Fall goodies

I am making my first fall pot of soup. My Son is around trying to help me get stuff done with Mom and we all were talking about fall goodies. And the thing I have been wanting was butternut squash soup. Hubby wants applesauce cake. Son wants the soup with kielbasa sausage. Mom wants cornbread and honey. Sooooo guess what we are having for dinner and my place smells soooo good right now. I am freezing at least half of everything (except cornbread0 for the trip out..... As soon as mom is settled someplace.

What is your go to fall foods?

vanbrat said:

What is your go to fall foods?

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I bought a mini pecan pie from Walmart as my Halloween night treat
Safeway sells pre roasted Turkey breast meat in their deli department. They fresh roast those Turkey breast in the stores also with the roasted whole chickens. Something good to remember if you get a craving for a Turkey sandwich at your camp at Thanksgiving time. That is what I buy them for! I much prefer a real Turkey breast to slice up versus those packages of thin sliced Turkey lunch meats.

Quick cooking oatmeal for breakfast is a fall standard. I just bought quick cooking oats and a bag of brown sugar now that it is getting into the 40s in the early morning hours, even around Quartzsite AZ. I can my space up making hot cereal and coffee!

A great many of us nomads do not have ovens or do a lot of slow cooking due to high fuel cost. So things getting posted about are often not meals that are not going to be on the menu list for preparing among the audience of the Van life forum. We also do not typically have large fridges or pantry space. Perhaps there could be a few more post about stove top meals that cook more quickly and do not require a lot of ingredients or create a ton of dirty dishes?

Back in my school days there was a cafeteria on the UNI campus that offered some unusual fall goodies. Acorn Squash that was cut in half thru the top to bottom to make a boat. In the center there was a ball of sage sausage and this baked in the hollowed out center. This was baked until the sausage was done and overall quite good. Don't know exactly how it was done but if I were in camp I'd make it in my Dutch Oven.

I just received my 7 gallon Crock pot/Turkey roaster from Amazon.....The box is huge....THANKSGIVING TURKEY ! Adjustable from Simmer to 450°

As soon as it turned cool it's SOUP..........Last nite it was Chicken.......Chicken thighs cooked with onions until tender then shredded....... add canned mushrooms and carrots..........Stock and Noodles............

A fall recipe I've been working on & tweaking is a simple iron skillet Beef Stroganoff meal. You will need to boil some noodles while you are making this recipe to have ready to serve the Stroganoff over. (I use what are called dumpling noodles)

Using a couple of small beef steak cutlets cut into small pieces, flour them in seasoned flour and fry in some oil. I use 1/3 C flour, some salt, pepper, and season-all) Once the meat is fried in the iron skillet remove it to rest and deglaze the pan with some white wine or water. A couple TB works for me.

Then add the water, bouillon, & butter to heat and add the Onion Soup mix and flour, and heat until beginning to thicken. Stir in the sour cream and stir until the gravy thickens but not to a paste like consistency.

1 envelope of Onion Soup mix.
1 cube of beef bouillon or similar flavoring (better than bouillon etc)
1 TB butter or margarine
1 TB all purpose flour
1 1/2 C water

1 C sour cream

Optional: one small can of sliced mushrooms. Use the juice in the can as part of the 1 1/2 C water.

Restore the meat to the gravy mixture and then stir to coat the meat. Cover with a lid and set aside.

In the meanwhile have boiled noodles to plate and spoon the Stroganoff mixture over the noodles.

This is about what the plate will look like:

I’m not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but I do love what I call Pumpkin Pudding.

Mix up pumpkin pie filling, per the recipe on the Libby’s can, substituting brown sugar for all or part of the white and adding an extra egg.

Bake in a casserole dish til done.

Serve warm with a little whipped cream on top.

And, it’s a yellow vegetable.

abnorm said:

I just received my 7 gallon Crock pot/Turkey roaster from Amazon.....The box is huge....THANKSGIVING TURKEY ! Adjustable from Simmer to 450°

As soon as it turned cool it's SOUP..........Last nite it was Chicken.......Chicken thighs cooked with onions until tender then shredded....... add canned mushrooms and carrots..........Stock and Noodles............

Click to expand...

Sounds like Pirate Camp is going to be having a lot of pot luck gatherings this year!

maki2 said:

I bought a mini pecan pie from Walmart as my Halloween night treat
Safeway sells pre roasted Turkey breast meat in their deli department. They fresh roast those Turkey breast in the stores also with the roasted whole chickens. Something good to remember if you get a craving for a Turkey sandwich at your camp at Thanksgiving time. That is what I buy them for! I much prefer a real Turkey breast to slice up versus those packages of thin sliced Turkey lunch meats.

Quick cooking oatmeal for breakfast is a fall standard. I just bought quick cooking oats and a bag of brown sugar now that it is getting into the 40s in the early morning hours, even around Quartzsite AZ. I can my space up making hot cereal and coffee!

A great many of us nomads do not have ovens or do a lot of slow cooking due to high fuel cost. So things getting posted about are often not meals that are not going to be on the menu list for preparing among the audience of the Van life forum. We also do not typically have large fridges or pantry space. Perhaps there could be a few more post about stove top meals that cook more quickly and do not require a lot of ingredients or create a ton of dirty dishes?

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So my applesauce is slow cooked in the crock pot or on the stove top or microwave (though not as good in the microwave In my opinion), so is the soup. If we are out and about I only make enough for maybe 2 meals at a time. And only if we are someplace with power to chill things in my portable tiny fridge thingy. This would NOT be an everyday thing.
It is hard sometimes to get things from a huge recipe to just a small one but sometimes ya just want something slow and low cooked. Fall does that to me. Ok so everything does cooking cravings for me. Apple sauce is easy. Just quarter up 2-3 apples and simmer them in a pot until soft with just a 1/2 inch or so water. Press them through a strainer to remove the peelings and cores after they cook. Just enough fresh made sauce for 2. Add sugar if you have tart apples, cinnamon if you want that. Really good over the oatmeal and makes the world smell sooooo good. In my opinion bisbee's make the best pink applesauce. But so does a good fuji.
Soup is a bit harder. I often have my little crock pot with me and again if we are somewhere that has power I can do this and have enough for 2 days because of my fridge/freezer thingy. It has no meat or dairy or fats so it keeps a tiny bit better. I add those for serving. half of a small butternut squash cubed and 1 small potato and 1 small carrot and some onion and garlic and finely chopped celery add enough veg stock to make it as soupy as You like let it cook until everything is nice and soft. The smaller things are chopped the faster they cook but the slower they cook the more the flavor in my opinion. I also carry an emulsifier and use that to blend it smooth, but it can be pressed through a strainer to make smooth. I like it to have a bit of chili, but some like it sweeter with other spices. I like mine with sour cream and sliced grilled Kielbasa on top. If you have a way, grilled cheese sandwiches are good with it.

WanderingRose said:

I’m not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but I do love what I call Pumpkin Pudding.

Mix up pumpkin pie filling, per the recipe on the Libby’s can, substituting brown sugar for all or part of the white and adding an extra egg.

Bake in a casserole dish til done.

Serve warm with a little whipped cream on top.

And, it’s a yellow vegetable.

Click to expand...

It is soo good I do this sometimes too.

So now I have to find some of my pumpkin recipes.... Pumpkin muffins pumpkin pancakes, (Moms fav). pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup. Wait, first I gotta eat the butternut soup. I have heard of pumpkin butter like apple butter but I don't have that many pumpkins.

I make an old fashioned pumpkin bread, too, using half whole wheat flour, with raisins and walnuts in it.

Smells wonderful baking. Nothing quite like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Something I have not had in a while and Mom just asked for it. Cinnamon toast. I used to love this stuff. Warm and buttery, smells so good and super easy to make. Why have I not been making this for sooooo long. Sometimes simple is best.

After a very ugly terrible horrible very bad week with my mom I got home to a bed ready for me to nap and Hubby and eldest son made me a really yummy pot of beef stew. We had left over toast with good homemade jam and big bowls of freshly made applesauce. Fall on my plate. I don't know which was better that the stew was yummy or that hubby and son pulled it off with no arguing.

With the fall season comes cranberries and sweet potatoes or yams.

Cranberry Pecan Sweet Potato Bake



If you rig doesn't have an oven and you have some room for one of these, a Dutch Oven may be worth thinking about. Some have legs under them for cooking in campfires and others are stove top types. But stilts can be purchased to sit in the campfire so the stove top DO can be placed on the stilt and used for campfire cooking.

1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/3 C packed brown sugar
2 TB Honey
3 to 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes or yams pealed and sliced into 1/4 inch rings
1 1/2 C dried cranberries
1 C chopped pecans
400 degree oven
9 X 13 dish sprayed with non stick cooking spray

In a mixing bowl combine sugar, melted butter, and honey until well combined

Place rings of sweet potatoes in the dish so none overlap or are on top of each other. Top with enough butter, sugar, honey coating. to coat them and then sprinkle on cranberries and pecans. Build a second layer and repeat.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until top layer becomes a golden brown color.


Cranberry Cherry Jello Salad



This is a tasty recipe to serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. The combination of flavors is awesome ~


1 1/2 c water
1 12 oz bag
fresh cranberries
1 tsp almond extract
1 C sugar
1 1/2 c finely chopped celery
2 finely chopped granny smith apples
2 pkg (3 oz) black cherry jello
3/4 C (3 oz) raspberry jello
1 C pecans


Heat 1 1/2 cups water , sugar, almond extract and cranberries in saucepan over medium heat with cover on pan until most of the cranberries burst open. Stir frequently. It will thicken as you go.

While this is simmering, chop celery, apples and pecans (you can buy the pecans already chopped but it costs more).

After the berries are ready, remove from heat and stir in the two packages of Black Cherry Jello. Return to heat and add in 3/4 cup water and package of Raspberry Jello. Let reach a boil then remove from heat.

Pour into glass bowls and refrigerate until set. Regular setting time in the fridge is overnight.

these sound super yummy. I might have to try the sweet tato stuff with my reflector oven thingy it gets really hot and can bake biscuits so don't see why it can't do this. I may need to shrink the recipe down a bit for 2 but sounds yummy. I like good jello salads. But I am really allergic to cherries even cherry flavored stuff sometimes. But maybe if I use plums or something it will still work.

Sorry to hear of your allergy. Perhaps grape or a combination of flavors that would approximate cherry.

Where I live we have Kroger stores like Ralph's and others the chain. They sell this Cranberry Cherry Jello for nearly $5 a pound container in their Deli. You can use that recipe to make so much more for less than half the price. I use Kroger's store brand Jello and if they don't have Cranberry offered in store brand......I buy the band names on sale ahead of time to be stocked up.

But this Jello Salad flies off the tables during the holidays.

I roasted a chicken yesterday, and this morning took most of the meat off the bones and put the carcass, juices, skin, everything into a big pot with carrot, celery and onion to make stock for soup.

It’s that kind of weather, makes me want to cook.

I do that with chicken too. Then I store the meat in small zip bags in single meal size. And make stock in single meal size and then I can go fast when needed. I used to freeze stock in Ice cube trays but not as much anymore don't know why just don't.
Weird how much I do this stuff in the fall as if we can't just go to the store and get what we need, and don't have to stock up for winter but I think the primal part of my brain still needs to.

^^^ that kind of weather......alright. It's getting cold here too and I've had Vegetable Soup on my agenda.

But I'm working on recipes I'll be able to use on the road that are quick and easy to do.

So I made this last night. Turned out quite good and I think this will be my new go to recipe.



6 Can, Vegetable Soup. Makes a little over 2 quarts.

In a small stock pot or large sauce pan:

1 11.5 oz Can of Tomato Juice
1 each 15 oz Cans.....drain the vegetables

Beef or Chicken Stock
Sliced Carrots
Mixed Vegetables
Diced Tomatoes
Diced Potatoes

Meat: it's up to the cook, but I cut a 12 inch piece of smocked sausage in rings and added to the simmering soup.

Seasonings

3 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 Tb dried minced onions
1 1/2 tsp Seasoning Salt
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tsp Prepared Mustard
1 TB or more of 57 sauce or Steak Sauce
2 tsp Grape Jelly
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Dry Ginger Powder
1 Beef or Chicken Bouillon cube or 1 tsp better than Bouillon Beef or Chicken
some of your favorite Hot Sauce
You can adjust these seasonings to suit yourself

For Sandwiches I make this Deviled Ham spread. Very Simple. Use a
1 1/2 Food Processor 100 watts.

You've probably see these small 4.5 oz cans wrapped in white paper made by Underwood. Usually $2 dollars a can.....but I can make it much cheaper.





Usually on Thanksgiving (November 28) morning Dollar General stores have a big sale on these small appliances. (while they last) In the past they were $5 dollars each. Toasters, Coffee Pots, 1 1/2 Cup food processor, electric hand mixers, single burners, electric can openers, small waffle makers, and small blenders.



So here is the recipe I use for Deviled Ham

4 oz of cut up ham to go into the 1 1/2 cup food processor
pulse two or three times and then continue 45 seconds until ham
is nearly powder fine. Turn this out into a small mixing bowl.

Add about 1 TB of Dukes Mayonnaise and begin to mix until
smooth and well incorporated. I use Dukes but you can use whatever.

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 tsp + to taste white vinegar

A shot of Worchestershire Sauce



A shot of Hot Sauce....like Texas Pete, or Franks. Not too hot of sauce

Mix this well and it should be with a dry yet spreadable texture
Place in Refrigerator for a few hours for flavors to merge before eating.

This is a versatile item which can be used as sandwich fillings, dips, as toppings and combined with other recipes. You can make this with canned luncheon meat, smoked sausage (without a casing) , a combination hot dogs & Vienna sausage, and potted meat.

I make mine just a bit drier than this, but after a few hours in the fridge this will absorb some of the moisture.

Thinking of you guys sitting in Blanding Utah at 48 degrees with snow on some of the local mountain tops eating chili, thick cut onion rings and fry bread with honey washed down with home brewed ice tea!