Fall is by far my favorite season. There’s something exciting about the coming chill in the air, the first orange leaf, and the smell of cinnamony-sweet pies baking in the oven.

While everybody loves fall-themed sweets, fall themed dinners deserve a little love too! My approach to dinner is cooking seasonally—using fruits and vegetables that are currently growing, as nature intended.

I do this because:

1. It’s the way fruits and veggies are meant to grow, per the Earth’s natural cycle.
2. The food tastes soooo much better.
3. In-season fruits and vegetables are ridiculously cheap. The food is in abundance, and stores can’t sell this stuff fast enough. That means bigger savings that are passed on to the customers.

It’s extremely cost-effective to cook with the seasons. So while it’ll cost you a pretty penny to bake a strawberry pie in the fall, a pumpkin pie is a cheaper (and delicious!) alternative.

Here are just a few fruits and vegetables that are in season in fall:

• Squashes
• Brussels sprouts
• Sweet potatoes
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Greens
• Leeks
• Parsnips

In the spirit of saving money during a spendy season, here are our top 7 frugal fall dinners, which use in-season produce!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, cut into quarters, seeds and fibers set aside
½ stick butter
1 chopped onion
6 cups water or chicken stock (the stock gives more flavor)
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons of salt

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot or cast iron dutch oven, melt the butter and sauté the onions until soft over medium heat.
2. Add the squash fiber and seeds. Saute for 4 minutes.
3. Add the 6 cups of water/chicken stock and 2 teaspoons of salt.
4. Put a steamer basket into the stock pot. It will submerge slightly; that’s okay.
5. Put the butternut squash into the steamer basket and cover the pot. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. This allows the broth to develop flavor while simultaneously steaming the squash.
6. Remove the squash from the steamer basket and set aside to cool slightly.
7. Take your stock or water mixture and put it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove all of the solids.
8. Put the squash and the liquid mixture into a blender and puree.
9. Put the puree back in the soup pot and stir in the ½ cup of cream and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.
10. Add salt or a dash of nutmeg to taste.

Spaghetti Squash Lo Mein

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash, cut in half
Half of an onion
2 carrots, julienned or cut into half-moon shapes
2 stalks of celery
1 tablespoon of Sriracha (omit if you don’t want it to be spicy!)
5 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
Eggs (if desired)
Mushrooms (if desired)
Snow peas (if desired)

1. Roast the spaghetti squash in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. The key to a successfully-roasted squash is by placing it cut-side up in a glass baking dish filled halfway with water. You’ll know the squash is done because it will gently come apart in strands with a fork. I slightly undercook my squash so it will stand up to sautéing later.
2. Once the squash is done, allow it to cool for 30 minutes. Once cooled, pull the squash into long strands with two forks and set the squash aside.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook the carrots in the oil for 2 minutes, until soft. Then add the onions and cook until clear, about 3 minutes. Once the carrots and onions are cooked, add any other vegetables you’d like to add, like celery, mushrooms, or snow peas.
4. Saute this until the vegetables are cooked.
5. Add the spaghetti squash to the pan. Mix it in with the vegetables and reduce the heat to medium-low.
6. Add in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 5 tablespoons of soy sauce to the mixture. Allow to heat through.
7. Serve with a soft boiled egg on top, if desired.

Brussels Sprout Pancetta Pasta

Ingredients:
1/2 lb linguine or spaghetti noodles
Salt and pepper
6 oz. cubed pancetta or bacon
1 onion
1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup dry white wine or 1/3 cup chicken stock
3 oz. Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.
2. Reserve ½ cup of your pasta water.
3. While the pasta is cooking, sauté the pancetta and onion until browned, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the Brussels sprouts and garlic. Saute until the leaves turn bright green; about two minutes.
5. Slowly add the wine or chicken stock to deglaze the pan.
6. Add the cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, and ½ cup of pasta water.
7. Stir until the cheese is melted and the pasta is creamy.
8. Serve with Parmesan cheese and season at the table.

Note: I recommend adding salt at the table for this dish! The pancetta is naturally salty, and you don’t want to have a salty mess on your hands.

Pulled Pork Sweet Potatoes with Broccoli

This one’s not really a “recipe,” but it’s too good not to share!

Ingredients:
Homemade pulled pork (I just cook down a bone-in pork shoulder in the crock pot with 2 cans of soda, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, and 1 chopped onion. It cooks down for 5 hours until it pulls away easily with a fork.)
Sweet potatoes
Broccoli
Butter
Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a microwave-safe dish filled halfway with water. Microwave the potatoes in 5-minute increments, flipping them each time, until they are soft and cooked all the way.
2. In the meantime, prep your broccoli and cook it in a veggie steamer for 8 minutes until bright green and tender.
3. Top the cooked sweet potatoes with pulled pork and serve with a side of broccoli.

Easy!

Thai Curried Cauliflower

I have to give the Frugal Girl credit for this recipe. Here is an excerpt with the recipe for this fantastic dish. I like to top mine with soft boiled eggs and serve on top of basmati rice.

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:
3 large leeks, washed and cut into half moon shapes
3 large potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
4 ½ cups of broth
3 tablespoons of butter
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of chives, chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Cook the garlic, onion, and leeks in the butter until they’re soft; about 5 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes start to soften; about 8 minutes.
4. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to get a low simmer. Cook until the potatoes are completely cooked through; about 10 minutes.
5. Blend the mixture with either an immersion blender or blender.
6. Return the mixture to the pot. Reduce the heat and stir in salt and pepper to taste. I usually use a ½ teaspoon of both.
7. Serve with chopped chives on top.

Salisbury Steak with Broccoli and Roasted Parsnips

Ingredients:
For the Salisbury steak:
1 ½ lbs of ground beef chuck
2 tablespoons Cajun spice
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of dry mustard
1 tablespoon of dried onion
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup of breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Worcestershire
1 egg

Sides:
Broccoli
Parsnips

For the gravy:
1 onion, sliced
½ cup sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1 ½ cup beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all of the steak ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Shape them into 6 ovals. We like ours to be more on the round side, but you can flatten them if you prefer yours to be more steak-like in shape. I’ve found the round shape retains more of its moisture.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Coat with vegetable oil once you’re ready to get cooking.
4. Sear each patty for 4-5 minutes on both sides.
5. Remove the patties and leave the drippings in the pan. Now it’s time to make the gravy!
6. Stir in the onions, mushrooms, and 1 tablespoons of butter. Saute for five minutes.
7. Stir in the flour until it’s fully incorporated.
8. Pour in the 1 ½ cup of beef broth and bring to a simmer.
9. Stir in the steaks and simmer on low for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked and the gravy thickens.
10. Serve with roasted parsnips and steamed broccoli.

The Bottom Line

Who said home cooking has to be full of fuss? Try out these recipes for your dinner next week and experience the savings!

We want to know: What are you favorite fall recipes?

—

This blog contains affiliate links, which help me bring you more fun content!

The post Our Favorite 7 Frugal Fall Dinners appeared first on Picky Pinchers.