Fun on Friday!
Matt goes in early on Fridays, so I planned a hands-off breakfast. This was about as easy as it gets – heat, toppings, eat!
Leftover Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal. LOVING this recipe!!
Topped with melty Barney Butter and Autumn Spice Granola!
A fine meal indeed.
After breakfast, I made dinner! Actually, we made most of this dinner after last night’s dinner!
Knowing I’d have my hands pretty full home alone this morning, Matt and I prepped ingredients for a crockpot soup last night when we could trade off baby holding.
Tons of squash and apples peeled and diced and in the fridge, plus apple + gouda chicken sausages that I thawed from the freezer and a can of Matt’s new green beans!! I’m excited to report that they taste just like professionally canned green beans = delicious!
I first became friends with Frog Hollow Farm at the first Foodbuzz Festival – and several thereafter. I am very sad this is the first Foodbuzz I am sitting out : ( So it warmed my heart a little when Frog Hollow sent me some pears to enjoy this fall. These Warren pears ARE the best I’ve ever had – so juicy sweet (says Gollum!) They also make beautiful dining table centerpieces : )
I went for a long walk with my friend Genevieve this morning – about an hour – and lunchtime came fast!
Pear went into lunch with some Wild Squirrel almond butter
And lots of leftovers! Hard-boiled egg, mac n cheese and Hillary’s fried rice
<3 BH&G!
Afternoon glamour shots – so juicy sweet!
We tried to take a nap together on the couch after a feeding. We lasted about 10 minutes until I felt baby hands grabbing at my face!! So cute. I also had a pumpkin ball for an afternoon snack.
It’s always fun when daddy comes home
Because our day isn’t always all smiles!
Dad knows it’s time for a feeding when M nibbles on his nose. Too bad milk can’t come out of there.
This evening we walked downtown for an old tradition – the Market Street Wine Shop Friday night tasting!
We used to go all the time but then…I got pregnant 
We tasted a few sips and bought two bottles of a delicious Rose for $5 a piece! Matt also bought the very last of the Dogfish Punkin’ IN THE CITY for our tasting tomorrow.
Back at home, dinner was a’waitin’!
Soup was dished into bowls in seconds
Apple Scrapple bread warmed in the toaster oven
The soup was quite good, but almost too sweet!! Like apple cider. So juicy sweet…
Slow Cooked Squash + Apple Soup
Ingredients
- 3 big apples
- 1 giant butternut squash or 2 medium
- 6 cups veggie broth
- 2 chicken sausages (or comparable meat/beans/protein)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1.5 cups canned green beans, stirred in at end
Everything into crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. (Stir in beans at end).
Nighty night my sweets!
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
I need to dig out our 80 year old crock pot from the garage and make some soup with it this winter. All I see on Pinterest are crock pot recipes!
I’m loving pumpkin oats with steel-cut oats. I’ve been making a batch on Sunday and pouring it into a pie plate – it sets up and I can cut it into 8 pieces that I can heat up each morning – so easy! I usually top mine with cottage cheese!
Baked pumpkin oatmeal looks delicious!
Love that M is wearing two pieces outfit already. Onesies are not so pretty.
The soup looks delicious! It must smell like fall in your house!
I really need to use my crockpot more! So convenient!
I want some of that apple scrapple bread!
Here’s a secret (that probably isn’t shocking): bars and retail alcohol stores will save a few bottles to hold on to for a fun pop up in a few weeks or for a tasting. Keep your eye out for more!
Delicious Rose for $5 each! Quite a steal! I loooooove Rose! ….isn’t it just so wonderful when dad comes home? It’s fun to share in the happiness together.
Have a wonderful weekend!!
I have bought the pumpkin…just need to find time to bake your Pumpkin Oatmeal. Squash and apple are so compliImentary…your soup sounds delish! A beautiful sunny day here…can’t wait to get out for a walk and see all the colours! Enjoy your weekend!
I am very impressed by your pre-planning for your meals. It took me 3-4 kids to figure that out.
Loving all the Fall-inspired meals here!
I always love your leftover creations, so many different tastes on one plate! I made pumpkin soup this week, and it was scrumptious;) Need to bust out the crock for tomorrow though~ its meal day Sunday Funday in Seoul for us to prep for the busy week ahead!
Your breakfast looks splendid!! Does it have a doughy texture to it? I must make this.
Yes I love the pumpkin version so much because of its doughy texture
I’ve been wanting to give baked oatmeal a try, and I love anything with pumpkin!
I love rose, I’ve been drinking a cheap and good one, La Vieille Ferme. Which rose did you like?
Tres Ojos garnacha/tempranillo from Spain
Thanks. I’ll give it a try, if I see it.
Even though it’s sweet, the soup still sounds super comforting! I checked out the Frog Hollow Farms stand when I was in San Francisco at the Ferry Building last November, thanks to your recommendation, and their pears were awesome! Sadly I don’t think we get them here in Ontario but I’d love to track some down!
Oh my goodness I love my crock pot! Last year our stove died and it took a little while for the parts to come in to repair it. I used my crock pot so much that month- it’s hands-off cooking that is so yummy!
Your soup looks great! I try to do most of my cooking on Sunday so I don’t have to do so much during the week-it’s pretty amazing! With a little planning, life can be so much easier! Your wine tasting looked like lots of fun and I loved that pic of Mazen sucking on his daddy’s nose!
I need to my crock pots to work! It’s always a great relief when dinner is done with one pot and it’s mostly hands-free.
Quick question: how hard is it to peel a butternut squash?
My go-to way to cook butternut squash is to poke it all over with a fork and roast it until soft. Then I slice it in half, deseed, and peel the skin off (like I do with sweet potatoes).
The idea of peeling one raw seems impossible!
It is annoying, but if you have a sharp peeler it’s not too bad
Perfect breakfast for a fast fix. I love dinners like that! Perfect for fall and always great to have dinner waiting for you! Enjoy your weekend Kath!
Mmm that soup sounds delicious! Perfect flavors for fall!
The squash & apple soup sounds amazing as does the Apple Scrapple bread. I am starting to try to bake more bread and boy, what I wouldn’t give for a few classes from your personal and resident bread-baker
And glad you were able to go out for some wine tasting! Much deserved!
Soup looks yummy and so does the oatmeal pumpkin bake. I was actually looking for a recipe last night….I’m going to check yours out. Love the black and white plates!
LOL!! What happened to you today?? This post is just so……..juicy sweet, full of sweets
)
I’m so glad you and Matt are still having some fun nights out! Love all your autumn-inspired meals. Will definitely be trying that soup!
Pics of Mazen: in some he looks JUST like you and others he looks JUST like Matt! So fun
This is random, and I never realized it before, but Matt has really nice teeth! Lol! That probably sounds super creepy but it’s not meant to be!
do you brown the chicken sausage first?
I didn’t, no
That soup looks incredible! (and easy enough to make vegetarian).
The soup looks great, and I love bread with apples in it! Perfect for sweet+savoury flavours!
I know I sound like a broken record but Mazen is sooo cute!
Isn’t renewing old traditions great? It always makes me wallow in a million memories and that’s just something I really like.
Silly question but what is a “scant” cup of pumpkin? Is it just a cup of cooked pumpkin or puréed?
It means “just under a cup”. The opposite of a heaping cup.
The soup sounds delicious, I could use veggie sausages. I really must try the baked oatmeal some time. I’d be set for breakfast for a week if I did that!
Hey Kath,
I have some family members who are following a paleo diet. I’m curious what your opinion, as a dietician, are on that sort of eating plan. Do you think its safe/healthy?
I think it is safe and healthy, but it seems very restrictive to me. I don’t see any reason to cut out food groups like whole grains (which are full of plant-based nutrition). If they are happy enough then I think it’s fine, but I wonder how sustainable the diet is. I love this post Amelia did on the pros and cons: http://eating-made-easy.com/2012/08/26/paleo-diet-pros-and-cons/
Thanks!
Your breakfast looks so yummy!
I made your baked pumpkin oatmeal for breakfast this morning and LOVED it! I served it with some sauteed cinnamon apples and chopped walnuts. Great recipe!!
I am just loving all of your Fall eats—you really have embraced the season! I have made a vow to myself to make that Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal the next time I have guests over. It’s happening.
Pumpkin beer is the best! If there was a shortage I would cry, haha.
The recipe looks delicious, regardless if it was a little too sweet.
I can NOT wait to try your baked pumpkin oatmeal recipe! I am off to the store today to pick up a pumpkin to roast and puree!
Sounds like such a good day. I am making the baked pumpkin oatmeal recipe today!!! Can’t wait to try it!
Kath, have you tried freezing the baked pumpkin oatmeal? I made it into 4 servings, kept two out to eat over a couple of days, and froze the other two. I haven’t used either one yet. I’m hoping it will still be good lathough I can’t see any reason it wouldn’t be. If you haven’t tried freezing it I will let you know how it turns out when I thaw the first piece.
I haven’t but I bet it would freeze perfectly
I haven’t frozen that recipe of baked oatmeal but I’ve frozen baked oatmeal in general and it’s always worked out fine as long as I make sure it is in an air tight container.
And this is unrelated to the above comment, but every time I hear apple scrapple I think of the scrapple in Pennsylvania.
I absolutely love the simplicity of crockpot meals — chop & drop! Maybe tomorow I will make a crockpot meal.
Soup looks good, but not all that different from your butternut-fruit soup: http://www.katheats.com/favorite-foods/butternut-fruit-soup
Do you just use so much more broth because of the cooking time (3.5 vs 8 hours)? And is the difference in the cook times due to the meat in this soup? I made the butternut fruit soup tonight- quite good, but I think I’ll add ginger and cloves in the future to really kick up the flavor- or add cream for the last 15 minutes to make it more like a traditional butternut soup. The yogurt was definitely a good topping.