Hungry is a Mighty Fine Sauce: Recipes & Ramblings From The Belle of All Things Southern Shellie Rushing Tomlinson | Cookbook Review & Giveaway

Hungry is a Mighty Fine Sauce:

Recipes & Ramblings From The Belle of All Things Southern

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Storytelling Cookbook

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, the Belle of All Things Southern, is serving up down-home southern dishes with a healthy side of laugh-out-loud entertainment in Hungry Is a Mighty Fine Sauce. Featuring dozens of tried-and-true recipes complemented by entertaining stories, your hunger--and your craving for humor--are sure to be satisfied! Uncomplicated, delicious recipes including Bodacious Black Bean Salad and Spicy Sausage and Crawfish Spread (125 recipes, to be exact!) fall into categories including Feeding the Funny Farm, Carnivores Are Us, Holidays in Dixie, and Watching the Curves. Eye-catching photos, guaranteed to make your mouth water, are included throughout. . .sure to be a much-appreciated gift or centerpiece on your very own kitchen countertop.

My Thoughts
I'm from a Southern family and there are three things that are universally important to us . . . faith, family, and of course FOOD! In fact those three facets are so interwoven it's hard to see where one begins and another ends. In my opinion there's not much better than Sunday dinners at grandma's house with all the loved ones.
Hungry Is A Mighty Fine Sauce is Shellie Rushing Tomlinson's newest storytelling cookbook that combines all those things except the stories are about her crazies instead of mine. (Trust me that's a good thing!) It was a total delight to get my hands on a copy. Several of the recipes were familiar and the ones that we've tried are quite tasty. 
One of the nicest things is that the stories about friends and family may be unusual but the recipe ingredients are not! In my opinion there's nothing worse than landing on a yummy sounding recipe only to be stumped by some of the ingredients. Never fear! All the ingredients are probably staples in your house and if not I guarantee they are just down the street at your local grocery.
The pictures are beautiful (I think you can almost smell the aroma coming from the dish) and the stories are hysterical. If you have a foodie on your gift giving list this would be the perfect item. It packs a double whamy . . . it's wonderful to look through and read and it's a delicious adventure to cook from. You seriously can't go wrong with this one.
Connect With The Author

www.BelleOfAllThingsSouthern.com

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Now . . . how about a GIVEAWAY?!! Are you a foodie or do you know one? Would you like to give Hungry Is A Mighty Fine Sauce a try? We've partnered with Shellie Rushing Tomlinson to make a way for one of our readers to get their own copy of Hungry Is A Mighty Fine Sauce.

The giveaway is open to U.S. residents and will run through midnight on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. The winner will be contacted by email and will have forty-eight hours to claim the prize. If unclaimed, a new winner will be drawn. The winners’ entries will be verified. Please enter the contest using the Giveaway Tools form below. All entries are optional.

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Heart Wide Open by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson ~ A Christian Living Review

Heart Wide Open

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Nonfiction / Christian Living / Women

YOU BELIEVE IN GOD.

YOU'RE TRYING TO SERVE HIM.

BUT DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TRULY 

LOVE HIM AND LET HIM LOVE YOU?

As a Bible-believing churchgoer, author Shellie Tomlinson harbored a secret in her good-girl heart. she longed for something more than routine faith; she wanted to love God with a genuine, all-consuming passion. So she got honest with Him:

"I admit it. I don't love you like I should, but I want to love you. Help me!"

In Heart Wide Open, Shellie invites you to answer the call of your restless heart and refuse to settle for anything less than the intimate friendship of God. Through her heartfelt and honest words, you'll find practical inspiration to help you:

• exchange your "just enough Jesus" mindset for an all-out pursuit of Him
• put sizzle in your Bible study by asking God to show you the wonder of His Word
• trade formulaic devotions for a devoted life

Are you ready to stop struggling to make time for God and instead live every moment with God? Discover how to live with your heart wide open.

READ AN EXCERPT!

My Thoughts
I first fell in love with Shellie's work through her first two books, Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On and Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy! Those two books just tickled my funny bone. But let me tell you, Heart Wide Open struck a nerve.
This book is written for those of us who grew up with not only Vacation Bible School but Backyard Bible Club. If you could do a sword drill in your sleep or recite the books of the Bible in perfect order or sing all the verses from hymn after hymn from memory, this book is probably written for you. 
It's written for those of us who fell deeply in love with Jesus as a child but somewhere along the line that love of all things Jesus began to fade. The tyranny of the urgent began to replace what was important, which is our very relationship with Jesus. We entered that awkward Jr. High era that took our eyes off of Him and put them on him. Then before we knew it we were young mommas with a growing family and all our efforts were directed there. We still love to say and sing "Oh how I love Jesus!" but do we really? Or in the words of Shellie, do we just want to want to love Jesus? The good news is that Jesus promises that He'll take that want to and turn it into a need to.
In fact Shellie talks about how He will take all of those failed Christian rituals of ours like, daily Bible reading and devotions, prayer time, and faith and breathe fresh life into them. The secret is admitting we need the help in the first place. Instead of hiding our lackluster feelings like Adam and Eve in the garden, we just need to get naked before God and cry out "Help me!"
I have to be honest and say that until I read this book I hadn't really realized how apathetic I had become. But as I turned page after page I continued to think, "Yep! That's describes me to a T." The good news is that Shelllie also points out the simple fix . . . Jesus! So if you are longing for a deeper relationship with Christ, pick this book up and let Him pry your heart wide open. Trust me . . . you won't regret it!
Connect With The Author:

www.BelleOfAllThingsSouthern.com

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Let The Baby Grow Up This Christmas by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!



Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.


AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.


If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Let The Baby Grow Up This Christmas

By Shellie Tomlinson


When I was a little girl, Christmas seemed to take forever to make its way back to our little house on the end of a dirt road called Bull Run in northeast Louisiana. We kids started counting down the days before the leaves ever began turning. Sure, the adults said it came once a year but I wasn't so sure. Once Santa Claus left our humble abode it seemed like light years before he found his way back to the Delta.


That was a child's perspective. I imagine it hasn't changed all that much for today's kids. On the other hand, I'm operating under a completely different time frame these days. It seems like it was just yesterday when I pulled the boxes down from the attic and began pulling out the nativity scene, the miniature lights, and the keepsake ornaments. And now, just that fast-- Christmas Day is right around the corner. Soon the tree will be striped naked and the piled up presents will all be distributed. After a few more day it'll be hard to remember who got what from whom, and once again, I'll start packing all the decorations away for another year.


I was thinking about how bare and cold the house always looks after the holidays when I realized that, sadly, this  scene would play itself out in many hearts as well. A lot of people will have had expectations that weren't filled and many of those same souls will be left with hurts that don't seem to heal. Unless this year is remarkably different from past seasons, my bet is, the New Year will bring magazines full of articles on combating depression and the talk shows will have experts on offering ways to fill the long days ahead and cure the winter blues.


I'm no expert, dear readers, but I'd like to offer you a suggestion that will go far beyond the creature comforts of a nice warm bath or a delicious bowl of hot soup. Your heart doesn't have to be bare and naked after the holidays. Do you want to know the real secret? It's simple, really. Don't pack up Christ with Christmas! As beautiful and special as the Christmas story is, it's only a part of heaven's miracle. The Christ child grew into a man and the man became a Savior.


This year, may we be determined to let the babe from Bethlehem live on in our hearts. If we'll allow Him to become the Messiah He was born to be, the joy of Christmas can be ours all year long.

***

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson is an author, speaker, and radio host from Louisiana. Her latest release Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy was endorsed by Jeff Foxworthy as "laugh out loud funny!" You can find Shellie's weekly southern features, podcasts, video chats and more at http://www.allthingssouthern.com/ Make sure to get by the blog  and read about the Super Christmas Giveaway Shellie is hosting for her readers and secure your chance to win a Mort Kunstler print valued between $700 and $1400. www.allthingssouthern.com

Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

About Shellie:  Shellie Rushing Tomlinson and her husband Phil live and farm in the Louisiana Delta. Shellie is the author of Lessons Learned on Bull Run Road, Twas the Night Before the Very First Christmas, Southern Comfort with Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and the Penguin Group USA release, Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On, voted Nonfiction Finalist of 2009 by SIBA Independent Booksellers Alliance.

Tomlinson is owner and publisher of All Things Southern and the host of the weekly radio show All Things Southern as well as a weekly video segment by the same name. Listeners also hear Shellie in her All Things Southern radio segments aired across the South. Shellie writes a weekly inspirational feature in Newsstar and a monthly print and online column for Lousiana Road Trips.

When Shellie isn't writing, speaking, taping her show, answering email or writing content for the next deadline, you can find her playing tennis with Dixie Belle, (the chocolate lab who thinks she is in charge of running Shellie's life). 

About Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy: The bestselling author of Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On! returns with more helpful how-to's and keen observations from Dixie .

Guided by principles from the ancient Belle Doctrine, the host of radio and television's All Things Southern offers down-home advice on everything from health and fitness-managing thy caloric calculations without going Straight Running Crazy and surviving the Raging Inferno Syndrome (aka hot flashes)-to the Southern art of handling your man (Bubba Whispering). Whether giving business tips or debunking the Big Boned Theory, making political observations or celebrating the inevitable resurgence of big hair, Shellie is an adviser women can relate to and laugh with regardless of their age or which side of the Mason-Dixon they call home.

About the Facebook Party:

To celebrate the Sue Ellen’s release, Shellie is having a Facebook Party!  

Join Shellie and the gang on June 2^nd at 5:00 PM PST (6 MST, 7 CST, 8 EST) for a Southern style shin-dig! She'll be dishing on Bubba Whispering, debunking the Big Boned Theory, and how to manage going Straight Running Crazy. If you don't know what any of that is, then be sure to pick up a copy of the book (Not necessary to join the fun! Who knows - you might win a copy!) and join us at 5:00 pm on June 2nd at Shellie's Facebook page. And tell your friends - she's giving away copies of her books and some great gift certificates.

My Thoughts:

If the title of this one doesn’t grab you then just flip open the front cover and start reading! The prologue begins with a story about toe popping. How can a book that begins with toe popping not be worth the read? Actually I’m sure that there are a number of you out there that won’t get the great pleasure that comes from having ones toes popped so you may need to move on into the book a bit.

Chapter three has a whole discussion on the difference between normal crazy and straight running crazy. Trust me when I say it is very important to know the difference between the two. If you can keep it normal crazy you’re go to go. But if you cross over into straight running crazy, seek help immediately!

What kind of self-help book would leave out a section on potty training? Not a good one I say, and this one covers it all. Even the new trend of professional potty training consultants is addressed. For those of you in the midst of this it will be invaluable. For those already past this stage it will bring back fond memories. (Said with tongue planted firmly in cheek.)

Another very important topic that is addressed is the whole gift giving dilemma. Ms. Tomlinson gives a great explanation on avoiding the whole bizarre gift syndrome. She even takes it a step further and advises you as to the whole resifting process if you become a victim of a bizarre gift giver.

When you throw in the absolutely delicious recipes that follow each chapter, you come out with a sure fire winner. The beauty of this book is that it really can be used as therapy. Just mark those sections that bring you great enjoyment. Then when you are in an absolute funk, crack the book back open, and voila instant therapy. Think of the money you’ll save! I give this book 5 out of 5.

See other reviews for this book: Here

*A complimentary copy of this book was provided for my review from litfuse. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review!