With the crisper fall weather arriving, it feels like a good time to prepare some favorite hearty meals. These are all kid-tested and kid-approved fall meals!
Enjoy these warm, delicious, and filling fall meals.
Potato Soup with Homemade Rolls
Nothing is better on a cold day than to fill up on hot delicious soup and warm rolls right out of the oven!
Soup Ingredients:
- 4 slices of bacon, chopped
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 ¼ cup cubed potatoes
- ½ can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley (optional)
Soup Directions:
- Fry bacon.
- Add onion and saute for two to three minutes or until onion is starting to become tender.
- Chop up bacon.
- Heat potatoes in ½ cup water in covered saucepan for 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes become tender.
- Add soup, sour cream, bacon, and onion to potatoes.
- Pour milk in gradually, stirring constantly.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
- Add parsley (optional).
- Heat to serving temperature. Avoid boiling.
Rolls Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 cups flour
- 1/2 cup powdered milk
- 2 tablespoons dry yeast (quick rising)
- 2 1/2 cups hot water
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup melted margarine
Rolls Directions:
- Mix together sugar, salt, powdered milk, yeast, and 2 cups flour.
- Pour hot water on dry ingredients and mix with mixer.
- Slowly add in 2 more cups of flour.
- Add eggs and 1/2 cup melted margarine and stir well.
- Add more flour (about 4 cups) and knead until smooth.
- Let rise for 20 minutes in warm oven.
- To form rolls, grab a small hunk of dough, dip into melted butter, roll into smooth oblong shape between hands, and tuck the ends under as you place into a baking pan.
- Place rolls in large baking pan. (This recipe will make 3 rows of rolls in an 11 x 14 inch pan.)
- Let rise again.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (If the tops are getting too dark while baking, put tin foil loosely over the top of pan.)
- Test with a toothpick for doneness.
Sloppy Joes
This is an easy meal to whip up when your kids inevitably ask “what’s for dinner?” for the tenth time and you haven’t planned ahead. 🙂
Ingredients:
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 pound ground beef
- Hamburger buns
Directions:
- Brown ground beef until cooked through.
- Drain off any grease.
- Add ketchup, water, flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder directly to the meat and mix.
- Heat thoroughly.
- Serve immediately on hamburger buns.
Pizza Pasta
This is a family favorite of ours. Tasty and simple.
Ingredients:
- ½ pound ground beef
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ½ jar spaghetti sauce
- 4 ounces spiral pasta (other pasta varieties can be used as well.)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 ounces sliced pepperoni
Directions:
- Brown ground beef and onion until cooked through.
- Drain off any grease.
- Cook pasta until tender.
- Add pasta to a baking dish. Mix in spaghetti sauce and pasta.
- Chop up half the pepperonis and mix them in.
- Place the other pepperonis on top of the pasta mixture.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Chicken Rice Soup
A creamy, flavorful soup that is perfect for a cold day is one of our perfect fall meals.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 slices of bacon, chopped
- 3/4 cup carrots, diced
- 3/4 cup onion, diced
- 4 ounces uncooked wild rice (about 3/4 cup)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cans evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast (can be rotisserie, roasted, or pan fried)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
Directions:
- Melt butter in large stockpot over medium heat.
- Add bacon and vegetables to pot and cook until veggies are tender.
- Add rice and 5 cups of broth.
- Cover and simmer 40 to 50 minutes until rice is tender.
- Stir in 1/4 cup of flour into remaining 1 cup of broth until well blended.
- Stir this mixture into soup until bubbly. Mix well.
- Add evaporated milk and cooked chicken.
- Stir until hot and add salt and pepper to taste.
Manicotti
This recipe takes a little more prep and a long time to bake, so be sure to plan ahead!
Ingredients:
- 1 package manicotti or jumbo shells
- 1 – 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 3 cups spaghetti sauce
Directions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions and let cool. (If you need to speed up the process you can run pasta under cold water.)
- Spread thin layer of sauce in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
- Mix ricotta, 1 and ½ cups mozzarella, parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Stuff the shells with cheese mixture.
- Pour remaining sauce on top of shells.
- Cook covered with foil at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Cook 10 to 15 more minutes.
Chicken Enchiladas
The chilis in this recipe give it the perfect amount of flavor while not being too spicy for kiddos.
Ingredients:
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 small can chopped chilis, drained
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 small can olives, sliced
- chicken seasoning
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 to 10 flour tortilla shells
Directions:
- Cube up chicken into smaller pieces and thoroughly cook on stove, adding chicken seasoning for flavor. (You can also boil the breasts and then tear them apart when cooled.)
- Combine chilis, sour cream, and soup.
- Add in cooked chicken.
- Spoon chicken mixture onto the middle of a tortilla shell from one end to the other, and then roll up.
- Place rolled shells into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
- Drain olives and add them on top of cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
Fall Taco Soup Recipe
This is a great recipe for when you are out and about and want dinner to be ready to serve when you get home. Throw these ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning, set it to simmer, and be on your way!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 15-ounce can kidney beans
- 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes
- 15-ounce can corn, drained
- 1 envelope taco seasoning
- 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4-ounce can chopped chilis
- 15-ounce can pinto beans
- 1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
- Tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, sour cream for garnish (optional)
Directions:
- Brown ground beef until cooked through. Drain off excess fat.
- Add beef, along with the rest of the ingredients to a slow cooker. Stir well.
- Simmer in slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours.
- Serve with tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and sour cream if desired.
I hope that you are able to try one of these recipes for delicious fall meals while enjoying this beautiful Fall season!