MY FAVORITE FALL RECIPES

where have you been all my life, you beautiful pan?

While it seems sort of horribly sacrilegious to say I only have a few favorite fall recipes as I love ALL THE FOODS of fall, the timing of getting this blog up and running meant narrowing them down a bit. 

The following make the "favorites" cut because they are both easy to prep/cook and assemble, healthy but still delicious, and unique.

1. PUMPKIN ALFREDO (pictured above)

That's right. Move over PSL.

Homemade alfredo sauce was a staple in my house growing up. It was one of the few dishes my mom made (my dad was the cook, usually) and one of the most requested meals. This recipe by Pinch of Yum is almost identical to our family's recipe, with the exception of the pumpkin. And the addition of the pumpkin makes you feel like you're eating healthy - three cheers for veggie alfredo! Okay, so this one isn't exactly healthy. I did switch out the cream for whole milk, added less cheese, used Banza chickpea pasta, and added a few handfuls of kale right before serving. It's the kale that makes it appear to be healthy. There you go. 

Despite those few tweaks, it still felt like the most amazing and decadent treat for dinner. I cooked the sauce in my new and now most FAVORITEST pan, sold by Made In Cookware. I feel like a celebrity chef every time I use it. 

Side note: her little hands just slay me. The day they compoletely stop being chubby baby hands I will most definitely cry. 

2. FALL YOGURT BOWL

This is a deconstructed parfait that will blow your cozy fall socks off. I put the amounts I used for each bowl next to the item, but really, it's whatever you want!

3/4 cup roasted sweet potatoes (recipe below)
1/2 cup unsweetened plain coconut or regular yogurt, I used Coyo brand
1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
1/8 cup pomegranate gems (yes, they are gems)
1 diced pink lady apple (I split one apple between both bowls)
1/8 cup of whatever nut butter you're feeling - I used this almond butter

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES:

2 large yams/orange sweet potatoes
*2-3 T avocado oil (make sure you use this or ghee, as they have higher smoke points than conventional oils) 
1-2 T maple syrup
1 tsp (or more, your preference) cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
few dashes of salt & pepper

*the sweet potatoes should be well coated, but not drenched in oil.

preheat oven to 425. if at all possible, buy organic, as we are leaving the skins on! scrub skins well. carefully (don't cut your finger like I often do) dice each sweet potato into triangles. drizzle the avocado oil, maple syrup, and spices. use a spoon to gently coat and distribute the mixture as evenly as possible to the sweet potatoes. bake for 30-40 minutes. these are best well roasted, so they may need a few more minutes depending on the size of your batch. if you want a slightly sweeter taste, brush more maple syrup on after pulling them out of the oven.