Spooky Meals

Monday: "Batty" grilled-cheese sandwiches and "Blood" (vegetable/tomato soup)

Tuesday: "Spiders and Worms" (spaghetti and meatballs)

Wednesday: Ghost pizzas and "Goblin Grass" (salad)

Thursday: Pumpkin Pancakes and sausage

...I'm still scheming for the rest of the weekend!

Caramel Apples

I found a recipe of caramel that doesn't require milk. I used this recipe and omitted the popcorn and nuts, then cooked only a half recipe of the caramel. It was perfect for 7 large honey crisp apples. Then I melted some white and milk chocolate and SHAZAMM!!

Applesauce

This was a major endeavor, but worth it!

Fall Harvest Patties

I love making creative meals out of leftovers, and these patties were no exception. I mixed together quinoa (about 1 cup, cooked), roasted butternut squash, 1/4 cup Israeli couscous, 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. milled flax seed, and misc. seasonings. I formed the mixture into patties and cooked them in a little bit of olive oil. Yum!

Friends

Cheesy Hash-brown Bake

We had a fun-filled weekend with old friends. First, we hung out with the Garner's for Jamison's wedding festivities. Lisa cooked up a delicious wedding luncheon and we had such a great time reconnecting with that awesome family. Then Saturday our friends the Curtis' came over. We ate the chili hash-brown recipe above and it was pretty tasty. It was so fun to catch up with them and to see their boys. Sunday night we had Taylor Garner come over for dinner (she's up here at BYU) and we ate a delicious southwestern corn chowder. It was so yummy. I love eating Fall foods and cooking for hungry friends!

Died and Gone!

I've often made comments about how sorry I feel for people with food allergies and how "I would die if I couldn't eat ice cream or cheese or chocolate." Well, I am now one of "those people" who can't eat anything fun and it really sucks. At least I can still have chocolate. I am usually really optimistic about it, but last week I was really missing the cheese. I then saw an add for some lactose-free cheese made from yogurt (which I can eat) and I got really pumped. I also found some ice cream made from almond milk, so I got that too (it tasted SO good, but I found out a few hours later that almond milk is no-go for me; TMI). BUT the cheese WORKED and it was GOOD!! I made nachos and a grilled-cheese sandwich and I really felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Hey, don't laugh...you try going 18 months without cheese. I know they make soy cheese, but PLEASE! This week I'm having pizza- start digging my grave cause that's going to send me over!

Also, I made these awesome mini pot pies. They're little hand-held yummies. The kids went crazy for them and we sat outside on the blanket and chowed 'em up! Just make a double pie crust recipe and your favorite chicken pot-pie filing and there you have it! YUM!

The *Best* Chicken Wrap!

My pretty kitchen table!

Okay, no joke, this is the best wrap ever!

Grilled Chicken:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
marinade-
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 peeled garlic clove
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves
* puree until smooth and pour over chicken
* grill chicken

Wraps:
large flour tortilla
grilled chicken
cheese
avacado
mayo
diced tomato
baby spinach
chile-lime vinaigrette*
- heat tortilla in pan, top with remaining ingredients.
- cook until tortilla is crispy, wrap up and CHOW!

*recipe for vinaigrette
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red chiles
salt to taste