Fall Friday

Tonight I decided to make a few Fall based recipes to ring in the weather finally feeling like the season.  Don’t get me wrong, I love 70 degrees, but it does not make good chili weather and that is exactly what I wanted!

Butternut Squash Chili:

• 1 roasted butternut squash roughly chopped
• 1 onion deiced and sautéed
• 1 can no salt added deiced tomatoes
• 1 can of no salt added red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 bag of frozen green beans – it is what I had on hand
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbs garlic powder or one clove garlic
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• S&P to taste

Roast the squash for 30min @350 or use the leftovers from dinner last night like I did.  Heat olive oil in a large pot and add onion.  Cook until translucent and starting to brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30min before serving.  Top with ricotta or any other cheese if you so choose.

Next on the menu – Apple Gingerbread (adapted from the Whole Foods Apple Gingerbread)

• Olive Oil or butter to spray the bottom of your loaf pan
• 3/4 cups slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbs plain non-fat yogurt
• 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tbs unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tbs ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 apple cored and peeled if you want before finely chopping or mandolining!

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan with olive oil. Put 1/4 cup almonds in bottom of pan and then rotate pan to distribute them around the bottom and sides (they’ll stick to the greased pan); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, molasses, sugar, applesauce, vanilla and egg. In a second large bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda and remaining 1/2 cup almonds. Add apples and toss well. Stir flour mixture into molasses mixture and then spoon batter into pan. Bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes and then invert onto a plate and serve warm or at room temperature.

It may not be the prettiest bread, but the taste is delicious gingerbread with layers of apples and the crunch of almonds.

I need to freeze this after Nick gets home or I will eat it all!  I have already had 2 pieces and my apartment smells like gingerbread men.

Time to get ready to pick up the man!  It’s almost Halloween!

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