The girls and I went on a leisurely walk before magically meeting back up with the boys right next to our street. The kids then played outside for the next 2 hours and it was the best.
I love when Cora decides to hang with the big kids. They always want her to join, but sometimes she's too busy lining her books up in a row or stuffing her lunchbox full of duplos.
All the big kid play wore her out and she fell asleep holding her blankie on the floor by her crib a full 2 hours before her usual nap. She slept for 4 hours, crying for cheese, and ready to party. With the weird burden of nothing on our schedule and all the daytime hours to fill, we headed to our favorite park.
I finally got my new lens in the mail, replacing the one I dropped and cracked in Jamaica (RIP Nikon 18-105mm), so I brought the camera along.
Tomorrow we head to the best pumpkin patch in the whole world. I baked pumpkin bread in anticipation. This is my mom's recipe and it is perfect.
PUMPKIN BREAD
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. water
1/2 c. raisins or pecans (optional; I dislike both and never add them)
Directions
1. Add oil to sugar, then add eggs, pumpkin, spices sifted with flour, water, and raisins.
2. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
It's dense but lightly airy, flavorful, and comes out perfectly every time. I double it and make two loaves every Sunday all of fall. It's healthy because of the pumpkin and goes great with black tea. Fall is my favorite.
And speaking of, it's time to break back out the crockpot and my dutch oven to cook all the soups and stews and braised meats. All my recipes from last year feel stale, mostly because I haven't yet revisited them in my internet browser to re-fall in love with their finished product photos, but still, I could use some new stuff. Send me links to your favorite cozy meals! (My fave from last year is here.) I'll make them all and pretend it's not still in the 90's.
Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup. So Yum! So so yum!
ReplyDeletehttp://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/chicken-tortilla-soup/
And this bourbon sausage recipe is to die for. We call it crack sausage. :)
But we use diced up kielbasa, not little smokies. Makes us feel more classy while we lick the bowl clean.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/15556/bourbon-sausage/
Yay, those both look great!
DeleteLoving the kids' pics. Landon looks so much like an older boy.
ReplyDeleteWe love Simply Scratch's Chicken Chili found here...
http://www.simplyscratch.com/2012/01/southwest-chicken-chili.html
This crockpot curry recipe is my fave. The sweet potato adds such dimension and sweetness to the sauce. I often make it with cut up boneless, skinless chicken thighs because it can cook in just 4 hours.
ReplyDeletehttp://nomnompaleo.com/post/7118904494/slow-cooker-thai-yellow-curry-with-grass-fed-beef
(Note: You can sub soy sauce for the coconut aminos if those aren't a pantry staple you have on hand.)
I'm a big soup lover in the fall. Taco soup, chicken tortilla soup, wild rice soup (I think it's your recipe I use!). But I've fallen back in love with my crockpot lately. Pulled pork, taco fillings, stews. This red beans & rice was a huge hit in our house. We added white rice, crusty bread and a side salad. Delicious. It's definitely spicy, but my kids didn't mind as much as I thought!
ReplyDeletehttp://iowagirleats.com/2012/02/21/not-so-fat-tuesday-lighter-red-beans-rice-crock-pot-recipe/
Also! Crockpot enchiladas which I got off of Pinterest and have turned out to be really a great basic recipe
ReplyDeletemy favorite crockpot recipe. Its vegetarian, but I'm sure you can add meat.
ReplyDeletehttp://allrecipes.com/recipe/14021/grandmas-slow-cooker-vegetarian-chili/
Your pumpkin bread recipe is similar to mine. To bump it up a notch, use brown sugar rather than white/granulated and replace your water with cream sherry ;)
ReplyDelete