“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ~George Eliot
The above quote describes the way I feel about Autumn precisely. If I could live in a perfect world it would be Autumn all year long. During the time that Fall is marking the transition between summer into winter, my mind immediately takes me to the comfort of warm stews, crockpot slow cooking, crisp weather and walks in the park with crunchy leaves under my feet. It takes me to the roads that travel the little country towns outside of my city and nestling in my own imagination what life was like in my grandparents generation during this time of year. It’s about sitting at my son’s outdoor soccer games wrapped up in my blanket with my hot chocolate in one hand and cheering him on with the other. Needless to say, Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I am not sure why this season is so relevant for me to reminisce about my growing up, etc., but it really is a feel-good season for me.
As I mentioned above, a big part of my joy during this time of year is my love for cooking. With that, in this post, I wanted to share with our readers one of my favorite Autumn/Fall recipes. I hope you try it and enjoy! Feel free to swing back to me and let me know how it worked for you.
Diane’s Smoked Sausage & Cabbage Stew
Ingredients:
1 head of green cabbage
6 potatoes peeled and quartered
1 small onion
2 packages smoked sausage
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon of margarine or butter
1-1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Dice or slice sausage in quarter inch pieces and place in a pot. Cover with water and add garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer on medium heat until cooked through. Remove sausage and set to side. Keep water in the pot and set to the side. Cut up cabbage and potatoes and add to water along with margarine or butter. Place sausage back on top and cover until cabbage and potatoes are fork tender. Serves 4.
Enjoy!
You’re probably asking yourself….the link in your chain? What does she mean? Well, as the end of the year gets closer and good memories of times past seem abundant, I began to think about the link in my chain. What ties me so personally to these certain memories and why I cherish them so much. For starters, I am a big believer in “making memories” as I call it. I think it all began being raised by a single parent and not having much money to do extra-curricular activities and stuff a lot of the other children I grew up around got to do (i.e., go to Disney World, fun amusement parks, yearly vacations, etc.). However, our lives were filled with picnics on the Potomac River (which was a block from our home), beautiful car rides once every weekend where we would find a different route to take each time, and of course, imagination! We would head to the free national museums in Washington, DC which was only a short drive from our home. We didn’t have much, but we had a lot of love. My grandparents came to visit us at holidays and every Summer. That is where the link in my chain starts. I would watch both of my sets of grandparents cook. Therefore, I fell in love with cooking. My grandfather made the best breakfasts and my grandmothers, well, I needn’t say anything more. She would throw down in the kitchen! So, every weekend, I get out my link, my grandmother’s cookbook, and I look at her handwritten notes next to recipes that she liked or didn’t like, and try to prepare them just as she did. My great-grandmother even made some notes in that same cookbook! What a treasure it is to me. As, I go through my time with that cookbook, I get re-filled with lots of loving memories. I am reading a beautiful book called Miriam’s Kitchen by Elizabeth Ehrlich. This true and absolutely beautiful story did for me just what I am asking you to tell us….have you found the link in your chain? If so, we would love to hear it!
I was in love with Chinese Lettuce Wraps…until I had the pleasure of trying a Thai Spring Roll. Albeit some what similar, Thai food is one of my favorites. With that, I wanted to share with our readers a great recipe I found on my right-hand website for quick meals 
We are big on championship games in our house. With the upcoming Superbowl just around the corner, I thought I would give you a recipe that is sure to please those hungry football fans attending your home party or even one that you can take tailgating! It’s super simple and super delicious. I originally tried this recipe from my super handy Taste of Home magazine.
This recipe is so comforting and yummy! I tried it out on my son, Lamont, because he is my resident foodie and will try anything I make. I originally found this recipe in one of my favorite magazines, Simple and Delicious. I hope you enjoy this as much as we have!
This recipe came from my handy dandy Bisquick cookbook and I love it! However, when I am cooking, I always make a few changes to suit the tastes of my family, and I encourage you to add your little ways to spice things up as well. This is a great after Thanksgiving treat with leftovers. I also double the batch on this at Christmas time and I buy those disposable loaf shaped tin pans and bake them as gifts to give out on Christmas Eve to my friends and family. I let them cool and wrap them in Reynolds Colored Plastic Wrap and tie a bow around it. They make great little individual dinner gifts on a cold Christmas Eve night.
BFSO readers, do you love Autumn, Fall and Winter as much as I do?
Imagine a world where both moms AND stepmoms unapologetically loved themselves on purpose! Self-love is not selfish. It is in fact quite the opposite because you cannot be good to anyone else if you're running on empty. Remember to love yourself on purpose!
I obtained a passport in less than 3 days by using Fastport Passport!
