Home cooked meals are the best for any family to enjoy and while they may seem time consuming to make, it’s worth the effort. Plus, if you read our recent fall activities blog, you’ll know apple and pumpkin picking were some of the must dos before the season ends. Of course, if you ended up with more seasonal produce than you can handle. Not to worry, because the best part of fall is the hearty food that comes with it!
So, grab your farm fresh picks,head to the kitchen, and whip up one of our favorite fall recipes.
1. Apple Cider
Apple cider is a delicious drink many enjoy this time of year. In fact, it’s frequently sold at farm stands, festivals, and stores alike to spread a unique apple taste. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make it yourself.
Just as a precaution though, apple cider can be time consuming to make, so plan to give yourself a few hours to make this delicious drink!
You’ll need:
- 10 apples (quartered)
- ¾ cup of sugar (you can use ½ cup if you prefer a less sweet cider)
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground allspice
Directions:
First, place the quartered apples in a large pot and fill it with water. Next, stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Bring the water to a boil. Boil the apples and water uncovered for 1 hour. Then cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 2 hours.
Finally, strain the apples and water through a fine mesh sieve. Discard any solids. Drain the cider again through a cheesecloth lined sieve. Place the cider into bottle or jug, and keep refrigerated until cold.
2. Butternut Squash Soup
Squash is one of those vegetables you can’t avoid when it comes to the autumn season, and since it’s typically available almost all year round, it shouldn’t be hard to find it for this recipe!
You’ll need:
- 2 tbsp. of butter
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 chopped celery stalk
- 1 chopped carrot
- 2 cubed potatoes
- 1 peeled, cubed, and seeded butternut squash
- 1 (32 fluid ounce) container of chicken stock
- Salt
- Pepper
Directions:
First, in a large pot begin to melt the butter, then add the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash, and cook for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then, pour in enough chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 40 minutes.
Finally, put the soup into a blender, and blend until smooth. Return it back to pot, and mix in any remaining stock if you’d like. Lightly season with salt and pepper for taste. Store leftovers in the fridge and reheat to enjoy.
3. Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin is the star ingredient of many fall recipes. It’s that one vegetable that we all celebrate in September and October, and it’s in everything from bread to sweets to coffee. And just like apple cider, you’ll see pumpkin pie everywhere in the store. However, it’s so much better made at home! It’s not that hard to make either.
You’ll need:
- 1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin
- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. of ground ginger
- ½ tsp. of ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp. of salt
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 425°. Next, grab a bowl and whisk the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Then lay out your pie crust onto a pie tin and pour the filling in. Bake it in the oven for 15 minutes. Next, reduce the temperature to 350° and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes.
Finally, let it cool and top with ice cream or whipped cream when serving. Any leftovers should be covered and stored in the refrigerator.
4. Cranberry Bread
Cranberries are typically enjoyed in sweets or as a side dish during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice cranberry treat sooner. This fall recipe yields 2 loaves, so feel free to give one to your neighbor or good friend!
You’ll need:
- 2 cups of fresh or frozen chopped cranberries
- 1 ⅔ cups of sugar
- ⅔ cups of vegetable oil
- ½ cup of milk
- 2 tsp. of grated lemons or grated orange
- 2 tsp. of vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
- 4 tsp. of baking powder
- 1 tsp. of salt
Directions:
First, heat your oven to 350º. Next, grease the bottoms of 2 loaf pans. The pans should be 8 ½ × 4 ½ × 2 ½ inches or 9 × 5 × 3 inches. Next, get a large bowl and mix the cranberries, sugar, oil, milk, lemon peel, vanilla, and eggs.
Finally, take the remaining ingredients, stir those in, and pour the mixture into the pans. Bake the loaves for 50 to 60 minutes, then let cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the sides of loaves from pans and remove and place on a wire rack. Tightly wrap and refrigerate any leftovers.
5. Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet Potatoes are much healthier than normal potatoes, they’re also perfect to pair as a side to any main dinner dish. However, if you want to completely transform this vegetable, turn it into a wholesome casserole! This fall inspire recipe takes an hour to make and feeds up to 8 people.
You’ll need:
- 2 ½ lbs. of peeled and diced sweet potatoes
- 4 tbsp. of softened butter
- ½ cup of whole milk
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ½ tsp. of ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. of pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. of salt
For the Casserole Topping:
- ½ cup of flour
- 4 tbsp. of melted butter
- ½ cup of chopped pecans
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- ½ tsp. of salt
Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 350° and spray a medium casserole dish with cooking spray. Next, place the sweet potatoes into a large pot filled with water. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to let the sweet potatoes simmer. The sweet potatoes should be tender in about 15 minutes. Once they are tender, drain the water and put them in a large bowl.
In the bowl, add butter to the sweet potatoes and mash them. Next, add the milk, brown sugar, nutmeg, salt and vanilla and stir until smooth. Finally, place the prepared ingredients into the casserole dish.
In another bowl, add all of the topping ingredients and mix until combined. Then, sprinkle the topping mixture over the sweet potatoes and bake for 25 minutes.
So, now that you have the “how to” on some of our favorite fall recipes, now’s the time to start making them! There’s nothing better than the smell of home cooking on a cold October day. Give your family a treat this fall with these recipes. Do you have any recipes that you follow every fall? Share them with us in the comments below!