Butternut Squash Soup: Easy Crock Pot Recipe

My mother is the best - whenever she comes over she brings me food. Like those awesome giant bags of pre-cooked udon from costco, man I love those and she always brings them to me. But the best is when she hands over fresh vegetables from her or her neighbor's garden. This year's backyard farm caught a fungus and all my curcurbits bit the dust, so her latest delivery of a pile of butternut squash was so awesome.

I wanted to make a soup in the crock pot (to save time and also stove top space over the holidays), but couldn't find a really good crock pot butternut squash soup recipe out there.

I perfected this one over a few days and it really is so easy and turned out so yummy that I wanted to share it. I hope you give it a try, because this is one healthy soup that even kids will gobble up.
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Thanksgiving Tutes for the Table Top

Untwist your tongue and check out some of our favorite Thanksgiving themed tutes from years past at Prudent Baby (Can you believe it's been three years we've been crafting together? We are so thankful.)

Reversible Napkin Rings
Thanksgiving on one side, Christmas on the other! I bow before Jacinda's genius.


Reversible Table Runner
Also part of the switcheroo... This is a great project for beginners who want to quilt without piecing, and to practice your bias tape skills on, or use Jacinda's quilt binding tute to machine finish.


Scrappy Pumpkin
Completes the look, though it's not reversible ;)


Baby Food Jar Candle Place Cards
A pretty way to recycle those glass containers.


Or make tea cup candles and scatter about the table...


And you HAVE to make Baby Hand Turkeys! Too cute.


And I was gonna save all our holiday recipes for another post, but I had forgotten all about these, so when i stumbled upon the post I had to make another batch, and now I basically just have to insist y'all make some right now so we can nom nom nom together: Butternut Squash Muffin Recipe

25 Beautiful Thanksgiving Tables to Gaze Upon

The big meal is almost here! Are you heading out or hosting this year? If your home will soon be overrun with family, friends, and turkey, then take a look at these 25 inspiring Thanksgiving tablescapes, maybe you'll find a few ideas to spice up your meal! Check out 25 Beautiful Thanksgiving Tables to Gaze Upon.

Thankfulness.

We hope you all enjoy a magical and fulling Thanksgiving Day. We thought we'd share this fun family activity from Gina of The Daily B. She and her tots traced some leaves onto construction paper and cut them out.

Then they wrote things they were thankful for on them and piled them into a bowl.

During their meal, they will read from the bowl as a family. Lovely. Thanks Gina from The Daily B. And Thank You to all of our Prudent Mamas for the joy you share with us every day!

Reversible Napkin Rings

I adore my Bias Tape Table Runner so much that I decided to whip up some matching napkin rings today. Ok, fine, I only made one but I plan to make more because I kinda love them. 
Their buttoned up style also allows for a quick "place card" solution.


You still have time to whip these up before Thanksgiving!
Click Read More for the simple Reversible Napkin Ring Tutorial.

And remember to leave a comment and you could win yourself a fancy set of glittery glitters!
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Bias Tape Table Runner: Part 2

When I saw Jaime's Bias Tape Table Runner I fell in love and just had to try one of my own. I thought it would be fun to do something Fall-ish for Thanksgiving on one side and Christmas-themed on the other. That way I can just flip it on November 26th! Also, I had just made this candy cane bias tape and knew it would work really well with our red dishes. The fabrics are Alexander Henry Farmdale Curio Oatmeal and Alexander Henry Merry Moderns.


Jaime's tutorial would also be excellent for placemats! We think we are catching the quilting bug!

GIVEAWAY: An Awesome Book of Thanks!

I can tell you without reservation that this treasure is my favorite children's book of all time.  I cried with happiness the first time I read it.  An Awesome Book of Thanks by Dallas Clayton is so full of pure joy at being alive, with adorable illustrations and a lyrical tone reminiscent of Dr Suess, with a modern edge.  This is a story of Thankfulness, for "big things like gigantic dino machines and small things and all things that fall in between." It's so appropriate as the holiday approaches and I'm buying copies for all my friends with children (and a few without children). Take a look at a some of my favorite pages.



I love it so much I asked the author if we could write about it, and he is sharing with us FIVE COPIES to give to thankful Prudent Baby readers. So to enter this giveaway, we ask you to share something crafty that you are thankful for. I am thankful for washable markers, fusible tape, mod podge, and the occasional extra-long nap time.

I asked the author of this magical book, Dallas Clayton, what crafty things he was thankful for and here's what he said: I'm thankful for cutting my teeth in the DIY world of making things by hand. No matter how large my operation gets, or how many books I print I could still spend hours upon hours getting lost in folding paper samples, screen printing, letter-presses and sewing. There's nothing better than the satisfaction of creating something from start to finish and being able to share it with the world.

Dallas, we love a man who crafts!  Thank you for this lovely book.  So, readers, I hope you are inspired to be a little extra thankful today.  Go ahead a leave a comment with your crafty thanks anytime between now and midnight next Wednesday, November 17th.  Come back every day for a new entry. Tweet, Stumble, and/or share the giveaway on facebook by clicking "like" below and leave us another comment each time letting us know for an additional entry. We will select five winners at random and send them their amazing books.  Also check out Dallas' first book: An Awesome Book, or go ahead and order An Awesome Book of Thanks!, and see more of his magical vision at VeryAwesomeWorld.com.

Bias Tape Table Runner

Thanksgiving is right around the corner so it's time to start planning your pretty table, yay!  Here's a tute for a simple reversible table runner using bias tape.

You can change it up and make it your own with different fabrics and bias tapes.  I did a little quilting and used some old burlap coffee sacks for mine, and added some homemade bias tape.

I  made a small one, perfect for piling up the pretty dishes and having a buffet on holiday mornings.

How gorg are those vintage dishes?  They were Carleton's Grandma Jane's wedding dishes, I'm so excited to save them to give to little Scarlet Jane one day.

This is a fun project to customize, much like our Fat Quarter Apron. Get the Bias Tape Table Runner tutorial after the jump...

And remember, any comment you leave this week could win you some bow tie hardware to Make A Bow Tie for the boy in your life!
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Butternut Squash Muffins... MMMmmm, Squashy

I picked up some super-yum butternut squash and roasted it this weekend. We used the delicious veggie in some Butternut Squash pancakes for breakfast, then whipped up these hearty muffins later in the day. They are rich wintery treats that my two-year-old devoured (something non-candy that she loved, who knew it was possible?), so I thought I'd share the recipe.

If you aren't a squash lover, try Prudent Baby favorites Rick's Rich Jam Muffins, Apple Cream Cheese Muffins, or for a little Halloween fun Brain Muffins.

Get the Butternut Squash Muffin Recipe after the jump..
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Scrappy Pumpkin Tutorial

Virginia from Gingercake is here to share an adorable Tutorial for Scrappy Pumpkins since Jaime and I have been slacking in the Autumn Decor Dept. (Is it because it's still 85 degrees where we live?)

Remember that any comment you leave on a post this week could win you that extremely useful Aleene's Tacky Pack pictured up to the left. So let's give Virginia a shout-out for representing Fall here on Prudent Baby!

Thanks Virginia! Take it away...

I am not much of a Halloween or Harvest decorator. If I could choose team colors they would for sure be red and green. That said, my really good pal Karen asked if I would make her a pumpkin. I said no (I always say no first for some grumpy reason), because I am not really into pumpkins but then she bribed me with pork. This may sound weird but Karen and her husband own Heilman Hogwash Farm, and that is some super yummy local pastured pork. She also knows that I LOVE trade. So exciting!

I made one and then thought it was so fun and easy that I would make a quick tutorial.
Read more for Gingercake's Scrappy Pumpkin Tutorial...

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To Make 2 Days Ahead... Creamed Spinach with Bacon and Onions

This creamed spinach with bacon and onions recipe is a family favorite (even little Scarlet likes it!), a little time consuming but not too difficult, and totally worth it. Make it today and reheat it in the oven on Christmas.  Just make sure no one eats it before then!  Get the recipe after the jump...
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To Make 3 Days Ahead... Cranberry Sauce

Get the cranberry sauce out of the way today with this super-simple yet delicious recipe.  No more can of sliced goo!
Put all of these ingredients in a pan:
1 cup Ruby port
A cinnamon stick or two (broken in half)

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup dried cranberries (i use the orange flavored ones for extra zing)
1 bag cranberries (i think they're 12 ounce bags)

Bring to a boil then simmer five minutes, it'll look like this:

Let it cool then tupperware it until Christmas.  Reheat it on the stove and serve with turkey.
Can I tell you that somehow I lost a bag of cranberries while making this?  I can't find them anywhere.  I have a dog, a cat, and a toddler - this can only end in tragedy.

LEFTOVERS: Navajo Turkey Tacos w/Bonus Stuffing Fritters

Have you ever had a navajo taco?  If not, then you have not lived.  Make some fry bread (takes five minutes) and add leftover turkey fixins, deelish.  While the oil is hot toss in some hand-shaped stuffing patties, serve with gravy.  YUM!

Recipe after the jump...
And thanks for the post TheKitchn!
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Easy Thanksgiving Dessert: Bread Puddingy Goodness

Who needs pumpkin pie when you've already devoured a whole savory stuffed pumpkin?  Bread pudding is super-easy, inexpensive and with my simple sauce it's extra fancy delicious too!  Get the recipe after the jump...
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Backyard Tangerine Vanilla Bean Marmalade

We are so lucky that our new home has a gorgeous, giant tangerine tree and the fruit is just ripening, so get ready for an onslaught of tangerine recipes. Up first is tangerine marmalade.  I guess you aren't really supposed to use Baby Food Jars for preserves but I feel like that's all part of the big brother jam & jelly racket keeping us down.  I sterilized the jars and used a technique to seal them (after the jump), but in reality baby food jars are so small you'll easily use up the contents pretty quickly anyway.  Bring a jar to your holiday dinners and serve with the cheese course, yum!

Get the full Tangerine Marmalade Recipe after the jump...
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Baby Food Jar Projects: Soy Candle Place Cards

So I've never really had the urge to make a candle, but I have all these baby food jars and the fabric tea lights were so popular, I thought I'd give it a shot.  It's crazy easy, you can buy everything you need at Michael's or Amazon cheaply, and the result is a super-posh way to recycle baby food jars into fun party place cards that will make everyone think you are some sort of crafty wizard.

Hey thanks OhDeeDoh for the post today!
and thanks to Re-Nest too!

For all the baby food jar projects we've posted so far click here, and stay tuned because we have so many more to share!

Get the how-to after the jump...
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Baby's First Thanksgiving Card (as if you don't have enough to do)

Want to stand out from the pack of Christmas cards? Send a Thanksgiving card! Here is an easy and super-cute version that long-distance Grammie will love. Long-distance Grandpa will say that it looks like baby smeared poo on a piece of paper. Long distance grandpa is classy like that.
DIY after the jump
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