Welcome cool autumn breeze, colorful mums, and hearty food. As the leaves begin to turn into their new vibrant hues and gently fall from the trees, gather your family and friends and try some new recipes celebrating the autumn season.
(Caramel Sauce, Harvest Pumpkin Waffles, Orange Walnut Butter, Family Favorite Scalloped Corn, Mom’s Amazing Bread Stuffing, Apple Cranberry Salad, Coke’s Upside Down Pumpkin Pie, Hot Spiced Tea Mix, Easy Beer Bread, Mom’s Granola)
Caramel Sauce
1 cup butter (or margarine)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk (or 1 1/3 cups Super Scrummy Sweetened Condensed Milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp water, if needed
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat. If the mixture is grainy, add water (1 Tbsp at a time) to dissolve the sugar. Boil until the mixture reaches 225 degrees or softball stage. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool. Store in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave to serve.
Pumpkins take center stage during the heart of the fall harvest. This recipe for Harvest Pumpkin Waffles is absolutely delicious. They’re warm, they’re sweet, and they’re hearty. Top with Orange Walnut Butter and maple syrup to elevate these scrumptious waffles to a whole new dimension of deliciousness. I made a double batch so I could freeze some to enjoy later.
Harvest Pumpkin Waffles
1 cup plus 2 TBSP flour
2 TBSP brown sugar*
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 TBSP butter, melted
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
*I made my own brown sugar. The recipe is found on the In a Pinch page of the main Recipes section. Sorghum will also work in place of the molasses in that recipe.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, pumpkin, vanilla, and butter.
Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined. Batter will be lumpy.
Bake in a preheated waffle iron. Serve with maple syrup and Orange Walnut Butter.
Orange Walnut Butter 
1 TBSP orange zest
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I substituted pecans)
Combine the ingredients. A microplane zester grater is a great tool for zesting oranges. Be careful not to zest too far. You don’t want any of the bitter white part in your butter, just the nice flavorful and fragrant orange peel. My brother has huge pecan trees on his property, so I have a freezer full of pecans. They were delicious in place of the walnuts.
If you want to get fancy in your presentation, you can use a cookie scoop to form individual balls out of the butter.
Family Favorite Scalloped Corn
15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
15 oz can creamed corn
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup Ritz butter cracker crumbs
2 TBSP butter, cut into chunks
Combine all of the ingredients except for the butter. Place the mixture into a greased casserole dish. Top with butter. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.
Mom’s Amazing Bread Stuffing
4-6 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 TBSP dried parsley flakes
1/2-1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
24 oz loaf bread, cubed (10-12 cups)
3-4 cups chicken or turkey broth
Saute the onion and celery in butter until tender. (If you prefer, you can microwave the onion and celery in butter until tender.) Meanwhile, place the bread cubes in the oven at 350 degrees until toasted, stirring occasionally. In a large bowl, combine the cooked vegetables, herbs, salt, pepper, and toasted bread cubes. Gradually stir in enough broth to moisten the mixture. Place the mixture in a large casserole dish that has been greased or sprayed with vegetable oil. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or until hot. Cover to keep moist or bake uncovered for a drier, crispier dressing.
Apple Cranberry Salad
12 oz package of fresh cranberries
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup pineapple juice
4 unpeeled apples, chopped
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
6 oz package raspberry jello
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
Grind cranberries. Add chopped apples, orange and sugar. Combine pineapple and nuts. Set aside.
Dissolve jello in boiling water. Stir in pineapple juice. Refrigerate until partially set.
Combine the jello mixture with the fruit. Stir well. Refrigerate.
Coke’s Upside Down Pumpkin Pie
29 oz can of pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
12 oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Beat together the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, evaporated milk, and eggs. Pour the pumpkin mixture into a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish. Sprinkle the dry cake mix on top of the pumpkin mixture. Then drizzle the 1 cup of melted butter over the cake mix and top with the pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with Cool-Whip.
Hot Spiced Tea Mix
2 cups Tang (dry powder)
1 cup sugar
1 package unsweetened lemon Kool-aid (2 qt size)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups instant tea (dry granules)
Mix all ingredients together. Use about 2 tsp of mixture to 1 cup hot water. Adjust the amount to personal taste.
Easy Beer Bread
3 cups homemade self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 can of beer (Sprite or 7Up would work as well)
Combine the self-rising flour and sugar in a bowl.
Add the beer. My friend once told me that when using a bottle of beer, take a big swig first and then use the rest in the bread. So I did. Blech!!! I do not like beer, but I do like beer bread.
Stir it together.
Put in a greased bread pan. Cover, and let rise for an hour.
Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
This bread is so easy to make and goes extremely well with your favorite soups and stews. I think the Sierra Nevada beer was a bit stronger in the bread than the cheap lite beer I typically use. The higher quality beer was a little more bitter whereas the cheap stuff makes a sweeter bread. Sprite or 7Up also works well in this recipe in place of the beer.
Update: I have since spoken with people who have tasted Sierra Nevada beer. They said it is a bitter beer. I wouldn’t recommend it in this recipe.
Mom’s Granola
10 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups shredded coconut
2 cups sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts or combo)
1 cup sesame seeds and/or flax seeds (total of 1 cup–can be all sesame seeds, all flax seeds or combo of the two)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla
raisins, dates, dried apricots
In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame/flax seeds, and nuts. Mix well. In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Heat until sugar is dissolved, but do not boil. Pour syrup over dry ingredients, and stir until well coated. Spread into five lightly greased 9 x 13 baking pans or cookie sheets with sides. Bake at 300 degrees for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. Cool. Add dried fruit. Store in airtight containers. Use within 6 months. Makes about 20 cups.
Is a can or bottle of beer the same size as a can of 12 ounce soda?
A standard can or bottle of beer is 12 ounces like a can of soda. The Easy Beer Bread recipe uses 12 oz of beer. Some cans or bottles may be an unusual size so check the label to be sure. Since the bottle I used was 12 oz, I didn’t need to take the traditional swig–it was more of an homage to my friend. When she told me that, I assumed the bottle was larger than a can–and the kind she was using may have been at the time.