Chorizo and black bean stuffed delicata squash boats

So delicata squash has to be one of my most favorite food discoveries over the past few years. I never ate one of these little beauties until a few years ago. 

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you haven't tried these squash yet, please add them to your grocery list right now! They have a dense, sweet flesh that tastes like a cross between butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and corn to me. They are small and you can eat the skin once it is cooked, plus the layer of flesh is relatively thin, making them perfect for stuffing and relatively quick-cooking. 

The flavor of delicatas often makes me lean in the direction of southwest flavors and these boats are no exception. The sweetness of the squash paired really nicely with the spiced-up smoky filling. Plus, you don't have to scoop out the filling and squash, just cut it across with a knife and east everything! 

I allow one squash (two halves per person) and this filling should fill 3-4 squash.

Pumpkin swirl brownies

Autumn is my favorite time of year, as I have said many times before. I feel like everyone is rushing to Christmas the past few years as soon as Halloween is over. On my drive home from work on Halloween, I saw that the local mall had hung up all their outside Christmas decor and even a couple radio stations began playing nothing but carols the day after Halloween! That is unacceptable to me. It is still fall and there's still another holiday before we get to Christmas. I enjoy Christmas, but it's still harvest time, there are still leaves on the trees, it is still pumpkin and winter squash time. I'm taking back fall! I have no desire to rush away the autumn breezes and crispy leaves. Last weekend we had our nephew overnight and one of the things we had during his stay were these pretty wonderful brownies that combine pumpkin and chocolate together in one dense and chewy treat. These tasty brownies are adapted from Martha Stewart and were a big hit. I adjusted the spices because the original recipe calls for cayenne pepper and I didn't think a 5 year old would like that (I do use it in  these Mexican brownies though) and I lowered the sugar and changed the oil. I also changed the pan size which resulted in thinner brownies (but I thought they were a nice size).

Hot German potato salad

We celebrated Oktoberfest a little late this year, but that's OK because we still got it in before October faded away. 

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

As part of our dinner we had delicious sausages from Spar's European Sausage and Meats, German sweet and sour red cabbage, and this Hot German potato salad along with some German beers. All in all, a very tasty meal! I can't believe that October is almost over. October and November are my favorite months of the year and I'm trying to make sure I enjoy them fully (before the craziness of December takes over everything).

This potato salad recipe is just slightly adapted from The German Cookbook. Since receiving this book for Christmas last year, I have really come to love it and the process of learning more German recipes. If you are at all interested in German cooking, I highly recommend it! 

When my husband tasted this potato salad he said it reminded him of what his grandparents would serve when he was a kid. I previously posted the cold version which we also enjoy. This recipe will make enough to feed about four people as a side dish.

Apple and pork macaroni and cheese

Fall flavors come together in this rich and creamy skillet apple and pork macaroni and cheese. 

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This past weekend was a fun and food-filled one. On Saturday I spent the day at the 10th Annual World on Your Plate conference. I attended some workshops, listened to speakers, ate delicious local food, and met some great people. 

Then on Sunday I canned (again) - this time applesauce and a hot & sweet chili-garlic sauce. Last weekend we went apple picking at LynOaken Farms where they have a lot of heritage apples - so we were able to pick and sample all kinds of different apples this year.  It was a lovely day and it is definitely one of my favorite fall activities. 

Even though I make a bunch of applesauce, and we eat an apple a day after picking, we always end up with a lot to use. Of course, I'll make a pie, but I like to try out apples in other dishes as well. Hence this super decadent autumn mac n' cheese. 

I was left with a bit of applesauce that wouldn't fit in one my my jars, so I used it in this dish along with some local pastured pork, spices, and creamy cheese sauce. It's autumn in a dish. I served this mac n' cheese with a side of roasted romanesco. 

It's a really rich dish, so a vegetable is highly recommended. It will easily serve about 6 people.

Cabbage roll soup

Galumpkis (cabbage rolls) are a favorite meal of ours; however, they can be time consuming to make on a weeknight. 

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I saw this sauerkraut cabbage roll soup and was inspired to create a soup version of our classic family dish. As you've already seen, I've been canning and preserving a lot this year. This has provided me with an abundance of diced tomatoes - so I already had those on hand. I've made a couple small batches of sauerkraut, had some cabbage in the fridge, and ground beef in the freezer (from our 1/4 grass-fed organic cow we ordered this year). 

I've been making broths as well. I'm really trying my hardest to cut our food costs while ensuring that we are still eating well as much as possible. Since we are in the harvest season, this is the easiest time of year to do that and that's why I'm canning, freezing, etc. more than before.  

This soup is a great example of a relatively easy and inexpensive dinner that utilized ingredients that were already in my home. This recipe will make about four to five main dish servings of soup.