Autumn Fair - Fall Recipes

[LilyElizabeth]

 

Do you have Autumn/Fall recipes that you love? Please share them with us.

 

 

[LilyElizabeth]

 

Pumpkin Stew

 

Ingredients

·       2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

·       3 tablespoons canola oil, divided

·       1 cup water

·       3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

·       4 medium carrots, sliced

·       1 large green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

·       4 garlic cloves, minced

·       1 medium onion, chopped

·       2 teaspoons salt

·       1/2 teaspoon pepper

·       2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules

·       1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

·       1 pumpkin (10 to 12 pounds)

 

Directions

1.    In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 tablespoons oil. Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Stir in bouillon and tomatoes. Wash pumpkin; cut to 6 to 8 in. circle around top stem. Remove top and set aside; discard seeds and loosen fibers from inside.

2.    Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan. Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace top. Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil. Bake at 325° for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not overbake). Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.Yield: 8-10 servings.

[LilyElizabeth]

 

Delicious Pumpkin Bread

 

Ingredients

·       5 large eggs

·       1-1/4 cups vegetable oil

·       1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

·       2 cups all-purpose flour

·       2 cups sugar

·       2 packages (3 ounces each) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix

·       1 teaspoon baking soda

·       1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·       1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.    In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add oil and pumpkin; beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients; gradually beat into pumpkin mixture.

2.    Pour batter into five greased 5-3/4x3x2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 
Freeze option: Securely wrap and freeze cooled loaves in plastic wrap and foil. To use, thaw at room temperature.Yield: 5 mini loaves (8 slices each).

Note: Bread may also be baked in two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans for 75-80 minutes.

 

Lily's note: This recipe is a family favorite and one of our most closely guarded secrets. Enjoy!

[Daruya]

That pumpkin stew looks amazing! I may have to try that this fall. 

[Mystica]

oh man I am so trying that pumpkin stew this winter!!! looks and sounds amazing.

[Mystica]

we don't have packed pumpkin here though, so not sure I can make that pumpkin bread. Though personally I would like to try a pumpkin cake.... gotta' be a recipe for that somewhere.

 

 

Added bonus of this thread, I'm learning all sorts of new English words for stuff... no idea that you called a Dutch oven a..... well, Dutch oven. We call it a castiron pan.

Also learned that canola is koolzaad.

[Elgee]

I agree - I'm definitely trying that pumpkin stew! I've tried a few variations, but never one with all those ingredients and then cooked inside the whole pumpkin - that's wonderful! Thanks a lot, Lily :)

 

We also don't get tinned pumpkin here, Myst - I'm going to look for a recipe because that sounds yummy. Brb.

 

In the mean time, here's a picture of a canola field near Cape Town:

 

[Elgee]

Ok here's a recipe for fresh pumpkin bread (or muffins) that looks nice:

 

How to Cook a Pumpkin

 

"Pie pumpkins" are smaller, sweeter, less grainy textured pumpkins than the usual jack-o-lantern types.  grocery stores usually carry them in late September through December in the U.S.  

Just like selecting any squash, look for one that is firm, no bruises or soft spots, and a good orange color.

Yield: Pie pumpkins are small, usually only 6 inches in diameter.  You can usually obtain about 2 or 3 cups or puree  per pumpkin.

 

Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.

Cut the pumpkin in half.  A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best - a smooth knife is more likely to slip and hurt you!

Scoop out the seeds and scrape the insides.  You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that coats the inside surface.  I find a heavy ice cream scoop works great for this.

 

Note: SAVE THE SEEDS:

The seeds can be used either to plant pumpkins next year, or roasted to eat this year! Place them in a bowl of water and rub them between your hands.  then pick out the orange buts (throw that away) and drain off the water. Spread them out on a clean towel or paper towel to dry and they're ready to save for next year's planting or roast.

There are several ways to cook the pumpkin;  just choose use your preferred method.  Most people have microwaves, and the use the least energy, so I'll describe that here. But others make good arguments in favor of using a pressure cooker, steaming on the stovetop or baking in the oven.

 

Put it in a microwaveable bowl
Remove the stem, and put the pumpkin into a microwaveable. You may need to cut the pumpkin further to make it fit.  The fewer the number of pieces, the easier it will to scoop out the cooked pumpkin afterwards.

Put a couple of inches of water in the bowl, cover it, and put in the microwave. 

Cook the pumpkin until soft: Cook for 15 minutes on high, check to see if it is soft, then repeat in smaller increments of time until it is soft enough to scoop the innards out.  Normally it takes 20 or 30 minutes in total.

 

You can also cook it on the stovetop; it takes about the same length of time in a steamer.  I use a double pot steamer, but you could use an ordinary large pot with a steamer basket inside it!:
 

Scoop out the cooked pumpkin

Puree the pumpkin

 

Note: there are many varieties of pumpkin and some make better pies that other (due to sugar content, flavor, texture and water content.  Drier, sweeter, fine-grained pies; the small (8" across) ones called "pie pumpkins" are best.  If your pumpkin is watery (there should not be any free water), you may want to let it sit for 30 minutes and then pour off any free water.  That will help prevent your pie from being too watery!

 

 

How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Bread and Muffins!

 

Yield: Makes 2 loaves

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising flour)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 3 cups sugar (or 3 cups Splenda (or about 1/3 that if you use Stevia, which is my preference) OR a 50:50 mix of the sugar and Stevia/ or Splenda).
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 2 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin (see this page to make your own from a fresh pumpkin)
  OR one 16 ounce can of canned pumpkin.  IF
   
  you must use caned pumpkin, you can get organic canned pumpkin in a BPA-free can clock on the box at right:
• Water:
  1/2 cup water if you are using fresh cooked pumpkin
  OR
  2/3 cup water if you are using commercial canned pumpkin
• 4 eggs, beaten
  (Note for vegans: each egg can be replaced 1 tablespoon of flax meal mixed with 3 Tbs. water (mixed until it develops uniformly sticky consistency). That's 4 tablespoons of flax meal in total. The bread takes about 15 minutes longer to bake and is a little more dense but very good after a day of refrigeration.)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

 

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
    
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and sugar (or Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you'll need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, ).
   
    
3. Add the eggs, water, oil and pumpkin.
   
    
4. Stir until blended.
   
    
5. If desired, add the raisins and/or nuts. Mix well, either by hand or with a mixer.
   
    
6. Pour into two lightly greased and floured 9x5" loaf pans.  Or, use muffin pans if you want muffins instead of loaves!
   
    
7. Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 F (175 C). The test for doneness is the knife test: when a clean knife can be stuck in and removed cleanly.
   
    
8. Remove from the oven and cool slightly (10 minutes).
   
    
9. Then take the loaves out of pans to let cool on a rack.
    

Like banana bread, pumpkin bread tastes better if you wrap it in plastic wrap (Saran wrap, cling film), refrigerate it and wait until the following day to eat it. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

1/2 cup raisins (also optional)

 

 

 

[LilyElizabeth]

That looks yummy, Elgee. I like the idea of adding raisins. 

[Torrie]

Oh man. I am getting so hungry now. lol 

 

This has become one of my go-tos recently, because I can't get my kids to eat their veggies. They love this and have no idea its good for them.

 

Hidden mac & cheese

 

Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
1-2 cups carrot, chopped
1-2 cups butternut squash, diced
1-2 cups cauliflower, chopped
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1 egg
salt & pepper
Panko bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. melted salted butter

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C

Cook the macaroni al dente, and set aside. In the same pot, pour enough water to just cover the bottom, and add all the vegetables. Cover and steam until vegetables are soft. Blend, and add water as needed to make the mixture into a pureé. Return to the pot, and over medium heat, add milk, cheddar, and cream cheese. Stir until it becomes a smooth consistency. Turn the heat off, and add the macaroni, and mix thoroughly. Cover for 20 minutes—this allows the macaroni to soak up some of the cheese mixture. Stir in 1 egg, and add salt & pepper to taste. Spoon into a greased muffin tin. Combine panko with melted butter and top each mac and cheese cup. Bake at 350°F/180°C for 30-40 minutes, until breadcrumbs begin to brown. Let cool before removing the cups from the muffin tin, then enjoy!

[LilyElizabeth]

I love recipes like that, Torrie! I fed my kids lots of things that had "hidden" ingredients that were good for them. 

[LilyElizabeth]

Here's another one I just remembered:

 

 

Curried Beef-Stuffed Squash

 

Ingredients

• 3 medium acorn squash (about 1 pound each), halved and seeded
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Directions

1. Invert squash in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until almost tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender; drain.
3. Dissolve bouillon in water; add to skillet. Stir in remaining ingredients; mix well. Turn squash cut side up in pan and fill with meat mixture.
4. Fill pan with hot water to a depth of 1/4 in.; cover loosely with foil. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

[LilyElizabeth]

I got a lot of my recipes from A Taste of Home magazine when it was new. Luckily, their website has pictures I can share with you, too. 

[Mystica]

I agree - I'm definitely trying that pumpkin stew! I've tried a few variations, but never one with all those ingredients and then cooked inside the whole pumpkin - that's wonderful! Thanks a lot, Lily :)

 

We also don't get tinned pumpkin here, Myst - I'm going to look for a recipe because that sounds yummy. Brb.

 

In the mean time, here's a picture of a canola field near Cape Town:

 

 

 

that made me sing 'they call me mello yello!'.... -weird looks from coworkers-

[Ryrin]

Apple Crisp in a crock pot.

 

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp This Slow Cooker Apple Crisp is cooked entirely in the crock pot! This easy dessert is bursting with juicy apples, brown sugar, and a buttery oat crumble topping.

 

Ingredients For the apple mixture:

 

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼­inch thick slices

½ cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon salt

 

For the crisp topping:

 

cup  fashioned oats

¾ cup white whole wheat flour

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Icecream, for serving (optional)

 

Directions Make the apple mixture: 1. Place sliced apples in the slow cooker. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir. (Be sure to use a -metal spoon so as not to scratch your slow cooker insert.) Let sit while you prepare the crisp topping. Make the crisp topping: 1. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Stir until well combined. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the oat mixture until the mixture starts to clump together. 2. Stir the apple mixture one more time and then spread apples out into an even layer. Sprinkle on the crisp topping. Cook the apple crisp: 1. Cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 3-­3½ hours, until apples are soft. Turn off heat and let stand for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before serving (keeping the lid on). Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

[Sooh]

Lapskaus

 

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

• 1.3 kg chuck steak (off the bone and trimmed of excess fat), cut into ¾-inch pieces
• 6 large carrots, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
• 300 g parsley roots, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
• 750 g swede (rutabaga), chopped into ¾-inch pieces
• 1 kg floury potatoes such as Kerrs Pink or Maris Piper, chopped into ½-inch cubes
• 1.5 ltr fresh chicken stock
• 30g butter
• Freshly chopped parsley to garnish
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large casserole pot and brown the meat in batches
2. Add the chopped vegetables and the browned meat, pour over the stock and add some salt and pepper
3. Bring to the boil. You may need to skim the stew a couple of times
4. Cover the casserole with a tight fitting lid and let it simmer gently for 2½ hours, but don't stir too often otherwise the vegetables will turn to mush
5. After 2½ hours or so the meat should be very tender, check and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the stew is too thick you can always thin it out with more stock or water
6. Serve in large bowls, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve with plenty of of flatbrød

 

 

I made this last weekend. It's yummmylicious!

[Torrie]

This is one of the best soup recipes I have ever tried. 

 

4 cups of potatoes, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup of onions
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 Tbsp. of salt
1/2 Tbsp. of pepper
4 Tbsp. of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sour cream
Shredded cheese
Bacon
Chopped scallions

Directions:
Add the potatoes, onions, chicken broth, salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Set it to low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. 

In a saucepan, combine the butter, flour, heavy cream and sour cream. Whisk until thickened. When the slow cooker is done, pour in the thickened mix. Stir, cover and set the slow cooker to low for another 30 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, bacon and chopped scallions. Enjoy! 

[LilyElizabeth]

Ooooo, those all sound so yummy. I want to try the apple crisp. 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

I posted this in the ogier, and it's about as autumnal a dish as I can think of. And it's about time I made a batch.

 

 

Bigos / Polish Hunter's Stew

 

there are probably as many recipes for this as... the number of times it's been cooked.

 

basically, a lot of different kinds of meat and sausage, fresh and smoked... most often pork nowadays i think, but traditionally game. i've used beef, and chicken and... whatever you want is good. like when the neighbors insist on giving you venison... or whatever roadkill they may have found...

 

anyway, what i think it always has in it aside from the meat, is green cabbage... fresh sauerkraut, the kind that's brined, not the kind that's pickled. you can find it refrigerated in the deli section usually, but if you can't... use the pickled stuff and rinse it forever. an onion. a couple pounds of mushrooms, mixed, mostly fresh but some dried wild ones if you can get them. either beer, or wine and tomato sauce. salt, pepper, caraway seeds, marjoram (which i can never find unless i grow it, so i use oregano or thyme). a couple handsful of prunes.

 

i work with two pans, a big frying pan to brown the meat, and my biggest stock pot for everything else.

 

chop a whole green cabbage (not savoy, normal cabbage), and an onion, cook those down in the big pot, adding a little salt to draw out the liquid.

 

in your frying pan, start browning off the meat.

 

i start with whatever fresh sausage i'm using because i like to brown everything else in that grease, or you can use bacon grease or oil.

 

i'll use a pound or two of fresh sausage, cut into.. eh, 2 inch chunks is good, all the meat the same size more or less.

 

brown that off, put it in the cookpot with the cabbage. keep stirring while the veggies get soft.

 

brown off the rest of the meat in batches in the frying pan. this time i'm using pork shoulder, about 3 lbs. but you can use anything, really.... anything...

 

add it to the pot as it browns.

 

slice some good smoked sausage, kielbasa is the proper thing here, about a pound and a half, and put that into the cookpot without browning.

 

add a ham shank or smoked pork butt or something like that to the pot.

 

add the drained sauerkraut. and... i'm no fan of sauerkraut, but after it cooks together with everything else... it becomes something wonderful.

 

in the same pot where you browned the meats, without adding any more grease or oil, brown the fresh mushrooms (leave small ones whole, halve or quarter big ones). salt them once they start to give off liquid, and scrape the brown yums off the bottom of the pan with that liquid. cook till almost dry and add to the cookpot.

 

if you're using dried mushrooms, reconstitute them with boiling water and add them to the pot.

 

either pour in a couple bottles of beer, or a bottle of wine and a can of tomatoes. you won't have enough liquid to cover everything, don't worry. the veg will give up more liquid, and it's supposed to be a "dry" stew.

 

 

add a tablespoon of caraway, a couple teaspoons of marjoram or whatever herbs you have... a lot of coarse black pepper. some people add some juniper berries, but i have no idea where to get those so... i guess a shot of gin would work, but it's optional.

 

bring everything to a simmer, cover tightly, and cook this forever on a very low heat.

 

if you don;t have forever... cook it until the ham shank or pork butt starts to fall apart. start checking after 2 hours, shouldn't take more than 4...

 

fish it out, discard the bones and the fat, chop the meat and throw it back in the pot.

 

the recipe i worked from the first time i did this said to halve a couple dozen prunes and add them now... and to cook another half hour.

 

if you need to hide the fact that you have used prunes... the humans are so silly about their finicky nonsense sometimes.... after 30 minutes, they cook right into the stew and you'll never know they were there.

 

so this time i'm adding them whole cause i like them, and there's hardly any, when you consider how much meat is in that pot.

 

i think i'll add some chopped apples next time, too... that would work.

 

can't imagine anything that wouldn't.

 

yes, this is enough to feed everyone you you know for quite some time.

 

it only gets better with age, so leftovers are good.

 

serve with beer or wine, and bread.

 

done.

[Torrie]

Cindy, that sounds like heaven!

 

I'm doing this one tonight. I'll let you know who it turns out. 

• 1/2 lb (about 3-4 cups) fresh broccoli, roughly chopped
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1 pint (2 cups) fat-free half-and-half (If you really want the real thing, go for it, but fat-free tastes just as good in this recipe and that means you can go back for seconds!)
• 16 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions: 

1. Place the broccoli, onion, carrot, and garlic in the bottom of a large crockpot. Pour chicken stock over the veggies. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper and stir.

2. Set the crock pot to LOW and cook for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

3. Cream the soup. The easiest way is with an immersion blender but you can also transfer to a blender and then transfer back to the crock pot. If you prefer a more chunky soup, you can also use a potato masher so don’t let not having a blender or immersion blender stop you. You are dealing with hot liquids so be careful!

4. Immediately prior to serving, add the half-and-half and shredded cheese and stir. Allow the cheese to melt and garnish with extra cheese and serve. Yum! My family loves this recipe paired alongside my garlic knots or honey wheat crescent rolls or served inside a bread bowl.