Apple + Butternut Squash Soup // Slow Cook

For dinner last night, I decided to go easy on myself and simmer together a soup in the crock pot. I mean, is there anything better in autumn than smelling something yummy cooking all day long? And this soup has a healthy dose of spices that make it extra comforting.

You may have missed all my gushing last year, but I got a new slow cooker. I used to have one of those $10 varieties, and it worked quite well. If you're on a budget, I really recommend going with whatever you can afford because crock pot = easy dinner. My new baby? Still affordable! The Aroma 3-in-1, which is a slow cooker, rice cooker, and steamer in one convenient package.

I recommend using Granny Smith apples in this recipe. They have an extra edge that my McIntosh didn't this time around. But whatever you have should still do the trick.

APPLE + BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

What you'll need . . .

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 2 apples, cored and diced 
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Better Than Bullion*
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice (or mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk

* Don't have this stuff? Try using 2 cups of vegetable stock in place of the water, cider, and bullion. Also: That price on Amazon is horrible. I linked so you can see what it looks like. Pick it up at your local market.

Method . . .

1. Toss the butternut squash, apples, onion, garlic, cider, water, bullion, spices, salt, and pepper into your slow cooker. Mix well.
2. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Then let cool slightly and stir in the soy or almond milk. 
3. Transfer to your blender in two batches and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

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Back into the Swing

Where did we leave off? Oh, yeah. It's now my favorite month. O.C.T.O.B.E.R.

I am finally feeling better after all the headaches, earaches, and frustration. I am still making my way through all your comments re: healthcare, but it looks like I'm not alone. And for that, I am even more frustrated. I was hoping that what I experienced was an isolated incident.

The best way I can think to come back from my hiatus is with some recipes. Ten eleven (I couldn't resist adding one more) of my favorite fall recipes, specifically. These are the things I've been making the past several weeks.

Comfort food.
Pumpkin.
Apples.
Cider.

Stuffed Peppers


15-Minute Applesauce


Pumpkin Cornbread


No-Knead Pumpkin Loaf


Pumpkin Chili


Apple and Pumpkin Spice Stew


Potato Stuffed Acorn Squash


Chocolate Pumpkin Pie


Maple-Almond Cookies


Baked Apple Cider Dunkers


Apple Cider Pound Cake

If you follow Writing Chapter Three, you already know what we did this weekend. If not, you can head over there for some fun snapshots -- including some gorgeous photos I took on my first gig as a real-life photographer.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new fall recipe to add to this list. It feels good to be off the couch and back in the kitchen again!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Apple Cider Dunkers

It's fall. Well, almost. But it FEELS like it. Sign? Our favorite local cider mill opened last week. They have everything from mums to cider, of course, to cheddar cheese to doughnuts. I cannot get enough.

Behold! The cider doughnut in all its glory.

Thing is, it's not reasonable for me to eat three doughnuts a day (yeah -- that happened), every day. Not for the wallet. Not for the waistline. So, I spend some time looking through my various muffin/cake recipes, attempting to craft a similar, but baked-versus-fried treat.

And then the Cider Dunker was born.



As you'll see, the ingredients -- including sparkling water again! -- in this little guy are hardly sinful. In fact, I made them for breakfast (sans the sugar-topping, which I'll get to in a minute), and can't wait to have more tomorrow morning.

But enough about me. Let's get to it.


What you'll need . . .

• 3 tablespoons Earth Balance 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 2 tablespoons apple cider 
• 1 tablespoon flax meal + 2 tablespoons almond milk 
• 1/2 cup sparkling water 
• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• pinch salt

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spritz a mini muffin pan and set aside. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I got this awesome one that scrapes the bowl as it mixes for X-mas!), beat together the Earth Balance, olive oil, sugar, apple cider, flax meal + almond milk, and sparkling water. 
3. In another bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients and then add them into the wet. Mix until just combined. 
4. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of the batter into the mini muffin pan. (This recipe yields approx. 16 dunkers, so you won't use the entire pan.) 
5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
6. Let rest in pan for 5 minutes or so before removing.

This next part is entirely optional, but highly recommended. Well, and it's where the "dunker" part comes from. If you dip the top of the dunker into a bit of cider and roll it into some cinnamon/sugar mixture, it's divine.

Too bad we ate them all already.


And SPEAKING of eating lots of stuff, we have literally tons of squash to use up from our CSA share this week. Can't wait to share some fun recipes with you!

By the way, have you ever heard of ground cherries?


We hadn't, but they're very interesting. Sort of like cherries. Sort of like tomatoes. We didn't get enough to make much of anything, so we just ate them raw. But I'd love to make something more elaborate in the future. Suggestions?


Today on Writing Chapter Three, we posted some photos from our new evening routine. It rained too much today, so looking back at these photos is nice. I love the whole descent into fall!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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