Showing posts with label K C Sprayberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label K C Sprayberry. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Starlight's Curse - K. C. Sprayberry, Author



Enchiladas

(Brad knows the way to Jayme’s heart in Starlight’s Curse. What better way for a man to convince the woman he’s in love with to stick around than to whip up a dish that’s sure to warm not only her heart but also her stomach on a snowy winter night? These enchiladas are great for a couple or a family. Rarely does my household have any leftover to warm up the next day.)

1-1.5 pounds of lean ground beef, browned and drained
4 ounces plain cream cheese, chunked
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic chopped, or a couple of squeezes of minced garlic from a bottle
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon non-iodized sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or dried red pepper flakes)
15 ounce can enchilada sauce
2 bags of Sargento 4 cheese Mexican Blend (don’t substitute Taco Cheese. The spices will significantly change the flavor)
Flour tortillas                           Lettuce
Tomato                                    Avocado or Guacamole
Sour Cream                             Chopped Onions
Salsa (can be from the store or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350.

After browning and draining the lean ground beef, return to pan you’ve wiped out with a paper towel and cook again until all fat is absorbed. Add cream cheese and stir until it is completely melted into the meat. Add onion, garlic, spices, simmer for a few minutes to bloom the flavors. Take a handful of the 4 cheese Mexican blend and add to the mix. Remove from heat

Wrap flour tortillas in paper towels and microwave to soften about 2 minutes. Open can of enchilada sauce. Coat casserole dish with cooking spray to make it easier to remove enchiladas once they’re done.

Set out a couple of tortillas on the counter, add a heaping spoonful of the meat mixture to one end. Roll up, leaving the ends open. Set in pan. Repeat until you run out of tortillas. There may be meat mixture left, but not much. Occasionally, you might find that you have to squish the enchiladas together. Don’t worry, this makes them taste so much better.

Cover enchiladas with sauce. Use the back of a spoon to be sure every inch of the enchiladas is covered with sauce. Heavily spread cheese over the enchiladas. Bake in 350° oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese melts completely. Serve with favorite toppings.

Starlight's Curse - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Ragged sobs ripped from her throat as she stood beneath the tree.  She raised a shaky hand toward the body, her fingers reaching for a white rectangle pinned to a bright red turtleneck sweater... This was her baby... She dropped to her knees and curled forward.  Her arms wrapped protectively around her body, and she released great, heaving sobs of tremendous loss.  Her daughter hung from the branch of an elm tree.  

Forty years earlier... Far off in the woods, he caught sight of a dozen men wearing white robes and peaked hats slipping between the trees.  It was hard to make out.  Their clothes blended in well with the snow on the ground....  "There Daddy" his voice wavered, cracking into an embarrassing treble.  "The tree.  Look at the tree.  Daddy's head turned kind of slow like.  His mouth dropped open when he spotted the three figures dangling off ropes on that ancient elm... He took off running, his aunt lived off the other side of the road, in a shanty cabin that was the polar opposite of Starlight Mansion.

Many times I've read a book that I said was a page turner, and they were, but Starlight's Curse was a book that I wanted to read through the night and even the next day if need be without putting it down.  A lot of that is because I grew up during the time, 40 years earlier, when the Klan was active.  Part of it was because I also grew up just outside Atlanta and spent many weekends in the North Georgia mountains.  But the biggest part was that the story was so real.  It wasn't fast moving but moved more along the time lines that it would actually take for the events and thoughts to happen in real life.  This book took me in from the first page and held me there until the end.

Order your copy of Starlight's Curse here.

 
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