Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Patricia Lee & In Search of Forever

Please join me in welcoming author Patricia Lee back to the blog today to share some yummy recipes included in her new contemporary romance, In Search of Forever!

IN SEARCH OF FOREVER by Patricia Lee
SERIES: Mended Hearts #4
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Mountain Brook Ink
RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2023
PAGES: 332

Can they bridge the long gap in their friendship?

Growing up, Jayden Clarke dreamed of becoming a Marine like his late father, who was killed in Afghanistan when Jayden was nine. His foster dad, Kurt, was also a decorated soldier. But his own encounter with a narrowly missed IED in Afghanistan leaves Jayden wounded and honorably discharged. He returns home defeated, his dream destroyed, not certain what his future will hold. Who will he become now? Is there anyone he can turn to?

Two years out of college, Baylie Summers has returned to the Mueller Rescue ranch where her best friend Jayden Clarke once lived as a foster teen. She hasn’t seen him since they graduated six years ago, but she’s thrilled when she lands the job as the ranch’s fundraising newsletter writer. Seeking refuge from the storms of life, Baylie waits for Jayden to return home, hoping he’ll have wisdom to help her recover from past incidents she wants to forget. Once a foster child herself, she fears Jayden might not like the woman she’s become. Will telling her secret make her lose Jayden forever?

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by Patricia Lee, author of In Search of Forever

The story In Search of Forever is set on a rescue ranch in eastern Oregon. Horses are rescued from abusive situations and children who have become wards of the state find a welcome refuge here.

As I wrote, the story felt infused with hope for those in need of a helping hand. The two estranged friends tugged at my heartstrings, but the plight of the children proved just as much of a weight on my spirit. Creating a safe space for the kids took a lot of thought and prayer. Feeding those kids challenged my imagination. The ranch needed a competent cook whom the reader will meet in Melanie Barnes, mother of Jayden Clarke, the lead male protagonist.

While writing this story I asked my newsletter subscribers to submit favorite recipes that would feed a lot of kids. They responded and I chose two of those recipes to be included at the end of the story.

Here are the recipes:

From the kitchen of Lisa Sanetra

Pizza Casserole

2 cups elbow macaroni
1 pound ground beef
1 (14 ounce) jar pizza sauce
1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions :

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.

Step 3

Cook and stir ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until meat is crumbly and browned, about 10 minutes; drain excess grease.

Step 4

Mix cooked ground beef, macaroni, pizza sauce, tomato sauce, and mushrooms in a bowl. Layer half the macaroni mixture into a 9×12-inch baking dish; top with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Layer remaining macaroni mixture over the top; sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over macaroni mixture. Cover dish with aluminum foil.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

Lisa Sanetra

Muffin Tin Meatloaf

From the kitchen of Amber L. Kuehn

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds ground beef
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup yellow mustard
• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Add meat, and every ingredient listed to a large mixing bowl and combine until mixed.
3. add meat to each muffin tin space. (an ice cream scoop works well)
4. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
5. Allow meat loaves to rest for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

I think I got the idea of making mini meatloaves in a muffin tin years ago when I was doing a lot of freezer cooking.  The recipe itself is a generic meatloaf recipe that I used as a guideline (but as far as my cooking is concerned, any recipe is one I got from somewhere years ago and don’t follow it exactly (I consider recipes a guideline, not an exact science, so it changes depending on what I have on hand).

Amber Kuehn

Patricia (Pat) Lee has had a fascination with words and what they can do since she wrote her first short paragraph at the age of six. She doesn’t remember the content of her story, but her teacher became excited at what she’d done. “Obviously,” Pat says, “words made people happy.”

Pat worked as a stringer for a local newspaper during her middle and high school years representing the school’s news to the community. She received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Oregon, then went on to work as a tabloid newspaper editor at her local church.

After she married, she began her freelancing career and sold to various publications, including Expecting, Moody Monthly, and Power for Living. More recently she has published in two anthologies, Cup of Comfort Bible Promises and Heavenly Company, as well as featured articles in Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse magazine.

An Anchor On Her Heart, her debut novel, released in July, 2017. Love Calls Her Home, A Kite on the Wind, and Love’s Autumn Harvest followed. A fifth book, In Search of Forever, is due to be released in May, 2023.

She also wrote The Call of the Frontier series. The series contained two dual-time novels , The Descendant’s Daughter (2020) and The Sister’s Plight, which chronicled the journey of her great-great-great grandfather, Cornelius Joel Hills, when he crossed the Plains in 1847 seeking a new life and free government land in Oregon. Pat grew up on part of the original land claim.

She lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. They have two grown children. She is a member of Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Connect with Pat on her website.

Patricia Lee is offering a print (or ebook) copy of Love’s Autumn Harvest (where Jayden Clarke’s story begins) to one of my readers! (US only for print. 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 Love’s Autumn Harvest by Patricia Lee? Which of these two recipes do you want to try?