Fall Dinner

I love to make a Pot roast in my crockpot. There's one that takes about a 3 lb pot roast, a sliced onion, one envelope of brown gravy mix, one evelope of ranch dressing, one envelope of italian dressing and a cup of water (I use ½ cup of beef broth and ½ cup of red wine instead). Cook for about 8 hrs and serve with potatoes, mash potatoes or white rice. If you want, you can add veggies to the roast about 2 hrs before is ready; I usually use green beans and carrots.
Any left overs can be used for taquitos, quesadillas or subs.
Good luck!

You could do something like pumpkin, or pumpkin bread, or apple slices. For desert do somehting like apple or pumpkin pie. Good Luck, I know whatever you do will be delicous!!!

It wouldn't go with the potatoes, but acorn squash stuffed with sausage is one of our favorite fall dishes. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds. Put on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, you want it tender. Cook up pork sausage, diced onion and mix with some egg, bread crumbs and parmesan, sometimes we add diced apple or pear too. Put the filling in the squash, cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

buy a pre roasted turkey breast and serve up turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce as a sandwhich spread along with your roasted potatoes.

skip the potatoes and make a butternut squash soup. Mine is a huge hit. I skip the AllSpice flavor and just start a base with chicken stock, garlic, onion, celery. Add cooked squash ( i bake mine in over then remove skin). I puree it with a soup wand and add something fattening, like cream or butter, and season with parmesan and fresh nutmeg.

butternut squash ravioli

roast a small turkey-

I learned YEARS ago that there is no way to please everyone when it comes to cooking dinner.
And since I am the cook, I cook what sounds and looks good to me!
(Of course I do TRY to take their tastes into consideration most of the time.)
Seriously, have some fun in the kitchen. Go to allrecipes.com and search for ideas based on what YOU like, and what looks easy for you to make.
Tonight I am going to try chicken and pasta with a chipotle pumpkin cream sauce!
They can either eat it or not, you're not running a restaurant after all. Around here, if you don't like what I make for dinner, you can have leftovers, or make yourself a sandwich :)

Pork chops (no bones), wrapped in bacon, seasoned, seared in a skillet, baked in the oven. Yummmm.

Use your crockpot and do a roast (beef or pork ~ either would be fine with red potatoes).
Baked chicken breast
Meatloaf

Didn't know all that before replying...

How about mixed potatoes - white and red and sweet potatoes (giving you red and orange in the colors), drizzled with a little olive or canola oil plus whatever herbs you want. You can also throw in green broccoli florets, or use carrot chunks with (or instead of) the sweet potato. I find they all cook well for the same amount of time. You could also do some grilled or oven-roasted or steamed green beans and carrot strips. You could also use broccoli and form the florets and stalks back into a sort of tree shape after cooking - just undercook, then arrange on a pie plate (something that can go back in the oven for reheating) and put little carrot "coins" or halved grape tomatoes on it to look like fall fruit on the "tree". (I wouldn't necessarily heat the grape tomatoes for long, if at all.) Three year olds like to "play dinosaur" and "eat trees"!!

Don't know what your main course is, but you could try something like chicken breasts or even meat loaf. If you have a good knife you can cut some potato slices into leaf shapes, roast them with just a little oil, and set them on top of the chicken or the meatloaf as a fall-type decoration. You could also use an orange pepper ring and set it on there like a jack-o-lantern outline, and use olives, dark peppers, or other veggies as the eyes and mouth.

Pork chops with sauteed apples.
Squash stuffed with brown rice/barley/farro and chopped veggies (carrots, onions, whatever you have) - bake the squash. Saute the grain in olive oil with veggies, add liquid (water, stock), cook until tender but not mushy. Stuff the squash, bake for 20 minutes.
Beans and greens with sausage (or it's good without meat too). Saute kale/chard/mustard greens in good olive oil with lots of garlic, add white beans (canned or cooked) and cooked sausage. Cook 5-10 more minutes covered, adding liquid (water, stock) as necessary to prevent burning.

You could roast a full chicken or chicken pieces w/veggies (red onion,
carrots etc.)

Or put a pork loin in the oven

How about baked fish w/a rice pilaf & your red potatoes?

Pork chops, pork tenderloin

Beef Rib roast, beef tenderloin,

Cornish hens

Roasted squash

Chicken Lasagna:

16 pcs of THIN chix breast slices
1 Lg glass jar of chix gravy (Heinz)
2 Tablespoons of white cooking wine
1 Lg bag of shredded mozz cheese

1) Bread all the chix slices in egg wash and quick fry in HOT oil. Just brown each side quickly. Do NOT cook through. Set aside.

2) Pour the cooking wine directly into the gravy (in jar) and stir well.

3) Use a lg casserole dish that will fit all the chix...

...Spoon a very little bit of gravy on the bottom of the casserole dish and spread around to avoid sticking.

4) LAYER: Put a few pcs of chix in dish to cover bottom of dish. Then, sprinkle some cheese over the chix and, then, spoon just enough gravy to cover the cheese lightly. Repeat layers...like a lasagna.

5) Cover & bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 40 minutes.
I simmer the leftover gravy in a sauce pan and pour atop the noodles or boiled potatoes.
***The cooking wine makes this dish taste great !
*** Put the most cheese on the top!

I have never had anybody NOT take seconds!

Try to make one dish that appeals to each person, so everyone will have at least one dish they love! (i.e. You= main course, boyfriend=veggie, adult #1= appetizer, adult #2= dessert, 3 yr. old= hmmmm drinks (lol).Sparkling Cider(s) come to mind for me...

Hi B.,

I just made this last night; Autumn Spice Ham from Allrecipes.com...YUM!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Autumn-Spice-Ham-Steak/Detai...

I also made sweet potatoes & steamed green beans. It was delicious, perfect autumn dinner! I read the comments and did use more apples & cooked them seperately to speed up the cookong time. Depends how much your family like apples. Will be making this again!
HTH!

How about a yummy chicken or turkey pot pie? You can make it from scratch or buy a precooked chicken, add veggies, gravy and refrigerated pie crust.

Or anything with maple syrup would smell and taste of fall. You could google "maple syrup recipies" and find many ways to cook pork loin, chicken, etc.

And if you make a salad, sprinkle craisins on top! Add a toast with cider and you're on your way!

A small turkey or just the turkey breast.

What type of roast did you have, beef? What about a pork roast. You can always find pork loin on sale in our area for under $2.00/lb. Or how about pork chops.

For sides...
some type of squash
green beans
turnips
baked apples

You don't have time to do this for tomorrow but buy a turkey breast and give it time to thaw from frozen in the fridge- 2-3 days. Then cook it Rachel Rays Week in a Day way. She would cook two on Sunday to have different ways during the week. She would put a stick of butter per breast out and let it soften. Chop up some rosemary and spices you like and combine with the butter. Put the butter about a 1/4 inch thick on top of the turkey and bake for the time it directs you. Talk about fall! The smell is heavenly! Google it and watch her do it.

Pork roast, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes....

Our one-pan wonder - We throw all of this in a roasting dish, cook at 450.

Chicken w/your choice of seasonings - in the fall, we love rosemary, garlic and butter!

Sweet potato fries (or regular, if you prefer)

Green beans w/dried cranberries and almonds

Throw olive oil over all of it, some sea salt and roast until done. Usually we do the chix for about 20 min, then put in the veggies for the remaining 20.

An AWESOME condiment for everything in this pan is garlic aioli - combine mayo, olive oil and fresh pressed garlic to taste and flavor with dill. It's so good!!