In the Kitchen: Warm and Cozy Fall Recipes

It's a joy to be "in the kitchen" whatever the time of year, but when the cooler days of fall come, with the holidays following close behind, it's an extra special joy for me to spend time in my kitchen. And no doubt it is the same for you! Here are a few things that I've made in recent weeks ...

This meatloaf recipe has been part of my collection for so very many years; I cannot even remember where or who I got it from. A simple meatloaf recipe, but it's my husband's favorite meatloaf. The addition of Heinz 57 sauce makes it a bit more special than others, in our opinion. I hadn't made it for quite awhile, and it was a real treat to serve it for Sunday Dinner recently.

Print Recipe

Meat Loaf

Course: Main/Beef

Ingredients

• 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds ground beef
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs, soft
• ¹⁄₂ cup milk
• 3 tablespoons Heinz 57
• 1 ¹⁄₄ teaspoons salt
• dash pepper

Directions

1. Combine ingredients thoroughly. Place in a lightly greased loaf pan.
2. Brush top with additional Heinz 57 sauce.
3. Bake at 350 degrees oven for 1 hour.
4. Allow meat loaf to stand 5 minutes before slicing.
5. Servings: 6-8
6. Note: Meat loaf may be shaped into a loaf (8x4x1 1/2) in a lightly greased shallow pan.

(This is an updated version of a previous post in 2011: to see original post, click here.)

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Apple Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

We really love this moist, delicious apple cake, and enjoy it as a dessert, sometimes even topped with ice-cream! It would be good served for a special brunch, as well. It's a favorite of mine, and can be served any time of year. Warm it up slightly before serving for an extra special touch.

Click here for the recipe at "Tastes Better from Scratch".

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30-Minute Chicken Noodle Soup

A comforting, yummy, and easy soup to prepare ... my go-to chicken noodle soup recipe! It was one of the first soup recipes I made this fall. I like to have the ingredients on hand continually, and this can be quickly made. 

One of the ingredients I like to use is a homestyle egg noodle that I used to be able to purchase at Sam's. They no longer carry it, so I recently ordered more from Amazon ... click here to view, if interested. Another favorite, easy ingredient I use is shredded, or chopped, deli roast chicken. I like to purchase one or two of these roast chickens each time I go to Sam's, and then shred or chop them up to store in 2 cup bags for various future recipes, keeping them handy in the freezer.

Also, an added perk to this soup recipe is that it freezes well.

Click here for the recipe featured in a previous blog post.

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Hot Spiced Cider

Another recipe that I've prepared and served for so long that I have no idea of where I first got it from. I served it at a recent gathering in our home, and was asked for the recipe. A perfect hot drink for holiday season, and easy to prepare. It adds a warm inviting aroma to our home as it simmers on the stove.

Just put the following ingredients in a saucepan, heat, and serve!

• 1 gallon apple cider
• 6 sticks cinnamon
• 8 whole cloves
• 1/2 lemon, cut in thin slices
• 1/4 cup honey

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Cinnamon Rolls

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

It has been far too long since I've taken time to make bread. The last time I had a bread-making day was this past March - the 12 loaves I made that day lasted us awhile, but we have sure missed it in recent weeks/months. This past week I set aside time for a bread-making day again, and am so glad that I did! We have missed this tasty, homemade bread! 

With the help of my Bosch machine, I can mix up dough for six loaves of bread at a time!  Or I can use one (or more) of the portions for a pan of cinnamon rolls, or another kind of rolls. Often, after one batch of dough is shaped and rising, I go ahead and repeat the process ... and then end up with either 12 loaves, or often with 10 loaves of bread, and two pans of rolls! This is what I did this past week. I'm so grateful for a good supply of bread in the freezer for the coming weeks (for the two of us, and also to share). It is also so great to have our favorite cinnamon rolls already made for our Family Christmas!

A few years ago we upgraded my much older Bosch machine ... it was my Christmas gift, purchased on a Black Friday sale! I love this machine, it is amazing. 

The photo above shows the dough after it has been mixed in the Bosch machine, set out on my pastry mat, and then risen for half an hour. The next step is to divide into six portions ... five for bread, and one to be rolled out for the cinnamon rolls.

Click here for the Cinnamon Roll recipe shared on my blog back in 2010! And click here for the Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe shared in 2020. 

(I also have an older Whisper Mill, and use freshly ground wheat flour to use in my bread recipe, which makes it extra tasty.)

A Collection: A Few Coffee Table Books, Beauty in our Yard, Embroidery Flowers, and the Joy of Grandkids

 A fun little post of favorites, just a mix of inspirational, fun, or seasonal things that give me joy. It has been a number of months since my last one. Hope you enjoy!

I love these two coffee table style books ...

Gracelaced by Ruth Chou Simons - I read through this beautiful book again during 2021 (reading it season-by-season as it is divided up that way), and just finished up the last section a month or so ago. The artwork and the words are both so inspirational. 

Here's one quote that I had written in my journal from the "Fall - Intercession" reading:

"We groan as we try to pray through life's hardest challenges, while the Spirit groans on our behalf with perfect expression of our every need in the presence of our heavenly Father. ... The Spirit is indeed our Helper, both in our hearts and in connecting ours to His own. He makes prayer not just possible but plentiful as He provides for all the longings we express, and those we cannot."

And I am loving this brand new book by Holley Gerth: What Your Soul Needs for Stressful Times. It is so very timely to read, as no one can deny that we are going through a very stressful time here in our own country, and also around the world. Here's one of many quotes that I have written down in my journal from this book that I am currently reading ...

(Holley had referred to Exodus 3:14 where Moses had inquired of God's name, and the answer was: "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.")    

"Why does this matter in stressful moments? Because I AM is present tense. ... This means the only place we can fully experience the presence of God is the present ... When we get to tomorrow, He will be there. But today He is exactly where we need Him to be - with us." 

 

We enjoyed our outdoor patio flowers, as well as these in the front of our house throughout October, and clear through to the end of the month! A longer season than usual ... their beauty added to the colors of fall, making a beautiful mix of summer and fall! Click here to see more of the beauty in our yard the last half of October.

And I have been enjoying these flowers indoors! I started this embroidery project about six months ago, and I just put on the finishing stitches the last day of October! It's something I picked up to do here and there, in the midst of a full life ... a little refreshing break. It was a free pattern (click here) that I chose to do this year of our 50th Anniversary. The colors are the ones we used at our wedding, and the words "Be Still" are meaningful words from Psalm 46:10 which God used to lead us into retirement a year ago. Lots of memories held in this embroidery art that I plan to purchase a frame for in the future.

It's such a joy to be grandparents to ten sweet grandkids, and we had a fun four-day visit in mid-October to spend time with two of them, and also our daughter and son-in-law. It is hard to believe how fast they grow up ... Eva is our youngest grandchild, and at 9 years old, she is definitely not little anymore! And Cruz (one of three grandsons who are 12 years old) is in 7th grade already! 

Thanks for looking through my little collection of joy! 

Have a wonderful month of November!