Fall at the Gardens

I've shared our visits to Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park several times.  Our daughter and SIL have given us a season pass for a few years, so we are able to enjoy frequent visits there.

We always try to get there in the Fall because they decorate it so beautifully. I can't even wrap my head around how many pumpkins and mums they have all over the gardens.

Here's a few photos of how beautiful it looked this year.

This sculpture is at the entrance.  It's one I enjoy, because you can see different silhouettes depending on the angle you are looking at it from.

A few pictures of the towers full of pumpkins that are scattered all through the park. They make good use of mums, kale and gourds too.

This is a sculpture of a weaver spider, which is always there, but seems quite fitting this time of year.

These pumpkins were huge!

Do you see the heron out there?

It was a perfect weather day; sunshine, temps in the high 60's, and a lovely place to enjoy the Autumn beauty God gave us.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

Here's another good treat, perfect for Fall and so easy to make.  It only takes a few ingredients to put together and it is yummy!

Apple Pie Cheesecake Puffs

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and at room temperature
1 can apple pie filling
1 container whipped cream cheese - cinnamon flavor if available (If not available, stir cinnamon into regular whipped cream cheese to taste

cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray non-stick spray into 9 wells of a cupcake tin.  Lay one sheet of puff pastry over those 9 wells.  Use another tin and place this one on top of the other one with the pastry in it.  Press down so the second tin fits into the first one, creating wells in the pastry. Remove second tin, then cut across the muffin pan in squares to separate each piece of pastry.

Take a knife and cut the apples in the can of pie filling so the pieces are smaller.  Put about 1 tablespoon of filling in each well of the puff pastry.
Place about 1 tablespoon of the whipped cream cheese over the pie filling.

Take the second sheet of puff pastry and lay over the filled squares. Once again, cut across the muffin pans to separate the pastry into 9 squares.  Press each square around the pastry well, sealing to dough that is already there to the best of your ability.

Brush top of dough with water, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned, then remove and serve.