Top 5: Fall Recipes

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is this week! I am not at all prepared for how fast time is passing or how soon there will be a perpetual blanket of snow on the ground. It's still fall until at least December 1 in my book, so I'm making autumn last as long as possible. Fall food is some of the best, and we have a whole holiday where all you do is get together and eat, so I'm pretty excited. Below are my favorite fall recipes that I'm still hoping to squeeze in before the onset of Christmas cookies.

5. Gingerbread & Cool-Whip

Food doesn't have to be fancy to be delicious, and this is honestly one of the easiest desserts in the world to make. It's not even an actual recipe but I'm including it anyway. Basically you buy a box, mix it up and bake it like cake, and serve it with a huge dollop of cool whip on top. This works for Christmas, too, so I won't be terribly upset if I don't get to it until sometime next month.

4. Pear Cider

So I've never actually had this, but doesn't it sound delicious?? I came across the recipe on Pinterest and had to try very hard not to salivate all over my keyboard. You can find the recipe here.

3. Caramel-Filled Snickerdoodles

photo from The Baker Chick

First of all, Snickerdoodles are one of my all-time favorite cookies, right after my mom's Cocoa Mint Dollars. Second, THEY ARE FILLED WITH CARAMEL. How could that not be good? This is another thing I found on Pinterest and will actually make in real life. The Baker Chick suggests Martha Stewart's Snickerdoodle recipe but I bought a prepackaged mix at Target along with a bag of Kraft caramels.

2. Jim's Chili 

I've written about my college professor's chili recipe before, but I don't think I can say enough about how delicious it is. I tend to crave it around the end of October and first of November because he always made a batch for our art department Halloween party. Get the recipe from my original post here.

1. Sweet Potato Casserole

My family doesn't actually make sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving. Some people love candied yams with mini marshmallows, but we are not those people. But every year a lady at my parent's church brings this sweet potato casserole to our Thanksgiving meal and I make sure to get a good-sized serving. It's mashed sweet potatoes with a crunchy pecan topping and is so sweet it's practically a dessert. I don't have her recipe, but Googled it and found this, which sounds extremely close. Now that I've talked about it I might have to pick up all the ingredients and make a batch.
 

**Bonus: Yesterday I got to try some of Jeni's Sweet Potato with Torched Marshmallows ice cream and boy, is it delicious. The ice cream is smooth and subtle and spicy like a pumpkin pie ice cream, and is dotted with homemade marshmallows that are toasted first. Seriously, you need to try it. It's like dessert casserole, but tastes way better than "dessert casserole" sounds.

My Favorite Thanksgiving Dish

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you're with family and eating lots of turkey and taking a nap. I know that's what I'll be doing, right after the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is one of our family traditions. We also break out the old recipes for Thanksgiving dinner, and one of my favorites is my grandma's Cranberry Salad. Grandma got the recipe from chef Ruth Lyons on TV in the 1960s sometime, and for me, it's not the holiday without a pan of it. It's not a sauce, but a type of jello salad with tart cranberries and crunchy apples and celery. I know, who thought celery and jello would go together? But it does. And it's delicious.

Ruth Lyon's Cranberry Salad

This is kind of what it looks like - I'll post an actual
picture after I make it on Sunday!

 2 cups whole cranberries
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 package cherry jello
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped apples
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp salt

Cook cranberries in water until soft and the berries pop. Add sugar and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Pour over dry jello in a small casserole dish (about 8x8). Let cool, then stir in additional ingredients. Chill until firm, and serve cold.

Other recipes call for pineapple tidbits, mandarin orange slices, and sliced grapes, but my grandma doesn't include those. And I'm not messing with a good thing!