Is there anything better than making home cooked meals during the cozy fall months?
Last year I rounded up some of my favorite fall recipes, and this year I am back at it! Given that we are staying more at home (or at least should be) this fall and not doing the typical social gatherings with friends and family while watching football or going to tailgates, this gives you a great opportunity to take out that apron and get cooking! Never been someone who enjoys cooking? Well now is your time to ease into things and start small. Do not start by attempting a complicated recipe or a big dish, you need to start small and have little wins because that will motivate to keep this going.
As I look at all the recipes online for fall favorites a question came up in my mind. Am I a pumpkin gal or an apple gal during the fall? I feel like I am an even split as I do like pumpkin but I do not like pumpkin overload. Same with apple flavored things. I think there can be a happy medium between both as they are both equally delicious.
My favorite part of fall are the home cooked warm meals that you can cook in your crockpot and make your whole house smell SO good all day. My crockpot is my favorite appliance by far that I own and everyone needs to get one. There are many crockpot fakes out there but the brand Crockpot is the only brand to get and you would be surprised by how inexpensive some models are. I have found that the others just don’t work that well and not worth the money.
Meals. Proud of myself for writing meals before I just jump into desserts but there are so many great meals that you can make for dinner (with leftovers for lunch) and side dishes to make your meal complete. One of my absolute favorite are these parmesan roasted carrots. I never was a baked carrots gal growing up but I have quickly fallen in love with them especially if they are not plain. This chicken dish looks absolutely amazing and the best part is that it is a one pan meal! I would probably pair it with roasted brussels sprouts or a different type of vegetable but the flavors of this dish are so unique. Are you a soup fan? I definitely go through phases but one staple of mine during the fall is butternut squash soup. And last but not least this crockpot friendly tuscan tortellini soup looks amazing. I tend to gravitate more towards “thicker” soups because I find them to be more filling and this definitely does just that.
Sweet Treats. Ah our favorite meal am I right?! Now there are SO many great recipes out there for fall and I encourage you all to take a look. I love a good pumpkin oatmeal cookie (the mix from Trader Joe’s is great), a pumpkin loaf, and apple crisp but I wanted to round up a couple of more unique recipes. Are you a big oatmeal fan? I tend to gravitate more towards oatmeal in the fall and winter because it is warm and filling and this creamy pumpkin steel cut oats recipe looks incredible. It is a fun way to switch things up and do something different with the boring oatmeal recipes we gravitate towards. As I grew up my mom would make this delicious apple spice cake (my grandma’s recipe and unfortunately not online) but this one is very similar. You can cut off a piece during the day as a snack and enjoy it with a cup of tea or enjoy it as you cozy up at night watching TV. So good. And finally this no-back pecan pie bars (vegan and GF) looks so good and really simple. I love the simplicity of a no bake bar as it just eliminates the use of using one appliance all together and I can’t wait to give this a try!
Are you more of an apple person or pumpkin person?
Thanks for reading Elle’s Edit. If you have any topics that you would like for me to discuss, feel free to email me at elizabeth.lane.dooley@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you! xo
