what are y'all COOKING?!! it's fall, after all.....

[Blackdog Lin]

My area of interest - and sometimes it seems I'm the only one interested in it.

But I know y'all are cooking different (and maybe interesting?) menus with the cooler weather coming on. Share.

Our cooloff was 2 weeks ago, and I told DH that I required SOUP. It's been so long.....all summer. And so I turned some leftover grilled pork pieces and some corn and zucchini and cumin and whatall into a Southwestern Pork Stew. He liked it.

It's warmed back up, but I'm still in the mood for fall cooking. So this week has been Mexican Chicken Cassserole, with relishes; and homemade eggrolls w/rice; and breakfast pizza using leftover bacon and sausage.....I seem to be in a mood to use the oven - thinking about fall I guess.

Share some menus people.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I made a good potato soup recently (better than the average potato soup IMO): this was the half recipe which I made: 1/2 TB olive oil, 1/2 TB butter, 1 cup onions, 1 leek white and light green part only (first saute alums in olive oil and butter), 3 cups water (I used more - it gets thick), 2 potatoes cut in cubes, 1 TB minced parsley, 1 & 1/2 carrots whole, 1 & 1/2 celery stalks whole, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 2 cups chard (was supposed to be kale and cooked ahead of time and added at the end, but I only had chard which cooks faster). The carrots and celery are cooked with the soup but then discarded (or removed from the soup at any rate), the bay leaf is also discarded. After these are removed, HALF the soup is blended, the rest is left chunky. Then add optional 1/2 cup cooked white beans (I just used canned great northern beans). Grate cheese on top if you like.

Hmm well potato soup, not exotic. Other than that I attempted broccoli beef with red bell peppers but ended up finishing cooking it with my mom (hmpf as if I'm expected to have a steamer for the broccoli? ). Nothing much else, I prepare daily salad things for lunch (green or other salads). Often have had dinners like soup. I still have much broccoli left (not as fresh but not bad yet), I'm thinking maybe cream of broccoli soup, not sure

[bae]

Today I have been turning 20 pounds of beef bones into stock.

Tomorrow it becomes demi-glace, and frozen.

[iris lilies]

Today I made bean soup as recommended here with our home grown lima beans and hamhocks.

DH sepent several hours making apple cider from our apples, pressing it and pasteurizing it.

[bae]

We also canned 25 quarts of pears tonight, the destruction of the kitchen is nearly complete.

[Gregg]

Last night was cedar plank salmon on the grill (a friend went to AK fishing earlier this summer and dropped off a care package). We had onions, garlic, eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash from the garden so ratatouille was a natural side dish, also on the grill. Last was fresh broccoli with a little garlic and just a few drops of teriyaki that got cooked on the cedar with the fish. When our kids were young they would eat pounds of broccoli every time we cooked it this way!

Fortunately canning season is winding down. Will probably do a good batch of spaghetti sauce since tomatoes are still coming in and we have just enough basil, oregano and garlic left to pull it off. Other than that its just odds and ends. Bae's post reminded me that I need to go pick some pears to make a batch of Peggy's shrub!

[awakenedsoul]

A few days ago I made some turkey meatballs. The recipe had a cup of ketchup, parmesan cheese, and some herbs. I've been eating the leftovers for lunch over the past few days. I made a tomato sauce with some of the fresh tomatoes from our co op. I also cooked up a big pot of chicken vegetable soup. I didn't have any potatoes, so I used zucchini and squash instead. Just emptied the vegetable bins and filled the pot. I saved the chicken bones to use again. I heard you can do that with chicken stock...
I baked an apple bread the other night. The apples are grated, and you let them sit in the sugar for 15 mins. They get really watery. It's a very nice, moist quick bread. I've been having that for dessert. I got the apples on sale at Sprouts and made an apple crisp last week. It's a recipe that my neighbor used to make for me when I was little girl.
I've got a loaf of No Knead bread on it's second rise right now. Will use up the tuna salad for sandwiches this afternoon.

[IshbelRobertson]

Last night it got a little chilly, so I made toad in the hole, with onion gravy, glazed carrots and French beans.

[KayLR]

Last night we had goat kebabs with tzatziki, lettuce and cherry tomatoes, quinoa. Still eating outdoors on the veranda.

[frugal-one]

Made Cajun beans and rice from a recipe that was in Sunday's paper. It was wonderful!! My DH said "I could make that anytime".

1 chopped green pepper (I used red... what I had on hand)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 ribs chopped celery
3 chopped cloves of garlic
1# smoked sausage (used smoked kielbasa)
2 cans, rinsed red beans (used a can of pinto and a can of black beans)
3T creole seasoning (used 2T Penzey's cajun seasoning)
Rice

Heat first 4 ingredients in canola oil for about 8 minutes or until softened. Add sliced sausage and cook 5 minutes. Add beans and seasonings and cook another 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

Very simple and good.

Also, bought a large package of pork country ribs and divided in half. One half cooked as a roast with mashed potatoes/gravy and carrots. The second half cooked in a separate pan and then barbequed. Easy again and great!

Happy to hear I am not the only one who feels like cooking this time of year!