‘Tis fabulous Friday again! Which means I can brag about my most excellent golf game before introducing my equally excellent guest. Oh, come on, I know you want to hear how I actually managed to play to my handicap for the first time in months, and how I would have scored even better had I not had those two duffed shots on the 17th. The question now is, can I do it again? Knowing the Hein prowess at golf, probably not.

Never mind, I’ll always have Friday Feast to cheer me up, and I’m feeling very cheery indeed about today’s guest. If you haven’t read contemporary romance and romantic suspense author Elise K. Ackers then you need to correct the situation fast. This girl is talented. Like really talented. Elise’s stories vibrate with tension and emotion, featuring vivid characters that draw you into their lives and sweep you along on a heart-warming, drama-packed ride. Yes, I ‘m a complete fan girl and I’m not afraid to say it!

Elise has just released the third book in her cracking Homeland series, Ask Me For Tomorrow. Take a look.

ASK ME FOR TOMORROW

Three years after losing his wife, Dean Foster feels like he’s living in a daze. When he finds himself attracted to his new employee, it comes as quite a shock.

Single mum, Alice Jaye, is struggling to make ends meet. She’s too tired to flirt with her gorgeous new boss and firmly maintains a professional distance. But when their children bring them into close contact, keeping their relationship strictly business isn’t easy.

As Alice and her son spend more time with his family, Dean’s heart begins to open once more. But can he risk starting all over again?

This eagerly anticipated final book of the Homeland series is a tender, heartwarming story about letting go of the past and giving love a second chance.

Eagerly anticipated indeed. And you can have your own copy right now. Buy direct from Destiny Romance or try Kobo, JB Hi-Fi, BigW ebooks, Google Play, iTunes or Amazon for Kindle. If ebooks aren’t your thing, keep your eye out for the paperback collection of all three Homeland books, coming February 2013.

And now please give a big cheer for Elise!

If I Appear On This Blog Five Times, I’ll Run Out Of Things I Can Cook

I’m delighted to be a guest on Cathryn’s Friday Feast, and admittedly, a little worried. If even one person makes this recipe, that’s a lot of responsibility on me. So allow me to preface the following with a warning: my cooking skills leave a lot to be desired. I can make five dinner dishes really well, five other dinner dishes moderately well, and the rest are out of my league. I’m a dessert girl. For eating, for making – I’m the person who thrusts her hand in the air to volunteer to bake for, well, any reason at all.

Yet here I am, offering you a dinner dish because I wanted to challenge myself. But before you run away, the below recipe is for one of the better dinner dishes. One I’ve cooked for many, many people who are all still alive, and who remember the evening fondly (unless they’ve all agreed to never mention the meal, kind of like Bridget Jones’s blue soup incident).

My mum walked me through this recipe before I moved out of home, and I’ve since adjusted it to be infinitely sweeter. You may find iterations of it on the web or in a cookbook – I’m not sure where my mum first learned it, but she successfully sent me out into the world with a few dishes in my repertoire. I was a very reluctant student, so hats off to her. I have since learned, I think… two more dinner recipes on my own.

Yet I’ll turn up with a new kind of cake, slice or biscuit almost every fortnight.

So without further ado, I’d like to share my favourite chicken dish. It’s on the sweet side and can be garnished with any number of things. I’m quite minimalist about extras due to personal preference, so feel free to add colour, texture and taste where you see fit. And indemnify me from all outcomes!

Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

4-6 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon of honey mustard

2-3 tablespoons of honey

1/3 teaspoon of garlic

1 small container of thickened cream (use less if you don’t like so much sauce)

2 bundles of Hakubaku Organic Somen Noodles

Mushrooms, onions, chicken stock, beans, etc all optional. Let your tastebuds guide you!

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into finger-width strips.
2. Cook noodles as directed on packet.
3. Simultaneously heat oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a bowl, mix mustard, honey, garlic and cream.
5. Put frying pan with chicken over low-medium heat, stir in sauce and heat through.
6. Strain noodles, arrange on plates and load chicken and sauce on top.

This is an almost colourless dish if you don’t add mushrooms, beans, etc, but having never added more flair than a sprig of parsley, I can’t make suggestions on this front.

This is very tasty, it reheats really well, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made it and I’m confident someone in your house will like it.

If Cathryn invites me back, I promise next time to share one of my baking recipes. They’re all terrible for your teeth and waistline, which of course, means they’re divine.

Thanks for having me Cathryn, I’ve worked up my appetite now!

So have I, Elise! Mmm, honey mustard chicken. Now that’s a dish to make your mouth water, and perfect to tempt the tummies of any fussy eaters out there, I’m sure.

Now, clever Feasters, do you have a fall-back recipe? One you know can’t fail you – that you’re perhaps a little known for?

Me, I make awesome Greek meatballs (if I do say so myself) that even the fussiest eater will adore. Lovely little balls of spiced lamb in a delicious tomato sauce, served with what else but a fetta laden Greek salad. Oh, I just gave myself the slurpies thinking about that. What a bugger we’re having stir-fry for dinner…

So what’s your crowd-pleaser? Share and everyone will pounce on you for the recipe, or think you’re awesome, or both. There is kudos in commenting!

If you’d like to learn more about Elise and her amazing books, please visit her website. You can also connect via Twitter, Google + and Facebook.