October: A Notable Month Full of Food

Thanksgiving seemed a bit quiet this year.  No traveling, no guests, no turkey, no stuffing (I forgot the stuffing, the turkey was on purpose).  It seemed quiet but still very nice and (hopefully) memorable.  Some of the boys desired to make homemade decorations, while others opted out.  We had a short Turkey Bowl football game (it was fairly cold and windy), and lots of yummy pie.  The things I bought: pies--pumpkin, apple, and pecan, buns, pickles and olives.  The things I made: sweet potato casserole, cranberry-orange relish, and mashed potatoes and gravy.  Oh yes, I did put some chicken in the crockpot, so I guess that counts.  :-)

Cute turkeys made by Tommy and George

Ryrie's cute elephant

Owen hung up his turkey so we could see both sides

We started a new tradition of writing a thank-you note to someone on Thanksgiving

Another tradition was saying what we are thankful to Heavenly Father and Jesus for.  I liked this one a lot.

This was a funny letter Owen wrote for a school writing assignment--sounds like he's on his way to becoming a vegetarian!

This was an amazing dish--called Itty Bitty Garlic Pumpkin bites--mmmm.  I actually didn't get to making them until the day after Thanksgiving.  That's okay though, right?  ;-) http://ohsheglows.com/2010/10/21/itty-bitty-garlic-pumpkin-knots/ 

William and Ryrie became the first teenagers in our family this past week.  We watched some home videos of them as 3 month-olds (adjusted age) living in the Spanish Fork farmhouse.  My, how they've grown since then!  We all oohed and ahhed over their chubby cheeks and non-existent necks.  They enjoyed seeing their grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins on the video.  It does seem like another life, but it also is still pretty fresh in our minds.  We're so grateful for these two and the wonderful spirit they bring into our home.  They are enjoying Grade 7 and learning lots (we hope!)  They continue to be avid hockey fans and they are excited that their team (The Oilers) has won their last few games.

The two teenagers.  Amazingly, there were thirteen candles!  Total coincidence.  Or not...

The next event to happen was my Relief Society meeting.  I was "in charge" of the food.  Meaning, I had to come up with the menu, shop, and cook it all.  Slightly stressful, especially as I seemed to have a major mental block up until 3 days before the event.  Nevertheless, I pressed on, and thanks to a cute little cooking book (from Mom I think?) I was able to come up with several recipes.  The evening was a success, and although hardly any of it was healthy, it was definitely scrumptious.  :-)

Presenting:  The mini apple crisp dish.  I basically cut the apples in half and topped them with oats, spices, sugar and butter.  What could be better?  These were super easy and nice to eat (unless you don't like apple peels which some sisters didn't) and smelled divine while they were baking.  In fact, there were lots of other people at the church--cleaning, playing basketball--and they all kept saying how good it smelled.  

Two different meat and egg combos--top is sausage and potato frittatas with no flour, bottom is cheesy bacon popovers--which has some flour in it.  Yummy, greasy, and not fat free.

Fruit kabobs--one of my personal favorites.  I was worried that it seemed a little too summery for a fall event, but I felt that we needed some fresh fruit there.

This was not served on the menu, it just happens to be one of the most amazing desserts I've ever bit into.  I highly recommend it!  Look this up and also this.  Actually read Lucy's whole blog--its amazing.

This boy has the yummiest freckles in town. He won't always let you eat them, but when you get a chance to kiss these cheeks, don't pass it up!