Today, we are interrupting our usual Sexy Fail Saturday post to wish our very own Madame Mommy Dearest a very

And also because we’ll jump on any excuse to post a few extra funnies.

A FRIDAY FUNNY

FREE BOOK FRIDAY

Can you believe our last winner of this fun & sexy cookbook never claimed her prize?  She’s obviously a crazy person. :knock  Ah, well…that just gives the rest of you a second chance to score the good stuff. :wink

So this week’s Free Book Friday giveaway is once again Stud Muffins: Luscious, Delectable, Yummy (and Good Muffin Recipes, Too!)

To enter the giveaway for this book, simply leave a comment to today’s post that includes the code FBF—for “Free Book Friday,” of course—to let me know you’re interested in the drawing. (U.S. residents only for the prize, please, but everyone is welcome to chat.)

Winner will be announced during our Happy Sunday post on…well, you know, Sunday. Winner is responsible for contacting me with her mailing information—i.e. I will not be contacting you—so be sure to check back in or you might not even know you won! :crying (If prize isn’t claimed within 14 days, another name may be drawn or item may be tossed back into the goody bag to be re-used for a future giveaway.)

I’m celebrating the release of HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR today with a Cyber Launch Party at AuthorIsland. I hope you’ll come over & join me for what’s sure to be a super-fun discussion.  And there will be a giveaway—THREE winners will get to pick a Silhouette/Harlequin Desire of their choice from my backlist!

HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR is HERE!  Yes, it’s true…after all this time of waiting & talking about it, you can finally get your hands on “The Bakery Book.” :chick

And in case I haven’t mentioned it a time or twelve before, one of the very best recipes I have to offer is actually inside the book.  Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheels.  So if you want to taste Heaven in cookie form, be sure to pick up your copy asap. :eats  Whether you decide to read the book first or bake the cookies first…that’s totally up to you.  And if you’re really good, you may be able to do both at once. :cookinme

But because I am so kind & generous, so selfless & giving :devang I am still willing to continue sharing even more delicious recipes with you right here at WIPs and Chains.

Today’s recipe is pulling double duty.  It’s like the Superman of yummy desserts because it can go from mild-mannered banana bread to the solution for all of your mental incapacitation problems.

I call it Writer’s Block Bread, because when I first started writing, Madame Mommy Dearest used to make this for me whenever I ran into trouble with a story & the words wouldn’t come.  Now, I don’t know if it’s the process of actually making the bread, the smell of it baking, or the highly enjoyable act of eating it once it’s ready, but something about this particular banana bread recipe really does help to shake out the cobwebs & get my brain running in the right direction again. :doh

I have it on good authority, though, that you don’t have to be a writer for it to work.  It seems to help with all kinds of Blank Brain Syndrome.  I’d even be willing to challenge you to give it a try the next time you just can’t seem to think, think, think, no matter what cerebral-heavy project you’re working on. :argh

WRITER’S BLOCK BREAD
(a.k.a. Banana Nut Bread)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
zest of one orange
1 teaspoon each orange juice & vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ripe bananas (frozen, then thawed peeled, & patted w/ paper towels)
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I use a mix of walnuts & pecans)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 . Grease & flour 2 loaf pans.
In large mixing bowl, stir until blended: butter, sugar, eggs, zest, & orange juice.
Add flour, baking soda, & salt. Mix well.
Fold in bananas which have been cut into 1/2 inch chunks.
Add nuts & mini chips. Stir batter. Divide evenly into prepared loaf pans.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Place loaves on wire racks for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
After completely cool, place loaves in plastic bags or foil & refrigerate.
Slice loaves while cool (not room temperature) so chocolate chips don’t stick to knife.

(Note:  You can also make this recipe in muffin form, but you’re on your own when it comes to figuring out the baking time.)

For more great recipes & fun chit-chat, be sure to sign up for my HappyBookers YahooGroup. We’re doing a bit of a recipe swap over there, too, in anticipation of HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR‘s release, so you can collect or share recipes to your heart’s content. And talk about some of the recipes you’ve seen (& tried?) here in The Dungeon—the good, the bad, & the fattening—too, if you like. :flip