In addition to winning the prestigious American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis Contest (Historical), Johnnie has received several conference awards. Her popular debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, is a CBA bestseller and has been translated into Dutch and Norwegian.
She is marketing director for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference and past president of both the ACFW Memphis and ACFW Central Florida chapters. Learn more about Johnnie HERE.
Johnnie's Latest Book Release: What Hope Remembers
When Amy Somers loses her job as a lobbyist, she moves to Misty Willow, well aware that she’s crossing bridges she’d burned years before. With all the mistakes she’s made and the uncaring things she’s done–even to her own family–she can hardly believe that happiness will find her, especially when Gabe Kendall, her first crush and her first kiss, rides back into her life atop a buckskin mare.
A former Marine, Gabe is at loose ends after serving a prison sentence for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He sees beyond Amy’s hard exterior to the girl he once knew and loved, and he longs to see her open her heart. Yet with his vision clouded by shame for his past and fears about the future, he finds it difficult to see the path ahead. But the memory of that long-ago kiss just may have the power to reignite a romance that brings out the best in both of them. Purchase the book HERE.
1 pkg Conecuh smoked sausage (red label)
1 pkg mild pork sausage
1 pkg Italian sweet sausage
½ red onion, diced
1 green pepper, seeded & diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
2-8 oz cans tomato sauce
2-8 oz cans Ro-Tel mild diced tomatoes and green chilis
2-8 oz cans chili beans (1 mild & 1 spicy)
½ teaspoon yellow mustard
3 pkgs chili powder mix (use 2 to start and add the third for additional flavor)
2 pkgs Philadelphia Cream Cheese (use 1 to start and add the second as desired)
1 tablespoon jalapeno juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
Corn kernels (as desired)
Cut the Conecuh sausage into bite-sized pieces. Brown all meat with onion, diced pepper and garlic in a skillet, breaking up the sausage. Add salt & pepper to taste. Stir in chili powder mix and add all canned ingredients. Stir together to combine. (We puree the beans first.)
Bring to a simmer then add yellow mustard and jalapeno juice. Add cream cheese in chunks and stir in to melt. Continue to simmer to blend ingredients. Serve hot with crackers, diced raw onions, diced jalapenos, shredded cheddar and sour cream or whatever other toppings you like! This recipe makes a huge amount of chili. You can cut the recipe in half or freeze the extra.
Note: Gabe Kendall, the hero of What Love Remembers, makes his signature chili dish for Amy Somers. To help me out, my sister (who took all the cooking genes) asked a friend for his award-winning chili recipe. We made a few incidental tweaks—perhaps because I picked up a couple wrong ingredients at the grocery store—and we now have a new family favorite. Though Gabe’s chili isn’t called Memphis Biker Chili in the novel, this is definitely what he fixed for Amy.
