October

The month of October has been as full as all the rest. The closer we get to Winter the more quickly they seem to be passing. Our family spent a couple of days at Grandpa and Nana's cabin in Northern Wisconsin at the beginning of the month. The colors were absolutely spectalar. The boys enjoyed spending time with Grandpa, they played outside, and picked apples. We returned home and had a great visit with a bunch of our family who live in Montana. It was wonderful to have a long weekend to spend so much time playing and visiting.

Quentin's class had a field trip to a local apple orchard a week ago. We had a good coating of snow and slush for the trip. The kids had a blast. Quentin picked apples, threw snowballs and picked a pumpkin out of a field of snow coated pumpkins. I was glad his snow gear from the year before still fit him that morning!

Our other great adventures this month have focused around the kids sports and lessons. Quentin has been playing Flag Football at the YMCA one night a week. He enjoys learning the about the game and has announced that the Vikings are his favorite team. He even watched part of a game with his brother and Dad this afternoon. Lars has been taking swimming lessons. He is a little fish, much like his brother. Lars is going underwater and kicking his little legs to retrieve brightly colored rings, and starting to enjoy floating. Quentin is amazing, he loves swimming the length of the pool. Having the blessing of watching them grow and being able to provide them with these experiences is amazing.

We finished up in the garden for the winter this past weekend. The plants are out, leaves mulched in along with compost and hoses are packed away for the winter. Quentin and Lars love digging in the garden boxes this time of year. They are able to dig and dig without anyone telling them to be careful for the vegetables. The boxes are essentially giant sandboxes, but with garden soil instead of sand. The worms never seem to get away quickly enough.

We've been using the CrockPot often to keep a meal ready and waiting with all the swimming, football and outdoor playtime this fall. One of our favorites, the kids even like the vegetables uses chicken.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Makes: 6 servings Prep: 15 minutes Slow Cook: 3-1/2 hours on HIGH or 5 hours on LOW
Ingredients
1 package chicken pieces (about 4-1/2 pounds), skin removed, trimmed of excess fat
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cups canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place flour on a plate. Coat chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 12 minutes or until browned, turning halfway.
2. Remove chicken from skillet and place in slow cooker bowl. Place mushrooms in skillet; cook over medium-high heat for 6 minutes.
3. Place mushrooms in slow cooker, and add green pepper, onion, carrot, tomatoes, wine and Italian seasoning. Cook on HIGH for 31/2 hours or LOW for 5 hours. Stir in basil, pepper and salt and serve immediately.