Day: October 5, 2025

• I tried making Ree Drummond’s baked butternut-squash mac and cheese.
• The Pioneer Woman’s recipe calls for roasted butternut squash, onions, and breadcrumbs.
• I thought the recipe was tasty, although I found the onions to be more prominent than the squash.

In honor of the fall season, I decided to try making one of my favorite autumnal dishes: butternut-squash mac and cheese.

Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman, is well known for her family-friendly comfort food recipes. I decided to try her butternut squash mac-and-cheese recipe.

I anticipated that the simple recipe, which takes less than an hour to make, would be perfect for a fall or winter weeknight dinner after a long day at the office. It also requires only a few low-cost ingredients, making it a cost-effective option for a crowd-pleasing dish. 

I spent about $43 on the ingredients for the recipe, but I needed to buy some pantry staples you might already have on hand, like butter, milk, and flour. The recipe is also intended to feed 12 people, which comes out to less than $4 per serving if you had to buy every ingredient.

Here’s how to make Drummond’s butternut-squash mac and cheese, which has become one of my new go-to fall dinners.

The US president’s proposal is the closest negotiators have got to an end to the war – but a deal is still far off

• I admire my father-in-law for retiring early at 55, but I don’t think I’d follow the same path.
• My work also gives me a sense of achievement that I know I’d really miss having if I retired.
• I’m still in my 40s, but for now, I enjoy my job and find comfort in earning a regular paycheck.

My father-in-law, Frank Noble from Porepunkah, Australia, was 55 years old when he retired.

Frank, now 87, said that given his time again, he would still choose to retire young.

Over the past few decades, he’s found pleasure in gardening, golfing, and going to the gym. He’s told me he has no regrets about stopping work early. (In Australia, the average retirement age is closer to 65.)

However, his early retirement, though successful, made me realize I don’t want to travel the same road. As I head toward my 50s, retiring early just doesn’t appeal to me or align with my goals and passions.

Work doesn’t feel like a chore for me

My husband often groans and tells me, “Stop being so joyful about Mondays.” As a remedial massage therapist, his work is very physically demanding, and he often has a case of Mondayitis when he starts his working week.

But I’m a copywriter and freelance journalist — my work isn’t physically demanding and doesn’t feel like a burden or a chore. It’s something that I love doing.

I can get into a state of flow when I’m writing and lose track of time. Sometimes I don’t even notice that six hours of working have passed until my stomach tells me it’s time to take a meal break.

In many ways, I’m lucky. I think when your work is your passion, like it is for me, early retirement is less appealing.

My work gives me a sense of achievement that I worry I’d never find with hobbies

My father-in-law studied forestry and went on to have a successful career in the field. When he retired at 55, he found purpose in hobbies outside of work, in particular growing his own fruits and vegetables.

His choice to lean into gardening wasn’t surprising, given his background in forestry and passion for the natural environment. Even now, as Frank approaches 90, he spends up to six hours a day in the garden, and it gives him a sense of purpose.

Personally, I don’t think that I could translate my work and passions into a fulfilling hobby in the same way that Frank has done so successfully.

I’m worried I’d struggle to find hobbies or other pursuits that give me the same sense of purpose and achievement I feel now. Even if I were to write for fun, I’d still want to publish my pieces for others to read … which is what I already get paid to do as part of my job.

I’m also scared of feeling lost once I retire

My father-in-law admitted that during his first year of retirement, he experienced a bit of depression due to how drastically his pace of life changed.

Suddenly, he went from having a very busy work schedule each day and a lot of responsibility managing a team to a quieter life with little stress.

Though the feeling didn’t last, it’s one that many struggle with in retirement. My work is a big part of my life, and it helps give me structure, so I worry I’d feel this way, too.

A typical day for me usually starts with pitching editors story ideas or answering emails. Then, I’ll spend a few hours writing an article — perhaps about travel or parenting, or relationships.

In the afternoon, I might jump into some corporate content-writing work and spend hours working on a blog. By the time I fetch the kids from school and day care, I feel tired, but I’m also on a high because I’ve learnt something and achieved something concrete during my day.

If I retired early, I anticipate I would miss that feeling. Admittedly, I might find a hobby that involves learning and gives me a similar buzz, but I’d secretly miss something else about working … which brings me to my next point.

I really, really like having a regular income

Early retirement is viable if you are in a strong financial position. Frank, for example, didn’t have a mortgage when he retired, and he had wealth-building investments (plus his pension).

My husband and I are saving for our retirement, but we still have two mortgages to pay off and three children to support for at least another 16 years.

Though our 50s are approaching, the prospect of early retirement doesn’t yet seem feasible for us financially. I also like having regular paychecks coming in and knowing that I’m building a nest egg, not just making enough to get by.

Part of me would be concerned about running out of money if I stopped working too early — it’s impossible to predict future issues and hardships my family could face.

Plus, I’d prefer for us to pay off both of our properties (or sell one to pay off the other) before considering retirement.

Overall, I understand why others might want to retire early, but it doesn’t sound like a dream to me

I’m still in my 40s, and maybe I’ll change my mind in the next decade. But for now, retiring early isn’t a goal of mine.

In my opinion, early retirement works well for people who have hobbies that keep them busy and fulfilled, and those who don’t really enjoy their jobs.

For me, writing is my passion, and I don’t want to stop getting paid to do it. I can completely understand why others might want to retire early, but it’s not for me.

I’ll admit that my ideal retirement probably looks quite different from other people’s. I picture my husband and me living in a home we own, with enough money to travel once a year and spoil our future grandchildren.

My husband will probably be on a golf course most days, while I’ll be tapping away on the keyboard at home, still telling stories that inspire me.

The White House is renewing threats to send military force to Chicago. Meanwhile there seems to be no progress in ending the federal government’s shutdown.