5 Easy Fall Lunches to Make this Month
Fall is here! The cooler weather and tastier vegetables are finally upon us! Time to turn up the oven and fill your house with delicious spicy smells. After all, this is the perfect season to hunker down under you work-blanket and sip some toasty warm soup mid-day. Here are 5 of the best fall lunches that are easy to make and easy to reheat.
Butternut Squash Soup
My personal favorite fall meal of all time is this Butternut Squash Soup with Browned Butter. It’s full of delicious warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Not to mention the creamy bright orange squash as its base. You can’t really get much more fall! And the browned butter adds a rich nutty flavor you can’t get anywhere else. The recipe is so simple, which is surprising for something so delicious.
It is a little time intensive since you have to cook the squash and then blend the entire soup to get that creamy consistency. And batches in a blender are hot and annoying. But an immersion blender will do the whole soup in one pan in half the time! My personal favorite is the Braun Multiquick Hand Blender.
Chicken Cacciatore
I first discovered this dish in my Betty Crocker cookbook back in college. And probably annoyed all of my housemates by making it at least 10 times in the course of one season. But it’s so easy and fast! Take 30 minutes on Sunday to make a big batch and just pop it into containers for week-day lunches.
I like to adjust the recipe by adding olives or changing out bell peppers for zucchini or eggplant. And you can serve it over pasta with some parmesan for a heartier choice.
Another word of advice? Take the skins off. True Chicken Cacciatore is made by cooking the chicken in the tomato sauce and veggies. Your skin is very likely to get soggy. There are ways to keep the skin crisp, but I consider those not true Cacciatore or “hunter’s food.” Follow Jessica’s recipe at The Forked Spoon for more explanation on what that means.
Beef Stew
I discovered I could make beef stews around the same time I discovered Cacciatore. (I had a personal cooking Renaissance in college.) You can find many variations on traditional beef stews. It seems like everyone’s grandmother has one. I like Jenn Segal’s at Once Upon a Time a Chef, but it does require you have an oven-safe pot.
For a long time I didn’t and would just cook very long and slowly over medium-low heat. I’m talking like 4-6 hours of simmering on the stove. You do have to be home the whole time. But if you’re spending a cold dreary day inside, it’s actually rather nice to keep the house warm and fill it with stew-smell!
You can change up some of the ingredients. I hate potatoes so I usually add in some celery and other root veggies.
The wonderful thing about beef stew? It tastes better the longer it rests! The ingredients have a chance to mingle and you end up with a really flavorful lunch by mid-week.
Sausage and Tortellini
This is probably the least-healthy of all on the list. But let’s be honest, sometimes you just need something pasta-y and cheesy when it’s threatening to snow outside. Key Ingredient has a lovely, cozy warm recipe that I discovered quite by accident! The wonderful thing? It takes minimal effort to make.
The real delight in this recipe is the added cream cheese. It makes the whole dish so creamy and smooth and comforting. (And also very rich). Not only that, you can make the whole thing in a crockpot! Just dump everything in and turn it on and go about your day. Talk about easy meal prep! If you’re a busy person, (and I’m assuming you are) you should get yourself a crockpot. Or put it on your Christmas list. (Like I did.) I know crockpots can be huge and cumbersome and hard to store if you live in a mini apartment. (Like me.) Fortunately Cooks by J.C. Penney sells tiny 1.5 quart crock pots that conveniently just fit this recipe…and in your tiny NYC apartment cupboards!
Fall Harvest Salad
I know we just said fall was a time to get toasty warm. But sometimes you just get toasted-out. Especially sitting in an office with the heat on like this?! No thanks. To freshen things up a bit, try a salad!
I love this honeycrisp and kale salad from Half Baked Harvest. Though, personally, I prefer winesap apples. They’re perfectly tart, crisp, with just a touch of sweet. Kale in general, especially dinosaur kale, is a really perfect base for fall salads. The leaves are strong enough to stand up to dressing, so you can make the salad the night before and the leftovers won’t be wilty for lunch! Tossing kale in olive oil and seasoning or even baking it for just a few minutes can add new textures too.
Salads in general are great because they’re so customizable. Bought too many pears? Slice those up instead of apples. Have neither? Try roasted squash cubes. No pumpkin seeds? Toast up walnuts instead! Try other cheeses like shaved parmesan or crumbled blue. Add some grains like farro, quinoa, or barley to make it a little heartier for the windy walk home.
Looking for a dinner series like this? Follow my dinners for the 6 weeks before Thanksgiving meal prep series here!
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