The honey-locust trees on my street have gone from brilliant green to gold, showering confetti on the sidewalks as surely as if a parade had passed through. Autumn happens all of a sudden. I look up at 7 p.m., and the lacy honey-locust leaves are filtering soft orange twilight instead of bright summer daylight. I look up, and already September is gone.
Fall disappears quickly, dashing toward winter at such a clip that it’s hard to even get meals on the table as we keep pace with our autumn schedules.
That’s why fall calls for easy meals, with just a few healthy in-season ingredients you can swing by and pick up on your way here and there. Here are the five easiest fall meals from our blog–a meal for every night of the week!
This recipe really couldn’t be easier. Throw the broccoli in the oven with some garlic and olive oil, prep the pasta, add spices and cheese as desired, and dinner is served. The recipe even includes two simple variations that use roasted broccoli as their base: green machine soup and chilled whole grain pasta salad. So really, you could make a huge batch of roasted broccoli and have three weeknight meals ready to go!
Tomato Bisque Chicken Casserole
Did you know that our best-loved Tomato Bisque, made by Wolff’s Chef Chuck Smith, can also be used in this easy and elegant recipe? Life is good when Wolff’s does half the work for you! Shopping for this recipe basically involves picking up four ingredients (chicken, tomato bisque, mozzarella and fresh basil)– if you have butter, oil, flour and rice on hand.
And if you have a cast iron pan handy, you just brown the chicken, add the soup, basil and cheese and stick it all in the oven to bake for 30 minutes while the rice cooks. Easy peasy!
Prepping veggies is this meal’s biggest time investment, and the recipe itself will guide you to prepare them quickly and easily so you can serve a simple yet nutritious meal for your family. For even easier weeknight prep, cut the veggies on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and then throw this recipe together in just a few minutes! The main steps are mixing the sauce and stir-frying the veggies.
Grilled Ham and Cheese with Pear
With just five ingredients and steps you’ve been following since you were in grade school, this is one simple, satisfying sandwich from our chef Chuck Smith! Add a simple salad and your meal’s complete.
Here’s a forgiving recipe that not only comes together in minutes but also makes use of whatever ingredients you have on hand and want to add. Now that’s a frugal fall feast.
