Monday, September 26, 2022

Crockpot Monday: Indian Curry

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Indian Curry:

Ingredients:

 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
 4-6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken thighs 
 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
 2 Tablespoons curry powder
 1 teaspoon ground coriander
 1 teaspoon ground cumin
 1 inch peeled and grated ginger
 few dashes of hot sauce

 1 yellow onion. chopped
 2 or 3 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic
 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
 1/2 of an eggplant, chopped (no need to peel)
-1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped


Directions:

Assemble all of your spices, coconut milk, hot sauce, and tomato paste. Combine the sauce ingredients in the bottom of your crockpot. The sauce will be a lovely yellow. Add the chicken, flipping it over a few times to coat it nicely. Pour in the garbanzo beans. Wash and chop all of the vegetables, and then add to the Crockpot.


Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. Stir carefully to mix flavors. If you stir too rough, the sweet potato will fall apart.

Serve over rice.


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Friday, September 23, 2022

Sneak Peek: Pin!

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If you've been around me very much, you know that I love a few different things when it comes to backing Kickstarter campaigns. I've already showed you our first set of stickers and today I'm going to show you one of my other loves...pins! 

I love pins. If you have a cool pin, I'm going to do my best to pledge to the level where I get that pin. Now, for the first time ever, I'm offering a pin with my campaign. Eric recommended Stupid Rad Merch and so far, they've been amazing to work with. I provided them the idea for the pin and they came back with the design super quick! 

Are you ready to see it? This is our Smudge pin!



I feel like I went big with this first pin. A lot of pins are just two colors and we have five! This is going to be a reward tier with a print copy of Cobalt's Castaways. If you don't want to back at that tier, but still want the pin, you can add it to your pledge using the Add-On section. Only 7 days to go! I can't wait to see you all behind the "backer wall". 

If you'd like to get notified when the campaign launches, just go to Kat Scratch Press and click on the notify me button.





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Monday, September 19, 2022

Crockpot Monday: Ropa Vieja

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Ropa Vieja:

Ingredients:

3 lbs meat – whatever you can find on sale is perfect!
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large red onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 med yellow apples, grated
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
1/2 cup cilantro leaves

Directions:

Combine all of the dry spices in a bowl. Rub the spices all over the meat you are using. Put the meat into your crockpot. Dump any extra spice on top.

Coarsely chop the vegetables and add to the pot. Smash the garlic, remove the leaves off the cilantro stems, and add. Peel the apples, and grate them into the pot with a cheese grater. Add the chicken broth and vinegar.

Cover and cook on low for at least 10 hours and at least 7 hours on high, checking about 2 hours before serving to see if you can shred the meat with forks. If you can't shred the meat, cook for longer, or remove the meat and cut in long slices, then return to the pot.

Serve over brown or white rice, with a ladle full of broth.






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Friday, September 16, 2022

Cobalt's Castaways Cover Reveal!

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You did it! We now have 50 followers on the campaign. I'm so excited. It felt like a huge goal, but y'all knocked it out of the park a good two weeks before we go live. Now the ball is back in my court. Now the the cover is in, I'm blessed to have Eric Cockrell working on the final graphics for the campaign. He says that I have to record my own audio for the video though. This is my first time creating a Kickstarter video so I'm pretty nervous! 

But, you're not here to hear about my nerves. You're here to see the cover! So without further ado...



Isn't it spectacular? James Sims did an amazing job. I couldn't be happier with it! You'd never know that it's his first prose cover. We're going to base the bookmark (stretch goal #1) off of it. Guys, I'm so excited for this cover and for this book. I cannot wait to share them with all of you!

If you're interested in buying the book during its pre-order, go to Kickstarter and click on the Notify Me on Launch button.  October 1st will be here before we know it! Remember, the book won't be available on Amazon until June at the earliest.







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Monday, September 12, 2022

Crockpot Monday: American Haggis

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American Haggis:

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground lamb
1 chopped red onion
1 cup oats
Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cloves

Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg
1/2 cup of broth or stock

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients, minus the broth. Place it into your crockpot.
Shape the mixture into a large blob. Pour your broth over top.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for about 4. Using large spatulas, carefully remove and set on a cutting board. Let rest for a full 30 minutes before slicing.




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Friday, September 9, 2022

Sneak Peek : Stickers!

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So far, I've shown you sneak peeks of stories from Cobalt's Castaways and even early art that will be a stretch goal (something everyone gets if we reach a certain dollar goal). I hope that they're getting you as excited about this book as I am to share it with you. Today, I want to share another stretch goal with you...stickers! If you're anything like me, you love stickers. 

But, enough of me talking...here are the stickers!







Aren't they great? If the campaign raises at least $1750, everyone will get a selection from these stickers. I'm in love with them and I can't wait to be able to give them to everyone. If you'd like to be notified when the campaign goes live, head on over to Kickstarter and click the notify me on launch button.






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Monday, September 5, 2022

Crockpot Monday: Hickory Smoked Brisket

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Hickory Smoked Brisket:

3-4 pounds beef brisket, or chuck roast 
2 Tablespoons hickory liquid smoke 
1/4 cup A-1 steak sauce

1/2 Tablespoon celery salt
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

Directions:


Put the meat in your crockpot, add spices to all sides of it. Add A-1 and liquid smoke. 

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6. Slow and low is better, the meat will shred nicely when cooked for a long period of time.

Super tasty served over mashed potatoes or polenta. 



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Friday, September 2, 2022

Sneak Peek: Art by Martha Schwartz!

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I have the best thing to share with all of you today! It's art that's going to be used for the Kickstarter and is done by the amazing Martha Schwartz. She's a wonderful artist and I'm honestly honored that she agreed to do this piece for me and the campaign. When I gave her Mac's story to base her drawing on, I never imagined she'd come back with something this awesome. Heck, it's not even done yet...this is just a sneak peek for me that I'm passing on to you! 


Isn't it incredible? Can you figure out what Mac is making? I know, but I'm not telling. If you'd like to find out, you'll have to order the book when it launches on Kickstarter. For now though, you can follow that linky link and hit the Notify Me on Launch button to be ...well, notified on launch!

Update: for every 25 followers, I will post a sneak story peek!






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