Five Fall Flavored Recipes: Soups and Muffins

John laughs every Fall because as soon as Trader Joe's starts selling acorn squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes by the bushel, baking pumpkins, and brussels sprouts on a stock I cannot contain my excitement. I love Fall cooking and flavors!

In honor of these delicious ingredients, here's some Fall recipes that I've made lately and that I highly suggest you should try out:

Apple Pie - Filled Muffins

John and I devoured these in about 2 days, so I suggest you double the recipe. They are THAT good. When you bite into them you get cinnamon apples in the middle. I followed FitSugar's recipe but used gluten free flour and almond milk instead. 

Pumpkin Muffins with Crumble Topping

As if the apple pie muffins weren't tasty enough, John thought these were even better... probably because they taste like dessert! I used the recipe from Cooking For Isaiah, a cookbook that I highly recommend even if you aren't dairy or gluten free.

Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon Crumbles

The day after I got my Cooking Light issue this month, I made this sweet potato soup. It was so easy but so good. I used my immersion blender which helped it come together quickly. 

Pictured Above: Roasted Broccoli & GF Corn Muffins

Roasting our broccoli was revolutionary. John wasn't a huge fan of broccoli before, but now he loves it roasted. Bon Appetit's recipe is my favorite. The corn muffins are from Cooking For Isaiah.

Chickpea, Butternut Squash, and Lentil Stew

Pictured with Pumpkin Muffins, recipe above.

Ingredients:

1 white onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cardamon

Pinch of black pepper

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 quart chicken broth

1 cup red lentils

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tsp sea salt

Fresh cilantro for topping

Preparation:

1. Toss butternut squash with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until it's softened and done.
2. While squash cooks, heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it starts to brown. 
3. Add jalapeno, garlic, and spices (through black pepper) and stir to combine for about 1 minute.
4. Add chickpeas, diced tomatoes, red lentils, and broth to onion mixture. Stir and turn heat to high until it starts to simmer. Reduce heat and cover until lentils are done, about 25 minutes. 
5. Once lentils are done, add in butternut squash to pot and stir everything together. Season with sea salt and cilantro before serving.

Pumpkin & Potato Soup

In case you missed it on BeEmbraced a couple of weeks ago, this soup is another win for a Fall night.

I promise it tastes so much better than it looks in this picture!