​**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.    ​​​​

     Hurray Fall!  The time of year when there are things baking and leaves falling and lots of cool looking veggies in the stores and backyard campfires and eating chili and cornbread! 
      Wait!  Let's stop right there with the cornbread part.  I have not really been a big fan of cornbread throughout my life.  It is often dry and crumbly, which I can deal with in chili but not in any other way. Or, it has jalapenos mixed in it, which makes it too spicy for my taste.  Then, for awhile I made the cakemix kind of cornbread, which made it more moist, and sweet, but let's face it, I was eating cake with cornmeal in it.  So, nothing really satisfied me when it came to cornbread.  Now, fast forward to this year and our annual church Halloween party and chili cook-off.  I signed up to bring cornbread.   Don't ask me why.  It had become a challenge to me, I guess.  I started thinking and thinking about what I could do to make a really good cornbread.  Then, I realized that in my refrigerator I had some leftover winter squash begging to be used.  It was from the turban squash I had used in this recipe.  I wondered to myself if that squash would work in my cornbread?  Oh My Goodness!  I have created the best cornbread ever!

     First of all, the turban squash has a very mild flavor, so the taste is very subtle in the cornbread.  But, it added such moistness and the bread came out fluffy and amazing to eat with chili.  As a side bit, it can't hurt to sneak a little vegetable into your cornbread! 
     If you don't have some puree already ready to be used in your recipe, I suggest baking your squash for about an hour or so at 350 degrees, then cutting it open, scooping out the seeds and pureeing the flesh.  It is super easy to do. (It is especially nice to do on a rainy day because it really makes you feel like you are doing an autumnal thing.)  You don't have to use just turban squash.  Butternut, acorn or even pumpkin should do the trick.  The color and flavor may vary slightly though.

Winter Squash Cornbread

I hope that you will give it a try!  You won't regret it! Try it, let me know what you think! (And share please!)

​**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are ​​

      Today's post will be educational as well as delicious!  As you can imagine, there is a story behind how this post came to be.  Here it is. 
     My husband and I were watching PBS the other night. There was a special on about Fall in New England.  As part of the special, we learned that when the pilgrims made pie, they didn't have much flour at the time for a pie crust, so they would bake custard right inside of the pumpkin.  Then, they would slice the pumpkin in pie shaped wedges.  Their pie had a spiced milk custard in it and the pumpkin was still just like the squash that it is and you would get some custard and pumpkin all at the same time when you took a bite.  
     Well, loving history like I do, I decided that I needed to try this method and of course take it a step further.  Why not put actual pumpkin custard inside the pumpkin? So, I went to the store and not only did I find pumpkins for pie, but some other really great squash that I knew would work as a substitute for pumpkin if I wanted.  Click on or hover over the pictures for descriptions.

Then I saw the Turban Squash!  I was sold on that guy!  He just looked ready to be my pie! 

     The directions on the Turban squash said to bake it at 350 degrees for an hour.  I decided to try that without cleaning it out first.  I did clean out the smaller pumpkins and baked them without seeds.  What happened is the pumpkins and carnival squash were done after around an hour.  The Turban Squash took 2 hours. 

Here is how the Carnival and Turban squashes looked after being baked.  The Carnival squash browned a little more than I would have liked, but it is okay.  In retrospect, I could have taken them out a little sooner, I will explain why in a moment. 

    That is the Turban Squash after I cut the top off of course.  It was so nice and tender inside and the seeds pulled out very easily.  Then, I scooped out the flesh into a bowl to use as the "pumpkin" puree. 

     At this point, I decided to fill the  shells 3 ways.  In the little pumpkins, I used the vanilla custard.  This is when I learned that I had baked the pumpkins a little too long because they developed leaks in the bottom and I lost some of the custard.  This is the recipe I used: 

Baked Vanilla Custard Cooked In A Pumpkin

     You can see in this picture that some of the custard leaked out, so it didn't end up as full as I had hoped.  I also feel like it had baked a little too long.  So, this is something you will need to watch, but this was an experiment and it was okay.  It tasted pretty good anyway. 

     In the Carnival Squash, I decided to make Maddy's Vegan Pie.  She liked it, even though she doesn't usually like squash.  I thought it was cute to serve it with the lid on. 

Vegan Pumpkin Custard

Oh! And one thing I forgot to mention in the recipes is that I put a pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven when I baked these. 

     For the Turban Squash Pie, I used the squash puree and followed our normal pumpkin puree recipe to  make the filling.  You can find that recipe here. Here is how that pie turned out. If you hover or click on the pictures, there are descriptions.

      One thing I wanted to mention about the Turban Squash is that I think it would be an awesome squash to bake a stew in!  You wouldn't need to bake it as long as the pie had to bake and getting that bite of squash mixed in with your stew would be delicious.  Doesn't that sound like a great Fall dish?  I may have to try that and let you know how it goes. 

     In the end, this was an interesting, educational and time consuming project.  I think it would be great to use this method with kids as part of a Thanksgiving history lesson. Also, it was really fun discovering a new, super cool looking squash like the Turban and a cute one like the Carnival!  But, when all is said and done, I am really thankful that I have the flour and the means to make pumpkin pie the way we do in our day! Remember, the custard recipes I have given you can also be baked in a custard dish or regular pie shell. 

     Speaking of pie, if you haven't yet gotten your copy of For the Love of Pie, you can still get a 20% discount through tomorrow with code PIESPECIAL!  Don't miss out, because after tomorrow the price goes back to normal.  In this special e-book all about pie, you will learn how to bake not only Pumpkin Pie, but many other pies not already published on this blog.  Some are original pies, invented by us that we are sure you will enjoy! Be sure to check it out! 

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.    ​​​

     Oh My Goodness! You Guys!  We have been having the BEST rain here in Phoenix because of Hurricane Rosa and the weather feels amazing!  It actually feels like we might get to have Fall! AND, this weather is just in time for Frugal Fun Day, which is tomorrow, October 6th.  So, for Friday Faves we are asking: 

What do you love to do for fun on the cheap?

At Home:

• Well, if you have been reading our blog for very long, you know that we all love to play games!  Whether it is 2 persons or a large group, playing cards or board games, that competitive side comes out.  Playing games is definitely frugal and fun. Those links will take you to posts about some of our favorite games.
• Maddy's favorite is a movie night.  I pictured Harry Potter up in the collage above, which is always a good choice.  We have suggested some favorite movies in the past.  With Halloween coming you might like to refer to this post. But, here are few super inexpensive ones that you may not have thought of now available on Amazon Prime for you to enjoy! 

              1. For a nice romantic choice, Letters to Juliet looks so good!  You can rent it for 1.99 or                               purchase it for 7.99!   I think I am going to talk my husband into this one for us to watch                         together.   
             2.  If you have kids who love horses, The Silver Brumby stood out to me as reminiscent of
                  The Man from Snowy River.    You can rent it for 1.99 and buy it for 3.99.  We just                                    rewatched The Man from Snowy River on Netflix for free. 
            3.  When Maddy and I were in Disneyland last Spring, we saw some Pixar movie shorts in the                    theater in California Adventures. One that was super cute and perfect for younger children                   was called Piper.  This cute film about a baby bird learning to provide for himself is now on                   Prime for just 2.99.

     Now, let's do some things that get us out of the house! 

• Alicia loves to have a campfire and make s'mores!  She and her husband enjoy this so much that they had a s'mores bar at their wedding reception.  We have a firepit made by my husband at our house, but if you aren't that lucky or you are renting, there are portable fire pits to purchase. 

      Besides roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, you might enjoy making and using Stuff 'em Sticks, something that we told you about here. 

• Lindsey says that her favorite frugal activity is to take a drive up into the mountains where the weather is cooler and take along a picnic! The rest of us enjoy that, too, and to throw in a hike or historical site is always nice as well.  When I think of a picnic, I always picture the wicker basket, but we know that it usually ends up being an ice chest to keep everything cool.   Look at this cute picnic/cooler basket that I found! So awesome! 

•  While your at it, if you have a couple of days, how about a camping trip? Camping is relaxing, fun, an adventure and a lot less expensive than many other getaways.  My son takes my grandson as often as he can and they usually just sleep in the car!   But, if you don't have a large enough car for that, Coleman now has a tent that sets up in about a minute! I mean it, it opens like an umbrella! My son has one of these as well and let me tell you, it is amazing! The poles are connected and you just walk it open and TAH DAH, the tent is set up.  You can put in spikes to hold it down if you want, but my son says that he rarely does, unless it is windy.  It  is also a great price! You can check it out on Amazon. 

Frugal Fun in the Phoenix Area

     Phoenix, where the weather is sometimes hot but never snowy, lends itself to many activities for everyone that are pretty inexpensive! 
*In the hot weather there are many pools available in the city parks, as well as splash pads and there are Water Parks available as well.  Pioneer Park and Rio Vista Park's water pads are two that we have been to and they are both fun and free! 
*There are lakes in the city that are stocked for Urban Fishing.  Kids under 14 can fish for free, just the parent needs a fishing license.  One day a year there is a free day when you don't need a license at all and some parks offer fishing instruction.
*The libraries offer nice places to relax from the heat and they offer story times and other activities.  Phoenix libraries also offer passes on a first come first served basis that will get you into city attractions like the zoos (We have 2), botanical gardens and museums. 
*If you aren't able to get a pass to the Phoenix Art Museum, you can attend on Weds from 3:00-9:00 pm, On First Friday (discussed farther down), or second Sundays when prices are reduced to a voluntary donation. 
*There are two super fun and free factory tours that are popular in Phoenix, for all ages!  The Stuffington Bear Factory teaches the history of teddy bears and those who attend the tour can even purchase and stuff  their own bear.  And, Cerreta Candy Company takes you on a chocolate tour and demonstration and ends with an opportunity to make and purchase a chocolate pizza! 
*There are tons of trails in all of the desert mountains, such as the White Tanks, South Mountain, North Mountain, Thunderbird Park, Camelback Mountain.  Phoenix and the surrounding areas are a hikers paradise.  Just remember to always carry water! 
*In the Spring, there are multiple teams who come to Phoenix for Spring Training at the various sports complexes!  That is a great time to take part in the Great American Pass Time at a reasonable price!  It is called the Cactus League.  Here is the link to find the teams, stadiums and schedules of the games. Bookmark it because the 2019 schedule isn't up yet. 
*The Arizona State Capitol Building Museum is an amazing and FREE place to visit.  One of the most fascinating things within its walls is the exhibit of artifacts from the USS Arizona.  
*First Fridays in downtown Phoenix is one of the nation's largest self-guided art walks.  There is also a complimentary trolley tour to the various hubs.  There is music playing and there are food trucks! I know that my young adult children have enjoyed this event at various times. 

     Wow! The more I write, the more I realize how much Phoenix has to offer! So, if you come to visit, bookmark this list to get you started! It is funny how when you live in a place you forget about the hidden gems that are there.  I have been to most of these places, but it has been years for some of them.  I told my husband that we need to start going back and revisiting some of these.  HEY FAMILY! Come and visit!  I have a list of places to take you!  

For a nice list of frugal Fall fun, you can print off this bucket list we made last year! I hope it gets your own ideas flowing!  Be sure to comment and let us know what your idea of frugal fun is. 

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