FALL FOOD FAVORITES

 

I have been SO pumped to write this post!

#1, cause I’m a foodie. I love love love yummy food.

#2, cause I’m so excited to share so many recipes that others have mastered so that you can enjoy them with your family too!

#3, cause I just taught myself to bake and cook within the last five years. (When I was 26!) Five years ago I could hardly boil a pot of water let alone boil an egg. Practice and consistency is key! You too can learn to boil water! (hehehe) I hope this inspires you to step out of your (egg)shell! ;)

Disclaimer, we generally eat very healthy in our home - but I also believe in indulging every now and then. I think it’s good for your metabolism to mix things up, but more importantly … I think it’s good for your soul. So many yummy recipes can be altered to meet your diet restrictions and needs, so have fun with the holidays! Make something that’s festive! And if you’re typically picky or very restricted, have fun with baking something and giving it to someone else. I know someone will enjoy it!

p.s. I’m also excited to share our guest blogger today! Kelsey of Klos + Co will be joining us at the end of this entry with 3 AMAZING recipes for you to try with your family!!! Be sure to go give her some love over at her IG here! Thanks so much for pouring your heart (and hands) into those three recipes you shared, Kelsey!

 
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This yummy and EXTRA moist pumpkin bread is from my personal instagram account and was so so easy to make!!! It tasted like starbucks pumpkin loaf! We used it to BOO our neighbors!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 15-oz can 100% pure pumpkin (I use Libby's)

DIRECTIONS:


Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Generously grease two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans with butter and dust with flour (alternatively, use a baking spray with flour in it, such as Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy).


In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined; set aside.


In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until just blended.


Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Continue beating until very light and fluffy, a few minutes.


Beat in the pumpkin. The mixture might look grainy and curdled at this point -- that's okay.


Add the flour and mix on low speed until combined.


Turn the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 65 – 75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Fresh out of the oven,the loaves have a deliciously crisp crust. If they last beyond a day, you can toast individual slices to get the same fresh-baked effect.

 

How adorable is this pretzel mix by Amanda Cruse?! And so simple!

This batch, we used: pretzel sticks, @theskinnypop popcorn, @chexcereal rice cereal, festive sprinkles & drizzled w. @ghirardelli white almond bark. Mix in a large bowl, spoon out onto parchment paper or cookie sheet, let harden for fifteen min & then break up into pieces. Store in a glass canister & snack forever! 

 

Cutest and simplest pumpkin crispy treats from the best blog The Mama Notes!!! We love Caitlin!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 package of marshmallows

  • 3 tbs butter (or dairy-free butter alternative)

  • 5 cups of pumpkin cereal

DIRECTIONS:

Over low heat stir marshmallows and butter until completely melted. Immediately stir in cereal and remove from heat. Press into a greased glass baking dish, let cool and then cut into squares.

 

Another yummy recipe from my personal page, and this one is extra special cause we make it every year on my daddy’s Heaven welcoming anniversary. Chicken pot pie was his favorite.

INGREDIENTS:

For crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced small (1 1/2 cups)

  • 4 medium carrots, diced small (2 cups)

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

  • 1 cup frozen peas

  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

  • 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (15 ounces)

  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water); do not overmix.

  2.  Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight (or freeze, up to 1 month).

  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the filling: In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion and carrots and cook until softened, 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add flour and stir to coat vegetables.

  4. Slowly add broth, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in peas. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in chicken and parsley. Pour filling into a 2-quart baking dish.

  5. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Place dough over dish and fold overhang inward while pinching to crimp edge. Cut vents in dough. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling around edge, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

NOTES:

Roll your dough a couple inches larger than your dish: Folding it up and over, pinching as you go, forms a beautiful decorative edge.

To make potpies ahead of time, let the filling cool, then assemble and freeze for up to 4 months. Bake at 425 degrees, 1 1/4 hours (1 hour for small pies).

 
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MUMMY BARK! How cute is this from Creme de la Crumb?!

INGREDIENTS :
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 8 oreos
• candy eyes

DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop cookies into quarters and set aside. (Be sure to keep the bits and crumbs that fall aside when you're chopping the cookies).
2. Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on half power for 2 minutes.
3. Stir, return to microwave for 20 seconds at a time stirring after each until smooth.
4. Transfer 1/4 cup of the chocolate to a resealable plastic bag and set aside.
5. Set aside the large cookie pieces and add the rest of the bits and crumbs to the white chocolate and stir to combine.
6. Pour chocolate onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Use the back of a spoon to spread chocolate to 1/8 inch thickness. Press reserved cookie pieces into the chocolate.
7. Put the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer for 2-5 minutes until chocolate cools completely.
8. Snip the corner of the plastic bag and drizzle reserved chocolate over the cooled chocolate and cookies.
9. Press candy eyes into drizzled chocolate in pairs to create mummy eyes.
10. Return to fridge or freezer until completely cooled. Use a butter knife to cut into chocolate to break into pieces and serve or store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

 

Jessica Garvin never disappointing, especially with these pumpkin pie milkshakes! Oh yes!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream (such as Healthy Choice), softened

  • 1 cup fat-free milk

  • 2/3 cup canned pumpkin

  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

  • 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

  • 3 tablespoons frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

  • Pumpkin-pie spice (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Pour 3/4 cup ice cream mixture into each of 4 glasses. Top each with about 2 teaspoons whipped topping; sprinkle with the additional pumpkin-pie spice, if desired.

 

The prettiest and tastiest pumpkin pie from one of our all time favorite bloggers Heidi, and if you don’t already follow her - you MUST!!!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CRUST

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup shortening

  • 3 1/2 tablespoons cold water

FOR THE FILLING

  • 2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin

  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

  • 2 eggs, beaten

  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

  • Prepare pie crust by mixing together the flour and salt. Cut shortening into flour; add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time (you may need only 3 tablespoons, or up to 4 tablespoons). Mix dough and repeat until dough is moist enough to hold together.

  • With lightly floured, hands shape dough into a ball. On a lightly floured board roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness. With a sharp knife, cut dough 1 1/2 inch larger than the upside-down 8- to 9-inch pie pan. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it right-side up onto the pie pan. Unroll, easing dough into the bottom of the pie pan.

  • In a large bowl, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt with an electric mixer or immersion blender. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes or until when a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.

 

One of our favorite pictures of another one of her gorgeous pies, from one of our favorite people. We love you Casey!

INGREDIENTS:

2 batches of homemade pie crust (or 1 if you roll it out very thinly!)
7-8 small granny smith apples, peeled, sliced, and cored
1 stick butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:


1). Place the peeled, cored, and sliced apples in a large bowl. Set aside.

2). Preheat oven to 425F.

3). In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the 3 tbsp of flour and mix well, forming a paste. Add the water, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla and mix well. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to a simmer for an additional minute.

4). Remove from heat and reserve about 1/3 cup of filling for pie crust. Add remaining filling to apples. Toss well.

5). Pour apples into prepared pie crust, mounding slightly. Top with second pie crust (lattice design, etc). Brush the remaining 1/3 cup caramel filling over the crust.

6). Cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil. I lightly spray the foil so it does not stick to the pie. Place the pie on top of a cookie sheet (to catch any drips) and bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 50 minutes (remove the foil the last 10 minutes to let the crust brown), or until done. The pie is done when the crust is golden-brown and the apples are soft when pierced with a fork.

7). Allow the pie to cool before serving. 

 

Nothing overly complicated here, just the SWEETEST little BOO pancakes by the incredibly inspiring Raven Vasquez!

Get you some letter cutters from Amazon, like these, and cut out homemade or Bisquick pancakes! And the best part is, you can do this for every holiday! We also love using the cutters for cookies too!

 

This is from my personal account and it’s my all time favorite fall recipe! Butternut squash soup!!

It’s the perfect soup for cool days and it’s always such a hit! You can make it sweet or spicy too! Just by adding different flavors! This recipe is super tailorable which I love!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 large butternut squash

  • 2 carrots

  • 3 stalks of celery

  • 1 large onion

  • 5 cloves of garlic

  • 6 sage leaves

  • 6 sprigs of thyme

  • 1 sprig of rosemary

  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper powder (or less, if you do not want a little kick)

  • salt and pepper to taste

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

  • 3 and 1/2 cups vegetable stock

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

  2. Peel, pit and chop the butternut squash into 1 inch squares. Add to a large roasting pan.

  3. Chop the carrots, celery and onions in big chunks and add to the pan.

  4. Peel the garlic and add cloves whole.

  5. Add the herbs, red pepper powder, salt and pepper. Add olive oil and toss to coat.

  6. Roast for 1 hour (or up to 1 hour and 15 minutes, if the veggies are not yet soft).

  7. Once the vegetables and herbs are roasted, add to food processor with 1 cup of vegetable stock and puree. Remove the stems from the herbs before pureeing.

  8. Pour mixture into a large saucepan. Add the remaining vegetable stock and stir well.

  9. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.

 

The CUTEST ghost pretzels from the beautiful Kendra of Hen and Co ! Super simple and only three ingredients!! (you can add whatever embellishments you want!)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 (16 oz.) package Vanilla CANDIQUIK® Candy Coating

  • Pretzel rods

  • Mini chocolate chips (sprinkles and eyes for more designs!)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Melt Vanilla CANDIQUIK in tray according to package directions.

  2. Dip ½ of each pretzel rod in the melted CANDIQUIK; allow excess coating to drip off and place on wax paper.

  3. Before coating has set, place two mini chocolate chips on as the eyes. For the mouth, cut off the tip of a mini chocolate chip and place on the pretzel with the bottom side facing up.

 
 

These ADORABLE ghost cookies are from my girl Haley of Indy and Pippa. Co! Are they not the cutest?!?!?! She actually got this cutter from the Target Halloween section, but I’ll share my all time favorite rolled sugar cookie recipe here that is sooooo easy to frost and make cute like these!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups softened butter

  • 2 cups white sugar (I use 1 1/4 cup and we still love them!) 

  • 4 eggs

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 5 cups flour

  • 2 tspns baking powder

  • 1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

  • In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

  • Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Here's my all time favorite cream cheese frosting!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 cup softened butter

  • 8 oz. cream cheese

  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar

  • 2 tsps vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

  • Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.

  • Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.

 

THE FOLLOWING BY KELSEY KLOS:

Fall is here, or at least that is what I hear/ see every day on instagram. Fall is definitely my favorite season, leaves changing, the holidays upon us and of course, pumpkin EVERYTHING. I unfortunately don't get to experience all the perks of the season. Living in the Virgin Islands fall means, it gets even hotter, I have MAJOR FOMO of pumpkin patches and cozy sweaters and my pumpkin spiced lattes are homemade and iced (no Starbucks for me).

As soon as September hits, I have to get creative to make our home feel like fall. Obviously my regular coffee becomes pumpkin flavored and I defuse all the fall oil blends. But the biggest way to incorporate the season is in the kitchen.

I'm starting with treats for the girls! The first recipe I've been making for my daughter, Denver for breakfast for almost two years, and have been meaning to share. They are mini pancake muffins- great for an easy snack and a quick breakfasts. I used my normal recipe but added a fall twist.

All you need:

Mini muffin tins 

Pam non stick spray

1 packet of Bisquick pancake mix 

1 cup of water (I substitute milk for more protein)

Baby food (this is where I sneak in fruits and veggies! I usually use the leftover baby food packets my girls don't finish) For this recipe to add a fall twist, I used sweet potato and squash.

Cinnamon (add nutmeg and pumpkin spice for fall flavors).

Preheat the oven to 350 and mix together the above ingredients. Spray your muffin tins with Pam and scoop the batter into the tins! I use a melon baller for an even scoop. Bake for 10-15 or until they are done in the middle. I honestly never time these I just use my nose and a toothpick!

And that's it! I put them all into a ziplock and they last us about a week! So great to pair with fresh fruit in the morning, or make it extra special with a little powdered sugar and maple syrup!

 

The best thing to pair with these muffins would obviously be pumpkin spice milk, right!? Inspiration by The Ever Co t shirt I thought I'd whip up some pumpkin spice milk for the girls, while I have my latte.

It super easy, bring your choice of milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin purée. Constantly stir to dissolve the purée. Once it has a light orange color let cool and refrigerate. Serve cold!

I added some fun paper straws with a little ribbon to make hem extra festive!

You can also start with heavy cream, so the same processes and you have creamer for your coffee!

 
 

Now for the adults! 

My favorite thing to make in the fall is chili! It makes the whole house smell amazing and SO yummy! Of course, it has to be a rainy day for me to pull off or it's too hot! I really like this recipe because I like to use what I have on hand, substitute for what you got!

What you'll need:

A large pot

A small saucepan 

Choice of meat: we use either chicken (1 breast per person) or jimmy dean sausage (1 tube)

Tomato sauce or salsa (1 jar)

Chili flavor packet 

Veggies of choice. We prefer warm colored peppers, fresh corn, green beans, carrots. This can be as easy as you make it- frozen or canned veggie work just fine. If you have the fresh produce (and the time) go for it.

Beans* optional- we don't prefer them.

Spices: salt, pepper, basil, thyme, cinnamon

Rice or corn bread, which ever you prefer to serve your chili over.

Cheddar cheese and Sour cream for garnish

Another perk of this chili is you can start cooking it as early as you'd like! I really love putting in on the stove at nap time that way when everyone gets their second wind at 5pm I'm not stuck in a hot kitchen.

Coat the big pot in EVOO and put over medium/ high heat.

Add the meat and cook. Add 1/2 the chili packet, olive oil and water to prevent the meat from getting dry. When the meat is almost cooked through add any veggies that need cooked. This is where I add any fresh produce to get a nice brown on them. Then dump in the rest. The jar of sauce, the rest of chili packet, canned veggies, spices to taste, etc.

let simmer!

Cook rice as directed in a small sauce pan before serving. Shred cheddar cheese then finish with sour cream and serve!

Really the best part of fall is the weather gets cooler so you can snuggle your family and little tighter!

Cheers and happy fall y'all!

Xo

Kelsey

 
 
 

pro tip : If you loved any of these recipes, be sure to pin the image above so you can always reference this blog post for fall food favorites in the future! It’ll stay right on your pinterest board for easy reference!

Thank you so MUCH Kelsey for these yummy recipes and to all the others for sharing your gorgeous pictures with us online! You’re truly all so inspirational!

Hugs and Happy Baking, Amy