What we’re eating: Fall Foods

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We’ve had to say goodbye to watermelon salads, fresh tomatoes from the garden in pasta salad and mango covered Salmon for more savory Fall favors … and I’m here for it. Give me all the deliciousness that comes with fall.

Sharing a few, tried and true recipes that we LOVE and make on repeat in the Fall.

Buffalo chicken wings

Okay, okay, I make these year round and basically once a week. Buffalo sauce is my favorite food. And this one is a Whole30 approved buffalo sauce and super simple!

I usually order 1-2 lbs of wings (leftovers are great).

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 bottle of Franks Red Hot (not the buffalo sauce)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Warm the coconut oil over medium heat until melted. Then add garlic until it starts to sizzle a bit. Stir in hot sauce with a whisk until it turns orange and the oil isn’t separated. Add vinegar and keep stirring. Once mixed well, pour over wings in a large bowl and make sure they’re all covered. You should put them in the fridge for 30-60 minutes with sauce. I usually skip this step because I can’t wait to eat wings. Bake on 425 for 35 minutes or until they start to brown a little.

Baked ziti (or pasta pile as my 3 year old calls it)

This is such an easy dinner and will provide infinite amounts of leftovers. I am terrible at following recipes so this is just what I’ve landed on over the years and it works for us.

• 1 box of ziti pasta cooked as box says
• 1 large jar of pasta sauce or make your own (sometimes I do a combo)
• 1-2 eggs (if you’re doing a 8×8 pan, 1 is good, 9×13 you want 2)
• Basil — fresh if possible
• Salt and pepper
• Italian seasoning (you can add your own or use a pre-blend like this one)
• 8 oz of ricotta cheese
• Mozzarella (or Italian blend) shredded
• Parmesan shredded

Cook ziti as instructed. While that’s cooking, warm sauce (I add in some Italian Seasoning and basil) and preheat oven to 375. Add Italian seasoning to sauce. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 ricotta, 1/3 Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper and 1/2 basil. Add a couple generous scoops of sauce. When pasta is cooked, toss in bowl with mixture until noodles are covered. Then add a thin layer of sauce or bottom of pan. Then: noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella and repeat until you get to the top and then add Parmesan and basil on top. Cook for 35 mins or until bubbling and starting to brown a little on top. Serve with salad and bread and enjoy leftovers for days.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken

Every time I make this and have my in-laws over, my father in law says how good it is and asks me how I make it. And it’s SO EASY.

• 2-4 chicken breasts
• Barbecue sauce of your choice (I like any eastern N.C. style (vinegar based) + a few squirts or Sweet Baby Rays sweet n’ spicy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1/4 cup of water

Put in crockpot on low for 6ish hours with garlic and water. About half way through put 1/2 of your barbecue sauce. I save the rest for the end / people to add extra if they want. Buns options. We serve it with collards and sweet potatoes usually.

I would like to get a larger crockpot so I can section it off and cook sweet potatoes on one side while the chicken is on the other but it hasn’t been a priority for us thus far.

Muffins

I make muffins on repeat. Like weekly. Last week I was told by the 3 year old to take the pumpkin out and ONLY put banana in the mix. Which was a little hard since I was at the point of spooning the batter into the tin. However, he ate the muffins and told me he thought they smelled and tasted good and like banana. (Spoiler alert, there was no banana).

These are my go-to recipes (pro tip: add dark chocolate chips):

• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (I like to add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and occasionally will sub some of the sugar for applesauce and then cut back on the oil a bit)
• Pumpkin Muffins (add a tbsp of brown sugar + extra cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg!)

I also really love chocolate zucchini bread or muffins. It’s a vegetable, right? The Banana muffin recipe mentioned above makes great banana bread too. I leave out the chocolate chips for that and just cook it at the same temp for about 40-45 mins. I made multiple loaves of zucchini bread and banana bread this summer and froze them for later and they were DELICIOUS when we ate them. Use this trick if you have time to bake multiple things!

I always get questions about my muffin tins. I LOVE them. They are not only pretty to look at but they make the perfect muffins and they’re easy to clean.

I plan on trying these recipes this fall to switch up our muffin game:

• Apple cinnamon muffins
• Spicy chai muffins

Soups

If Fall doesn’t scream soup season, I don’t know what does. It rained one day and dropped into the 50s, so I made Zuppa Toscana but Landon says I have to wait until winter to make it again. We have a few go-to soup recipes, including our chili recipe which has become a grand mixture over the years.

• Tortellini Soup
• Creamy tomato soup (instant pot)
• Chicken tortilla soup
• Chili (for us this is a big mix of beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, onion and ground turkey (or beef if we’re craving red meat). We top it with cheese, sour cream, avocado and serve with cornbread.

Still loving charcuterie boards, too. We did a fun one with our friends a few weeks ago and I regularly make a tiny one for my lunch, especially if I have meetings during that time because it’s easier to snack than eat a full meal in that time.

I am always a fan of easy meals that can feed everyone and provide leftovers and these all do just that. I’d love to hear if you have any faves (links appreciated!) that we should add into our rotation!