Autumn Food

Although it may not feel like Fall here in Tucson, it's almost October! Some of my favorite memories of Fall include the smell of wood burning in fireplaces, the red, orange, and yellow leaves, and the amazing sound of crunching leaves beneath my feet (one of my favorite things I must admit).

What else do I like? Fall food! Sure, you could eat these foods all year round, but I like to save them for the fall-winter months! I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes with you!

ROASTED AUTUMN VEGETABLE SOUP:

This is a Weight Watchers recipe, but it is AMAZING (in my opinion). Clock on this LINK to go to their site for the recipe. I like it because each serving is 1 1/2 cups and only 2 points (translating for those of you not familiar with WW: low fat but lots of food & filling!). There is so much flavor. I think this recipe takes a lot of time, but is worth it. I take half of the soup and put it in the freezer for another week.

I like making grilled cheese with the soup, or garlic & tomato grilled cheese: slice a tomato & take the seeds out, when making the grilled cheese put a little cheese on each side of the bread with the tomato in the middle so it isn't soggy. Then sprinkle a little garlic powder on the bread when you flip it. YUM!

PUMPKIN BREAD:

I've realized that I love all things pumpkin (pie, muffins, ice cream), but I think one of my favorites is pumpkin bread. Last year I decided to make it myself since I realized I never had, and I used the recipe out of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and you can find the recipe on this LINK. I am surprised that on the site it was given 4 out of 5 stars, because I thought it was amazing. This one is defiantly NOT a WW recipe (3 cups of sugar, 4 eggs, 1 Cup oil to name a few of the ingredients).

I think one of the keys to this recipe is making sure to wrap it and store over night before cutting into it. Just to make sure the recipe wasn't trying to fake me out, I tried a small piece right out of the oven and then again in the morning after it sat all night...and it was a lot better after sitting. So, if you want to make it, make sure to give it the time it needs for all the flavors to marry! Also, I might try a new recipe soon so I'll let you know if it's better!

CRANBERRY PORK:

I got this recipe from my mom, if she had a blog then I could put her link here....but she doesn't. For this recipe I use 3 ingredients: pork tenderloin (I'm sure other kinds of pork will work, I just like using something without bones in it), cranberries (I use a can & I like it with whole cranberries in it), dry onion soup mix (one packet). Mix the cranberries & onion soup, then put it on top of the pork (I just put the pork in a small glass pan). I bake it at about 375 for about 30-45 minutes (but I check the pork packaging and follow their instructions for baking), and then use a meat thermometer to make sure it's done. Anyway, it's one of the easiest recipes and has lots of flavor.

The next time I make any of these I will take a picture and show you! Happy Autumn!

Next weekend is our Fall Retreat and we're heading to Prescott, Arizona! I'm excited because it looks like the highs will be in the 70's-80's and lows in the 40's!!!! I can wear sweaters! So at least for a weekend I will experience Fall like I always remember it!