What’s Cooking Wednesday with Candace Havens

Here at Entangled, we like to read.

(Bet you would never have guessed that.)

So we also love quick-n-easy recipes that free up more time for us to indulge in our favorite past time.

Each week we’re sharing some of our favorite recipes to help you find a few extra minutes in your day to enjoy your next favorite book!

This week:

QUINOA ENCHILADA CASSEROLE from damndelicious.net

with our special guest,

All I Want Is You author, Candace Havens

Who tried it: Candace Havens, author of All I Want Is You

Why she likes it: I love Mexican food. The spices, the cheeses, the everything about it. The quinoa brings on the healthy with protein and fiber. And the best part, the leftovers may just taste even better than fresh from the oven.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
1 (10-ounce) can Old El Paso™ mild enchilada sauce
1 (4.5-ounce) can Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
1 Roma tomato, diced

Directions:

In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8×8 or 2 quart baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine quinoa, enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, black beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
Spread quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 15 minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.

With all that extra time not spent in the kitchen, what’s Candace currently editing and reading?

I’m currently editing Drift by Amy Murray. It’s coming up on Embrace this summer. It’s so cool and something very different for us. Great romance with an awesome twist. And I’m currently reading Talk British to Me by Robin Bielman. This book is so much fun. Love that hero!

Be sure to check out Candace’s newest release

All I Want is You

Forever isn’t part of this deal.

Hawke Vance will do whatever it takes to protect the family business, even if it means protecting it from his own father, a man who’s just gotten hitched in Vegas to wife number nine. Growing up seeing how much chaos wedded bliss creates, Hawke’s sworn never to fall into the matrimony trap. But to get the all-important controlling shares of the company, he does need a wife.

Being caught skinny dipping is not the way ballerina Amy Powell planned to start her vacation. When the hot biker who catches her turns out to be the owner of the house she’s staying in, she’s mortified. But embarrassment soon turns to confusion and a good dose of lust when Mr. Sex on a Stick offers her the money she needs to save her brother if she’ll agree to marry him and play pretend for two months.

Only this game of make-believe quickly starts feeling too real…

Bestselling author Candace Havens has written multiple novels for Berkley, Entangled and Harlequin. Her books have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion and Write Touch Reader Awards. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities including Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, George Clooney and many more. Her entertainment columns can be read in more than 600 newspapers across the country. And she is the Editorial Director for the Covet, Edge and Select lines at Entangled Publishing. Candace also runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2200 writers, and teaches comprehensive writing class. She does film reviews with the Hawkeye & Dorsey on 96.3, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.