Halloween may be this week but you still have time to read this novella. A fan of all things Halloween, spooky movies, and references to spooky movies will love this quick read. Don’t miss out on this great Fall Vegetable Casserole either. It is full of hearty vegetables and cream cheese.

This fun novella is a flashback to Hayley’s life when she was still married and Hattie wrote the Food and Cocktails column for the local paper. One great element is to see how much Hayley has grown since then. She has come into herself both professionally and with good romantic choices. But that doesn’t mean a flashback story isn’t interesting!

Death by a Haunted House by Lee Hollis

Cream Cheese Fall Vegetable Casserole

from a cozy mystery:

Death by a Haunted House

by Lee Hollis

Book Outline and Tone:

Think of every spooky movie character you can name. How about Carrie, Casper, Damien and more? What if a family moved into a purportedly haunted house and all of their names were names from spooky movies? I tell you what I would do, I would stay far away. Fortunately for us as readers, Hayley and her husband Danny not only don’t stay far away, they try to interject themselves in the happenings with their new neighbors.

When Hayley stumbles across a dead body (probably her first dead body ever as this is a flashback) she wants nothing to do with the investigation. Danny is the one who is gun-ho about trying to solve the mystery and Hayley keeps trying to talk him out of it. This reversal is well done and entertaining for the faithful readers of this series.

The Best Quote:

“Man, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to move into that House of Horrors!”

Point of View:

The novel is told in third person with the reader knowing Hayley’s thoughts.

The Author: Lee Hollis

This book was written by Lee Hollis. Well sort of… Lee Hollis is the pseudonym for the real authors, a brother and sister team, Rick Copp and Holly Simason. There is more information on Goodreads. Like their protagonist Hayley Powell, Copp and Simason are from Maine. Copp moved to Hollywood and wrote for The Golden Girls, Wings, Teen Titans and a long list of impressive television and movies. Simason is a columnist in Maine and writes a cooking column. Fortunately for us readers, they decided to combine their talents and write the Lee Hollis series, currently being published by Kensington House Publishing Corporation. The Hayley Powell series has a Facebook page. The authors are active on both X and Instagram.

What is not to like?:

The novel is definitely a cozy-mystery spooky novel. I could have tolerated some extra jump scare scenarios.

Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).

Cream Cheese Fall Vegetable Casserole

Assemble the Ingredients

Grease a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.

Dice the carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips,

celery, onion, and squash

Place your milk, and all vegetables in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.

Stir in the cream cheese and mix until melted.

Now stir in your Parmesan and season with the salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

Stir the panko or bread crumbs with the melted butter and top casserole with the crumb mixture.

Bake covered in the oven for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove cover and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the topping on the casserole.

Let your casserole rest for a few minutes, then serve and enjoy! I served the delicious casserole with some rotisserie chicken and rolls.

Cream Cheese Fall Vegetable Casserole

from a cozy mystery: Death by a Haunted House by Lee Hollis

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 29

Course Casserole, Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Ingredients

3 cups milk
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 8oz package cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup seasoned panko or seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.
Place your milk, carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, celery, onion, and squash in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
Stir in the cream cheese and mix until melted.
Now stir in your Parmesan and season with the salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
Stir the panko or bread crumbs with the melted butter and top casserole with the crumb mixture.
Bake covered in the oven for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Remove cover and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the topping on the casserole.
Let your casserole rest for a few minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Keyword butternut squash, caramelized onions, carrots, casserole, celery, cream cheese, hot dish, parsnips, sweet potato

What would I do differently next time?

This dish is fantastic the way it is! That being said, you could substitute vegetables like potatoes or corn or turnips for some of the vegetables listed in the ingredients.