Although the weather is still really warm here, it’s officially fall!! That calls for delicious, comforting, fall meals.
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The other day, I was watching Cook’s Country and saw the most delicious barbecue beans recipe. They called it backyard barbecue beans. I knew I had to make it. So when my husband asked me what I wanted for my family birthday dinner, I told him smoked pork and ribs so I’d have a reason to make them!
Backyard Baked Beans
If you still have mild weather, anything barbecue or grilled makes for ideal fall meals. It’s some of the best weather for being outdoors.
Don’t they look totally delicious? My family loved it, especially my meat-loving husband. After all, there’s bratwurst in there!
The recipe makes a lot of beans, so unless you have a crowd, you’ll probably want to freeze half or halve the recipe.
Here is a link to the recipe: Backyard Baked Beans.
Wedge Salad
To go along with the smoked pork and ribs and those yummy baked beans, I made wedge salad. I prefer my wedge with blue cheese dressing and chunks of blue cheese, but we have family members who don’t like blue cheese. So, I subbed in ranch dressing for the blue cheese.
Ingredients:
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing
- 1/2 cup of blue cheese, crumbled (optional)
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup of crisp bacon bits
Directions:
Cut the head of lettuce in half to rinse it. Then, cut into wedges, taking care to keep the wedges together (I swear there must be an easy way to do this). Then either place wedges on a long serving plate like shown above, or on individual salad plates. Cover with dressing, blue cheese crumbles, bacon bits, and cherry tomatoes.
Cheesy Chili Soup
This recipe is one of the ultimate comfort soups. I rarely keep Velveeta on hand, but this recipe looked too delicious not to get some. You will probably feel the same!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 10 oz. can of Rotel diced tomatoes, undrained (I use no-salt added)
- 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, undrained (I use no-salt added)
- 4 oz. can of green chilies, chopped
- pinch of ground black pepper
- 1 lb of Velveeta Cheese (I used 2% reduced fat version)
- Directions
- In a medium dutch oven or large saucepan, cook the beef, onions, and garlic; drain once browned. Add tomatoes, chilies, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir in cheese and allow to melt. Garnish with crushed corn chips, cheese, or even bacon bits.
- Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
If you need more meal planing ideas, check out these posts:
https://thefeatherednester.com/chicken-pot-pie-fall-favorite/
https://thefeatherednester.com/fall-meal-plan-thm-friendly/