years right after I got married. And lemme tell ya… this place is amazing. I love home cooked food, and even though I love cooking, I love a family style meal even more when I don’t have to cook it or clean up after. The family-style restaurant is just as described in the book, although I did leave out the AH-MAZING fruit cobblers they have for dessert because Kollin and Riley wrapped up their dinner so quickly. So if you’re ever in that area, please be sure to check that place out and eat yourself into a food coma (it’s a farm house so you can walk off your meal around the farm before or after you eat!)
Saturday Brunch is a thing I want to have in my house but A) I’m too lazy to do all that work and B) my kids are so involved in soccer and basketball that we couldn’t do it during sport seasons even if I wanted to. I love the idea though and I love breakfast food, so I couldn’t resist including it. And honestly, doesn’t it sound like something Adam and Elijah would enforce??
Grilled cheese fries and chicken and dumplings… uh, yeah. Chicken & Dumplings are a favorite of everyone in my family. Honestly, when it’s a bit chilly outside and you want some comfort food, it’s hard to beat these. I wish I could share a wonderful recipe with you, but as far as I can figure out, these are a fly by the seat of your pants kind of meal. I will, however, share the recipe for grilled cheese fries with you. I have to confess that I found these on Pinterest. We’ve only made them a couple of times because… well, they’re a bit of a PITA. Deep frying anything is messy and we don’t have a deep fryer so it takes forever blah de blah blah. BUT, they taste amazing and for a once in a while indulgence are worth it. I imagine they’d also be tasty if you added some cooked bacon in there somewhere (because bacon makes errrrything better!)
Grilled Cheese Fries
Ingredients
- 2 tubes of crescent roll dough
- Velveeta cheese, thinly sliced
- oil for frying
- flour for dusting to prevent sticking
Instructions
- Lightly flour your countertop. Unroll one of the tubes of crescent roll dough into a rectangle, and press the seams together with your fingers. Lay the Velveeta cheese slices on top of the crescent roll dough rectangle. Unroll the other crescent roll dough, press the seams together as you did the first one, and then lay on top of the cheese topped one. Press the end seams together with your fingers. Roll out flat with a rolling pin.
- Fold your cheese filled crescent dough in half. Roll out flat. Fold in half again, roll again. Then repeat one more time. At this point, your cheese & dough will start becoming one with each other.
Slice the cheese filled dough into strips. Cut the strips in half if they are too long. Fry in hot oil for about 20 seconds, being careful to not over cook. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve hot.
You can also google it and find the step by step instructions with pictures. I’m pretty sure I just used slice cheese because again, I’m lazy.
If anyone makes this or ever does find The Homeplace, please let me know! I love hearing from you guys, especially about food!
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don’t forget to enter to win the giveaway for a chance to win an Amazon gift card or a book from my backlist. Or… if you’d rather, I also have an audio copy of Redeeming Hope (Home for Hope book 1) to give away!
Sales Links
BLURB: Sequel to Resurrecting Hope
Home for Hope: Book Three
Four years ago, Kollin Haverty’s best friend, Riley Meadows, dropped off the face of the earth. When he shows up out of the blue, armed with a flimsy excuse for disappearing and having nearly completed his transition from female to male, Kollin wants to pick up where they left off. But Riley’s unwillingness to be honest with Kollin prevents him from fully trusting Riley again. Despite Riley’s insecurities and Kollin’s abandonment issues, they quickly discover there’s something more than friendship between them.
When a ghost from Riley’s past unexpectedly appears with haunting memories in tow, Kollin’s anger about being lied to outweighs his desire to be the understanding boyfriend Riley needs. As Riley’s web of strategically withheld secrets begins to unravel, he must find the courage to pursue his own peace before he can move forward with Kollin, and Kollin must decide what’s more important—supporting his best friend or protecting himself.
Adam rolled his eyes to mimic her and then turned his attention toward Kollin. “Look who the cat dragged in.”
For some reason, Kollin’s heart fluttered. Waves of nervousness raced through his body as he tried to figure out why Adam thought he should know the stranger. He’d never told either of his parents about meeting the guy at the bookstore, and even if he had, Adam couldn’t have known he was the same person.
The man studied the ground, seemingly reluctant to look at Kollin, but Kollin knew he couldn’t identify him even if they were staring directly at one another.
Fortunately Adam saved him from further embarrassment. “I didn’t recognize Riley until he threatened to own me in Ping-Pong.”
Kollin sucked in a huge gulp of air. The nervous flutters, which had been nothing more than a curious enigma, ceased, and he suddenly felt as if a boulder had settled in the pit of his stomach.
He hadn’t spoken to Riley Meadows in over four years. When Kollin’s parents kicked him out, Riley had been the one who kept Kollin sane. He tethered him to reality when all he’d wanted was to escape inside himself. They’d kept in touch when Riley first went to college and somehow became even closer—until Riley seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. Phone calls, e-mails, texts… all unanswered. Kollin eventually took the hint and gave up.
Now Riley was back?
Shell Taylor is a full-time mother of three exuberant and loving kiddos and one fur baby, a tiny but fierce Yorkie-poo named Rocco. As a Christian who practices love, grace, and humility, she tries her best to instill these same virtues in her rowdy kids. She is a huge fan of Marvel comics and will never stop loving Harry Potter (Hufflepuff pride, baby!) When Shell isn’t writing, she can be found binge watching Netflix or volunteering at her church and childrens’ school. Shell considers herself blessed to have married a strong, supportive man who works hard to allow her to continue to follow her dreams.
:: Facebook :: Twitter :: Blog ::
You can also email Shell at – shell4jmu@gmail.com
1st Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon GC
2nd Winner’s Prize: E-copy of Redeeming Hope/Resurrecting Hope
October 14: Diverse Reader
October 17: Hearts on Fire
October 18: Rick R. Reed
October 19: Drops of Ink
October 20: Bending The Bookshelf
October 21: Author Dean Frech
October 24: Love Bytes Reviews
October 25: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
October 26: Because Two Men Are Better Than One
October 27: MM Good Book Reviews
October 28: Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
October 31: Bonkers about Books
November 1: My Fiction Nook
November 2: Wicked Faeries Tales & Reviews
November 3: Making It Happen Blog
November 4: BFD Book Blog
November 7: Bayou Book Junkie
November 8: Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words
November 9: Prism Book Alliance
Buy It Here
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 