Lee's Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie shared by Author Nancy Lee Badger

Lee Lampe Puzzo was my cousin. She was also my Maid-of-Honor many moon's ago. She passed away in 2018 but her memory lives on every time I make her yummy pumpkin pie. Diabetics must watch their sugar intake while still eating a healthy 'sweet' dessert, and this hits the spot! Give it a try and you will find that you really do not miss the added sugar at all. 

Lee's Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie 💘

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (you will need to turn down the heat part way through baking)

Pastry for 9 inch pie (I use a frozen pie shell)

3/4 cup artificial sweetener like Splenda (Lee suggested 18 packets of Equal)

15 oz. can Libby's Pumpkin

12 oz. can Evaporated Skim Milk or 2% Evaporated Milk (I can never find skim)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 eggs, beaten

aluminum foil

💘Mix all ingredients and pour into a pie shell. Place pie pan on a cookie sheet with edges in case it spills over. Cover edges with three strips of two inch wide foil to prevent burning. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 MINUTES. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40-45 minutes or until there is no wobble and an inserted knife comes out clean. Move to a rack and cool. Cover and refrigerate.💘

Slices can be heated in a microwave for about 20 seconds. Serve with sugar-free Cool-whip.  

This pie contains protein, calcium, fruit and is a healthy alternative to sugary desserts. Entertainment during this pandemic is also healthy to a person's well-being so remember to READ BOOKS. 

💘For a quick, romantic, hot, and adventurous story, in time for Valentine's Day, consider this book set in New York City and Long Island (where Lee & I grew up!)💘

Blurb: A starry-eyed romantic grows up fast when the man of her TV dreams comes to town. Lust, and secret glances, start to heat amid an enraged father and a kidnapped child.

💘Available in digital & PRINT💘

Find all Buy Links HERE

Baked Italian Meatballs from Author Nancy Lee Badger

Ground Hog Day is February 2nd. That's a bittersweet day for our family because my darling dad died on that day in 2019. 

He loved my mom's meatballs, as my two sisters and I do, but they lived in Florida and we are in Raleigh, North Carolina so I had to learn to bake my own. 

I make my meatballs smaller than mom, which makes them last longer (I think so). Mom taught me that the secret to a healthy alternative is to bake them. This is better for you and your loved ones than frying them in oil. Finish in a slow-cooker. Over the years, I have tweaked the portions, but this will make  about four-dozen (depends on how small you roll them!)

Nancy's Italian Meatballs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack inside a cookie sheet with edges to collect the grease. Spray rack with PAM and line cookie sheet with foil for quicker clean-up. If you do not plan to freeze the baked meatballs, pull out the slow-cooker and a jar of sauce.

2 lbs. 80% hamburger or chuck

2 eggs

3/4 Cups Italian bread crumbs

1/2 Cup shredded parmesan cheese

diced yellow onion (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

oregano & parsley for color

chopped garlic (optional)

Wash your hands well and have a hand towel or paper towels nearby, because this is the messy part. Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl. Form balls by rolling the meat mixture one at a time in your palms. Mine are from 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on rack with a little bit of space between each meatball and each row. I sometimes need two pans and racks. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. If going in the slow-cooker, use tongs to transfer them. Add sauce and I cook mine on high for about 4 hours then turn them down to low until dinner.

The meatballs can be frozen for later. Once out of the oven, let them cool completely then place in freezer bags. They can go from the freezer to the slow-cooker on low, but will take a little longer.

These baked meatballs contain protein, calcium, and veggies from the sauce. They make a healthy alternative to heavy take-out meals. Split a sub roll, add a slice of mozzarella, toast it, then add the meatballs and sauce for a filling treat at dinner time. 

Entertainment during this pandemic is also healthy to a person's well-being so remember to READ BOOKS. 

For quick, romantic, hot, and adventurous stories that my dad enjoyed, try DRAGON BITES. This book contains three of my dragon-shifter novellas.

Find all ebook Buy Links HERE

Where This Writer Finds Ideas

The author & her sons

Time spent volunteering can turn into something I can take back with me and put into a book. The New Hampshire Highland Games & Festival is an annual event that brings my family together. We live in North Carolina and the others live in upstate Vermont (so close to Canada you can smell the snow). Meeting up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire gives us a chance to spend quality time together, while we help NHScot.org promote Scottish life. Yes, and it gives me ideas for many more books. 

The first book came to me while working the games and happens to be my biggest seller. My Honorable Highlander teams up a present day woman attending the fictional New England Highland games and the laird of a clan in sixteenth century Scotland.

The book is available in ebook, print and audio, and is followed

10 hour Audio Book is available

by other full-length stories pairing people from these different times. The central theme includes Highland games.

Check out the buy links of all the books HERE

More photos to come....

When Love Conquers Time Release Day!

When Love Conquers Time, contains over 1,000 pages of time travel romances set from the 14th century to the late 20th century.  Kilted Highlanders, shape-shifters, vampires, pirates, dragons, soldiers, and more will give readers hours of adventurous reading. Here are the Book blurbs:

MORAG'S TEARS (Celtic Storm Series Book 5) by Ria Cantrell

Step back in time to the beautiful Highlands of Scotland in the 14th century. Come and sit with us by the warm peat fire as Morag, the much loved character from Ria Cantrell's bestselling Celtic Storm series tells the story of her life. From a child, gifted in the ancient ways, to a beautiful young woman in love, Morag weaves her rich tapestry of tales. She is a mystical seer, healer, manipulator of time and chatelaine to the clan MacCollum. You will feel as if you are walking alongside her on her life's journey. Share her tears of joy as well as a few sad ones, as she recounts the triumphs and tribulations of a long life filled with love in its many guises.

SEA PANTHER by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Can love mend a fractured soul? After evading arrest for Jacobite activities, Scottish nobleman Robert MacLachlan turns privateer. A Caribbean Voodoo priestess curses him to an eternal existence as a vampire shifter torn between the dual natures of a Florida panther and an immortal blood-thirsting man. For centuries, he seeks to reverse the black magic whilst maintaining his honor. Cruising the twenty-first century Atlantic, he becomes shorthanded to sail his 90-foot yacht, Sea Panther. The last thing he wants is a female crewmember and the call of her blood.
Although she swore never to sail again after her father died in a sailing accident, Kimberly Scot answers the captain's crew wanted ad to escape a hit man. She's lost everything, her fiancé, her job, and most of her money, along with money belonging to her ex-clients. A taste of Kimberly's blood convinces Robert she is the one woman who can claim the panther's heart. To break the curse, they travel back in time to where it all began—Jamaica 1715.

MY RELUCTANT HIGHLANDER by Nancy Lee Badger

Skye Gunn could not prevent her husband’s death, and will risk everything to defeat the sorcerer she blames. When he attacks her nephew, she is taken, instead. She escapes by plunging into the North Sea, and a spell takes her back to the future, to Jake. The woman who haunted his dreams since she blackmailed him into traveling back in time falls from the sky, beaten and bloody. He must trust her as they return to ancient Scotland. To survive, he and Skye must dare to love in the time they have.

REFLECTIONS OF LOVE by Paul A. Crust
As a result of a head injury suffered in the Gulf War, antiques dealer, Jason Hobbs is the victim of total amnesia. After investing a great deal of time and money trying to unlock his past, he has resigned himself to the fact that he may never fully know his own true identity. Life goes on and in the course of his business Jason acquires an old dresser with an oval mirror among a shipment of antique pieces from England. That same evening, strange images start to appear, reflected in the old mirror, and the mournful sound of a woman weeping can be heard, echoing through the night air. As he searches for answers to the mysterious events which began the day the dresser came into his possession, the past and present collide, bringing events from World War 1 crashing to his doorstep. A shocking revelation will rock his world, changing his perception of who he really is.

Morag’s Tears by Ria Cantrell:  Facebook Twitter

Sea Panter by Dawn Marie Hamilton:  Facebook Twitter

My Reluctant Highlander by Nancy Lee Badger: Website  Facebook

Reflections of Love  by Paul A. Crust:  Facebook

When Love Conquers Time, a four-author boxed set, is available at AMAZON for only $.99 (Free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers) Learn more about the authors:

Remember Our Veterans!

Veteran's Day salutes those men and women who have served or are serving in our nation's military. The event occurs annually during the 11th month, on the 11th day, at the 11th hour. It is a time to say "Thanks" and to appreciate those who keep us safe, and have protected our homeland.


On another note, I am a writer so I will take this opportunity to remind all about my contemporary MILITARY short story, UNWRAPPING CHRIS. The 99cent ebook is available everywhere, and I was assisted by my son, Sgt. Eric Badger, retired, who made sure I used the correct terminology.

BOOK BLURB

Army widow Jayne Rockwell searches for a secure future for her and her two daughters. Staff Sergeant Christopher Hawkins regrets leaving young Jayne eight years ago to go off to war. A crash encounter a week before Christmas thrusts these two lonely people back into each other's lives once more. Jayne must learn to trust a man who disappeared with her heart. Chris must overcome the guilt of taking her innocence, and then leaving her heartbroken and alone. A Christmas wedding brings them closer when Jayne spies him as a groomsman in Highland dress, complete with kilt. He cannot keep his eyes off the woman in green velvet wearing a wedding ring. Accusations, explanations, and remorse leads to a love that erupts among candlelight, Christmas carols, and a dark room. Who needs mistletoe?

UNWRAPPING CHRIS buy links

Amazon     NOOK      Smashwords

iTunes     Kobo     All Romance 

HUG A VETERAN!