Books We Love Insider Blog: Recipes from Gloria Hart by J.Q. Rose

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q.Rose
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Click here to find more books by J. Q. Rose from BWL Publishing

Hello and welcome to the BWL Authors Insider Blog!

Gloria Hart, the main character in my mystery novel, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, is my guest today.

INTERVIEW WITH SNOWBIRD, GLORIA HART

I caught Gloria just before she was leaving for exercise class at the community center in Citrus Ridge 55+ Resort and Golf Club located near Florida's Gulf of Mexico. We sat in her golf cart to chat a bit.

JQ--Thank you for visiting today with our readers, Gloria. You refer to yourself as a snowbird. What exactly is a snowbird?

Gloria--Oh, yes, my husband and I are snowbirds, running away from the snow up north during the cold winter season. However, I prefer to be called a sunbird because we really leave to chase the sun.

I am so happy to be here with your readers on this beautiful sunny day in Florida.

JQ--You went through a pretty rough winter here in Citrus Ridge several years ago. Tell us about that winter that wasn't so much fun for you.

Gloria--You can say that again. We had a horrible, frightening winter, and it wasn't because of the weather or sickness invading our community. No golf, no games, no beach time, and no early-bird dinners at the Golden Corral. Instead, the residents in our retirement community lived in terror. We had no idea who or what was killing the folks on Sunshine Boulevard, one of the streets in our community.

JQ--I understand your husband Jim was quite involved in solving the mystery.

Gloria--Because Jim is the Captain of the First Responder Team, he was pulled into the investigations and saw first hand the emergency calls. He still has nightmares when he remembers those death scenes.

JQ--I'm sorry to hear that. What about your friends? Were any of them murdered?

Gloria--Sadly, we lost neighbors. We did lose some friends, but not because they died. Our friends betrayed us by keeping secrets from us. One of them even ended up falling naked into a geranium bed!

JQ--Oh my! I bet there's a story there! Didn't people go back north to get away from this terror?

Gloria--Some snowbirds left, but many of the people in Citrus Ridge live full-time in Florida. They couldn't leave their homes.

JQ--Why did you stay?

Gloria--We discussed leaving, but we couldn’t leave our friends and neighbors during this catastrophe. Jim wanted to stay to help with the First Responders Team. Many of the old folks were experiencing heart attacks, panic attacks and health issues brought on by the frightening events in the neighborhood. We couldn’t return to Michigan because our hearts would remain in Florida. So we stayed and managed to survive that winter of deadly events and do what we could to help out in the situation.

Beach scene

JQ--So do you return to Citrus Ridge every winter?

Gloria--Yes, we do. I doubt any winter could be as bad as that one. Although the Covid pandemic has been pretty bad. We are following the precautions and returning to normal as quickly as possible.

JQ--I saw your lovely garden behind your place.

Gloria--This year, the garden is doing great. Jim is happy with the harvest. He loves growing vegetables and sharing them with friends and neighbors. Needless to say, I have had to come up with some creative recipes to use up all the wonderful, fresh produce from his garden.

JQ--Oh, fresh veggies from the garden in the backyard during the winter months sounds like a dream. Can you give us some recipes on how you prepare the vegetables for your dinner table?

Gloria--I'd love to share some recipes with you and your readers. I'm sure some of them have made New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier this year, so maybe these recipes will inspire and keep readers on track to a healthier year.

JQ--Thank you, Gloria!

Garden vegetables
Image courtesy of Sereneste at Pixabay

RECIPES FROM GLORIA HART

Stuffed Green Peppers

We like the peppers stuffed with or without the meat using corn or peas or more veggies from the garden.

Place 6 peppers (either a full-sized pepper with the tops off and seeds cleaned out or a cleaned pepper cut in half) in a micro-waveable 8" x 8 " dish. (Yes,this is so much easier than boiling them for 5 minutes in boiling water, I think.) Salt the inside of the peppers. Cook the peppers in the microwave for 3-4 minutes depending on how thick the wall is. They need to be hot.

Prepare a cup of rice--instant, brown, whatever your family prefers.

Brown one pound of ground beef with onions in a large skillet. Drain. Return to the skillet.

Add rice and 3/4 can of diced tomatoes to the meat and onions including juice. You may add salt and garlic to taste. Heat through.

Stuff peppers with meat mixture. Top with remaining tomatoes and juice. Return to microwave and cook covered 10-12 minutes or bake in 350 degree oven, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove foil from oven baked peppers, and cook 10-15 minutes longer.

Remove from heat and sprinkle tops with cheese. No need to return the peppers to the heat as the cheese will melt.

I let the dish of peppers set for five minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Seven Layer Salad, one of our family favorites. You may want to add or delete any of the layers. I like to add boiled eggs and radishes, so that may make it a nine layer salad. Use what you have from your garden to make this a tasty addition to your turkey or ham dinner or to your cookout with burgers and dogs.

Seven Layer Salad

Shred lettuce to fill a 9 x 13 pan.

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1/2 c. celery

1 sweet onion, sliced thin or green onions from your garden

1 package frozen peas, not thawed or fresh from the garden

1 c. mayonnaise mixed with 2 T. sugar(I use the light mayo)

Place veggies in pan in order listed above.

Sprinkle 4 ounces cheddar cheese on top of dressing. (Sub fat-free cheese)

Cook 6 strips of bacon. (optional)
Break them up when cool and place on top of cheese.

Cover. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours.