Birthday Baked Apples

My daughter has gotten to celebrate her birthday all week! Her birthday was September 23rd. She turned 26. We went to her town and took her out to breakfast on her birthday. We also gave her a couple gifts and a cheese cake. She was booked up with plans with her friends the rest of that weekend and the next. The soonest we could get family together to celebrate her birthday was this past weekend.

The birthday girl complained that she got every kind of cake for her birthday except her favorite. We asked “what kind of cake would that be?” She answered, “birthday cake!” She likes white cake with white buttercream icing. Of course, as her mom, I knew that. 

The family piled in after church for a birthday dinner. Me and Nick spent all morning in the kitchen preparing the food. The menu consist of bbq chicken, macaroni and cheese, slaw, squash casserole, green beans, rolls and baked apples. The apples were a last minute decision as I wanted to have a Fall themed dinner. 

There is something about the aroma of baked apples. They were a treat that went over good and made my house smell like a country bakery. 

I grabbed some New York apples because they were cheap. 


I would have much rather had honey crisp apples but they were tripple the price. The New York apples worked just fine.

I carefully cored out the centers and removed all the seeds and any hard stuff. Then I trimmed the peeling from the edges. Usually this will keep the skin from splitting and keeps the apples in tact. That didnt really work by the way. 



Next I stuffed each hole with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and pecans and butter.  I baked them until they were soft. They are great as a side or add ice cream to make it a delicious dessert. 



We were expecting twelve people for dinner but ended up with only eight. Needless to say we had lots of leftovers. We are those people that over prepare so nothing runs out. We make sure everyone can have as many helpings as they want. 

The food was great and YES, the girl got her Birthday cake with plenty to take home to share with her friends.

Another Cat!

This is the 2nd stray cat found around the office. The first one was a few weeks ago. I found it in a storm drain. We found it a home that afternoon.

Last week one of the guys here at work parked and got out of his car to the sound of a kitten cry somewhere under the frame. After a few searches, a small tiny kitten was found . It had somehow rode to work snuggle inside his wheel fender. 


Again, we searched for someone to take it home and made post on social media advertising a free kitten!
No one came to its rescue. No one is interested in a stray tabby.

I guess we have an office cat now. Still not sure if its a male or female but we named it Odessa. The first few days it was timid, scared and cried a lot. I am the only one that it would come too and it still favors me. I’m also the one that feeds it when I come into the office in the mornings. 


It’s been over a week now and it seems to be getting a little more comfortable around here. Though it constantly wants me to hold it, I just can’t. My allergies are already acting up. However, I will take a several moments out of my day and play with it and other times I keep my front office closed off so it doesn't sneak in. It’s learning to trust other employees as they are in and out all day and reach down to give it a pat on the head.


I can’t wait for it to grow up so its not as needy. I’m also hoping it will take care of the spiders here in the office as they are big enough to wear boots!