Now that fall is finally here, we found ourselves looking for some new recipes to add to the menu. Fall, in our opinion, has some of the most interesting ingredients to offer when it comes to creating original and delicious dishes. From the best butternut squash recipes, to yummy recipe ideas with apples, acorn squash and other hearty but healthy seasonal vegetables, these are some of our favorite must-try recipes for fall. Slow cooker dishes, chicken dishes and fall salads, too. Check out the photo tutorials and easy to follow recipes to learn how to make some of these for dinner tonight.
Twice baked anything is music to my ears. I love twice baked potatoes, so when I saw this twice baked butternut squash, my heart just melted. These are such a filling low calorie, zero chemical, super little-baked snack. You can find so many varieties of Autumn squash at your local supermarket and everything is in season now so it’s cheap and delicious. You bake the squash then scoop the insides out. the put the insides back in. sprinkle with cheese and bake again. These are a great meal on their own or fantastic with chicken or beef.
I was going to a Thanksgiving potluck celebration with my coworkers and only had one day available to cook the week before, I thought hard to come up with a solution when the idea came to me that I could actually freeze a soup. So I wanted to make the most of all the Fall vegetables in season and I found this lovely festive Fall recipe. I prepared my Autumn soup with all the fresh ingredients I found at my local supermarket. HEB had all the seasonal produce in and it was so affordably priced, I spent very little cash on the whole dish. I froze the soup after it was complete and I brought it to the event and warmed it up for my friends. I had tried a bowl when I first cooked it and can honestly say it tasted better after freezing it for a few days. My coworkers loved it so much and that made me very happy.
My kids love the outdoors when the weather gets cold, but they can overdo it out there and lose track of how cold they really are getting. Sometimes they don’t realize they were freezing until they come in and start to settle down so I like to give them hot soup to warm up. If there’s a soup that’s going to warm you from the inside out, it’s this. The base starts with a trio of sliced sweet onion, minced garlic, and ginger (The base in almost all of my soups.). Once the aromatics are softened, a heap of sliced shitake mushrooms (my favorite!) are added in for that umami flavor, sliced Fresno chile for heat and diced butternut squash. Fall never tasted so warmly and savory.
Apples, walnuts, and cinnamon just go together, and fruit salads with cream cheese are so delicious, you are confident in knowing this is going to be good before you’ve even tasted it. I love all the textures and flavors in this apple fruit salad. You get those perfectly crisp sweet apples, a light tartness from the fresh pomegranates, just the right amount of rich creaminess from the dressing of rich satisfying cream cheese, and finally that wonderful crunch from the walnuts. Trust me, after one taste it’s a fruit salad you’ll crave daily, even after all the Thanksgiving and Christmas hysteria has passed.
I love hummus and the newest trend among the Autumn food gurus is seasonal squash hummus. This dish gets its flavor from both roasted and fresh garlic, lemon juice, parsley, smoky cumin, paprika, and a pinch of cinnamon. This hummus is bursting with autumnal flavor and is absolutely perfect with some whole grain pita chips and roasted carrots. the flavor is savory, creamy, smoky, subtly spiced, slightly sweet from the squash, and lemony. This is the perfect dip to have on hand for a week of healthy snacking. It would also be great for entertaining or taking along to parties. Or, if you’re like me and you
Slow cooking in the crockpot is my go to a solution during the holiday season. The kids are back in school, everyone has homework and the weather is nippy so we all need something warm and sustaining through the holiday months. This slow cooked pork recipe tastes like the pork I had years ago in San Fransisco. It’s so easy, you just place baby carrots and potatoes in the bottom of a slow cooker, followed by the pork tenderloin, and then the apple slices. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and garlic then pour over top of the contents of the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Your kids will love this dish.
I can’t get enough seasonal squash during the Autumn months and there are so many reasons to get ahold of as much as you can of this golden vegetable. I’ve tried it 6 ways to Sunday but here’s an impressive centerpiece idea for any Paleo table: savory-sweet roasted butternut squash stuffed with a delicious mixture of beef, bacon, and vegetables, all topped off with caramelized onions for extra flavor. If you’re getting a little bit bored of basic roasted squash, this is one way to pep it up a little without doing a lot of extra work (after all, you were going to need some protein anyway). So quick and easy and it looks very impressive.
I make this little stirfry when I get home from work, it’s so quick and easy and I am so worn out, I really can’t do anything laborious or time-consuming. You just make a marinade sauce and add your tofu, once your tofu is marinated, it’s ready for a quick stir fry to give it that perfectly golden brown, crisp, mega-flavorful coating. Then all that’s left to do is saute up your veggie of choice – baby bok choy for the win – and your cauliflower rice! All in all this dish takes around 1 hour 30 minutes, which is a little longer than I prefer. But the pay off is so worth it! Plus, it only requires 9 ingredients – many of which you likely already have on hand.
What is a paillard anyway? A paillard is simply a skinless, boneless chicken-breast half that you butterfly and pound thin. It’s one of the speediest routes to a lean meal: While you prep and saute it, roast some squash and red onion, then place it on top with fresh spinach and crispy fried sage. This lovely Autumn recipe can be made more traditionally Italian by using fresh heirloom tomatoes and arugula.
I started eating chestnuts in England when my husband and I would go to his Dad’s house in the Suffolk countryside. We had these tiny, but long pitch forks to hold the chestnuts in the flickering fire while they roasted. Yes, who knew when Nat King Cole sang chestnuts roasting on an open fire, it was an actual historical event? Luckily they can now be found, year-round, already cooked and peeled – though that doesn’t stop me from munching on a few before using. They go especially well with chicken which leads me to this hugely comforting and autumnal one-pot chicken casserole. I love to get this in the oven and get under a blanket and read a nice book as the house fills with the wonderful Autumn aroma.