I Love...Fall!!!

(Caramel Apple Muffins)

Can I just say that I love when Fall finally comes around?? I remember my mom just raving over Fall when I was a kid. At the time, I didn't really get her great enthusiasm over it. I would just see her raking leaves for like 3 hours a day and think she was crazy!! But now I have really come to love it. Probably because Fall doesn't mean school, but for me it means Fall baking, cool, Chicago days, Fall festivals, a more solid schedule after the carefree days of summer, getting closer to all the holidays, Fall baking, and well, Fall baking. Did I mention Fall baking?
Every year since I was a kid, I have fond memories of going apple picking right after school started. When we were in Christian school in Highschool, I remember going right from school in our skirts to the apple orchard with my grandma, and trying to climb trees and pick apples in a skirt. I have carried on this tradition (not picking apples in skirts, of just picking apples!!) with my own family, and we have really enjoyed going out to Royal Oak Farm and picking apples. Of course now, picking apples means that I have a lot of baking to do!! And that's fine with me!!
This year, Tad didn't want our apples to run out too quickly, so we picked 2 bushels. If you don't know how much that is, it's a stinking lot!!!!! I still have apples to go through, and I have already made applesauce, apple butter, caramel apple muffins, apple-braised chicken, apple-pear crisp, apple dip, apple bread and cinnamon-apple couscous!! Phew!! That was tiring just typing all that!!

(Pear-Apple Crisp)

Another recipe that I will post in the future is for Pumpkin Gingerbread. It is divine!!! I found this recipe a few years back and make it several times each season!! It is probably the best bread recipe I have ever made!! Pumpkin is a whole other story as well!! By the end of the season Tad is about done with pumpkin until the next year!! I love making pumpkin everything!!! I hope to post some of my yummy pumpkin recipes from this year!! And don't even get me started on Pumpkin Spice coffee from Gloria Jeans, or the Pumpkin Spice latte at Starbucks!!
Also coming up is the Fall Festival at Moody church, a Fall Festival with our friend, Jess, when she comes to visit, our Chicago Park District programs for Maddy (soccer, art, and music), AWANA Cubbies, small groups at church, Mom to Mom at Moody church, and we just started preschool at home!! We have a really fun curriculum and are having a lot of fun!!
This year, Chicago got a blast of cool weather pretty early. It made me eager for Fall pretty fast, and got me cooking with my favorite fall flavors!! Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, here I come!!
So, for all you Fall fans out there (Mom!!), cheers!! (with our warm apple cider, of course!!)
FYI: My love of Fall does not come from a dying, crazy, all-out, obsessive passion for football. Hm Hmm. You know who you are.