Please welcome guest Catherine Bruns! #Thanksgiving #recipe and #giveaway

 

Please welcome today's guest, Catherine Bruns! I'm delighted that Catherine is here to share a tasty Thanksgiving side dish recipe with us... it sounds so delicious and decadent! She is also offering readers a chance to win one of two books. Be sure to scroll down to find out how to enter. 

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Thank you to Kim for inviting me today! It’s been a while since I’ve been a guest at Mystery Lovers Kitchen, and I’m thrilled to be back.

Life is busy for everyone these days. I constantly find that I have too much to do. Between my family, writing three books a year and a day job, there’s never enough time. Add in the holidays and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

I love Thanksgiving so much that I decided to write a mystery about the holiday. In the Blink of a Pie is the third book in my maple syrup series. Set in Vermont, the series follows Leila Khoury as she comes home to find her father’s killer and take over running his maple syrup farm. In cozy mystery fashion, Leila also manages to uncover a few other murders as well.

 Like Leila’s mother, I enjoy hosting Thanksgiving every year for my family, but because of time constraints, I’m always on the lookout for shortcuts. Since my husband and sons are all meat and potato eaters, one variety of potatoes with the turkey isn’t enough. That’s where my baked potato casserole comes in. It’s super easy, delicious, and definitely a comfort food.

 

BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients

Six medium potatoes, baked or boiled

1/4 cup butter
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup of milk or cream (more or less to taste)
2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
1 onion, thinly sliced
10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

1/2 onion, sliced
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup cheddar cheese 

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mash the warm potatoes with a potato masher. Add butter, cream cheese, and sour cream. While mashing, add the milk/cream a little at a time until it reaches a creamy consistency.

Stir in the remaining ingredients (except toppings) and spread into a two-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle the toppings and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.

Note: With my brood, I always double the recipe. If there are any leftovers, they taste even better the next day!

🦃  Click here for a free printable PDF of the recipe!  🦃

 

Sometimes, there’s no one you can crust...

It’s Thanksgiving in Sugar Ridge, Vermont, and Leila Khoury, manager of Sappy Endings Farm, is ready to usher in the holiday season by hosting a pie-baking contest. The day is meticulously planned, from the judging panel to the maple lattes, and Leila can’t wait for the entire town to enjoy some sweet treats.

But when a neighbor drops dead from sampling a poisoned pumpkin pie, it’s not just Leila’s perfect day that’s in jeopardy―her livelihood is now at stake. And after yet another near-fatal incident, she realizes an even more terrifying truth: the killer wasn’t targeting her neighbor, but someone even closer to home! 

Purchase link: IN THE BLINK OF A PIE

Sometimes a commission check come with a price that’s too high to pay…

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 After a hectic summer, real estate agent Cindy York is ready to relax and enjoy the autumn season   with her family. She’s especially looking forward to a second honeymoon vacation with her   husband to celebrate their silver anniversary.

​

But business must come before pleasure. When Cindy sends agent Olivia Lamphere in her place to show a house and the woman turns up dead, she promises her husband to stay out of the investigation. After another agent Cindy knows is murdered, she's forced to break that promise. What is the connection between the two women and why is she receiving threatening notes as well?

Can Cindy discover who’s making the deadly deals before she winds up the next victim?

Purchase Link: KILLER COMMISSION 

Catherine is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of the Cookies & Chance, Maple Syrup, Italian Chef, and Cindy York mysteries. She wrote her first book, a highly plagiaristic version of Cinderella, when she was eight years old. Catherine lives in upstate New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and several spoiled pets. She’s written over 30 novels and has many more stories waiting to be told. 

Places to find Catherine:

Facebook Author Page - https://bit.ly/2nkm0HN   

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/catherinebrunsbooks/

Get a free ebook when you sign up for Catherine’s newsletter:  https://www.catherinebruns.net/contact

Catherine’s Cozy Readers https://www.facebook.com/groups/241834706420330/ -

 

Book Giveaway! 

Reader, which Thanksgiving side dish is a must for your table?

Comment below and include your email (yourname at yourserver dot com) for a chance to win your choice of either a signed copy of In the Blink of a Pie or my most recent release, Killer Commission. Contest ends Wednesday, November 19, 2025 and is limited to U.S. residents only.