Happy Fall Y'all!

Happy fall y'all!

There's nothing like a little cold snap to give me a big attitude adjustment. I LOVE cool weather (I don't care for cold weather and hot weather, but warm and cool make me happy!).

I finally packed up all the shells and beach rocks and signs of summer around my house and pulled out my Halloween decorations. I'm not kidding when I tell you I have eight big orange and black tubs full of all things Halloween.

But this year, I'm dialing it down several notches. I'm drawn to vintage-looking decorations so most of the other stuff will go back in the attic. Plus, I'm not doing our "Great Pumpkin Massacre" pumpkin carving party this year, so much of what I use to decorate in the backyard for that will not be needed. We'll do the party next year, bigger and better than ever!

So here's what I've put out for the season:

I also tuck old Halloween photos away in those tubs, and this is one of my favorites:

Nicole was in the kindergarten, and I was pregnant with Joseph. Larry was a trooper! We trick-or-treated in my parents' neighborhood (Audubon Point) and had enough candy to last a year. Being frugal, I put aside assorted candies to fill Nicole's stocking at Christmas!

One tradition that's been long-standing in our household is making a big pot of chili on Halloween and opening up our doors to friends and family. It's a serve-yourself-off-the-stove affair to anyone who wants to stop in. I like to take mine out to the front porch where I can sit and hand out candy to neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

I don't have a standard chili recipe, although it always turns out pretty good. For years I used Carroll Shelby's chili kits, two per batch, and I double everything, using one pound of ground beef and one pound of Jimmy Dean bulk sausage.  (There's a real Carroll Shelby--a race car driver who developed his chili kits on the side. Here's what Wikipaedia has to say about him.)

This year, things are going to be different. I have made a personal decision to eliminate as much processed foods as possible from my diet, and to eat as organically as possible. So this year's chili will include a pound of grassfed ground beef from Livingston Springs Farm from right here in Madison County, and perhaps some bison, which you can buy in the freezer section of Kroger and Fresh Market. My only concession will be regular Fritos, which I LOVE crumbling on the top of my chili, along with some grated cheddar cheese. (I grate my own cheese...the grated cheese that comes in a bag has ALOT more in it besides what should be in cheese...I'm just sayin'...).

I am going to use the chili recipe from one of my favorite blogs, "the kitchn."  But wouldn't you know it...Paula Deen will be at Lemuria today at 5pm, signing copies of her new Southern Cooking Bible.

You just know that if she has a chili recipe in there, it's gonna be goooooooood....and probably not nearly as healthy as the recipe I linked to above.

So, what are you doing this Halloween? Wanna join me on the front porch for some chili? If so, bring a bag of candy for the little ones and the beverage of your choice.

BOO!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan