Fall is in the air!

Jackson is wearing "old school" Auburn overalls in this picture. My cousin, Alan Thomas, wore these when he was Jackson's age, and Alan is now 16! (Fun fact, Jackson's middle name, Thomas, is for the Thomas side of our family, who are ALL major Auburn fans, by the way.)

Hooray for 60 degree weather! Our leaves are falling from our trees, the air is clear, cool, and crisp, and Fall produce are peeking their lovely heads from behind the lingering peaches and summer squash in our grocery stores. Seeing pumpkins on display at the Piggly Wiggly this morning made me smile.

So with the introduction of acorn and butternut squash in the grocery store (and on sale, even better), I decided to enter the realms of cooking squash. Hard to believe I've only ever touched summer squash. I suppose I didn't grow up eating butternut squash, so it's never really interested me before to buy it. However, having a baby, and seeing all the easy recipes for homemade baby butternut squash, I decided it's time to branch out even more than I already have since being pregnant (last Fall, I tried cooking with Swiss Chard and Kale for the first time).

I first followed this recipe to roast and then puree the butternut squash.

Jackson is checking it out:






I saved some Butternut Squash puree to make these delicious looking Whole Wheat Butternut Squash pancakes on Saturday.

I did buy one (huge!) acorn squash. Anyone have any good recipes for that? I'm still searching...

Last week, I made this yummy Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake. So easy and so good.


(Note, I probably should have taken this picture BEFORE we ate it all up with our dinner guests.)

Here's the recipe:

CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE

1 Box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C. oil
1.5 C. milk or water
1 pkg. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients but the chocolate chips with a mixer. Stir the chocolate chips in by hand. Put in greased & floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until done (test for moist crumbs with a toothpick. You don't want to overbake it and dry it out.)~See Rushton's note on her blog about the chocolate chips. I should have done that but was too impatient. Hence, the chocolate chips all sitting at the top of my bundt cake instead of throughout it.








I feel like Jackson is making a "James Bond" type face in the above picture. Maybe that's his pick-up face for girls when he's 30. (just kidding, but not really)








Andy and I just got back from a FUN wedding weekend in Washington, DC this past weekend. My camera battery, that I thought I had charged, died right when we got there, so just trust me that the bride (Meg Simone) looked stunning, and we had the best time celebrating with our friends for Matt (Kemph) and Meg's wedding! This was my first time to leave Jackson, and it was harder than I had thought it would be (imagine, all smiles and laughter at the Birmingham airport, and then when we start boarding, a Flood of Tears. I think poor Andy was too scared to walk near me as we boarded, fearful of the comments from other passengers. "Why else would this woman be crying, other than her husband following right behind her? Maybe he had something to do with it." Ha, quite comical. Glad I didn't see anyone I knew.)

Andy's sweet mom, Ya Ya, drove down from Memphis and had the best time watching Jackson. I am so glad they got that sweet time together, and I know he was in good hands (after all, she's raised 4 amazing, godly children, one of whom I'm married to!). And since I've been home, baby boy has been sleeping 12 hours straight at night. Let's hope this good streak continues.

 

Since my last post, we've spruced up the house a tad bit more.



I bought these Martha Stewart drapery rods from Home Decorator's Collection. We also ordered a rug from there for our living room, and thus far, I've been really pleased with my purchases. I plan on using them more in the future. The curtains used to be in our bedroom, and are from Restoration Hardware. My parents came over one Saturday night, and they and Andy madly hung them right before we had dinner guests over.


Excuse the darkness of this picture, as I'm having trouble with camera lighting on this overcast day. I just wanted to show what my mom does at my house while babysitting Jackson (and I've so appreciative for all her decorating!). She hung my fine china plates on the wall, and every time I come home from work, some other little decorative touch has been completed, a lamp moved around, or a living room entirely re-arranged.

One more recipe, and then I'll end this long post. I'm making this for dinner tonight, and it's really easy and delicious. (And can I get an "Amen" for whomever invented crock pot liners?! Does anyone know if they are BPA-friendly? I guess I don't really care, since they save me loads of washing and cleaning.)



CROCK POT CHICKEN (can anyone think of a better name?)

Ingredients:
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
1 envelope (0.7-ounce) Italian salad dressing mix
1 can (10 3/4-ounce size) condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry white wine or sherry
1 tub (8-ounce size) cream cheese with chives and onion (or plain cream cheese)
hot cooked angel-hair pasta
snipped fresh chives, optional

Directions:

Place chicken in a 3 1/2- or 4-quart crockpot.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the dry Italian salad dressing mix. Stir in mushroom soup, white wine, and cream cheese until combined.

Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked pasta. Sprinkle with chives, if desired.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 198 Calories; 9g Fat (42.9% calories from fat); 27g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 155mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fat.
serves 6

(Above recipe came from my mom's best friend, Jan Dickerson, who is an amazing cook).


(No, he's not really drinking from it, but he's just playing with it for now. It occupies him long enough for me to unload the dishwasher or cook dinner. It's the little things...)