Wish it was autumn...

I love autumn. I love autumn! I love the crisp cool air, the changing leaves, and I also love the change of our menu to different kinds of soups! (My husband sighs here!) So what does autumn have to do with today? I mean, after all, it felt like it was about 95 degrees outside today, and muggy!

I broke down and made soup for dinner. Yes, and when the aforementioned husband came in from mowing the lawn, sweating, he looked at me like I was crazy. But I had the ingredients!

I had been given a butternut squash by a friend, fresh from the garden. STOP! Don't leave if you don't like butternut squash. I'm not a fan of butternut squash, but I do find ways to use it where it doesn't taste like itself. That's what I did tonight.

If you've never learned how to peel and cut a butternut squash, please check out the great step by step instructions at Simply Recipes! It is definitely something you need to learn before you take the first leap.

Southwest Butternut Chicken Soup

1.5 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced in 1" cubes
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 32-oz box low sodium chicken broth
1 4.5-oz can diced green chiles
3 small corn tortillas, broken into small pieces
1 1/2 cups chopped or pulled chicken breast
1/2 cup half and half

In a dutch oven, warm oil on medium high heat. Saute onions and garlic for about 3 minutes until tender. Add the squash, and seasonings and warm for another 1 minute, stirring. Pour in the broth and chiles. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add tortilla pieces; wait for a minute while they soak up liquid. Using a potato masher, mash the contents of the dutch oven to the consistency you want. If you prefer, cool 20 minutes and blend in a blender for a soft, smooth texture. When you have the consistency you prefer, add the chicken and half and half. Stir until blended, then warm to the desired serving temperature in the dutch oven.

This was a winner with my family, despite the fact that we're in the heat of August. Also, it wasn't too spicy, but enough to cover the butternut flavor! What is your favorite thing about autumn?

In Remembrance...

This week our friends, Jeremy and Lindsay, lost their 4 month old son, Ayden Brooks Jones. You can read Lindsay's version of what happened, as well as get a glimpse of how wonderful, happy and adorable Ayden was while he was here in this world.

Our church had a celebration of life on Thursday. Lauren did an amazing job of photographing it, and you can see some of those images here. It was awesome to see the football players that Jeremy coached last year, as well as his new team this year. Standing room only with about 550 people in our church, love poured out for the family. A wonderful slideshow was on powerpoint during the service. It was certainly an emotional time for everyone. Jeremy and Lindsay did the eulogy, which was so amazing. It was difficult, but they did it.
I tried several times during the week to work on a card, but in the emotion of it, had too hard of a time. In the end, I was able to come up with this card. I know that they will find peace from the Lord, with time. I'm sure they will always have a special place in their heart for Ayden. And they will one day be with Ayden again, when they too go to see Jesus. It will be such a happy reunion, and I praise God for that!

Here is the inside of the card. Please pray for the Jones family, they have a long journey of healing ahead of them.

Take time to hug your family a few extra times this week.

Bowl of cherries

I often like to buy cherries in bulk. They are in season right now, so it's the perfect time to stock up the freezer. Cherries are great in place of ice for smoothies. You could also try out your own homemade cherry pie, use them as garnish on a summer drink, serve them over ice cream, or just have a cup of cherries with a handful of almonds for a healthy snack.

In order to freeze cherries, you will need to pit them, rinse clean, pat dry and lay out on a parchment covered pan so that they aren't touching. Place in the freezer until just frozen, then transfer to a freezer safe baggie. Very similar to freezing strawberries!

Many people do not know about the cherry pitter. It's so easy to use. I have the OXO Good Grips cherry/olive pitter, which has a small splash guard. Simply pull off the stem, place the cherry upright in the pitter, and push the pit out into a garbage bowl. Yes, it's a bit time consuming when you need a bunch, but fresh ripe cherries are amazingly tasty. If you plan to keep them in the fridge for more than a day or so, save the pitting until closer to needing them. Once cherries are pitted and washed, they rot faster, as is the case with most fruits.

Cherries also have many amazing health benefits! They contain high levels of antioxidants and many vitamins. My neighbor friend recently shared about his battle with gout, and after many years of searching for relief, heard from a friend that cherries helped their gout. So my neighbor friend tried it. He started eating cherries daily for a week, and said the severe pain and swelling/fluid on his knee disappeared. He says he's been eating cherries daily for the better part of the last 3 years!!! And if he misses a day, he can tell by the reaction in his knee! That's amazing to me!

So add some variety to your fruit selection next time you go to the store, buy some fresh cherries!