Let’s Look

It’s time for this month’s Let’s Look with Shay and Erika. This month’s focus is yummy fall recipes. One of my favorites is…Pumpkin Sausage Penne Pasta…and guess where I got the recipe? YEARS ago from a Kroger coupon pack they sent me in the mail. I make this a few times a year but only in the fall…

Ingredients:

8 oz whole wheat penne (I usually use the whole box)
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 Tblsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. low sodium chicken broth
12 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a medium skillet, brown sausage and set aside.
In a skillet, over medium heat, add oil and saute shallots and garlic for 3 minutes.
Stir in chicken broth, pumpkin, cream, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat and simmer 8-10 minutes to thicken.
Stir in cooked penne, sausage, and cheese.
Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.

The four of us typically get two nights out of this meal!

I bet I’ve had this recipe card for 10 years!

Other fall recipes I love are pretty simple: pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, chili and soups!

Since I shared a recipe, it got me thinking about grocery shopping and then this memory popped up on Facebook. Feels like a lifetime ago that I often had both of the kids with me at the grocery store pushing that dang car cart while other customers looked at me and said, “Well, bless your heart!” 😂

Funny story about this picture. I would often give the kids an apple to keep them entertained while I shopped. I’m 99% sure this is the time that when Hadley went to hand me the core of her apple, I asked Hayden where his apple was…and he said, “I ate it. I ate ALL of the apple!” Core. And. ALL 😬 Those diapers were fun to change for a few days. Ugh.

I wish Kroger Click List (grocery pick up) would have been around when the kids were little. It’s a life saver now, but it would have been so nice to just pick up groceries rather than be in the store for an hour with two little ones. I’ve done grocery pick up for almost five years, and I can’t imagine going back to the old way I shopped.

A few years ago, I bumped into a friend in the store and she had a printed list of what she usually gets. I loved that idea, so I do that now and just add in what I need. I have a running list on the side of my fridge when we run out of things, but before I place my weekly Click List order, I get out my template and circle what we need for the week. I typed this out once a couple of years ago and add/delete as our needs change. To make it, I looked at a Click List order that I had placed and categorized what I bought, so making the template didn’t take me very long. Our regular items take up a couple of pages, but at least it’s all organized for when I sit down to place my order. I have extra lines in each section to write in other needs, and I cross our items we don’t need that week. Here’s one of the pages:

Grocery pickup has been a life saver. It still takes me time to plan meals and place the order, but at least I don’t have to spend as much time in the store, and if I forget something, I don’t mind running in the grocery on my way home to pick up a few things since it’s only a few minutes of my time.

Also, every other week or so, I stop in Trader Joe’s and meander around to pick up things and plan meals on the fly…and I enjoy doing that knowing I have my basics at home. Also, occasionally, I will go to Aldi’s and pick up a few items just to mix it up and get some good deals on items.

Next month’s Let’s Look is focused on entertaining ideas …odds are that I will share some of my kids’ birthday parties. I can’t believe they are almost 10!