The autumn season began September 22nd and I am behind in posting…again! Now that the cooler weather is upon us, I came across some delicious and easy dishes to prepare. Here’s a listing of what I’ve made: Molasses-Glazed Roast Pork with Sweet Potatoes, Spice-Rubbed Spatchcock Chicken, Skillet Hot Honey Chicken with Heart Greens, Lasagna with Roasted Eggplant, Apple Galette and Philly Style Stuffed Peppers. I selected these recipes based on their ease and reviews from other cooks as to how the meal turned out.
 
The Molasses-Glazed Roast Pork with Sweet Potatoes had the flavors of fall and, best of all, was a sheet pan meal! I found the recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website. I wanted to prepare one meal that could easily serve not only my husband and I, but that I could share with son and daughter-in-law, who are new parents. A boneless pork tenderloin fit the bill. For the ingredients you’ll need 2 pork tenderloins, light molasses, Dijon mustard, fresh garlic rosemary, red pepper flakes, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, olive oil, a shallot and chicken broth. The molasses, mustard, rosemary and red pepper flakes make the glaze. ​

When our kids were young, they participated in a variety of sports. As parents, we supported them by attending all their games. This could be difficult on weeknights, especially when everyone comes home ravenous. I wish I had an arsenal of one pot, skillet or pan dishes.

Now it’s just my husband and I and these meals are great when I want something that has minimal prep or cook time. Recently, I made several sheet-pan chicken dishes that offered a variety a flavor; i. e., Orange-Rosmary Roasted Chicken, Sweet and Spicy Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots and Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken with Tomatoes and Parmesan. 

​Every family should have at its disposal nutritious, easy to prepare meals. Here are two that my husband and I recently enjoyed. We both could eat pasta every night of the week. Recently  I found on the NYT Cooking website, a recipe for  Butternut Squash Pasta with Bacon and Parmesan. The recipe serves 4 to 6; for us it became a quick encore meal.
 
For the recipe you’ll need butternut squash, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, red onion, thick sliced bacon, short twisty pasta (campanelle or cavatappi), Parmesan cheese, fresh chives and fresh parsley. For my preparation I changed the bacon to finely diced pancetta I purchased at my local food store.  

​Because of work or family obligations, I’m finding sheet pan meals are a quick option for me and, hopefully, those people short on time. With some planning, you can still prepare a home cooked meal with minimal time and effort. You’ll need handful of recipes for the week, a  shopping list with all ingredients needed; then either shop in person or online.
 
This past Sunday, the At Home section of “The New York Times” had two terrific recipes. Spicy Sheet-Pan Sausage and Squash and Sheet-Pan Chicken with Potatoes, Scallions and Capers. The first recipe took 30 minutes and the latter 40. 

Yes, a winner. In a recent newsletter from NYT Cooking, I came across a recipe for Sheet-Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Fennel. It sounded easy, used a vegetable combination I wouldn’t have  thought of and it had a tart and cheesy sauce that went over the entire dish.

In addition to the chicken you’ll need olive oil, salt, medium sweet potatoes, small fennel bulb, white wine vinegar, lemon (need zest and juice), Dijon mustard, garlic, black pepper, pecorino cheese. The recipe developer is Ms. Yewande Komolafe and she says you can substitute the sweet potatoes and fennel with other vegetables.

​My sheet pan pancakes were a big hit with my granddaughter. Apparently, the batch I brought to my daughter’s never made it into the freezer. Being a good Nana, I made another batch yesterday, but left them plain. I found in my June 2020 issue of Southern Living Magazine a recipe for Mini Hash Brown Frittatas that can be made ahead and frozen.
 
For the frittatas you’ll need frozen shredded hash browns, cheddar cheese, frozen chopped spinach, butter, an onion, eggs, half and half, salt, pepper and cherry tomatoes. I know my granddaughter won’t eat tomatoes and neither will her father, so I left those out.

​I just realized it has been approximately two weeks since my last post. After dinner I found that I don’t have the ability to focus on writing about the wonderful dishes I made. Is it the fog of hearing too much COVID-19 news, the election or the inability to get restful sleep?

I’m sitting at my kitchen table with my iPad focusing on the new and tasty dishes I found and made since my last post. One of those was a one skillet meal that my son-in-law sent me from the Food Network, Pork Chops with Pear-Pecan Slaw. The week that I created this dish, Whole Foods had pork chops on sale. Through tomorrow, Whole Foods again has boneless pork loin chops or roast on special for $5.99/lb. (Prime members get an additional 10% off).

Besides the pork chops, you’ll need paprika, dried thyme, kosher salt, pepper, chopped pecans, extra virgin olive oil, red cabbage, dried cranberries, a pear, scallions and apple cider vinegar.

​Another recipe that my son-in-law recently forwarded to me was for Sausage and Grits Lasagna. The recipe was found on the website for Country Living Magazine and was described as a hearty casserole. It sounded like a meal that would be heavy on the stomach, but quite truthfully it was totally delicious and light!
 
For the recipe you’ll need stone-ground grits (I prefer Geechie Boy from South Carolina), parsley, salt and pepper, sweet Italian sausage, olive oil, yellow onion, red bell pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, dry white wine, petite diced tomatoes, 6-ounches provolone, fresh basil and fennel seed. The recipe takes approximately one hour and 25 minutes from start to finish. The first thing you’ll need to make is the grits as they take approximately 25 minutes to cook. Once you have the grits going, it’s on to sautéing the sausage. To make them easier to cook, I removed the sausage from its casing. After the sausage has browned, it’s removed from the pan and kept warm.