it's that time of year again

I am over the moon excited to head home this weekend for a(nother) whirlwind trip. Ryan and I will be leaving the kids with my parents on Saturday night for a little overnight getaway to celebrate our 7(!) year anniversary (which is actually Sunday). Then, on Sunday we will be making our annual family trek to the apple orchard with my family to pick apples/eat apples/spend the majority of the time taking pictures rather than picking apples. It's a tradition I look forward to every year. The only bummer about this year is that my sweet baby brother will be absent, for he moved to AZ a few weeks ago. I'm so excited for Mac's first apple picking adventure (out of the womb) and Brynlee keeps telling me about how she is going to eat all the apples.

2010: Are you serious with that puffy face and larger than life belly?! I can't believe how much of a baby B still is here.

After we pick apples, we usually head back to our house, eat white chicken chili and apple crisp, and generally snuggle up and enjoy the rest of our fall tradition day. However, this year we have to jump back in the car and immediately head back to MA so Ryan can get back to work on Monday morning. Boo. I thought I'd at least share the white chicken chili recipe (again, since I shared it a few years ago here) and link up with Raechel as she is collecting slow cooker recipes today. Stay tuned for lots and lots of apple picking pictures, as per usual. :)


White Chicken Chili
serves 6 (I double it for my family and use my big crockpot)

Ingredients:
-1 48 oz can great northern beans, rinsed & drained
-2-3 C cooked chicken (I use 1 whole shredded rotissere chicken, it makes exactly 3 cups)
-1 C chopped onion
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 raw carrots, sliced
-3 1/2 C chicken broth

optional but completely necessary
-shredded monterey jack cheese
-broken tortilla chips
-sour cream

1. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker, stir drained beans, chicken, onion, carrots, spices, and broth all together
2. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours
3. Top with cheese, chips, and sour cream if desired.