Minnesota Fall Days

Being from  Minnesota, a girl's gotta be tough.  We have summer days that get to 100 with humidity that doesn't compliment ANYONE'S hair, and we also have the winter days that get to below zero... even that doesn't keep us inside!  Don't get me wrong, I loooooooove summer and I love winter, too.  (Well, okay, maybe the first month of it.) But, do you want to know my absolute FAVORITE season of all??  Autumn.  *sigh*  The colors here in Minnesota are breathtakingly beautiful.  A trip up to the North Shore is well worth the drive.  Some mornings are spent driving my Sweet Girl to school with the heat on, and by afternoon we are playing outside in the warm sunshine. 
Do you ever have those kind of days where you feel like life is just "perfect?"  Let's get real, nothing is ever REALLY perfect.  But I felt like everything yesterday was just perfect in my own little world.  We took a trip to the library, baked pumpkin chocolate chip bread, made cheesy broccoli soup and THEN took a trip to our local pumpkin patch.  (Yes, I added food to my list of things that made my day perfect... I know.)
We went to Barten's Pumpkin's in New Prague and they have the cutest set up!  The weekends are filled with activities and are pretty much packed.  We chose to go during the weekday to skip the lines and enjoy time with our little family. 

Picking out natural décor to put around our home was a cinch! 

Think we got enough?? 

It was a bit chilly, so coming home and warming up with some cheesy broccoli soup felt wonderful!

I've tried many a bowl of cheesy broccoli, but I keep coming back to this recipe.  I've been making this for a good 10 years now, and while it's not the HEALTHIEST recipe you'll find, I personally think it's the tastiest!  I even add fettuccini noodles broken up into bite sized pieces to give the soup a bit more substance.  I like to eat and feel satisfied and full afterward, and I think this soup does the trick!

Here's what you need:

*4 cups of water

*4 chicken bouillon cubes 

(You can skip the water/cubes if you have 4 cups of homemade chicken stock you'd rather use)

*1 carrot, diced

*2 teas minced onion

*half a bag of frozen chopped broccoli

*1/2-3/4 cup fettuccini noodles broken into bite sized pieces

*can of evaporated milk

*8oz cheese whiz (I know... but I find it melts so nice and reheats well for leftovers!)

*1/2 teas garlic salt

*salt and pepper, to taste

Mix water, chicken bouillon & onion. Bring to a boil. Add carrot and broccoli. After veggies are tender, add noodles and cook until noodles are tender.  Reduce heat. Add milk and remaining ingredients.  Keep on low heat until cheese melts.

I serve this with crusty bread and I swear... it's comfort food at its finest.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

What is YOUR fav way to spend a fall day?