fall Archives - The Midnight Baker

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 23:00:26 +0000

These easy-to-make stuffed acorn squash halves are perfect for a light fall dinner.

Stuffed Acorn Squash: The Perfect Light Dinner

This is the perfect dish to serve when you’re looking for something light but satisfying.

You can serve it year round because acorn squash and most winter squash is available 365 days of the year. Of course during fall, it’s featured a lot in stores because it’s associated with Thanksgiving. In the autumn, it’s featured at great prices so now is the time to try this.

This stuffed acorn squash is very easy to make too. Since it takes time to bake the squash, this obviously isn’t a ready-in-15-minutes type of meal, but the prep and the cooking is extremely simple.

Choosing The Rice

Most any cooked rice will do so if you have any left over from another recipe or from an Asian take-out meal, use that. It’s a great way to use it too.

However, for these I used brown jasmine rice. It was the perfect variety to use too. Jasmine rice, in any form, has a wonderful flavor that adds so much to anything it’s paired with. The brown variety has all of the attributes of the white kind plus it has a great nutty taste.

If you don’t have any brown jasmine on hand, I really urge you to get a small bag with your next grocery order since it has such a fantastic taste, you’ll find many uses for it.

Nuts, Sausage, Etc

I used sweet Italian sausage and it was delicious. Of course you can use hot sausage–and that may be more convenient actually as it would eliminate the need for the red pepper flakes.

Use fancier sausage too because it can only add to the flavor. Even good old breakfast sausage is a good choice.

When it comes to the pine nuts or soy nuts, they can be eliminated entirely if you don’t have them on hand. They should be toasted for best flavor and they do add variety to the texture of the filling.

Spinach was used for the greens–although kale, mustard or turnip greens will work equally as well.

The Recipe

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Stuffed Acorn Squash

Perfect for a light fall dinner

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course, Main/Side

Cuisine: American

Keyword: main course acorn squash, stuffed squash recipes, winter squash uses

Servings: 4

Calories: 459kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 medium acorn squash cut in half and seeds removed
Oil
1 cup cooked brown jasmine rice
6 oz sweet Italian sausage meat
1 cup baby spinach
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup roasted pine nuts or soy nuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs water
Salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Brush cut sides of squash with oil. Place squash cut side down on prepared sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until squash is just tender. Do not overcook. Remove from oven but keep oven running.
Meanwhile brown sausage meat in a large skillet over medium heat until no pink remains. Add spinach, red pepper flakes and water. Cook until spinach is wilted; remove from heat and add the rice, cheese and pine nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide rice mixture evenly between squash halves. Return to oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition

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Balsamic Cranberry Pork Chops

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 23:00:45 +0000

Balsamic cranberry pork chops are elegant enough for company, but so quick and easy they’re the perfect weekday meal.

Great For Date Night: Balsamic Cranberry Pork Chops

Do you have a date night on the calendar? If your answer was “yes” and you plan to eat at home, this is the perfect recipe!

Since the recipe feeds only two, there’s no math involved in calculating the ingredients. Rest assured, this pork chop recipe is easily doubled or tripled if the need arises.

And the biggest watchword here is easy. I’m fond of always saying that some of the most gourmet-looking recipes are stupidly easy and use the simplest ingredients.

Fall Means Pork And Cranberries

Pork is an autumn thing–at least here in the northeast.

It’s when there are usually great sales on all cuts of pork be it roasts or chops or shoulder. Lots of times you can pick up a family pack of chops cut from the entire loin. They usually contain rib end, loin end and some center cut. While that deal is great for feeding the entire family, I tend to shy away and buy either bone-in center cut or an entire boneless loin and cut it up into chops and leave a piece for a roast.

This recipe is definitely better with bone-in center-cut chops, but I’ve used boneless ones I’ve cut off the entire loin on occasion. It’s pretty good and there’s no waste either.

Do you also have a random bag of fresh cranberries in your freezer too? I usually do because around Thanksgiving time they’re on sale 2-for-something that’s pretty cheap. I use one and pop the other in the freezer. I often forget I did that but that’s another conversation. This is a great place to use some of them. The sauce doesn’t use the entire bag, but I’m sure once you taste this pork and cranberry combo, they’ll soon get used up!

Rosemary? Yes, Rosemary

You usually never think of rosemary used with pork. It’s usually lamb and poultry.

But rosemary works wonderfully with pork, especially if there’s an acidic component.

You do have to be careful not to overdo it with this herb because there’s a fine line between savory and tasting medicinal. I always opt for using half of what’s called for when it’s an ingredients. That’s a personal taste, but before adding more I strongly urge you to taste the sauce. I used fresh here and a sprig of about 2-inches (for the cooking–what you see in the photo is the garnish).

If you don’t have any fresh, then I would start out with about 1/4 teaspoon of the dried stuff in the jar. That may not seem like much–either with the fresh or dried–but bear in mind the flavor will intensify since the sauce is reduced.

The Recipe

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Balsamic Cranberry Pork Chops

Have this on the table in less than 20 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: date night dinners, fancy pork chop recipes, gourmet pork chop recipes, pork chops with cranberries

Servings: 2

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 center-cut bone-in rib pork chops
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs finely chopped onion
1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbs brown sugar
1 sprig fresh rosemary about 2-inches long. bruised
1 tbs unsalted butter
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the pork chops dry and sprinkle with a pinch of salt each. When oil is hot, add the chops and brown well on both sides. I kept turning them so they did not overbrown until they tested 165F/74C internal temp.
Remove chops from pan and cover with foil. Lower heat to medium-low then add the onion. Cook for about 3 minutes so they're soft but not browned.
Add the chicken stock, brown sugar, cranberries and rosemary. Stir well and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until liquid has slightly thickened.
Remove from heat and add the butter and balsamic vinegar. Stir well and add the chops back to the pan.

Notes

If using dried rosemary, start with 1/4 tsp roughly chopped.

Recipe may be doubled, etc.

Nutrition

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Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake French Toast

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 12 Sep 2020 23:00:53 +0000

It’s pumpkin spice time again. Why not enjoy that flavor in a cheesecake-filled French toast?

An Iconic Fall Flavor: Pumpkin Spice

Since pumpkin spice has become such an iconic flavor for fall, you often see jokes made about it.

This flavor has been popular for years. It’s only lately that you are able to find practically everything made with the flavor.

I’ve always been a fan of the fall season and everything that goes with it. I’m also a lover of French toast and cheesecake so as a result, this is one of my favorite breakfasts; for fall or any time for that matter!

The Bread Makes A Difference

Challah is usually my go-to bread for most French toast I make. However, with this pumpkin cheesecake variety, I’m pretty partial to–wait for it–French bread!

If you can get a nice substantial loaf of French bread or a baguette, you’re in business.

The reason I prefer French bread to challah for this is that I don’t want a highly flavorful bread, such as challah, to compete with the spiced cheesecake filling. With French bread, the flavor will meld rather than work at cross purposes.

One other important thing here is you want bread that’s not very fresh so what I do is cut the slices the day before and store them in a plastic bag in the fridge. This method produces the perfect texture for the bread.

The Filling

The delicious cheesecake filling is very easy to make. Just make sure to use plain pumpkin–not the canned pie filling.

You might have some left over, depending on how much you want to use to fill the bread slices. The amount you use is totally up to you. I had about a half cup left over. But there’s no waste going on here. The filling makes a wonderful sweet dip for graham crackers or cookies!

The Recipe

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Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake French Toast

A super fall breakfast or brunch

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fancy french toast, holiday breakfasts, holiday brunches, pumpkin spice, weekend breakfasts

Servings: 6

Calories: 464kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 French bread or baguette
2-3 tbs unsalted butter

Custard:

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp vanilla

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cut the French bread into 1-inch/2.5 cm slices.
Beat together all the filling ingredients.
Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling on HALF the bread slices. Place a plain slice on top of the one with the filling making a “sandwich.”
Whisk together the eggs, milk and pumpkin pie spice. Pour into a large (13 x 9 is good) deep pan.
Place the “sandwiches” in the egg mixture and let it soak in for about 3 minutes; turn and soak the other side.
Melt half the butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. When the butter starts foaming, place the french toast in the pan but do not overcrowd the pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn, add the remaining butter and brown on the other side for the same time.
To keep warm, place on a cookie sheet in a 200F/100C oven.

Notes

For UK folks--mixed spice is a good substitute for pumpkin pie spice.

Video

Nutrition

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Caramel Apple Dump Cake

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 23:00:26 +0000

Not just for fall, caramel apple dump cake is so easy you can enjoy it year round.

Caramel Apple Dump Cake: Easy Dessert

Want something to celebrate fall that’s easy to make?

Well, look no further than this caramel apple dump cake. Like all dump cakes, it’s as easy as can be. I’m also willing to bet that you have most, if not all, of the ingredients right on your shelf. The only thing you may have to buy is caramel sauce. I have this on hand all the time–because it has many uses. The main one being sneaking a spoonful every so often!

Dress It Up A Bit

What I usually do is stir about a teaspoon of cinnamon into the apple pie filling. I buy the plain one, but if you have the cinnamon one on hand, then leave out the cinnamon. A pinch–because it’s so potent–of nutmeg is really nice too. So is allspice.

Another nice dressy idea is to toast the pecans, if you’re going to use them–in a little bit of butter. If you do, let the butter get brown because it’ll add tons of flavor. This dump cake is delicious even without the nuts; it’s an optional ingredient.

The Cake Mix

This dump cake uses either yellow or butter-recipe flavored mix. Personally, I prefer the taste of the butter recipe variety. That’s just a matter of taste.

I’m also pretty picky about the cake mix brand I use. I prefer not to use ones that tout “pudding in the mix,” because I find them way too wet making spoilage a real problem. However, since the cake mix in this type of recipe amounts to a quick crumb topping, I don’t think it matters all that much. Besides, what I have in the pantry isn’t the pudding variety anyway. Again, a personal preference.

This might be nice substituting a spice cake mix. I haven’t tried that yet, but the idea is provocative so I might just do one using it. If you think your favorite flavor would be nice, use it and let me know how it turned out.

The Recipe

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Caramel Apple Dump Cake

Quick and easy apple dessert

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple dump cake, dump cake, easy dessert recipes, fall cake recipes

Servings: 10

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 box (2-layer size) butter recipe or yellow cake mix
8 oz unsalted butter melted
2 cans (21 oz each) apple pie filling
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup caramel sauce like you’d put on ice cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C degrees Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
Mix the pie filling, pecans if using and cinnamon; turn into the prepared pan.
Drizzle caramel sauce over the top. Distribute dry cake mix evenly over the top of the filling.
Pour melted butter evenly across the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling at the edges.

Notes

The 2-layer size of cake mix generally weighs about 15 ounces. Try to use American brands (for my European readers) as I cannot guarantee results with any other formulation.

Video

Nutrition

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Apple Cider Donut Cake

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 23:00:58 +0000

If you love apple cider donuts, you’ll flip for this cake!

Great Donut Taste In A Cake

This cake tastes exactly like apple cider donuts! It’s probably less fat too–although I’m not entirely sure.

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on apple cider donuts as I used to make them commercially at one time. Background here is that my late husband was recovering from open-heart surgery so he couldn’t work; I had to. Anyway, as there were no local jobs in engineering and I needed specific hours that I could be home for him, I took a job as a baker at a local supermarket. Yeah, I know–a real career change!

Anyway, the cider donuts were a fall staple at that store so I improved on the standard recipe. All the customers said those donuts hit the jackpot. The truth is, they started with a mix where I doctored the spices.

Mace: A Donut Essential

This spice is essential for donuts. It gives them that donutty taste.

For those who don’t know this little factoid, mace is the outer covering of nutmeg. I never knew that until very recently and it was Clarissa from Two Fat Ladies who informed me (and millions of other viewers too).

You also need nutmeg in equal portions to the mace. It’s a one-to-one ratio.

The other secret to the great taste here is the fresh apple that’s cooked in the cider itself. Essentially, you’re making applesauce, but it’s an applesauce with a lot of kick. You cook it down until the cider is reduced–and reductions have intense flavor. Where you may be tempted for convenience sake to substitute store-bought applesauce–don’t. It’s worth the time to do the apple/cider reduction.

The Crowning Glory

You’ll love the sugar coating for this cake. It’s not merely cinnamon sugar because there’s yet another hint of nutmeg. There’s a bit of salt too, which is strange at first, but many people actually put a pinch of salt on an apple because it brings out a lot of flavor.

The Recipe

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Apple Cider Donut Cake

If you love apple cider donuts, you’ll flip for this cake!

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple cider, apple cider donuts, cheesecake recipe, fall desserts

Servings: 12

Calories: 358kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

For the Cake:

8 tbs unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large Granny Smith apple about 8 ounces, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup milk at room temperature
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground mace
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla

For the Sugar Coating:

6 tbs sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray.
In medium saucepan, bring chopped apple and cider to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until most of the cider has been absorbed and apples are easily smashed with a fork, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat, cool 5 minutes, and mash with the back of a spoon. Measure out 1 cup apple mixture and stir in milk; set aside.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and mace; set aside.
In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add oil and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.
Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with apple mixture, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat mixture just until combined, about 20 seconds. Add vanilla and beat once more, just to combine, about 10 seconds.
Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean, rotating cake halfway through baking, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer cake to cooling rack set inside baking sheet and cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert directly onto cooling rack.
For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating: Combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle warm cake with cinnamon sugar, using fingers to rub it onto sides.
Cool cake completely, about 1 hour.

Video

Nutrition

*Adapted from Serious Eats

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Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:00:55 +0000

These brownies are the perfect fall treat. Sure to please chocolate and pumpkin lovers.

A Perfect Fall Treat

It’s officially fall now so all thoughts turn to pumpkin!

I’m no different and I’m always looking for ways to get it into recipes at this time of year. There’ll be a lot of sales on the canned variety now that autumn is here and let’s not forget those fresh ones you either grew or picked at a local farm.

This recipe doesn’t use that much pumpkin because it’s basically just a topping. Therefore, unless you are a serious canner or freezer and you have some leftover pumpkin puree, I’d use the can just because it’s easier. And I’m all about “easy” these days.

Gooey Chocolate

Look no further if you love chocolate!

Not only are the brownies chocolate, but you get a double whammy by putting chocolate chips in with the brownie mix. Speaking of the mix, it’s always best to get a good one. Any chocolate flavor will do, but dark chocolate brownie mix will make these very intensely chocolate. Couple that with a high-quality dark morsel and you’re really in business.

One cautionary word here–these brownies must be kept in the fridge. They also must be chilled prior to cutting them. They’re so chocolaty that they become very gooey at room temperature and the topping is cheesecake so make sure store them chilled–that is if you have any left over.

Nice Marbling

To get the nice marbling on the top, less is more.

Getting this effect is quite easy but you must quit while you’re ahead as I implied before. Until I learned that a little goes a long way, I would always louse up things like this.

So what you do is drop bits of the brownie batter and drops of the cheesecake batter on top, then just make a few swirls with a knife–and the less the better. It will come out like a work of art!

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The Recipe

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Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

These brownies are the perfect fall treat. Sure to please chocolate and pumpkin lovers.

Prep Time20

Cook Time42

Total Time1 2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brownie recipe, cheesecake brownies, chocolate, fall desserts, pumpkin cheesecake

Servings: 9

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Filling:

3 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie mix
1 egg
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Brownies:

1 box brownie mix I used dark chocolate flavor
1/2 cup chocolate morsels or chunks
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl, beat Filling ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Set aside.
Make brownie batter as directed on box. Fold in the chocolate morsels, Spread 2 1/4 cups of the brownie batter in pan. Spoon filling by tablespoonfuls evenly over batter. Spoon remaining brownie batter over filling. Cut through several times with knife for marbled design.
Bake 38 to 42 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool 30 minutes on cooling rack. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until cooled completely. Cut into 3 rows by 3. Store covered in refrigerator.

Nutrition

*Adapted from Betty Crocker

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Pumpkin Oat Muffins

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 23:00:56 +0000

These moist and tender pumpkin oat muffins are the taste of fall. The crunchy oat topping is to die for!

Pumpkin Oat Muffins; The Taste Of Fall

When fall arrives, thoughts go to all things pumpkin.

Pumpkin is something I tend to use year round, but somehow it just tastes better when you eat it during autumn! This is also the time of year that you find it fresh, and most stores feature the canned variety at lower prices too. I tend to stock up when the canned pumpkin goes on sale. Since pumpkin puree freezes well, don’t fret if you don’t use the whole can.

The taste of these muffins is superb. They are flavored with warming aromatic spices. You use nutmeg and cinnamon in addition to pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice. The texture is smooth and velvety because they’re actually more like cake than traditional muffins.

Great Topping

The crumb topping is to die for!

Rather than the usual streusel crumbs, these muffins have oats mixed in with the crumbs. I add no other flavorings to them because as the muffins bake, the oats toast and that gives them a deeper flavor.

I load my muffin tops up with crumbs, but I still had some crumb mixture left over. It will keep, refrigerated, for about a week, so if you plan to make these pumpkin muffins again or any other muffins, they can be used for that. However, if you don’t plan on making more muffins and don’t have the fridge space to share, just place the leftovers on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. It makes a delicious snack!

Bakery Style Or Regular

All the muffins I make are made in a “Texas” or jumbo muffin pan. If you want to make them the traditional size, you will get double the yield. The jumbo pan makes six muffins, so if you are using traditional-sized pans, you’ll get twelve. You will also have to reduce the bake time. About 18-25 minutes should do, but always test them with a toothpick or cake tester.

As far as paper liners go, you can buy jumbo liners. I tend to use parchment liners, either lotus or tulip shaped. I believe those shapes are made for regular muffin pans, but I have found they work very well in the larger pans as well.

The Recipe

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Pumpkin Oat Muffins

These moist and tender pumpkin oat muffins are the taste of fall. The crunchy oat topping is to die for!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: breads, cakes, desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: muffin recipe, oats, pumpkin cake

Servings: 6

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp each baking soda salt, nutmeg, cinnamon
1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

WET INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 of a 15 oz can about 1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs vegetable oil

OAT CRUMBS

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp flour
1/4 cup quick or old-fashioned oats

Instructions

Mix together all ingredients of crumb mixture. You may need to use slightly more flour to get a proper crumb consistency. This is due to atmospheric conditions.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients. Beat the wet ingredients until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. DO NOT OVERMIX.
Line or grease muffin tins. Fill each cup 3/4 full. I use an old-fashioned ice cream scoop to do this. Sprinkle top of each muffin with crumb mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 min for regular sized muffins. Bake 35-40 min for Texas sized muffins (check for doneness at minimum time).
Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Nutrition

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Maple Orange Glazed Roasted Carrots & Parsnips

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 23:00:39 +0000

Slow roasted carrots and parsnips glazed with a sweet maple orange sauce. A great autumn side dish.

The Flavors Of Autumn

When fall arrives, my vegetable thoughts go to squash and root veggies.

This side dish is flavored with one of autumn’s leading flavors–maple. I love orange and maple together as a flavor combination, but if you’d like a hint of warm spiciness, then a pinch or two of cinnamon would be wonderful in this. If you do parsnips alone, try adding a pinch of ground cloves since it goes so well with this vegetable.

Save Energy

Roasting is a great way to cook a lot of vegetables and is perfect for root vegetables in particular. The process is very simple because all you do is peel the vegetables if necessary and just toss them with a bit of olive oil. Another benefit of this cooking method is if you are preparing a roast, the veggies can go in the oven along with the meat. Saves energy too!

Alternate Veggies

I used carrots because I had quite a lot of them, but I bought the parsnips specially for this. I love parsnips and often serve them with pork.

You can use most any root vegetable in this dish. Butternut and/or any of the winter squashes would be good here. And don’t forget sweet potatoes! I flavored my Maple Cinnamon Orange Sweet Potatoes that I make during the summer on the grill in a similar way.

The Recipe

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Maple Orange Glazed Roasted Carrots & Parsnips

Slow roasted carrots and parsnips glazed with a sweet maple orange sauce. A great autumn side dish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Comfort Foods, side dishes, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carrots, maple glaze, parsnips, roasted vegetables

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 299kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 cups carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups parsnips peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

SAUCE / GLAZE

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp grated orange zest
Pinch of cinnamon or cloves optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place carrots and parsnips in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and toss to coat.
Lay veggies in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir and turn the vegetables half way during the cooking time so they roast evenly.
Place maple syrup, butter, orange zest and spices (if using) in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat stirring until butter is melted. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce reduce to a syrupy glaze. This should take about 5 minutes.
You can either toss the roasted veggies with the glaze or serve it on the side so your guests can add their own.

Nutrition

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Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 23:00:08 +0000

A fall treat for all! These pumpkin cheesecake bars have a chewy cookie base, smooth and creamy cheesecake middle and a maple-flavored crowning glory!

Stumped for a fall or Thanksgiving dessert? Look no further than these delectable bars!

Do you have family members who aren’t so crazy about traditional pumpkin pie? I always did–seemed to be split down the middle someplace of lovers and non-lovers.

For those expecting the traditional, there was the good ole pumpkin pie, but I always had other desserts in my arsenal that were pumpkin based, but pretty non-traditional. To be honest, I don’t care for traditional pumpkin pie. I’ll eat it, but it better have plenty of REAL whipped cream on the top. I love pumpkin, just not that dense custardy filling. I prefer something a bit lighter or cheese-cake based. My late husband liked pumpkin pie a little bit better than I did, but he still was not crazy about it. We liked the turtle pumpkin pie, which my pumpkin turtle cheesecake parfaits were based off.

The original recipe for these bars came from a Kraft recipe.

The funny part about these bars is the topping. I tend to use frozen whipped topping for such a purpose, but wanted the maple syrup incorporated. I wasn’t sure how the pre-made topping would fare with that addition though. Despite my love of the convenience of frozen whipped topping, I broke down and used what the original suggested–which I didn’t think was even sold anymore–Dream Whip.

The original recipe isn’t from olden days and I was surprised they still sold this. I remembered the days before Cool Whip where the the only option besides real whipped cream, was Dream Whip. Yep, they still sell it and it’s by the puddings in most grocery stores. Just an aside, I adore real whipped cream–but now that I’m older, I really don’t want to fuss with it anymore, PLUS this ultra-pasteurized stuff does NOT hold up the way it did years ago, so for convenience sake and stability, I used the frozen stuff in the tub.

As a result, the whipped top layer has a denser consistency than regular whipped cream or the frozen whipped topping. It works here very well, because each layer is less dense as you move up to the top, but the top doesn’t become as light as air.

If you want to use the stuff in the tub, then what I’d do is just drizzle it with maple syrup before you serve it or let your guests do it themselves.

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Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

A fall treat for all! These pumpkin cheesecake bars have a chewy cookie base, smooth and creamy cheesecake middle and a maple-flavored crowning glory!

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Total Time1 10

Course: desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheesecake bars, pumpkin bars

Servings: 12

Calories: 408kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

COOKIE BASE

1 box 2-layer size yellow cake mix
1/2 cup 1 stick butter, melted
1 egg

CHEEESECAKE LAYER

15 oz can solid pack pumpkin
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
3 eggs
1 package 4-serving size pumpkin pie flavored instant pudding -OR- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix PLUS 1 tbs pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar

TOP LAYER

1 envelope Dream Whip
1/3 cup milk
3 tbsp maple syrup
ground cinnamon for garnish

Instructions

Prehat oven to 350 degrees F
Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, egg and melted butter; blend well
Press cake mix dough into the prepared pan, forming an even crust; set aside.
Combine pumpkin, cream cheese, brown sugar, dry pudding mix and eggs in another large bowl.
Beat until smooth and pour over the crust already in the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set.
Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Using the aluminum foil as handles, remove the bars from the baking pan and set on a rack to cool completely.
Prepare topping by adding the envelope of Dream Whip the milk and maple syrup to a bowl.
Mix on low speed of mixer until blended then beat at high speed for about 4 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. The topping may be refrigerated until ready to use.
Spread Dream Whip mixture on top of cooled bars. Garnish with ground cinnamon.
Refrigerate any leftovers.

Nutrition

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Acorn Squash Cups

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Acorn Squash Cups

A fall treat! Sweet and buttery.

Who doesn’t love the first squash of fall?

You can do this technique with any “winter” squash, but by far it tastes best with acorn.

This is roasted at a lower temp than most recipes since I tend to make this along with a roast pork, so I use the same oven temp as the meat. But some instructions call for 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. If you’re only baking the squash (without a roast or any other oven-y thing) you can do it either way, but most opt for less cook time.

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Roasted Acorn Squash Cups

Roasted Acorn Squash is a delicious fall side dish. SO easy to make!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Total Time1 5

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: acorn squash, roasted squash, squash recipes

Servings: 4

Calories: 182kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 medium acorn squash
2 tbsp butter or vegan butter
4 tbsp brown sugar
water

Instructions

Cut squashes in half, lengthwise through the stem. Scoop out seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place about 1-inch of water in a large baking pan. Place squash halves, cut side up, in pan.
Fill the seed cavity of each squash half with 1/2 tbs of butter and 1 tbs brown sugar.
Bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour or until squash is fork tender. Brush entire edible portion with syrup that formed in the seed cavity.
Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Nutrition

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