Fall Has Arrived!

I LOVE fall! I've loved going through the transition into a new season over the last few weeks. I still really feel like I should be in school (I still have dreams I'm missing classes and flunking) at this time of year, I guess after 17 years of going I'm still adjusting not having to go. It's been fun to watch Charlie love preschool and beg to go. The leaves have just started to change but will hopefully peak when all the visitors come at the end of the month. Football is in full swing but poor Michigan, I guess we can always watch BYU. The cider mills and apple orchards are in full swing and I love buying apples for 99 cents a pound! Halloween costumes are being planned out and will hopefully come together! Lastly, fall brings on Soup Season! My wonderful Aunt Nancy made me a cookbook when I got married of all of her favorite recipes and her Autumn Soup recipe is a favorite in our house! Here is the recipe if you need something hardy and good!
Autumn Soup

1/2 lb ground beef (sometimes I use a full pound)
1 can tomato soup
3 cups water
3 potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp A-1 sauce
Brown ground beef and onions; drain. In a large pan, add diced vegetables and cover with water. Cook until tender. Add remaining spices and sauces and hamburger. Simmer a couple of hours. (usually I just let it simmer 20 min and it still tastes delicious)

Natalie and I have had a lot of conversations about Tortilla Soup. There seems to be about a million different ways to make it! I've tried many, but this is my favorite!
It is a bit more time intensive than crock pot versions but well worth it.
Mindy's Tortilla Soup

1/2 onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
3 cans of chicken broth (4 cups)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 cooked chicken breast, shredded (I usually just boil it)
1/2 c. med picante sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili powder

Saute onion and green pepper until transparent. Add chicken broth, soup and chicken. Bring to simmer and then add picante sauce, salt pepper and chili powder. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Crunch up tortilla chips on the bottom of a bowl and pour soup on top. Top with sour cream and cheese! YUM!

Matthew has become completely obsessed with trains. I love watching him get so excited in the morning when he runs to his trains. We have magnetic ones which are great unless he is trying to ram to ends together with the same polarity, he can get so mad they won't go together he'll throw them and cry. He's starting to learn that if they won't connect together to flip one around. We have the wooden train set from IKEA and I highly recommend it. We've had it for two years and it's still in perfect condition and it's cheap compared to other wooden train sets!