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    It is raining in Phoenix!  It is always wonderful when that happens.  
     And, first of all, let me apologize for jumping the gun last week and calling it Fall when it really is the Autumnal Equinox today!  Oops. I guess I was overly anxious.  On the other hand, I got started on so many Fall things early!  One of them being that delicious Peach Pie you see pictured above. Now that it is raining and the weather is cooling down, it is definitely the Pie Baking time of year! 

    Now, you can peruse through our pie baking section of the blog and find a nice amount of delicious pie recipes to get you started.  But, I was just looking through our Pie e-book,For the Love of Pie, and feeling just a little bit proud of ourselves for all of the really good info and recipes that are in that book.  If you are a beginning pie baker, you should really get it.  If you are a seasoned baker, you should really get it, too.  It contains the classic recipes that you will want to make for the holidays, plus some vegan recipes and some delicious specialty recipes that we made up ourselves.  Click here to order it for yourself! 

    OH! And before I forget to tell you, we are offering a special deal on the Pie book to celebrate Fall!  So, from today until the end of September, (That is September 30th, 2019), We are offering the book for 50% off!  

That's right! Just click here and then use code FALLWINKS when you check out to get 50% off of For the Love of Pie! 

      A rainy day is the best day for pie! If it is already getting cold in your part of the world, baking a pie sure helps to warm up the house.  In more ways than one!  Happy Baking! 
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What kind of rolling pin do you favor? Inquiring bakers want to know. 

​Don't you just love a pretty pie dish?

    My DIL, Jessica, made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies at her house the other day and my son was so happy with them that he told her that she should give me the recipe for the blog! They are the perfect cookie to bake with little kids because they only take 3 ingredients and those little hands can get involved without too much mess! Not only that, they have the Fall vibe that we are looking for this time of year and they taste great! So, my granddaughter and I got busy and made some for ourselves. 

    Just mix the ingredients together and scoop them out with a cookie scoop.  My first batch looked like this: 

    They tasted good, but gooey.  I decided on the next pan I would try pushing them down with a fork dipped in sugar, like you do for peanut butter cookies. 

,    When you scoop them out, put them on parchment paper and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. If you leave them as round lumps, bake them longer, as mentioned above.

    For Friday Fun Day, I thought I would design a printable recipe for these easy Fall cookies.  That way you can... A.  Give them as gifts and then let the person you give them to in on the "secret" and simple recipe.  Or, B.  Just give them the ingredients and the recipe so that they can have some fun with their own kids themselves.  Or C. Just print the cute recipe for yourself and put it in your own collection, like the Bloggelicious Cookbook Organizer that we sell in our Etsy shop. Actually, you can do all 3 things because there are 3 recipe cards on this PDF! 

    By the way, have you noticed the adorable truck carrying pumpkins cookie jar?  How about the beautiful black buffalo plaid tablecloth?  Both available at Walmart for the Fall! I love them! You may have to go into the store to find the one in these photos, but here is the closest one  I could find online. It is the perfect place to hold Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Order your copies of these perfect for Fall books by clicking the pictures below today! 

This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!

    As our family gets larger and larger, there are more and more dietary needs to think about when we have big family meals.  This vegan casserole is an example of me trying to make something hearty and filling for people who aren't eating animal products!  Yup, the "chicken" and the "cheese" are both vegan products! Maddy let me know that Daiya has changed their recipe for vegan cheese and it tastes much better than it did previously.  
     The problem is that I have no idea what to call it.  The Vegan Chicken, Potato, Mushroom title is just so long!  But, I couldn't think of anything shorter yet descriptive, so I've just shortened it to VCPM. If you can think of a better name for this casserole, let me know in the comments.  

    I am usually concerned that vegan dishes are mainly salads and not very satisfying.  But, this casserole, with the mushrooms and potatoes, even if it didn't have chicken strips, is very satisfying. I am not a big fan of mushrooms, but others in my family are and I know that mushrooms have a lot of health benefits. Mushrooms have many important nutrients such as B vitamins, selemium, potassium, copper and vitamin D.  They are a natural way to try to reduce cholesterol.  Mushrooms can make a very good meat replacement in recipes from burgers (portobello)  to casseroles (like these white mushrooms). Of course, the potatoes in this recipe really help to fill out the casserole. 
​    As vegan products start to become more diverse and taste better, anyone can opt for a healthier recipe from time to time! 
     So, if you are vegan or if you are just cutting back on your meat consumption, I hope you will give this casserole a try and enjoy it! 
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VCPM* Casserole (*vegan, Chicken, Potato, Mushroom)

You can find other vegan recipes here! Here are a few favorites below! 

This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!

Today for What to Read Wednesday I want to suggest a book that has been out a few years already and had a movie made from it that won Academy Awards: Room by Emma Donoghue.

Room is one of those books that you're not sure of at first. It's told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy which bothers some people who read it. But once you get into the story it's easy to get past that. 

The story is about a boy, Jack, and his Ma who are trapped in an eleven ft square room. I don't want to give too much away because I feel the book is better that way. But I will say this book is very thought provoking and a testament to the bond between mother and child. The book deals with heavy topics, and a lot of them including trauma, rape, suicide, and family struggles, but because it comes from Jack's perspective you don't put the book down feeling depressed and hollow. My final feeling when finishing the book was hope. And I think that's one of the reasons I loved it.

This isn't a book I would recommend for young children, despite it being told from the perspective of a 5 year old, but older teens and adults could probably handle the themes of the book. 

This is another book that I listened to on my phone. They had different voice actors for characters and I think that really helped to keep me engaged. I love listening to books because it helps me to stay up on my reading and taking care  of my home. If you're busy and on the go like me, listening to books is a great way to get extra reading in! I have been using Audible and I love it. You can try it out here.

If you've seen the movie before, I would still recommend the book. I too watched the movie before reading the book, and I still feel the book is different enough that it is worth your time. (Although I do think the movie did a great job staying true to the story). The movie is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video too. If you don't have Prime, what are you waiting for?

So have you read Room? Will you be picking it up and trying it out? I promise you won't regret it. I loved it and all though it deals with heavy subjects it's really thought provoking and a beautiful book. Let us know what you think in the comments below.