Something's taken ahold of me ...

I'm feeling all domesticated lately. There's something about fall that makes me wanna pull on comfy pants and hoodie sweatshirts and bake goodies that fill my house with yummy aromas like cinammon and pumpkin spice. I've been craving comfort foods like Tator Tot Hot Dish and Homeade Chili. It might be because life slows down a bit when this season rolls around - time to focus more on home and family instead of the crazy, blur summer always is.

Before I go any further, I must pause to include all my non-Minnesotan friends in the secret that is "hot dish." What is hot dish, you ask? (as I did when I first moved to Minnesota). Hot dish is this: a casserole baked in Minnesota. And, every true-blooded Minnesotan has their own version of Tator Tot Hot Dish ... a delicous and tummy-warming blend of cream of [insert your favorite variety here] soup, tator tots, hamburger and your choice vegetable. As I introduced Andi to all things Nebraska wonderful (Husker football, Runzas and Valentino's pizza) so, too, Andi introduced me to Tator Tot Hot Dish. And it's been a winter diet staple ever since.

So, Andi's working on a video shoot for one of his clients tonight. It's just me and my little dog Chloe. Here's my list of to do's for this evening:

• Hit up Target to get some groceries, something cute to wear this weekend and a pumpkin
• Bake Andi some toffee cookies to snack on during the drive home tomorrow
• Give Chloe a bath
• Carve a pumpkin for my front porch
• Watch Grey's Anatomy (sorry Andi ... I'm not waiting)

Back to recipes ... anyone have a tasty, fall/wintertime recipe they wanna share? I'd better grab this domestic wifey cooking vibe by the horns ... who knows how long it'll stick around!