Fall seems like a special time for food and I swear there are many dishes that taste better when it’s just a little cool outside. These are a few of my favorite comforting foods to serve at this time of year. I hope you get a chance to try a few of them!

I’ve been making chili for years and I feel like I finally have it perfected to the recipe that my family loves. I served this on Halloween and it was just delicious! You can make it on the stove and let it simmer for a while or throw all the ingredients in a crockpot for a make-ahead meal.

Katie’s Favorite Chili

1 lb. ground beef (I try to use a little more if possible)

1 clove minced garlic

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion (we leave the onions out because we don’t like them and I just add a dash of onion powder)

1/2 cup chopped red pepper (can use green but we prefer red)

2 cans (16 oz) diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1 cup of V8 juice (can use tomato juice but I think V8 makes it so much better)

1 can (6 oz. tomato paste

1/4 tsp. salt

Brown ground beef and garlic. Add cooked beef and all other ingredients to crock pot (4-quart size or bigger). Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat setting for 4-6 hours. Garnish with grated cheese and sour cream if desired. We also love to put Fritos on top of ours.

My daughter Riley has a favorite soup that she and her husband love. It’s quick, easy, and very economical which is perfect for a young married couple.

Over the past 2 years of marriage, Riley and Ryan have decided this soup is a Halloween tradition for them. She even included the recipe on her Halloween layout from last year.

Riley’s Creamy Noodle Soup

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 + 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 cup pasta

1 cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced (Riley doesn’t always put the chicken in)

Combine all ingredients and heat until pasta is cooked. She tried to make this in her instapot once and it did not go well so she says to avoid that. She thinks it would work in a crockpot. Usually, when you cook soups like this in a crockpot, you wait until the last 30 minutes to add the pasta so it doesn’t get gummy so keep that in mind

Of course, we can’t talk about Fall foods without mentioning Thanksgiving! We already had our early Thanksgiving at the beginning of October and I’m very grateful for that. Most Americans will need to modify their Thanksgiving dinner plans this year due to Covid-19. This is definitely a good year to keep it simple. It’s also a nice time to pull out some favorite family recipes and let those traditions live on. Here are my favorites.

Katie’s Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Crockpot Turkey Breast (when you don’t want to roast a whole turkey) very tender and juicy.

Turkey Brine if you go all out on a whole turkey. This stuff is so good!

Sweet Potato Casserole - more like a dessert. Yummy!

Perfect Mashed Potatoes - my go-to for mashed potatoes

Focaccia Stuffing - I know this is from a box, but it’s our favorite stuffing recipe. I don’t add the beaten egg.

Slow Cooker Ricotta Cream Corn - my family requests this every year and it is incredibly good.

Best Pecan Pie - this is messy so I think it works better as pecan pie bars in a 9x12 pan. So yummy!

New Mexican Apple Pie with Green Chiles - It sounds unusual, but my parents lived in New Mexico for 14 years and we all got addicted to apple pie with green chiles. Delicious! You can also just leave out the green chiles and pine nuts and end up with a very good traditional apple pie.

Is anyone else hungry now? I guess I better go grab a snack.