Menu 5

Ok, it's been a long, long time. But it's not for lack of cooking, so let the menus begin again!

I've decided to post only the recipes that I think are amazing, not just all the recipes that I've made in the last 2 weeks, so enjoy these highlights of the delicious fall recipes that we've been eating at our house!

Vegetarian:

Farro Salad with Red Peppers, Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes and Lemon

The flavors in this recipe shocked me - absolutely packed with flavor and so satisfying. It was absolutely delicious and healthy! It's a pity that farro isn't more popular - I found it easily at Whole Foods and was on my way to a delicious, hearty vegetarian meal.

Vegetable Gratin-Souffle: This recipe (found below) is a Deborah Madison recipe from her famous book, "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone". It's SUCH a wonderful cookbook aimed for the vegetarian or anyone who just wants to add some vegetarian-based cooking to their menus (which I do). The recipes are rounded, delicious, and use a variety of ingredients (rather than leaning on simply bread or pasta) to make wholesome, delicious, vegetarian meals. This recipe was no disappointment - it came out fluffy and delicious! I used celery root, butternut squash, and zucchini. Perfection.

By the way, celery root is the scary-lookin' root vegetable at your local supermarket. Don't let it scare you away, it might be ugly, but it has such a delicious flavor and smell. Just a little sweet and a little zesty at the same time. I love it. Just cut all the outer parts and roots off and you'll have what looks like a potato to dice to your heart's content.

Butternut Squash Corn Chowder

Just can't stop eating or making this, it's so unbelievably good! Last time I threw in a little edamame, just to up the nutrition ante for my son. =)

Butternut Squash Couscous with Mango Chutney

I make this almost compulsively during the winter months. The sweet, the savory, the textures, it's just DELICIOUS! I think with this particular recipe you could potentially swap in rice if you don't have couscous, and you could also use coconut milk if you don't have cream. Mango chutney is usually found either by the relish and ketchup or in the Asian cooking/Indian cooking aisle at grocery stores. You can also make it yourself, but that is a lot of work! For those with allergies to mangoes (i.e., my mom), you can swap in apricot preserves if necessary, it's still quite delicious.

Fun:

Feta Chicken with Zucchini

I go back again and again to this recipe. I do vary it a little from the main recipe - I half the chicken breasts and then take all the other ingredients (except the lemon wedges) and combine them together and roll the chicken breasts around them - as if I were stuffing them. I then take anything left-over and top it all over the chicken and bake it in a covered casserole dish as directed. I also always add in mushrooms and sometimes asparagus, for an easy and nutritious one-pot meal. Then, the juices on the bottom of the casserole from the vegetables can also be used as a sauce over rice with the meal and you already have all your vegetables cooked!

Fast:

Fruited Curry Chicken Salad with Navajo Fry Bread

This is my all-time favorite chicken salad. Just thinking about it makes my mouth salivate. With all the grapes around this time of year, I decided to make it and serve it on homemade navajo fry-bread, although crescent rolls are delicious with it as well.

Slow Cooker:

Kailua Pulled Pork

This is a staple comfort food in our house. Recipe found below - so so delicious with some rice and a green veggie!

Classic Beef and Noodles This is from the Rival Crock Pot Recipe Collection. I adore this book, it allows you to be so creative with your crock pot and it frequently calls for fresh (rather than all processed) ingredients, which is a plus in my book! This recipe did not disappoint. We absolutely loved it. Rather than the dry sherry, I just added a little balsamic vinegar and maybe a little water. This was absolutely delicious and so easy!!

My favorite Taco SoupMost taco soups have a lot of ingredients in them. This one is very simple - and I think it's the best one I've ever had! So, so, easy. Recipe below as well. You can substitute any ground meat you like to make it healthier.

Happy Fall!