Fall Inspired Recipes

It’s officially fall, which means cooler weather, fun fall activities and, of course, delicious savory meals. Here are a few fall inspired recipes to make for family and friends this season. 

Quench Your Thirst With an Apple Cider Mocktail 

When preparing a dinner for your guests don’t forget drinks! We recommend the delicious and easy to make Apple Cider Mocktail. 

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider 
• Cinnamon-ginger simple syrup 
• Cinnamon sugar 
• Apple slices
• Cocktail shaker
• Ice
• Stemmed glasses 

Instructions: 

1. Simple syrup: combine water and sugar into a saucepan. Simmer on the stovetop until sugar has dissolved. 
2. Wet edges of your long stemmed glass with cider, then dip into cinnamon sugar.
3. Slice apples thinly for garnish.
4. Add a few tablespoons of simple sugar, apple cider and ice into a cocktail shaker. Shake, then pour into your glass and enjoy!

Warm Up With Beef Stew

A hearty meal is the perfect way to battle fall temperatures, which is why we suggest Beef Stew – a classic meal that can feed many!

Ingredients: 

• Beef stewing meat
• Beef broth 
• Bay leaves
• Onion (peeled and chopped)
• Carrots
• Baking potatoes (peeled and cut into ¾ rounds)
• One cup of wine  
• Vinegar 
• All purpose flour 
• Salt/pepper
• Vegetable oil 

Instructions: 

1. In one bowl, coat beef with flour and pepper.
2. Heat three teaspoons of oil in a large pot, add beef to the pot, be sure not to overcrowd. Brown beef on all sides for about five minutes.
3. Remove beef from pot and replace with vinegar and wine. Cook mixture on medium high heat and then add beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Continue to cook until it reaches a broil, then reduce to a simmer. 
4. Add onions, carrots and potatoes to the simmering pot and cook until tender. Add broth if the stew becomes dry. 
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With a Caramel Spiced Pumpkin Parfait   

Conclude your meal with a sweet treat like the fall inspired dessert, Caramel Spiced Pumpkin Parfait. 

Ingredients: 

• Bag of vanilla caramels
• Heavy cream 
• Cream cheese 
• Can of pure pumpkin 
• Brown sugar 
• Ground cinnamon 
• Graham crackers
• Unsalted butter
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground ginger 

Instructions: 

1. Caramel sauce: place caramels and ½ cup of heavy cream into a microwave safe bowl, heat until melted. 
2. Pumpkin mousse: combine 4oz of cream cheese, one can of pumpkin, one cup of heavy cream, ¼ cup of brown sugar, two cups of ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon of ground ginger and ⅛ teaspoon of ground nutmeg into an electric mixer. Whip for three minutes and place into your refrigerator. 
3. Whipped cream: in one bowl add 2 cups of heavy cream and whip until soft. Add ¼ cup of brown sugar and whip again until soft. Place in your refrigerator.
4. In a small bowl combine 4 graham cracker sheets, 4 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Smash graham crackers and mix until there is one cohesive mixture. 
5. Assemble your parfait: place cookie mixture to your cup/dish, next add mousse, your whipped cream mixture, pour 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce and repeat layers. 
6. Chill until ready to serve, then enjoy! 

Make Delicious Meals in Your Challenger Home

Nothing makes a family meal better than enjoying it in your Challenger home. To learn more about our homes, which are located in Northern Colorado, Denver and Colorado Springs, contact us today!