September and October. The cold is beginning to set in and people are looking to stay warm in other ways than the traditional, “Put on a sweater!” suggested by some. Warm clothes may help the body, but hot food and drink help the mind and soul.

Autumn brings images of blustery days, crisp, falling leaves and hot drinks, as well as delicious food. Listed below are a few fun and easy recipes to chase away the chill.
VEGALL Chicken Pot Pie:
Ingredients
2 cans (10 ¾ oz each) cream of potato soup
1-16 oz. can of VEG-ALL or VEG-ALL LITE, drained (any canned or frozen mixed vegetables will work)
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
½ cup milk
½ tsp. thyme
½ tsp. black pepper
2 9-in. frozen pie crusts, thawed

Directions
Combine first 6 ingredients. Prepare crust by unrolling and placing into pie-pan. Spoon into prepared pied crust. Cover with top crust, pinch edges together to seal. Slit top crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Hot Apple Cider:
Ingredients
6 cups apple cider
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
1 orange peel, cut into strips
1 lemon peel, cut into strips
Directions
1. Pour apple cider and maple syrup into a large saucepan.
2. Place cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in the center of a washed square of cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of thin string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture.
3. Place the saucepan over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cider is very hot but not boiling.
4. Remove the cider from heat. Discard spice bundle. Ladle cider into cups, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving if desired.

This recipe is more difficult than just going out and buying packets of mix. Most grocery stores also have bags of spices to brew and the package will indicate that it is for cider.
It is important to remember that drinks are just as important as food. This is just a small sample of the many more easy recipes that can be found in cookbooks or on the internet. Autumn is a beautiful time of year; take advantage of the unique opportunities it provides to sample all sorts of chill-chasing treats.