Posts Tagged ‘fall’

After all of my exams this week I finally have time to cook! Tonight I made stuffed squash for dinner!

Ingredients:

• 2 acorn squash
• 4 cups cubed whole wheat bread
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/4 cup pecans (plain of candied)
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Toast 4 cups of bread cubes in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until brown.

Instead of 2 Acorn squash, I used one Carnival squash (left) and one Acorn squash (left) for fun!

Cut, remove, and discard the seeds from the squash. Place squash face down on a pan with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

While waiting for the squash to bake, combine cranberries and raisins in a bowl with 1 cup of boiling water. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Combine onion mixture, bread. cranberries, raisins, parsley, sage, pecans, pepper and broth in a large bowl.

Spoon mixture into squash halves and place face up on a baking sheet. Cover and back for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This meal was delicious! It was like a mini vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner stuffed in a squash!

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This weekend I got a chance to go to an apple orchard to pick my own apples! I went to  Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park, IL (about an hour west of Chicago).

It was a gorgeous day for apple picking! Sunny and relatively warm for October!

Before entering the orchard there was a giant billboard explaining what was being picked today. However, since it was the last weekend for picking, once we got into the orchard we were allowed to pick whatever we could find. Luckily there were still so many different kinds of apples left to pick from!

Granny Smith

Goldrush

Rome Beauty

Ida Red

Golden Delicious

Jonathan

My bag is the one on the left, I was able to fit 10 apples in my quarter peck bag! I came home with a Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Goldrush, Ida Red, Red Delicious, Rome Beauty, Blushing Golden, and an Empire.

After walking around the orchard, I had to stop in and get an apple cider doughnut. It was so delicious, the perfect treat!

I didn’t get a chance to stick around for the pumpkin patch or corn maze so I’ll have to come back next year!

Can’t wait to try all of the different kinds of apples! Maybe I’ll make some taffy apples or apple pie!

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This Sunday’s baking project was Ginger Pear Muffins! I actually got this recipe out of Diabetic Living magazine. I like a lot of their recipes because they are low in fat and high in fiber. They also offer sugar and egg substitutions if you are diabetic or on a special diet. I decided to stay clear of pumpkin this weekend and went with pears instead. Fall is the perfect season for pears and you can get them in all kinds! For this recipe I simply used a Bartlett pear but you can use any kind of pear you want.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar (or 1 1/2 tsp Sweet’N Low Brown or 2 Tbsp Sugar Twin Granulated sugar substitute)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg (or 1/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed)
• 2/3 cup fat-free milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 chopped, cored pear
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 Tbsp oat bran (I used wheat bran)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with foil papers or coat with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, the 1/2 tsp ginger, and salt. In a small bowl, beat egg and stir in milk and oil. Add to the flour mixture and stir with a fork until moistened (the batter should be lumpy). Fold in the chopped pear and walnuts. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Combine oat bran and 1/4 tsp ginger; sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins at 149 calories each.

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One of the best parts of fall is the abundance of sweet potatoes!

I usually make fries with my sweet potatoes, but tonight I was feeling more like chips!

Sooo good! I could live off of sweet potatoes if I had to!

What’s your favorite way to eat sweet potatoes?

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This season I plan to participate in some agritoursim by going to a U-Pick farm to pick my own apples, pears, pumpkins, and squash! You can’t get produce any fresher than picking it straight from the source yourself!

Most U-Pick farms are only open for you to pick produce until the end of October and they typically charge you by the pound for whatever you pick. You can even bring your kids along to teach them where fruits and vegetables come from and how they grow! Check out Illinois AG Fun for Illinois locations or find a U-Farm near you. Enjoy this season’s fresh produce! Happy picking!

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