Predictable

I had plans for the weekend. Big, productive plans that would have ended with piles of garbage at our curb and bags of donations going anywhere but here. But then, Alexis went and ruined the plan. She had an audition for an extra dance thing Friday night and OF COURSE she made the cut so ... blurgh.

She was no longer a part of my weekend plans because she had like 10 hours of choreography. Yay for her? I guess?

About 40% of the mess that needs to make it out of this house is squarely owned by that kid, so there was no way I was doing it all without her.

Enter Mila.

The other 60% of what needs to go away is hers, but she's basically the opposite of helpful when it comes to purging, so I didn't even bother to try. Instead, we started our great tour of pumpkin patches. We should try to go to as many as possible in the next two weeks, right? RIGHT.

Soergel's was first.

I give it a B-, for what it's worth. It gets the job done, but it's not as good as a few others that we've gone to other years. But, apple picking! There's apple picking!

If Mila could have a future that involves apple picking, she would take it in a heartbeat. She's starting to learn about the differences between apple varieties, which means she would like all of the Fuji apples, please. How that's her favorite, I don't know, but she's very certain. Gala are also allowed to enter the chat. Granny Smith are only acceptable if caramel is involved, and really Mila has given this a lot of thought.

It's a good thing Fuji are what were ready at Soergel's. Or maybe not because WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE TO PICK YOUR OWN APPLES?

I need someone to explain to me what it costs A LOT extra to let my kid run up and down some tree aisles and grab what she wants. The ones that are already picked and checked for quality sit on a shelf for about half the price. Craziness!

And Mila doesn't care, which is how I have way more apples than necessary in the house right now.

So, are we going to take bets on whether or not Mila actually eats the dozens of apples she picked? Because I'm betting she won't.

Penne Pasta with Gouda Cheese Sauce

Alfredo Sauce.

That's it. That's the sentence.

Wait.

I take that back.

Gouda Cheese Sauce. Now THAT is the sentence.

It's even more of a complete sentence when gouda is covering pasta, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and chicken. Well, in this case it's fake chicken, but you do with that what you will.

Penne Pasta with Gouda Cheese Sauce

1 box penne pasta, cooked according to box instructions
1 1/2 cups grilled chicken strips (I use Beyond brand)
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers, drained
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups shredded Gouda cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the pasta however the box tells you to prepare the pasta.

2. In a large skillet, prepare the chicken. Meat eaters do your thing however you like. Non-meat eaters, I suggest a few tablespoons of olive oil in the pan, the fake chicken, medium heat, and flipping occasionally until your fake chicken starts to brown.

3. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts. Reduce the heat to low and get started on your gouda sauce while that stays warm.

4. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the corn starch. For the record, you can use flour instead. I prefer corn starch because I prefer a thicker sauce.

5. Whisk in the heavy cream. Again, you can substitute here and use milk instead. I prefer the thicker sauce, which cream delivers really well.

6. Once in the cream is heated to a slow boil, whisk in the cheese. Once the cheese melts, you should have a nice thick sauce.

7. Pour the sauce and pasta into the large skillet that's been holding your chicken.

8. You're done! This looks harder than it is, so feel free to accept everyone's compliments when they think you worked a ton to make this meal happen.

Fall Things