Apple Walnut Stuffing

What an amazing week!

First, my daughter and her husband and their three beautiful kids drove north from North Carolina to see Grandpa's farm... and they got to pick pumpkins, have turkey and stuffing, run around like crazy country kids and visit all of their northern cousins. SWEET!!!!

And of course, my camera was nowhere to be found. (sigh.....)

But I did get this:

My three girls... Amanda (I share her with my sister, but I claim her as part mine!), Sarah and Beth...

How fun to have them together this past weekend! 

So I cooked... and baked.... and took no pictures, but it was mostly old faves. Roast turkey, sausage stuffing, cranberry orange relish, pumpkin pie (made out of the "Blue Doll" pumpkins, the best pumpkin I've ever worked with!) Chocolate Cream pie... and because we had my son's lovely girlfriend here... and she's a vegetarian... I had to do a few twists and turns! 

KAV!!! I made Isabo's yellow rice without any chicken stock and it came out GREAT. Everyone loved it, and I added an extra packet of Sazon to boost the broth flavor: Perfect!!!

Then, I made a fruit and nut stuffing for Erin:

3 cups cubed bread

1/3 cup melted butter

1 egg

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 cup chopped apple

2 teaspoons sugar

Salt to taste, about 1 teaspoon

Fresh ground pepper

1 cup (plus or minus as needed) cider

Toss everything together, making sure egg and butter are spread evenly throughout stuffing. Moisten with fresh apple cider until the consistency is moist, not gooey. Put into small baking pan (I used an 8 x 4" loaf pan, and it worked well) Cover with foil and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. 

I was out of dried cranberries, but if I'd had them, I'd have thrown a handful in... And if you're not a vegetarian, you could add cooked, chopped up sausage to the mix... but we had sausage in the regular stuffing, and this one came out GREAT. 

Yay!!! 

We also did a small casserole of mashed pumpkin mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon, then topped with miniature marshmallows until lightly browned. This is vegetarian and more like a dessert than a side dish, but what a lovely fall treat!

And here's a poignant moment.... One of our daycare families is moving to Tennessee... and this is her last week with us. We made cookie cake....

And the girls climbed the big tree one last time, together:

Torrie's in the tie-dye... and that's six-year-old Megan way up high. SHH.... Don't tell her mama!

We'll send Torrie this picture as she makes new friends in the South... so she never forgets her old friends up north.

And I released this wonderful book this week:

And tonight we're having a facebook party HERE: Facebook/Christian Fiction with Ruthy! 

Time: 8:00 Eastern, 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, 5:00 Pacific and Arizona! 

Come on over and just jump in on the conversation and we can talk cowboys... and sweet romance and great stories! We've got some sweet giveaways, including a couple of copies of "Home on the Range" so stop by!

And that's how my week went... busy... fun... I did catch a cold and I was not happy about that, but it's gone now. SWEET!!!!

And our winner of a copy of "Home on the Range" from last week's post is: Lynne Feuerstein! Congratulations, Lynne!!!!

And big congrats to the Cleveland Indians, on their way to the World Series!!!! Great job, men!

Hope to see some or all of you on facebook tonight at 8:00 Eastern, because... I don't want to look like a WALLFLOWER!!!!

God bless you!

Multi-published, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne loves God, her family, her country, dogs, some cats, chocolate and coffee... and most cookies. :) Find her on facebook, visit her website http://ruthloganherne.com or stop by Seekerville and chat with Ruthy and her writing buds and friendly villagers... www.seekerville.blogspot.com  Also, stop by her blog www.ruthysplace.com where there MIGHT BE a giveaway going on for another copy of Home on the Range!!!