Welcome Fall

As some of you read, I have been in denial for about a week. I am now settling in with the fact that fall snuck in a has pushed summer out of the State of Minnesota. We decided that we had better welcome fall in with a good attitude so that we can do our best to enjoy it. Want to know a secret? I actually Love fall. Its true. The colors, the treats, the soups, the blankets, that celebration of thanks and welcoming in the holidays... those things are some of my favorite of the year. If only we could do it in warmer weather, it would be a little bit easier.
You may be asking yourself... how do the anderson's welcome in the fall? Well.. I think we will do it in two phases. Phase one has been complete. We fired up the crockpot, got a good chili recipe from my sister-in-law and let the flavors combine in a heavenly way until it was time to eat. We also tried for the first time to "Simmer Spice" on the stove to bring in the smells of fall. Since I did this, I have been told that this is actually more of a Christmas thing to do.... You can tell me that all you want, but if you were to walk into my house and partake in the scent of it, you would not be able to resist it until Christmas either.

As you can see, the chili was divine. (at least Dj and I thought so)




Stay tuned for phase two of welcoming the fall.... Meanwhile, let me share our yummy recipes with you:

Chili (can be made on the stove top, or in the crockpot )
One Can of Black Beans
One Can of Chili Beans
One can of Stewed tomatoes
One cup of whole kernel corn (frozen or canned)
One pound of ground meat (optional)
Chili Powder -about 1 teas (or to taste)
1 cup of your choice of salsa (DJ picked some sort of lime salsa, and it turned out great)
Tablespoon of ground cumin (we didn't use this)
1 cup of chopped green bell pepper
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Fritos

(If cooking on stove - first brown the meat.) Combine first 9 ingredients. Mix together an cook long enough for the flavors to combine. I have never done it on the stove top. In the crockpot, I let it cook for 4-5 hours on low. I am sure it could cook longer. Then serve into bowls and top with the last 3 ingredients. Enjoy!

Simmering Spice
Place the following ingredients in a small pot.

1/2 cup apple cider

2 tsp. of cloves

2 bay leaves

4 cinnamon sticks (crushed)
 - .
1 tbs. fresh nutmeg
Allow pot to simmer on stove
. You can add apple cider to the ingredients as the old cider evaporates. 

You can also mix ingredients and place in a small crock pot for slow simmering.
**note: Cinnamon sticks are expensive. So I use one or two crushed sticks, and added ground cinnamon. And I start with more than 1/2 cup of cider because it seems to evaporate more quickly than I thought. Also, just so you know... you can turn off the stove and leave the ingredients in. Then add more cider and turn it back on the next day. (depending on how long you have been simmering it)