Bring On The Fall

I love this post Ali, so fun to read and now I'm hungry and it's only 6a.m.

My dream is to have a freezer filled with ready to go dinners, especially now when school is here and soccer season started. I have been thinking more about cooking during the day while the kids are at school and having this help get dinner ready faster too. We are stuck in the same what's for dinner rut, even our favorites are feeling old. I just got some food magazines at a garage sale and have been writing down new things to try.
The yummy foods of summer are still making me happy though. We have a garden and I can't stop eating the tomatoes and zucchini and we have corn/cob almost daily as our bedtime snacks. I love that we sit around the table with the kids in their pj's and laughing at our messy faces while eating the corn.

I am sooooo ready for FALL, my favorite season. We will be making chili again but that's about all we change in our menu.

Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday and already the pumpkin pies are out at the store and making me want it to come already.

Almost forgot, we do drink a lot of cider and donuts during the fall. I love dipping cider donuts in our cider, kinda like dunking cookies in milk only warmer.

Thanks for the fun post Ali and hope you will let us know how these turn out for you.

I do 'once a month" cooking during the cooler/cold months. I LOVE IT. Cooking day is HARD and long, but the end result of not having to plan and prepare daily meals is so worth it in time and worry about what to fix. I use our own recipes and double or triple them. As an example: When the kids were living at home, it took 2 meatloaf for one meal. So if I wanted meatloaf 2 meals in a month, I baked 4. Now that the kids are gone, 1 meatloaf will feed DH and I three meals.

Some meals that I can crockpot, I will just bag uncooked and freeze those things that go into the pot. The day before I plan to use them I defrost the bag, so the next morning just dump in the slowcooker and have a wonderful evening meal without the prep hassle. Hint: use those "Slow cooker" bags in your crockpot when you cook, and there's no clean up afterwards.

In the summer, we often have produce from the garden or given to us, that it's harder to plan meals a month in advance. We grill out more at the spur of the moment, too.

Even having a few extra meals in the freezer is a blessing. I urge you to try it.

We made that one pot pasta a couple nights ago and it was AWESOME! I told my picky five year old it was "magic pasta" and he ate two bowls. It's a keeper for sure!

My favorite fall food, hands down, is apples. We live in an area with lots of orchards, and there's a cider mill within a few minutes. I'm already fairly fall-obsessed, but having access to apples right off the tree is one of the things I look forward to when summer ends. And while apples are typically more of a dessert thing, you can use cider and apples for all kinds of things. I love adding apples to salads, particularly, and making my own applesauce with just fresh apples and some water, simmered on the stove until soft. Yummy!

I also don't "love" summer cooking. I enjoy making chili and soups, roasts and gf mac n cheese:) More comfort food that heats up the house obviously.

Will have to try the Baked Ziti, sounds yummy. When I make meatballs, I use Giada's recipe, I triple the recipe and freeze the leftovers for quick meals later {meatball subs are always a favorite here} but instead of frying, I bake then on a foil lined and sprayed cookie sheet and turn them once. So much easier than standing and frying up 120 meatballs. And for the chicken, try it with crumbled blue cheese instead of parmesan...ridiculously good, our 10-year old asks for it all the time.

I wanted to also suggest a service that has worked well for my family called The Fresh 20. We have been using their service since February. It has really eased the pain of grocery shopping and figuring out what is for dinner. (Not affiliated with The Fresh 20 in any way, just a big fan).

I have the same thoughts of summer versus fall meals. I usually take three weekends between October and February and make a ton of freezer meals to cover us for several weeks. A majority of them are ones I can cook in the crock pot so dinner is ready when I get home. My favorites are chicken parmesan meatballs and mango salsa chicken with coconut rice. Also any soup and chicken pot pie. Now if the temperature would cooperate. School is back in session...summer can end any time now.

Fall to me means soup! I love making soups and chowders and chili! One of my fav soups is Albondigas Soup. recipe is on my blog. Think of it like a Mexican version of Italian Wedding Soup. It has a little chili in it and cilantro. YUM!

I started the fall stock up yesterday with a big pot of spaghetti sauce. Today I'm making veggie soup. One of my single friends and I used to make and freeze meals which we shared with each other. It helped us eat healthier and was fun.

i agree about summer foods. too many late dinners and there's something about the oven being on when it's 90 out- yuk. i decided to start a pinterest board of meals in my regular rotation--- i just felt like i had recipes all over the place and wanted to have ones i've tried and want to make again in one place (esp now that i cook gluten free- that's a whole other ball game)!!!!

I cook ALOT on days that I have time (usually sunday) and then we have good, home cooked meals ready to be reheated in the microwave all week long (when I don't have time to cook). This has really worked out well for me.
Another think I do is buy huge packages of ground beef and go ahead and brown it up with onions and garlic then freeze in serving size portions---that saves lots of time when preparing a meal that call for ground beef.

I love summer foods but at the end of the season, I am ready for a change in the menu. A few of my favorite fall favorites are pasta e fagioli (fortheloveofcooking.net), chili, pumpkin bread and minestrone. My all time favorite is chicken marbella (found in the Silver Palate cookbook). It is awesome because you marinate it the night before and then just add a little brown sugar and white wine before putting it in the oven. With homework and sports schedules, it is nice to have such a delicious meal that is easy to get done at a busy hour. It is extremely flavorful and delicious. I love to serve it with cous cous to soak up the extra juices. It is also fabulous with butternut squash. My mouth is watering now. ; ) Email me if you want the recipe.

I look forward to fall cooking too. I've been dreading cooking and meal planning lately, but as cooler weather approaches, I feel more inspired.

I feel the same about summer foods - love them but not all that inspired to cook until fall too :) I personally love Marin Mama's recipes and weekly menus. Simple, healthy, and super yummy so I thought I would share:

http://www.marinmamacooks.com/

I have tried the One Pot Pasta and it is wonderful.

Mike and I just started cooking for the week each Sunday afternoon. It makes life so much easier. Week nights are just so hard with after-school activities, homework, etc. It's nice to pull something out of the Fridge or freezer and have dinner ready with little thought or effort.

I tried emeals.com but like savingdinner.com better. She even has a month of freezer meals program you can purchase - might be helpful for your 'big' cooking day. The menu for 2 is probably even adequate for you and the kids. You also get access to not only classic meals, but paleo and low carb as well. Since I live alone, I love being able to cook one meal and have it be enough for two.

Even if you don't complete entire meals to freeze, even cooking chicken, meatballs, grilled flank steak, etc. and freezing it into dinner portions will greatly streamline the meal preparation process.

I always try to have some staples in the freezer - refried beans & black beans (made in crockpot) for tacos, tostados, burritos & nachos
Meatballs - great for pasta or even just meatball subs

Muffins - I love apple/banana & pumpkin - I store in freezer to pull out for a quick snack or to include in a lunchbox

Waffles & french toast - Triple batches made - freeze well - quick to pull out for breakfast or easy dinner