Every year I find myself going on Pinterest and saving a million ideas for new recipes, baking ideas and tasty treats. By the end of the year I find myself making none of those things. I really wanted to push myself to try some new things this year and part of that included me getting creative in the kitchen. If you read my previous blog about My Favorite Autumn Ideas, I mentioned creating a cooking list of items you’d like to make throughout the Fall season. Not only is it incredibly satisfying knowing you made something so delicious, but it keeps the season cheerful and your house smelling yummy! I wanted to share all the treats I’ve made so far and include the recipe links for you all!
1.) Shepherd’s Pie
So this is something I’ve always wanted to try to make because my Husband LOVES Shepherd’s Pie. This recipe I found on Pinterest (like all my recipes) but the thing I actually love about this one is the ingredients are all just layered in a baking dish rather than a pie crust, so it’s all of the warm flavors without the heavy feeling.
Click Here for the recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- 1 lb 90% lean ground beef, lean
- 1/2 cup Corn, frozen kernels
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- 2 tsp Parsley, dried leaves
- 1 cup Peas & carrots, frozen mixed
- 1 tsp Rosemary, dried leaves
- 1 1/2 lb Russet potatoes
- 1 tsp Thyme, dried leaves
- 1 cup Yellow onion
- 1 cup Beef broth
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp All purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp Black pepper, ground
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 8 tbsp Butter, unsalted
- 1/3 cup Half & half
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2.) Irish Stew
My mom made this for me when I first came home from the hospital with Jack. I remember craving something hearty and comforting to eat and boy my mom did not disappoint. She made the most amazing Irish Stew and I’m not exaggerating when I say I ate it for two weeks straight (lunch and dinner) If you have an Instant pot this is a really easy and quick meal to make.
If you are using a crockpot, you can use all the same ingredients just cook the meat prior to putting it in the crock pot for about 5-7 minutes. Put it on low for about 3-4 hours. For both crockpot and instant pot you can add a tablespoon of flour once stew is done for thickening purposes! Don’t forget to include some sour dough bread or soda bread with butter for dipping!
Click Here for the recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- olive oil
- stew meat
- sweet onion
- cloves garlic
- Guinness beer
- beef stock
- tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
- celery
- fresh thyme
- bay leaves
- carrots
- russet potatoes
- cornstarch
- water
3.) Trader Joe’s Canned Beef Chilli
Sooo this one doesn’t need a pretty picture or much explaining. This is essentially chili out of a can but it’s AMAZING. I add a little sour cream and top it with shreded cheese. You will be in HEAVEN.
4.) Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Mix
This one also needs no explaining. I included this in my 2020 Fall Favorites blog as well because this has become quite the obsession in the Schaefer household. It’s also stupid easy to make and truly addicting!
Click Here for the link
5.) Strawberry Pie
I’ve always wanted to make a pie from scratch. This year we made the trip out to one of our favorite farms here in AZ. We were able to pick over 2 lbs worth of strawberries for this pie which made it even more special and fun. I’m just gonna start by confessing i’m not a huge pie person but this receipe was AMAZING. My husband and I ended up eating the whole thing in two days.
TIP: If the dough is too sticky, add more flour and continue to form a dough ball until it stops sticking to your hands. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes before you begin to role the dough and form your pie crust.
The one thing I will suggest is purchasing wax paper for the pie crust portion. Although this recipe is very simple and easy to follow (which I love) it didn’t suggest rolling the dough on any type of transportable paper in order to lay the crust in the pie dish without it tearing.
There is also a link in the recipe that shows you a step by step video of how to make the lattice design. The entire process took me about 1 hour and I truly had so much fun.
Click Here for the recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
Filling:
- 2 lbs fresh strawberries
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Crust:
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold water
- 7 tablespoons cold butter
6.) Monster Rice Crispy Treats
Okay this was too dang cute to pass up. This is such a simple and fun treat to make for kids, friends or even yourself! Jordan and I would snack on these while watching spooky movies and carving pumpkins!
The recipe calls for colored chocolate wafer melts, but honestly I just got white chocolate wafer melts and added food coloring with a little bit of cooking oil to make it smooth. All of these ingredients I was able to get at Target so it will make your trip a one-stop-shop.
Click Here for recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- Candy Eyeballs
- Candy Melts (food coloring if desired)
- Pre-packaged rice crispy treats
- Sprinkles
7.) Truffle Popcorn
This idea actually came from a pub we ate at once. I love pretty much ANYTHING truffle and for some reason it really reminds me of Fall. Since watching movies is a must this entire season, you’ll obviously need some killer popcorn to accompany you. We tried this recipe and it was to DIE for (do you see all the puns I’m using here?) Anyway here are the goods
Click Here for the recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- 3 tbsp. peanut oil
- 1/2 c popcorn kernels
- 1 tsp. truffle oil
- 1/4 c parmesan cheese, shredded
- salt to taste
- parsley to garnish
8.) Mulled Wine
This is the PERFECT holiday drink! I’ve tried a couple different recipes and this one is my favorite so far. It calls for apple juice but you can also do orange juice if you’re not a fan. I also used brown sugar instead of regular which I would HIGHLY recommend!
Click Here for the recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- 2 Clementines
- 2 Lemons
- 3 Cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp Cloves, whole (I didn’t add this)
- 2 Nutmeg, whole (or pinch of nutmeg powder)
- 1 cup Sugar (I used brown)
- 1 cup Apple juice
- 1 750- ml bottle Red wine
9.) Butter Beer
I don’t know about you, but when we visited Harry Potter World, we were SO excited to try the ButterBeer (thinking it was alcoholic) turns out it was just a really delicious butterscotch drink which was still amazing. A couple years back when Jordan and I binged the movies, we decided to look up a good ButterBeer recipe for our movie marathon. I will warn you, this drink sneaks up on you because it’s truly tasty.
Click Here for the recipe
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- 1 ounce butterscotch schnapps
- 1 ounce vanilla vodka
- 6 ounces cream soda
- Garnish: whipped cream
- Garnish: butterscotch syrup
- Garnish: butterscotch whipped cream*
I hope you have so much fun trying these recipes out! Feel free to message me and let me know how it turns out and share any tips and tricks you find along the way. Happy Cooking!