It's my favorite time of year.

Fall is my favorite time of year, although not for the same reasons that others have. In the fall when temperatures start to fall I get to bring out some of my favorite gadgets.

When the kids were little, back on the farm, during the homeschooling years I used to have little competitions with myself when it came to making meals.  Every day I challenged myself to create a meal that could be cooked without the use of my stove.  The more crock pots the better was my policy. Now, though the savings in electricity and time are not as crucial as they used to be, but the challenge is still something that I like to engage in.

Yesterday the crock cooked our chicken while I got other things done.

The instapot cooked three batches of winter squash so I could get it all canned and put away for winter.

Whenever the sun shines, though, I tend to abandon the dryer and hang the laundry on the line. In 36 years of marriage the smell of lined dried sheets is the only thing my husband ever notices.  

I recently acquired this little gem and man what a time saver! Oh Squeezo where were you all my life.

I cooked down 4 lbs. of cranberries and managed to squeeze them dry until I was left with less than 2 cups of seeds and skins.  Come Thanksgiving day my husband is going to enjoy all that jelled cranberry sauce on his turkey sandwiches.

Did I mention that the pressure canned is another favorite?  Right now chicken drumsticks and thighs are .77/lb so there is going to be a lot of chicken and chicken broth being processed in this little beauty. 
The point of all this ease?  Come winter, when the winds howl and the snow flies, I will be opening jars of the bounty from summer and fall to prepare meals.  While my good soups and stews cook in the crock pot I will be at the sewing machine creating some lovelies for the little people in my life.