A time to nest....

Today I realized that Autumn and the changes it brings with it are having an effect on me. As the weather is cooler in the early morning hours and in the evening, I have begun seeking out those foods that are heartier and more comforting. And, in my new, healthier mindset, I am also looking for foods that will not make me pack on the pounds over the winter months.

Today was a good example. For dinner I baked chicken and an acorn squash. If you haven't had squash, you really should try it. There are many varieties to try.  Butternut, acorn, spaghetti squash - and I'm sure many more. A butternut squash is yellow/beige in color on the outside and a beautiful burnt orange color on the inside. Spaghetti squash is yellowish and has a stringy texture. Some people like to cook it and then pull the strings out and serve it with a nice marinara sauce. They say it is a good substitute for real spaghetti. I say they're crazy. It has neither the taste nor the texture of real spaghetti and, honestly, it's my least favorite squash. Acorn squash gets it's name because it's shaped like an acorn. It's green on the outside and pale yellow on the inside. Both the acorn and butternut are simple to prepare. Cut them in half. Remove any seeds (acorn). Salt and pepper a bit. Put face down in a small amount of water in a baking pan. Bake at 370 degrees for about a half hour or until the entire squash is fork tender. Then you just flip them over on your plate, put a dollop of butter on board and eat it! You scoop the flesh from the skin, leaving that for the compost heap. Squash has all kinds of goodies in it for your body too. While my dinner was in the oven, I started a ginormous pot of home made chicken soup. I cooked it for a couple of hours so all the veg - onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, turnips, and rutabaga would all get nice and tender and soak in the delicious broth. Then I threw in a bag of kluski noodles. If you're not Polish, you may not know what those are. Kluski are a small noodle, about an inch long, that is thicker than a regular noodle so when it cooks it plumps up more like a tiny, elongated dumpling. So good! The soup is done now and I taste tested it! YUM! When it cools I'll put it in some individual containers for the freezer so I can take to work for lunches.

I have pigs trotters in the freezer right now and a bag of soup beans on the shelf. Next week, I want to make some ham and been soup. I love this time of year. I get my pots and pans and crock pot going and the house smells amazing! And we eat good! And it feels just like home!