Sausage Kale Tortellini Soup

Remove casings and cook off sausage of choice in pot, remove once browned. Add garlic, onion, carrots and cook until onion is translucent. Add a quartered tomato and crush as it cooks, try your best to remove the skin. Add chopped kale and cook until wilted. Add sausage and drippings back along with 1 box chicken stock and 1 box water (plus SALT). Bring to a boil, add tortellini. Cook until tortellini is cooked, add juice of 1 lemon and heavy cream.

Acorn Squash Saltimbocca

Cut any firm orange squash into wedges (you don't even have to peel it!), toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, roast it a bit til it's started to soften. Let it cool for a few minutes then put a single sage leaf on each wedge and lovingly tuck it in by wrapping the squash in prosciutto. Pop it back in the oven for a few more minutes til the prosciutto is crispy, brown some butter in a little pan (I recommend using half the amount the recipe calls for), add a little more chopped sage, take it off the heat and add some sherry vinegar (THIS IS KEY, in a pinch you could probably use a different mild vinegar like apple cider or white wine but do NOT skip the vinegar) and salt, then take out the squash and drizzle it with your butter mixture and a little bit of honey. Devour.

Oatmeal Cookies

I swear that this recipe for oatmeal cookies is far superior to any other recipe.

Sweet Potato Zuppa

In a medium pot, brown one large onion and five cloves garlic, finely chopped, in olive oil

Add one pound of italian sausage with salt, paprika and dill

Add 32oz chicken stock and two sweet potatoes, chopped into bite-sized cubes

Cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are nearly done (easily bitten into but not soft)

Optional but recommended: Add one package of fresh butternut squash ravioli (Rana preferred) If frozen, add earlier to allow time to cook.

Add five leaves of sage, finely chopped When pasta is nearly done, add a large bunch of kale (curly preferred), finely chopped.

Turn heat off and cover until serving, allowing the kale to soften

Top with parmesan cheese.

Applesauce

Apples peeled and chopped into chunks. Put them in a pot with a liquid of your choice - water, cider, orange juice, something a little stronger like brandy - enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle in cinnamon/cardamon/other spices if you like, same with sugar or other sweeteners. Cook on medium - use a wooden spoon to keep it moving and break apart the apples as they soften. I prefer to stop when there are still a larger chunks left but you can cook it until all pieces are soft, and even blend it!

White Bean Soup

Add these ingredients to your crockpot on low for 6 hours:

1 medium sweet onion finely chopped

5 cloves garlic minced

2 large carrots peeled and sliced into coins

4 15-ounce cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed

4-5 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt more to taste

Grammy’s Chili

1. Sautee a diced yellow onion until translucent

2. Add and brown 1 lbs of ground beef, seasoned to taste

3. Add the following ingredients and stir 'till combined: 2 quarts of chili con carne with beans 1 pint of tomato juice A large can of kidney beans Anything else you're heart desires (I like a can of black beans, another can of kidney beans, and some diced jalapeños) Salt and chili powder to taste.

4. Let it simmer until desired temperature is reached. It is the best after sitting in the fridge overnight and served with fresh rolls. :)

Pumpkin Cookie Bar

Ingredients:

17.5oz Betty crocker chocolate chip cookie mix

15oz pumpkin puree

A dash Pumpkin pie spice

1-3tsp Real maple syrup

1/2cup Dark brown sugar

(Optional) Cinnamon & Nutmeg

Set oven to 350°

Mix cookie mix, pumpkin pie spice, and optional spices until combined. Mix in maple syrup and pumpkin puree. Combine until just smooth.

Grease an 8×8 pan then sprinkle some dark brown sugar over top. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake until internal temp reaches 160° (20-30minutes)

Pumpkin Soup

RECIPE (serves 6):

Half a pound of bacon, fine dice (use 1 tbs butter or vegan butter if vegetarian/vegan)

1 cup of chopped onion

1-2 cloves minced garlic

5-6 cups chicken stock (use veggie broth if vegetarian/vegan)

A few sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

3 cups pumpkin puree

2 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, bite-sized dice

2 cups pumpkin or other winter squash, bite-sized dice

1 bay leaf

½-1 tsp black pepper

Salt to taste

1 cup heavy cream

½-3/4 cup chopped dried cherries or craisins

Fresh minced parsley and black pepper to garnish

1. Render the bacon in a dutch oven on medium heat until a fair amount of the fat is out (about 10 minutes) 2. add the onion, season with salt, and sautee until translucent (about 5 minutes) 3. add the garlic and sautee a minute 4. add the stock, thyme, pumpkin puree, potatoes, diced squash, bay leaf, and black pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. 5. cover and simmer the soup for 15 minutes, then start checking the potatoes and pumpkin pieces for doneness. 6. when the pumpkin and potato are cooked through, add the cream, dried cherries, and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning, add more salt if needed. 7. serve with fresh parsley and black pepper. Soup will keep in the fridge up to 5 days in a sealed container. Soup also freezes rather well for a few months.

Watch the YouTube video!

Fall Salad

A grain, boiled (like farro or barley)

A kale or similar green, cut and squished (the squishing is important, put it in a bowl and then just smush it and squeeze it a little bit, it makes it less bitter and way better to eat raw, I promise)

A winter squash, diced and baked (butternut, honeynut, acorn, or sub sweet potato)

A fruit (apple is ideal, but also pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries)

A nut/seed (pumpkin seed is best, but pecans are good too)

A protein (optional, I do crispy tofu but meat eaters could go for chicken probably)

A dressing (citrusy is good, like an orangey something, or a red wine vinaigrette is excellent, also lemon poppyseed, or a lemon tahini)

Mix.

Can easily feed one or a crowd. Revel in the delights of the season.

Garlic Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

5lbs Sweet Potato, 5 Heads of Garlic (not cloves, heads!), 2qts Chicken/vegetable broth (just enough to cover all ingredients in pot)

Directions: Peel sweet potatoes and cut in to even sized chunks, place in deep pot.
Peel garlic (or use jarlic) and add to potatoes. Cover with chicken broth.
Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Blend or use an immersion blender until smooth. If you don't have either, cook until the potatoes are very soft and stir/whisk vigorously until well combined. Salt and pepper to taste, but the chicken broth pretty much took care of both.

Serve as is, or add any of the following:

sour cream

good olive oil

finely diced apples

fried sage leaves

microgreens/sprouts

toasted pine nuts

Adjust for your family size: 1-pound sweet potatoes to 1 head of garlic, and just enough broth to cover.

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Greased 9x13 pan, 2 cans of cinnamon rolls, 2 cans of apple pie filling

Cut rolls into smallish chunks mix in the pie filling put in greased pan bake 350 for 30-45 minutes until golden… optional the drizzle icing on while still warm for extra gooey goodness.

Spiced Apple Cider

Select your favorite microwave-safe mug. Fill to about 3/4" under the brim with apple cider (perhaps purchased from a nearby orchard!). Sprinkle on a tiny layer of cinnamon. Microwave until steaming (often ~90 seconds in my microwave, between two heats). Sprinkle once again with generous helpings of ginger and nutmeg, and just a little more cinnamon, stirring continuously to incorporate spices and dissipate heat. Honey or maple syrup optional. Enjoy!