It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: Mistletoe Cake Murder (+ guest post)

Posted November 10, 2021 by meezcarrie in Author Interview, Christmas, contemporary, cozy mystery, giveaway, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) 2021, Lena Gregory, mystery/suspense / 57 Comments


today’s book: Mistletoe Cake Murder

It may not be winter yet, but it’s time for our annual blog series spotlighting (over 60 this year) new and recently-released Christmas reads! This is our largest year yet, with the most authors & books, and we’re back with an all-new look, too.

Christmas is still 45 days away, BUT since when has that stopped me from craving cozy Christmas reads (even more than I do the rest of the year lol)? Beginning this week and continuing through just before Christmas, I’m going to spotlight several Christmasy releases from 2021. So… snuggle in, grab your fave hot beverage and comfiest blanket, turn on some Christmas tunes and start your bookish Christmas list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)

Today’s featured book is the latest cozy mystery in one of my fave series & the author shares a family recipe that she’s also incorporated into the series!

MISTLETOE CAKE MURDER by Lena Gregory
SERIES: All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery #6
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Lyrical Press
RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2021
PAGES: 219

’Tis the season for celebrating when Gia Morelli’s holidays include both a wedding and yuletide festivities. Until someone naughty delivers a most unwanted Christmas gift—murder. . .
 
For a native New Yorker, palm trees and warm temperatures don’t equal winter, much less Christmastime. Nevertheless, Gia Morelli’s friends have decked the halls and trimmed the trees to truly welcome her into their “family” with an old-fashioned Boggy Creek, Florida holiday season. Even more joyous, Savannah Mills is getting married on Christmas Eve—the greatest gift Gia could ever wish for her best friend.

But when Gia and Savannah stop by the caterer for a final tasting a week before the wedding, they overhear another bride arguing with her son about her husband-to-be. Moments later, the woman is sampling a piece of wedding cake—gorgeously decorated with mistletoe frosting—then suddenly dies.

Now Gia’s caterer friends are the prime suspects in what appears to be murder by poisoning. To clear their names and ensure Savannah has a merry matrimony will require Gia to conjure up a Christmas miracle . . .

Includes recipes from the All-Day Breakfast Café!

 

affiliate links used


by Lena Gregory, author of Mistletoe Cake Murder

Since Mistletoe Cake Murder is a Christmas story, I decided to share Gia’s Breakfast Pie recipe, which my dad makes every Christmas morning. When my kids were little, and we stayed home on Christmas morning, he’d always bring one over for us. Now that we’re living in Florida, I miss those days, so I figured I’d share his recipe.

One of the dishes All-Day Breakfast Café owner, Gia Morelli, loves most is Breakfast Pie. In her case, it makes life easier, since they are made ahead of time and are easy enough to just slice and serve. They are also delicious re-heated, so they make for a great time saver when you’re in a hurry and want to grab something quick. Simply make them up on the weekends, slice them, and all you have to do is heat one slice up whenever you’re hungry.

Gia makes several different kinds; western (ham, peppers, onions, and cheese), meat lovers (bacon, sausage, ham, and cheese), veggie (spinach, squash, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes), and my personal favorite, my dad’s original Breakfast Pie!

Original Breakfast Pie Recipe

You will need:

1 lb. Bacon
1 Package Breakfast Sausage
½ lb. ham
1 large green pepper
2 medium onions
5 medium potatoes or 1 bag shredded potatoes
1 dozen eggs
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Prepare:

Cut up and shred 5 medium potatoes (or use 1 bag of pre-shredded potatoes)
Chop onions (keep separate)
Chop ham
Chop sausage
Chop green pepper

Crust:

Fry bacon in a large skillet (an electric frying pan works perfectly), then keep the fat in the pan, and chop the bacon. Keep 1/3 for the crust and set 2/3 aside.

Fry potatoes and one chopped onion in the bacon fat (add salt and pepper to taste). When cooked add 1/3 of the chopped bacon and stir.

Press into a pie dish to form the crust.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Filling:

Using the same pan (you can use non stick spray on the bottom if needed) combine and cook breakfast sausage, ham, remaining bacon, green pepper, and remaining onion.

While cooking, scramble 1 dozen eggs.

Once mixture is cooked, add eggs and mix while cooking. Add salt and pepper (to taste)

When done, stir in about 6 oz. of shredded cheddar, then add filling to pie crust. Put in oven.

Bake for 45 minutes.

When just about done, sprinkle shredded cheddar (to taste) over the top and return to oven until cheese melts.

Serve and enjoy!


Lena Gregory grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

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Lena Gregory is offering a $10 Amazon gift card to one of my readers! (Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Mistletoe Cake Murder by Lena Gregory? Do you have a fave recipe that you make on Christmas morning?

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57 responses to “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: Mistletoe Cake Murder (+ guest post)

  1. Kay Garrett

    Can’t wait for the opportunity to read “MISTLETOE CAKE MURDER” by Lena Gregory – which is most definitely on my TBR list. Love Lena’s books and know this one will be an awesome one too.

    Thank you for the recipe for Original Breakfast Pie Recipe which sounds yummy! Would be great for when we have company. I will more than likely reduce the ingredients to make a smaller dish for hubby and I to try before anyone shows up.

    • Thank you, Kay! Yes, always a good idea to try a new recipe out first. My dad always cooked for a bunch of us, so everything he makes feeds a small army. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the story and the breakfast pie!

  2. John Smith

    “What makes you want to read Mistletoe Cake Murder by Lena Gregory?” This sounds like a great cozy mystery! And that wedding cake sounds lovely!

  3. Eva Millien

    Mistletoe Cake Murder sounds like an excellent holiday mystery and I can’t wait to solve it! Thanks for sharing your new release with me, Lena and have a magical holiday season!

  4. Diane Eral

    A holiday mystery book is on my must-read list during the holidays. Thank you for this great giveaway!

  5. Marie Cantelli

    Your recipe sounds dely even though we would probably omit the onions. We usually make french toast casserole on Christmas morning

  6. Sunnymay

    I guess you can’t have a cake and eat it, too. The bride-to-be dies after eating a bite of cake being tasted from the caterer. I love cozy mysteries and the recipes sprinkled throughout.

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