No More Denying It, Fall's Here.

At the farm stand. Sadie-sized gourds and pumpkins.

For reasons unknown to me, I've been hanging on to our sun soaked, beach filled summer with all my might, when usually, I am running towards fall full speed. But...... after our awesome morning going apple and raspberry picking at the local farm, I'll admit, fall has officially won me over. Now all I can think of is every pumpkin food imaginable, apple desserts, sweaters and foliage. I mentioned before how I've had a complete, total, and utter lack of cooking anything worth eating for months. Part of it is the hot summer and part of it was, I'm not sure..... laziness?! But I've missed it. And maybe, just maybe, the cooking bug may be back. In part, due to the wonderfully cooler weather, and in part to having some kick ass inspiration. That would be Pioneer Woman. If you need new ideas in the dinner department, check her out. Or just check her out to look at her food photos and read her hilarious posts. This site is a gem and one of the main reasons I'm itching to get back in the kitchen and try new recipes.

Our official taste testers! Two thumbs up, from Amelia and Sadie.

So, getting back to apple picking. I knew I would waste most of what we picked if I didn't find an apple recipe. And on PW's site, I found the ultra easy (so easy, I wasn't sure if it would taste good. I was wrong.) Apple Tart. I think it has 5 ingredients in it. And do you want to know the BEST part? You don't need to peel the apples! WOOT! It's made with puff pastry, so no struggles with any dough. Need I say more? Try it! I sprinkled ours with confectioner's sugar and served with vanilla ice cream. And I do believe it'd taste divine with a morning cup of coffee.

Fresh out of the oven. Yes, I was going for the "rustic" look.

This was John's plate, snatched from just as he was about to eat it. "WAIT! I need to photograph it first!"

The dessert was so easy, I even got a chance to make a real dinner, too. (Notice I made dessert first, in case there wasn't time to make it after I made dinner. I've got my priorities straight.) Yup, another PW recipe, that had been recommended to me by two friends. (Awesome rec, Laurie!) If you love the flavors of lemon and basil, you must try this. It's called Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta. Also pretty easy to make. Especially if you do what I did, and go to your local market and buy THEIR homemade grilled chicken. :) Seriously, though, I cannot make grilled chicken close to as good as this place. It's the rub they use or something. Whatever it is, it's so good, and totally worth buying it, as opposed to making it, to save some much needed time. And hey, support local businesses, right?! Anyways, it really was a delicious dish, one I would eagerly pass on to anyone. The lemon/basil/parmesan combo is really out of this world.

So good. Looking forward to leftovers later!

So, onward to fall! Finally looking forward to it!