I’m a fan of simple recipes with only a few ingredients. I also like to use what I have in the pantry or freezer before I decide what to make.

This is one of my 4-ingredient recipes. I created the following using leftover, stale chili-cheese Frito chips, taco-seasoned ground turkey from the freezer, a can of chili beans, and shredded cheese.

It’s the perfect recipe to chase away the winter chill, and it only takes a few minutes to prepare.

4-Ingredient Frito-Chili Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup Frito chips

1 can chili beans, undrained

1 cup taco-seasoned ground turkey or beef

1/2 cup shredded cheese

• Lightly spray pie pan.
• Spread chips over bottom of pan.
• Mix chili beans and taco meat. Spread over chips.
• Sprinkle cheese over bean mixture.
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

While going through some old files recently, I found the following poem. I’m not sure when I wrote it, but judging by the handwriting, it was more than twenty years ago. Though the inspiration behind it is long forgotten, the sentiments expressed within are still meaningful to me.

Would I Turn Back Time?

If I could turn back the clock and go back in time, what moments would I change?

Would I let fall by the wayside—

-those lonely hours when I longed for companionship and found a relationship with God?

-the pain and grief that taught me to be compassionate towards others?

-the divine intervention that led me along unfamiliar, uncharted paths and brought me into the fullness of God’s love?

-the times when I was defeated that made the victories, though often far between, sweet?

O, would that I could erase the years of foolish pride and earthly conceit that led me far from You

—but not the failures and earthly stumbles that brought me to my knees in humble pleas, praying “Forgive me, Father,”

—where I found eternal peace.

Not one moment would I change, could I do so, for every moment is a footstep in my walk with You.

Today’s featured book is a new release from Anaiah Press, Writing Home, a contemporary Christian Romance by author Amy Anguish.

About the Book:

Christiana Jones dreamed her whole life of living in Huntsville, Alabama, so she can’t figure out why it doesn’t feel like home. Her relationships—on social media and in real life—seem shallow and empty. When she unearths a stack of her grandparents’ letters, it spurs an idea. Could she find something deeper with a penpal? 

Jordan White is taken aback when his cousin Tina suggests he become penpals with her childhood best friend. What could a Louisiana boy have in common with a girl two states away? After all, he’s happily settled on his family’s property and working the job he always wanted. But every letter they exchange has him wishing for more. 

As they grow closer through their written words, the miles between them seem to grow wider. Can love cross the distance and bring them home? 

Excerpt:

Tina’s phone rang and she pressed it to her ear with a look of apology.

“We’re next.” Chris motioned to the ride.

“I’m sorry. You go ahead without me, and I’ll try to ride again with you later.” Tina waved as she walked off to finish the phone call.

Seriously? Tina just ditched her? After convincing her to come up here this weekend in the first place, too. Should she just ride alone? That didn’t sound as fun.

The carnival worker motioned to Chris as the next bucket lowered and the couple occupying it got off. Chris hesitated an extra moment, looking over her shoulder at Tina, but she seemed engrossed in her conversation. With a sigh, Chris stepped up and sat on the seat by herself.

“Wait!”

Chris looked to find where the man’s voice had come from. Someone pushed through the Ferris wheel line, trying to get to the front. He ran up to the worker and handed him some tickets. The grizzled operator glanced at her, pocketed the tickets with a shrug, and motioned the guy into the seat next to her. He locked the bar down before she had a chance to protest, and their bucket swung backwards as it started its ascent.

How dare he? Of all the nerve! To just run up and force his way past everyone in line to jump on with someone who didn’t even know him! She turned to let him have a piece of her mind—and froze.

Brown hair just long enough to tousle and curl a bit above his eyebrows. Brown eyes staring straight at her with a hopeful expression. That face that she had secretly pulled up on her phone several times a week for the last few . . . ever since his cousin sent the picture to her in the first place.

He was here.

“Jordan.”

“Hi, Christiana.” His voice was low, soft, as if he was afraid to startle her.

“You’re here.” Was her belly doing flips because of the ride or because of him?

About the Author:

Amy R. Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good. 

Follow her at http://abitofanguish.weebly.com or http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor 
Or https://twitter.com/amy_r_anguish 

Learn more about her books at https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/ 

And check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA) 

My Pop-Up today is an introduction to an important member of my family:

ROSIE

Our Lab came with her name, 11 years ago, the last one in a litter born to our neighbor’s dog. On a morning in January 2010, I heard a puppy crying from across the street. I asked my daughter and niece to go and see if there were any puppies left. They brought a picture of a roly-poly one named Rosie. That name meant something special to me, and it seemed she was meant for us.

My husband didn’t feel the same way, however. He said “no” to a new puppy. My youngest child cried, and I cried, and my husband gave in. We brought Rosie home and bought all the puppy things we needed. It didn’t take long to house-train her. We took her out and let her run some, but mostly, we used a leash. Since her mother and brother lived across the street, we weren’t sure if she would find her way back to them. And we live on a busy street. We lost one dog to getting hit by a car, and we didn’t want to take a chance that would end up happening to her.

Rosie belongs to all of us, but she’s my protector. She runs at the door barking ferociously when anyone knocks. If it is a stranger, she gets between the door and me. The delivery driver sets our packages on the porch, knocks, and quickly gets out of there when she jumps up at the window.

She can tell when a person is friendly, though. Some of our family members are her favorite people. She cries and carries on when they visit. We were never able to break her of jumping up. Now that she is older, it’s hard for her to do and is no longer a problem.

She does have a problem with getting into the trash. (We try to keep it out of her reach. Sometimes we forget, or she gets into the closet). It isn’t that we don’t give her enough food. We give her the amount the vet recommends, but she is overweight.

Recently Rosie developed lumps on her body that grew quickly. We took her to the vet this week, expecting to hear the worse, cancer.

They took samples from each lump and came back with diagnosis:

FATTY LUMPS

They aren’t harmful Not anything to joke about, either. But because she is overweight, the phrase made us all laugh. We needed that humor to break the tension that had built up by worrying.

We brought Rosie home, and she is her normal self. We’re thankful that the lumps aren’t serious, and we’re committed to getting her to a healthy weight.

She may be 11 years old, but she will always be my baby. She is a good companion and brings us happiness. God blessed us with her, and we thank Him, and the neighbors who gave her to us.

Today my guest is Amy Anguish, author of the newly released contemporary Christian romance, Writing Home. Amy, thank you for joining me today. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a preacher’s daughter, wife, mommy, preschool teacher, crafter, and extrovert. Not necessarily in that order. When we’re not having a pandemic, I also teach Bible class. I love fun socks, and sometimes I have a few pink streaks in my hair. I dabble in gardening during the warm months. And I read voraciously. I’m from “the South.”

What is Writing Home about?

Christiana Jones finds a pile of letters her grandparents wrote each other during the war. Since she’s unsatisfied with how her dream of living in Huntsville has turned out, and fed up with the shallowness of social media, she decides to try something new—being a pen pal. Her lifelong friend, Tina, suggests she write her cousin Jordan in Louisiana. And with each letter that goes between them, Christiana wonders if she could find a relationship as strong as her grandparents had.

What is the inspiration behind your story?

After my grandfather passed away in 2013, my grandmother who had been married to him for 66 years read his old letters every night. He’d been in the Korean war and written to her then and on several other occasions. She continued to treasure those letters (who none of us were allowed to see) until she passed away in 2018. And it got me thinking about how amazing their relationship was. And what would it be like if you had to have a relationship through letters only?

Do you have a day job? If so, how do you find time in your day to write?

I teach preschool two days a week and am a mom and babysitter the other days. My main writing times are during naps (which aren’t usually long enough anymore) and after kids are in bed in the evenings. But I’ve gotten to where I can hammer out about 2000 words an hour, so I just keep at it and it seems to be working. I do look forward to the day both my kids are in school, though.

Do you reward yourself when a book is finished? If so, what is your favorite treat?

I have a bad tendency to reward myself too much. Ha! But if I want a really special treat, here’s my go-to. I always keep some semi-sweet chocolate on hand just in case I want this:

https://www.myfoodandfamily.com/recipe/069182/chocolate-molten-lava-cakes

How did you come up with the names of your hero and/or heroine?

Believe it or not, I wanted names that could go for either a boy or a girl. So, Jordan and Chris became my characters this time, and you’ll have to read my book to see why that was the deciding factor. 😉

Are you part of a writing group?

I am actually part of two writing groups. I have a couple local girls who are super sweet and we try to meet once a month. And I have two other girls who I do a YouTube channel with, one from Illinois and the other from KY. Both groups have become like sisters to me and are amazing at helping encourage, edit, and even vent.

Share your favorite excerpt from your book:

(only one?! )

Tina’s phone rang and she pressed it to her ear with a look of apology.

“We’re next.” Chris motioned to the ride.

“I’m sorry. You go ahead without me, and I’ll try to ride again with you later.” Tina waved as she walked off to finish the phone call.

Seriously? Tina just ditched her? After convincing her to come up here this weekend in the first place, too. Should she just ride alone? That didn’t sound as fun.

The carnival worker motioned to Chris as the next bucket lowered and the couple occupying it got off. Chris hesitated an extra moment, looking over her shoulder at Tina, but she seemed engrossed in her conversation. With a sigh, Chris stepped up and sat on the seat by herself.

“Wait!”

Chris looked to find where the man’s voice had come from. Someone pushed through the Ferris wheel line, trying to get to the front. He ran up to the worker and handed him some tickets. The grizzled operator glanced at her, pocketed the tickets with a shrug, and motioned the guy into the seat next to her. He locked the bar down before she had a chance to protest, and their bucket swung backwards as it started its ascent.

How dare he? Of all the nerve! To just run up and force his way past everyone in line to jump on with someone who didn’t even know him! She turned to let him have a piece of her mind—and froze.

Brown hair just long enough to tousle and curl a bit above his eyebrows. Brown eyes staring straight at her with a hopeful expression. That face that she had secretly pulled up on her phone several times a week for the last few . . . ever since his cousin sent the picture to her in the first place.

He was here.

“Jordan.”

“Hi, Christiana.” His voice was low, soft, as if he was afraid to startle her.

“You’re here.” Was her belly doing flips because of the ride or because of him?

What’s next for you as an author?

I will have a novella releasing in a Christmas collection late September—all those stories are set on the beach. And to round out the year, I will have another novel release December 7^th. It’s title is No Place Like Home, and it’s about a preacher’s daughter who leaves the church when she’s grown and has to find her way back home, in more ways than one.

Where can readers find you online?

http://abitofanguish.weebly.com

http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor

Twitter: amy_r_anguish

Learn more about my books at https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/

And check out the YouTube channel I do with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA)

Get your copy of Writing Home Today:

https://www.anaiahpress.com/product/Writing-Home/87