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Tonight's dinner was a HUGE hit with DH. I love Food Network Magazine and absolutely LOVE their cookbook. It's filled with the past year's recipes from the magazine, and 99% of them are super easy and really good. This one was no exception. I served it with my own fried rice, and also made the cucumber salad in the recipe.

A couple tips: be sure your grill is really well oiled (I found out the hard way :-) and reserve some of the marinade for basting. The cucumber salad is perfect--not too tart, not too sweet--and I highly recommend it.

. I read in the reviews that some people tried it on pork, something that's on my to do list for sure :-)

I served it with . If you chop all your ingredients beforehand, Chinese food isn't so tough to make :-)

Also, tomorrow, I'm doing a writing chat on Twitter--ask me anything you want to know about writing. My twitter name is @shirleyjump and the chat hash tag is #ARWchat. Chat starts at 11:30 am EST, which I've been told is 4:30 pm UK time. All chatters will be entered to win an Amazon gift card and a copy of one of my books!

Shirley

Today I'm --stop on by for a little bit of the story behind the story and a sneak peek at the book!

Shirley

Over on the blog, they are talking about one of my older--but personal favorite--releases. BACK TO MR. & MRS. is the only book I've done with a long married couple as my hero and heroine and I really had a lot of fun with it, and exploring the issues that face a marriage.

Click on over to the blog to read some of the 'behind the scenes' story about how this book came to be!

Shirley

I make this salad quite often. It's one of my favorites, not just because it's so easy, but because it's truly delicious. I didn't have any pears today, so I used a variety of apples--Golden Delicious, Gala and Royal Gala.


If you have all the ingredients on hand, this literally takes two minutes. I almost always have fresh lemons in the fridge (they last forever...and I read this in an old issue of the Rachael Ray magazine that said to zest the lemon, let the peels dry, then store that zest in a canning type jar, to keep it on hand for whenever you need lemon zest).


I've run the recipe before on the blog (it's on the left, under favorite recipes on this blog) but it's so stinking easy, I posted it again here:


Two-Minute Apple Salad (aka Apple-Pear Salad)


Dressing:

1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
dash salt


Salad:

3 apples, cored and sliced
1-2 pears, cored and sliced
1 bag salad mix (or 1 head lettuce)
1/4 cup candied walnuts (or you can use any kind of nuts you want--okay, technically if you have to make the walnuts (recipe below) this takes longer than two minutes, but read the note on storing them in the freezer)


Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the apple and pear slices and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Serve over the salad mix and top with candied walnuts.


Candied walnuts are really easy--just roast the walnut pieces in a small nonstick pan for a minute or two. Then toss with butter and sugar and a dash of salt. You can roast them in the oven if you happen to have the oven on, but you have to keep a close eye on them because they burn easily. Most of the time I just let it cook in the pan, then drain them on a paper towel. I store the extras in the freezer, and pull them out to add to baked apples or this salad. If you don't have walnuts on hand, you can make candied pecans or use chopped honey roasted peanuts. Whatever nuts you want :-)


Shirley

I got an alert that someone named was following me on Twitter (you know, those little alerts that say So and So is now following you). And I thought hmmm...I love, Florida, I love Tampa Bay, I wonder what that's about. So I check it out, go over to the and find OMG scrumptious recipes there. Just scroll down to the roast chicken and potatoes. Literally drooling over here and wondering if it's too late in the day to run out and buy a whole chicken :-)

And yes, I have to say, I am a whole lot jealous that the chef lives in a place where he can harvest his own scallops. In my backyard, the only thing I'm harvesting is leaves and weeds, LOL.

Shirley

Today, I've got TWO writing how-to posts to share with you all! The first is on. Pop on over to and share your top frustrations and/or questions on Conflict (and enter for a chance to win one of my books!)

And on , I've got Basically, the ten lessons I learned before I sold my first book (and with my right now, I guess the lessons stuck :-). Hope both of them spur you along in your writing journey!

Love this writing cartoon! Saw it on the web, and put the link to it :-)

Shirley

over at We Write Romance is all about making the writing a priority. Here's a snippet:

I hear it all the time: "I want to be a writer but I don't have the time to be one." My response? A quote from British author George E. Allen that a friend sent to me once: "How badly do you want it?"


If you want to be a writer, you make writing a priority. Simple as that. I know--I can hear the "buts" already: But I have children. But I have a job. But I have a dog that requires ten hours a day of one-on-one attention. But I have this and that and those and these...
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to read the rest of my advice and get valuable tips for finding time to write! :-)

� Chicken Canzanese� Dinner tonight is a favorite in the Jump household: . I've and just love this recipe. Easy to make, and something that just cooks away in the oven. I'll probably make carrots and also smashed potatoes to go with it.
I love braising...and this is my favorite dish to do that with. Tell me, do you have a favorite braised beast (lol) recipe?
Shirley

Today over at the Aspiring Romance Writers blog, they're discussing my newest release (which comes out on Tuesday). Join the discussion or on my website :-)

Also, for those of you in the Fort Wayne area, there's a neat little feature on me in this month's (complete with a photo by the talented !)

I made the peanut butter and jelly bars today for a Labor Day cookout. Dying to eat them all :-) Will hopefully remember to post a pic later!

Have a great labor day, everyone!

Shirley

Today, over at you can read my quitting story. (Also, I'll be there all month with handouts on writing, and at the end of the month, a Q&A, so if you have questions, you can ask them there!)



For anyone pursuing a dream--no matter what it might be--I hope that reading this inspires you to persevere! Have a great Friday and a fabulous Labor Day Weekend!

Shirley