A Fall Menu

I went and did a very bloggy thing and took pictures of some food I made, so I could show y'all. Because that's what good bloggers do, right? :) Let me preface what I think are pretty little pictures with this disclaimer: I don't generally do a great job of having meals ready for my family. I mean, yes, we eat dinner, but it's often very thrown together, very last-minute. I spend my time doing a lot of other things before I take the time to plan nutritious and tasty meals, and honestly, this aspect of caring for my family should be a greater priority than I tend to make it. Also, given Wade's very limited diet, I am usually spending much of my "meal energy" thinking and planning what I can give him to eat. {As a side note, and a sort of update on Wade's allergies--there are currently 19 foods that he cannot eat. Yes, 19. We are hopeful that this will not always be the case, but nonetheless this is where we are right now. This topic deserves a whole other post...} All that to say, I was particularly proud of this meal because a component of it not only met Wade's dietary requirements, but it was also something Philip and I would choose to eat! So without further adieu, please enjoy these photos of our cozy little autumn meal.

Butternut Squash Soup, Probably My New Favorite Salad

Let me say this about the soup: It was good. And quite frankly, I was pretty darn proud of myself for making it from scratch! I think you need about 1/2 as much salt as the recipe calls for (and I am typically always adding more salt!), and a 1/4 to 1/2 as much pepper. This is not a particularly sweet butternut squash soup, and I do tend to like that kind, but this one is still good.

As for the salad...oh, the salad! It is so very very good! If you follow the link above and scroll down you'll come to the recipe off of which I based mine. I added the apple and craisins cause I thought they seemed like good fall additions. And I think I was right. I do believe that the dressing absolutely makes this salad--it is DIVINE! If you don't already want to click the link, let me just say that it involves maple syrup, and it is the absolute perfect finishing touch to this salad.

You want another shot of the salad you say? I just so happened to take one :)

And of course I didn't want the soup to be left out, so here's a solo soup shot:

In closing, let me change the subject entirely and remind all of you (because who am I kidding, this is not on your mind 24/7 like it is mine!) kind readers that our sweet little girl is due to arrive in less than four weeks! I truly, truly cannot believe it. I think I am in a bit of shock over what is about to happen in our family. When I get over myself and my neurotic, anxious stress surrounding getting ready for her arrival, I am so excited that we are about to meet her! But I still hope she gives us several more weeks before she decides to introduce herself :) There are bedroom makeovers that are far from done and other equally hugely important tasks, doesn't she know that?! :) When I am reunited with our main camera, I will share pictures of said bedroom and maybe a belly picture or two as well!