287/365

Fall is finally here! This is Rigatoni with meat sauce, meatballs and peperoini. Just like Grandma used to make...well sort of. I make mine in the crock pot, Grandma made hers in a big pot that was green colored on the inside and white paisley's on the outside (if I remember correctly). I make mine with two jars of the best store bought sauce money can buy, as long as it is on sale, and Grandma would make hers from fresh tomatoes picked from my Grandpa's garden and canned sometime that year, or years before hand. I use frozen meatballs, Grandma used to make hers. I used store bought peperoni, just like Grandma :) We love to make this, and not just because it tastes so good from slow cooking all day, but it just makes us both feel like fall has finally started. It hold a special place for me, as you can probably tell, in that it reminds me of my Grandma. When Grandma made hers, it was an all day even and the whole house smelled of it for days. It just felt warm, and comforting. I am sad that Gillie did not get to meet my Grandma, and have those cold fall Sunday dinners with her and the rest of the family, but I have no doubt that my Grandma is watching out fo her, and hopefully smiling when Gillie does something that I used to do when I was her age.