Fall Things

This year, I am really motivated to celebrate Fall.  I think it is a combination of the fact that I was tired of summer's heat & humidity, it's Rory's favorite time of year, I love pumpkins, and I enjoy having a mantel to decorate.  As noted earlier, apple picking was a great Fall activity and I am constantly reminded by it because we still have about 15 apples to eat/bake with…oy vey.

I really wanted to print a "happy fall" banner that my friend showed me on Pinterest, but we are running low on ink, so I decided Rory's work documents are probably a little more important.  Instead, I grabbed a square of fabric I had left over from the wreath I made last year, folded it, and cut a bunch of triangles.   I strung it through twine and created a quick and easy banner.  I had a mason jar of flowers left over from D's party and a mum a friend gave us that I wanted to display in an area that Deaglan couldn't reach.  The flowers are nice and dried out  because I kill all plants…but at least with mums it's difficult to see that they're crispy.

Speaking of killing plants.  A few years ago, I purchased these mugs from Anthropologie.  I got the idea from a magazine where the mugs were filled with adorable succulents.  Well, that failed miserably when I tried.  My lovely husband even scrambled the mugs and added the letter "N" to spell "WRONG."  Ouch.  The mugs have just been sitting around so I finally put them to use with more flowers left over from D's part.

On Pinterest, I found some recipes awhile ago for an Apple Pie Smoothie & Pumpkin Smoothie.  I've been waiting patiently for October 1st to roll around so I could mentally prepare myself for such deliciousness.  The apple smoothie was really good but I recommend using a frozen banana.  I ended up putting the smoothie in the freezer for a bit to add a chill to it because the warmth made me want to gag.

For the pumpkin smoothie, I read a bunch of different recipes and then adapted my own.  I tried one with greek yogurt which added a yucky bitterness to it.  Another called for some ginger powder but I didn't care for that flavor either.  

For this smoothie, I added: (honestly, I didn't measure but this is what I think it was…)

About 1 cup of pureed pumpkin

3/4 cup of almond milk

1 frozen banana

1/2 tsp of cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg

splash of vanilla extract 

2 tbsp flaxseed

Hm, someone else is a fan of these smoothies! I have to make them when D is napping or else he fusses until I give him some.

The first apple recipe I made this season was Apple Cheesecake Bars.  Sooo good and easy to make!  I cut them into circles with biscuit cutters to give out as gifts because they fit better into clear, plastic gift bags compared to squares. 

I also made Deaglan applesauce in the crockpot.  Once again, I looked at a few recipes and then just threw my own stuff together. I didn't want to add sugar so I used peach puree & agave.  The final product looked pretty gross but it tasted good!  I added it to pork chops, served it to D as apple sauce, or put it on top of other things he ate to give moisture and sweetness.  I'd say it was in the slow cooker for about 5 hours or so on high.

8 apples (mixed variety)
1/2 lemon squeezed and a strip of peel
cinnamin stick
1 cup of peach puree (the "stuff" my neighbor made that we honestly don't know what's in it)
drizzle of agave

I've never made apple pie.  It is Rory's favorite so I am not sure how I've gone ten years without making it.  I made this pie crust which I liked because it makes three crusts that you store in the freezer. I tried being cute and using an apple cookie cutter to make a design on top.  The top crust was larger than the bottom so I then decided to just smash it all together and not make it look cute.  Lattice shmattice. 

Ok, last recipe!  I love potato soup.  It is cheap, easy, and hearty.  Just like most soups, I love that you can play around with recipes because you can't hurt the soup.  If you add good things, it has to taste good!

I tried writing down what I did afterwards, so the measurements aren't exact.

Jalapeño Potato Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
5 or so potatoes (russet)
1/4 cup half n half…plus a little more
1/2 red onion
2 tbsp butter
4 cups broth
crushed jalapeño
2-3 pieces left over bacon
old bay, garlic powder & pepper
2ish cups frozen corn

Saute cut onion in butter for a few minutes. Then add garlic powder and jalapeños for another minute.  Add the bacon strips to add flavor to the butter for about a minute then take the bacon out, put aside, and cut into pieces.  Stir in a tbsp or so of flour to coat the jalapeños & onion.  Add the cut potatoes and broth.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender (stab with a fork until soft).  Take off the heat.  I then used an immersion blender to smooth the potatoes but I have also just used a hand masher in the past.  Add half n half, corn, and bacon and return to the heat.  Then I added old bay and pepper to taste.  Definitely heavy on the old bay…yum!

The last thing I love about Fall is going on walks.  It is cold, crisp and smells like leaves!  Love the then & now of Deaglan!