Favorite fall recipes

Fall is hands down my favorite time of year - the crispness in the air, the warm days and cool nights, the vibrant red, yellow, and orange leaves, and of course lots of yummy comfort food. I've been on a cooking rampage for the last 8 days, as if fall is only going to last for a snippet and I need to get all of the cooking out of me before it becomes freezing cold and all I want to do is hide under a blanket and cry. In case you haven't noticed, I have a tendency towards extremes.

I thought I would share my favorite fall recipes with you, since I made almost all of them in the last 72 hours (definitely all of them have been made in the last 8 days). Pretty much all I did on Saturday was cook and it was the best day ever.

Disclaimer: None of these recipes are Robin originals. There are no Robin original recipes out there. I'm all for just making other people's recipes.

We start off our culinary adventure with Pumpkin Quinoa Soup. You can make this with either canned pumpkin or you can roast a fresh pumpkin (and you get pumpkin seeds out of that deal too - bonus! What? You need a recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds? Try this one) This soup is amazing and doesn't taste pumpkiny at all. Also, quinoa would be a great word to use in Words with Friends. You can thank me later for that hint. I guess you could make this without the quinoa (pronounced keen-wa. Now go back and reread the paragraph, pronouncing it correctly), although I've never done it that way.

Ingredients
1-2 pounds chicken sausage (I usually get a basil or apple variety at Sprouts)
1/2 onion
3 cups chicken broth
15 ounces pumpkin
1 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper/dash of allspice
1/2 cup cream
quinoa (optional)

I usually make the quinoa first - 1 cup of water to 1/2 cup quinoa. Combine them in a pot, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

Brown the sausage and the onion in a soup pot. Add the broth, pumpkin and seasonings. Stir together and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in cream (and quinoa, if you're using it). Then invite me over for dinner.

If you do, I'll be sure to bring some Fresh Apple Cookies. The street name for this recipe is "fall in a cookie." For not having any chocolate in them at all, these cookies hold their own. And since they have apples in them, they're healthy and you can eat them for breakfast (at least that's how I justify it.)

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 & 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg, beaten (I always think it sounds so sad for the egg, as if it's been defeated.)
1/4 cup apple juice or milk (I always use milk)
1 cup chopped apples (or just one apple)
1/2-1 cup chopped nuts (optional) (I use pecans)

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients (you know any cookie that involves vanilla glaze is a keeper)
1 cup icing sugar
1 TBSP butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 TBSP milk

To make cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and baking soda in medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the poor beaten egg. Add half the flour to the butter mixture and blend well. Mix in juice or milk. Add the apples and nuts to the remaining flour. Add this apple mixture to the butter mixture. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are firm.

To make glaze: Blend all ingredients together until smooth. While cookies are hot, spread with vanilla glaze. (I usually put a sheet of wax paper down under the cooling rack because the glaze will run). Makes 3 dozen cookies.

I'm sad that Laura, Amy, Ray, Paige, Gwennie, and I devoured all 36 of them within 12 hours of their birth. I'd like to be eating one right now. C'est la vie!

I know you're wondering what to do with the rest of the pumpkin you cooked to make the pumpkin quinoa soup. Never fear! I have a Pumpkin Bread recipe for you!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
2 cups pumpkin, canned or freshly cooked
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 & 1/4 cups oil (I used a canola/olive oil blend this last time since I ran out of canola oil about 3/4 cup in)

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the remaining ingredients into the well and stir just enough to mix. Pour into two 9" x 5" bread pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Try to not eat the entire loaf in one sitting.

Wow, this has been a lot of writing. Need some visual stimulation? I thought so.

What could these all possibly be ingredients for? If you're thinking Potato and Leek Soup, you're pretty much amazing, just like this soup.

I'm feeling super lazy by now, so instead of typing out the instructions, I will instead link you here.  Word to the wise on this endeavor: while the above picture is pretty with the purple potatoes, I don't recommend actually using them in the soup after all. While it didn't change the flavor, it did turn the soup a really funky nasty greyish purplish color and it looked like gruel. Because I am the only one eating the soup in my house, it doesn't matter to me what color it is, but husbands and children may not like eating it when it's that color. In the past I've just used russet potatoes, as suggested in the recipe and that just keeps it a normal potato looking color.

I also made a turkey meatloaf and a parmesan and broccoli souffle (I told you I've been out of control for the last 8 days), but those were first time adventures for me and haven't yet earned the coveted "Robin's Favorite Fall Recipe" status yet. Maybe next year.

What's your favorite fall recipe?