Been There... Done That....Cold December Mornings....#RB4U #FoodPorn

Cold December Mornings...

Hello and welcome back to Melissa's Musings. Each ninth day of the month, I drop by to share my thoughts, wonderings, happenings, and life. Lucky you! You're in for a treat today!

If your family is like mine, mornings are not our favorite time of the day. Youngest child--who is now an adult working as an electrician is up and in the shower by 6:00, I'm doing my hair for work or phoning in my movie review to the local radio station by 6:30. At this time of year in Michigan, it's dark...and cold!

It's hard to think about food, let alone have time for yummy meal. Forget cereal... too messy and you have to sit down and eat it. The breakfast bars are okay if you like cardboard. They also leave me hungry about 10 am. Stopping at the local hamburger joint is fine but expensive. With the holidays, I don't have a dollar to spare!

I cut my time down to the second so that I can sleep just those few extra minutes. Beauty sleep is important. I didn't get this way on Botox alone! *wink*

So been there, done that... I've tried to make up breakfast meals ahead of time. They didn't turn out so good. Think messy and boring. But you will receive my special secret recipe today.... just because I love you, all!

I make egg muffins. They are super easy and I make them on Sundays, stuff them in a Ziploc baggie and with a quick pop in the microwave (1-2 min) they are ready to go. You can even make them into a sandwich if you want to give up an extra minute of your rest.

Egg Muffins

6-9 eggs

1/8-1/4 cup milk

Muffin pan

Cooking spray

Extras:

Cheese

Onions (green or sweet)

Bacon

Sausage

Ham pieces cubed

Mushrooms

And anything else you can imagine!

Preheat the oven to 350*. Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray (don't be a Grinch with it...make sure it's coated in the muffin spaces so the eggs come out.) 

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and mild. Wisk.

In the muffin tins, load up your extras. Go all out! Be creative!

Pour the milk/egg mixture over the extras in the muffin cups. Place in the oven and cook at 350* until firm and lightly browned (about 15 minutes or so).

Remove from oven and let cool. You can eat them when warm or place them into plastic baggies for future mornings. 

Now you have a yummy treat that won't waste your precious sleep time. In addition, these are wonderful things to make ahead for the holidays. You can wake up and warm up these on Christmas morning while the children are opening presents or serve them on New Years Eve, before your party guests go home.

Aren't you glad you got to learn from my own trial and error? If you make them, I'd love to hear what you put in them. My favorite is green onions, mushrooms, bacon, ham and cheese.

Now for a treat of a different sort... Yummy Cowboys!

Cowboys Forever 
Six Women—Six Cowboys Forever 
Six Cowboy Love Stories by the best selling authors who brought you Cowboy Up 1&2 

Marry Me Again, Cowboy by Allison Merritt 
An unlikely match made in Texas... 

Cowboy Apocalypse by Leslie Garcia 
Can a former Marine and a Hollywood diva facing apocalyptic changes in their lives salvage new beginnings together? 

Claiming A Cowboy’s Heart by Melissa Keir 
Even broken souls deserve a second chance at love… 

Rock-n-Roll Cowboy by Autumn Piper 
Never judge a rock band by its cover song. 

A Cowboy's Princess by Sara Walter Ellwood 
Oil and water don't mix...neither does Texas oil royalty and an ex-Navy SEAL turned rodeo cowboy until danger forces them together. 

Ride, Cowboy, Ride by D’Ann Lindun 
Can they find freedom together? 

EXCERPT FROM CLAIMING A COWBOY'S HEART:

The horse’s tail rose. A small leg became visible as the birth began. Holding his breath, he waited and watched.

With his gaze on the eminent arrival, he frowned. “Crap. That’s an upside down hoof.”

His friend drew in close. A second leg arrived. “Shit. The foal’s backward. Those are the rear legs.”

“We have to get the foal out now. If we don’t, it’ll drown.” He knelt next to the horse. “Get up front and soothe Cheyenne. I’m going to have to pull the foal out fast, and I don’t want her thrashing around.” Sweat trickled down his spine. Playing God was not what being a veterinarian was about. Losing an animal—any animal—took a piece of his soul. But to lose a new life…it might leave a permanent scar. I’ve been blessed so far. Would the blessing last?

Glancing to see that his buddy had followed his directions, Preston gritted his teeth and seized a hold of the offspring’s legs with both hands. “Ready, on the count of three…. One, two, three.” He heaved with all his strength, observing as the foal came out. Quickly, he tore open the sac, releasing fluid and giving the foal a chance to breathe. He gnawed on his lip, gaze glued on the foal. Was it alive? Come on. He whispered a silent prayer.

Free with Kindle Unlimited or only 99 pennies...(ebook) 
Buy Link: AMAZON

Thank you for stopping by today and be sure to let me know about your own extras!! I'm always up for trying a new treat!

Small Town Brunch with @melissa_keir #RB4U #foreverlove

Welcome to Romance Books 4 U...I'm Melissa Keir, your flight attendant for today's trip. We are traveling to small town Amherst, Ohio. Yes, it's a real town-my hometown and the setting of my Wilder Sisters Series. A favorite place for me to visit when I return home is Hot Dog Heaven. It was a high school hang out and popular restaurant, with a homey feel.

So make sure your seat belt is fastened and your snack tray is in the up position. We're heading off to Amherst where Syn Wilder in Forever Love has returned to her hometown to care for her ailing father, but she's come face to face with her past love.

Deciding to get out of the house, we headed out for dinner at a popular local restaurant. The Armors Diner was located in an old home that had been converted into a homey place to eat. They had a full menu, containing anything that might tickle your fancy, but they had the best Coney dogs and fries. The Armors was a favorite hangout for the high school crowd, so the walls were covered with photos from all the sports stories covered by the local newspaper. The place was packed, but we found a spot at a small table near the large front window.

The Armors held a lot of fond memories from my time in high school. I used to come to the restaurant as much as I could to hang out and visit with my friends. We would always order the large fries and talk about the boys we liked. The restaurant also had its share of sad memories too—mostly surrounding T.J. and our time together. As if just thinking about him caused him to appear, I looked up to find him walking through the door, alone, and heading directly over to our table.

“Hi Syn, Mr. Wilder. Do you mind if I join you? This place is packed, and I hate to eat alone.”

“Hello Thom. Nice to see you. What have you been up to lately? I haven’t seen you since you dated Syn, here. I must have scared you off good,” Dad replied with a grin.

“Mr. Wilder, you didn’t scare me off. Syn decided to run away to the big city and leave this small town behind.” T.J. winked at me, so I stuck my tongue out at him.

I felt like an idiot while they spoke about me, and a little shocked that Dad didn’t remember T.J. being at the recent fire. “Hello—I am sitting right here. You shouldn’t talk about me like I’m invisible.” They continued to ignore me, in favor of the conversation. I took the moment to look at T.J. He certainly had grown up. I studied his profile, trying to find a small part of that little boy who was my best friend growing up. His strong jawline and full lips were new to me. His baby fat was gone, but his strong nose was the same. The aquiline had a bump that always looked like he had broken it, which earned him the nickname Rocky. I loved his smile. It was a full grin that lit up his whole face and made his eyes twinkle. I wish I could go back and have a chat with my teenage self. I would share with her just how sexy T.J. was today. Of course, I would probably also have a few words to say to teenage T.J. too. After all, I wasn’t the only one in that relationship.

My ears perked up when I heard Dad invite T.J. over for dinner tomorrow night. It will be nice to give Dad something to do, but another evening with T.J…can my heart handle it?

The Armors provided a nice dinner among friends. Dad seemed to enjoy talking with T.J. about guns, hunting, and his job at the fire station. Sitting there in the background watching them interact was a treat. Dad was animated, reminding me more of the guy I grew up with than the pale version of himself he had become since my return. He hasn’t been so upbeat in a long time. I don’t think I’ve felt so upbeat in a while, as well. T.J. had many fun stories of life in the station that made us laugh. I was getting reacquainted with the guy I left behind, as he was filling in the missing years.

T.J. had been my best friend growing up. We were childhood playmates. Then, in high school, we turned into a couple. He became my boyfriend. We used to spend a lot of time hanging out at the train depot and talking about our future, but that didn’t last. T.J. was looking for a girl who was sexually active, which wasn’t me. He broke up with me and went on to date other girls who were more physical with him. It was hard watching him move on, but I was going to leave our small town for bigger pastures when I graduated, so I didn’t need to be tied down. Now that I was back, though, would we try to make it work?

Forever Love is book one in the Wilder Sisters Series. 

Fifteen years ago, Syndie Wilder left her small hometown- Amherst, Ohio- to escape the pain of losing her best friend and boyfriend. Deciding that Chicago offered more for an up and coming jewelry designer, she enjoyed the big city life until she chooses to return and care for her father. Taking care of her father and relocating her internet business, Syndie has no time or desire for romance but fate has a way of playing with best-laid plans.

Thom Johnson broke Syndie’s heart all those years ago and regrets it every day. As a firefighter, Thom sets out to protect Amherst and redeem himself for his bad choices. However, he never has forgotten Syndie and the hurt he caused her.

When a chance meeting happens, can the two former friends allow themselves the chance to become friends again, or will the sparks turn a childhood friendship into a forever love?

Amazon Buy Link:http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Love-Melissa-Keir-ebook/dp/B00B0XISFU/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

~~~~~~

Melissa Keir has always wanted to be an author when she wasn't hoping for a career as a race car driver.  Her love of books was instilled by her mother and grandparents who were avid readers. She'd often sneak books away from them so that she could fantasize about those strong alpha males and plucky heroines.  In middle school and high school, Melissa wrote sappy love poems and shared them with her friends.  She still has those poems today! In college, her writing changed to sarcastic musings on life as well as poems with a modern twist on fairy tales and won awards for her writing. You can find many of these musings along with her latest releases on her website and blog. 
   
As a writer, Melissa likes to keep current on topics of interest in the world of writing.  She's a member of the Romance Writers of America and EPIC. Melissa is always interested in improving her writing through classes and seminars.  She also believes in helping other authors and features authors and their books on her blog.

Melissa doesn't believe in down time.  She's always keeping busy.  Melissa is a wife and mother, an elementary school teacher, a book reviewer, an editor for a publishing company as well as an author. Her home blends two families and is a lot like the Brady Bunch, without Alice- a large grocery bill, tons of dirty dishes and a mound of laundry. She loves to write stories that feature "happy endings" and is often found plotting her next story.