On that note...
Happy National Hot Mulled Cider Day!
Friday night when I was planning my menu for this week I had tagged a recipe for hot mulled cider that called for store bought cider and also a recipe for cider glazed chicken. But last night around 11pm I got to thinking that it might be fun to try my hand at making my own cider. I mean, I am now the proud owner of an abundance of apples (most of which I will be turning into pie filling this week!) so why couldn't I make my own? A little research last night showed that with very little effort on my part could possibly yield some very tasty cider. I even decided to modify the recipe that I found from the stove top to my crock pot.
So bright and early at 6:30 I turned on my crock pot. By the time we took Noah to the bus this morning my house smelled incredible. It wouldn't have mattered to me at that point if it the whole thing would have been a flop, it really felt like Fall had taken over at the Gatchel's.
The cider wasn't difficult to make at all and I let Noah and Kayla taste test the un-mulled version that had been chilling in the fridge for a few hours when he got home from school. The response of "Oh man, this stuff is awesome!" reassured me it had been worth the effort.
To round off my salute to fall with our hot mulled cider tonight, we had cider glazed chicken, brown butter cashew rice, roasted garlicky butternut squash and a mini apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. Can it just stay this time of year for quite awhile? The smells, the feel, the tastes, I love Fall!
In other news, Noah says he smiled wonderfully for pictures, Mikayla was again making pictures this morning and writing letters (she's still feeling a bit under the weather tonight and proved to be a bit of a 'problem kiddo' for most of the day. I was rolling with it, but I think she was testing Grant's patience on purpose. Hopefully tomorrow will be better) and I managed to get completely caught up on everything MOPS and PTA related I think, including a quick stop by school today to make sure we're on track with the directory. Phew, what a relief!
Homemade cookies (in a form I promise you've never had before) with Mikayla and me in Kid Kitchen tomorrow after school, I get to hang out with Jen in the morning (yay!!) and it's Vegetarian Day, too. Until then...
Making the cider in my crock pot
The finished product ready to chill for awhile
Hot Mulled Cider (Not sure what its sideways...)
Fall Feast
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