Foundational Fried SPAM | The Walking Dead (cookbook review + giveaway)

It's premiere week! Are you as excited as I am? I wasn't to create seven new Walking Dead inspired recipes to lead up to Sunday like I did last year, but I do have something just as fun to share—a review of the just-released The Walking Dead: Official Cookbook and Survival Guide! If you're a regular reader, you know how much I love TWD, so I jumped at the chance to receive not only a review copy, but also a copy to give away to one of my readers! So, let's get to it.

Fusilli w/ Raw Tomato Sauce | The Sweet Life

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for the latest novel by Sharon Struth called The Sweet Life. This is a sweet story, if somewhat predictable. Mamie Weber is offered the chance to join a bus tour of Tuscany (sound familiar?), and though it's a covert assignment for work, she looks at it as a chance to try and move forward in the aftermath of a tragic accident that took her husband and daughter's lives 5 years ago.

S'mores Brownies | If There's No Tomorrow

Remember when you were 17 and invincible? I do. Plus, I have children that are just on either side of that age. I'm also very sensitive and empathetic, which is probably why I cried my way through a good portion of If There's No Tomorrow, the latest YA novel by author Jennifer Armentrout. It touched me, to say the least.

Spicy, Sweet, & Smoky Barbecue Sauce | The Talented Ribkins

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for The Talented Ribkins, debut novel by author Ladee Hubbard! I'll start by saying that after reading the book jacket, there were two initial things that made me want to read this novel. The first being mention of the characters having "superpowers", the second being the reference to W.E.B. Du Boi's essay The Talented Tenth. (Which, if you haven't read it before, I recommend checking out The Talented Tenth just before or after reading The Talented Ribkins.)

Collard Greens w/ Smoked Turkey Wings | To Kill a Mockingbird #FoodnFlix

This month, the Food 'n Flix club is watching an American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the book of the same name by Harper Lee. I should probably start off with an admission...one that I'm actually ashamed to admit, especially afer introducing it as an American classic, but...I'd never actually seen or even read To Kill a Mockingbird until last week.

[Insert collective gasp!]

Homemade Creamed Corn | Secondhand Lions #FoodnFlix

This month, the Food 'n Flix club is creating recipes inspired by the 2003 flick, Secondhand Lions. While it was made in '03, it was actually set in 1950's Texas (with flashbacks from years before, most taking place in Morocco). At its core, it's about 14-year old Walter who has been dropped off at the home of his two great-uncles, who have a reputation for being surly recluses, sans invitation.

Orange Muffins w/ Cinnamon Glaze | The Awkward Path to Getting Lucky

You must be comfortable with the liberal use of words like vagina, penis, sex, and dildo if you're going to read The Awkward Path to Getting Lucky, the debut novel by Summer Heacock. Really. It's all about Kat's quest to fix her broken lady bits. As long as that doesn't scare you off, you're in for a hilarious...and even a little sexy...read.

Copycat Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup | #SoupSwappers

It's been several months since I participated (time is not on my side lately) in Saturday Soup Swappers, but I brought a pot of soup to the group this month! I'm also hosting with a theme that I thought would not only produce a variety of delicious soup recipes, but also be a ton of fun for both the bloggers and the readers—COPYCAT SOUP RECIPES!

Peach Iced Tea | The Innkeeper's Sister

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for The Innkeeper's Sister by Linda Goodnight! This is book 3 in Goodnight's Honeyridge Novels series, but the first (and only so far) one that I've read. I actually didn't even realize it was a part of a series until I'd finished it, which means it definitely works as a stand-alone book. When I went to look back at the descriptions for the first 2 books, they are connected by location (Honey Ridge, Tennessee), but focus on different main characters. Those characters also play a part in this book, so I'm looking forward to going back and reading their stories.

I Carried a Watermelon Margarita | Dirty Dancing #FoodnFlix

We headed back to the 80's for this month's edition of Food 'n Flix with one of the best coming-of-age chick flicks of all-time, Dirty Dancing! This is one of those movies that I've seen so many times I could recite it in my sleep. I owned it on VHS, I own it on DVD, and I can't resist stopping to watch it when I come across it while flipping channels on TV. Plus, the soundtrack! I had it on tape and remember listening to one side and flipping it over in my walkman...or dual cassette deck stereo with record player...time and time again.

THE SWEETEST BURN, an excerpt + giveaway | #TLCBookTours

Excerpt from THE SWEETEST BURN by Jeaniene Frost

Before I could turn around to leave, a large slash suddenly appeared in the air and three people stepped out of it. At once, the supernatural tattoo on my right arm began to burn. I gripped it without looking away, and the part of my brain that wasn’t freaking out figured out what was going on.

     The minion I’d killed hadn’t snuck up on me using his supernatural stealth and speed. He’d simply crossed from a demon realm into this one through a gateway that I hadn’t known was there.

Matcha Rice Pudding | Betrayal at Iga

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for Betrayal at Iga by Susan Spann, the 5th book in the Shinobi Mystery series! I started the Shinobi Mysteries on book 3...and I've been hooked ever since. At the end of The Ninja's Daughter, Hiro, Father Mateo, Ana, and Gato have made haste out of Kyoto, and this novel picks up as they enter the village in which Hiro grew up and trained amongst the many shinobi that inhabit it.

Slow Cooker Chile Verde | Another Man's Ground

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for Another Man's Ground, the second book in the Sheriff Hank Worth Mystery series by Claire Booth. I'm pretty excited to be hosting a stop on this tour, because I've been eagerly awaiting this book ever since finishing the first book in the series, The Branson Beauty.

Smoked Oysters, Clams, and Cockles Linguine | Game of Thrones

OYSTERS, CLAMS, AND COCKLES!

I can feel the excitement in the air—we made it to premiere day! In case you missed it, Evelyne of CulturEatz and I teamed up to bring you Game of Thrones inspired recipes all week long in anticipation of the new season. We started Monday, and traded off days, creating 3 recipes apiece, and culminating with both of us sharing a recipe today with our chosen theme.