Fesenjan (Chicken Stew with Walnut & Pomegranate Sauce)

I saw this Fesenjan (pronounced fesenjoon) dish while watching "Food Network" and thought it would be an interesting fall dinner (and I have lots of walnuts in the house).  I found a recipe I liked here and went for it.  I found a Middle Eastern grocer and was able to pick up the pomegranate "sauce", no problem, though I think I bought molasses - it was bitter.

Lentejas (Mexican Lentil Stew)

I realized how much I liked lentils when I made lentil meatballs on the weekend, that I wanted to try something like a soup next.  I found this recipe, and I made a few edits.  I liked that it had plantain in it and I've always wanted to cook with them.  I only know of one place in town where I can buy them and its an Asian market, though it has a wide variety of items...

Apple Pandowdy

What's in a name, right???  I saw this on a PBS show called Cook's Country.  I couldn't find the recipe online, but I had the show recorded so just went from that (play, pause and write down the ingredients/cooking steps).  I made this for my son and it seemed like a nice autumn dish.

Turkey Chili Stuffed Acorn Squash

I saw this recipe float by on social media and thought it would be great for a Monday, especially because I took homemade turkey chili out of the freezer last night.  Mine was really close to hers in the recipe except I used ground dried chilis to make my chili powder.  I had kidney beans in mine too.  I usually make squash a lot in the autumn but haven't made any this year so far.  I washed the acorn gourds good and preheated the oven to 400°F.  I cut the squash in half and cleaned out the seeds with a spoon.  I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprayed with cooking oil.  I brushed olive oil inside the squash and seasoned with kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper.

Lentil Meatballs

This recipe just looked delicious and extremely intriguing so I had to try it.  I think the only reason I hadn't yet was because of the Lebanese 7-spice.  Yes, I could have made it myself, I was just lazy because the recipe had so many steps to it.  I remembered there was this little store by work that sold mainly Mexican products but also had some Middle Eastern supplies.  And lucky me, I found it there.

Thanksgiving: Spicy Soy Chorizo Green Bean Casserole

I make different versions of this dish on special occasions.  This was my own personal spin on it this Thanksgiving.  I always use fresh green beans.  I think I used frozen one year and I hated it.  I wouldn't even consider using canned, ever.  However,  I usually do use Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, because frankly, I like it in this dish and it's easy.  I always use bacon too, but decided soy chorizo would make it a bit healthier though unfortunately still high in sodium.  I made this the day before so all I would have to do is bake it off when the bird came out.  The ingredients I used:

Thanksgiving: Southern Cornbread Dressing With Oysters and Soy Chorizo

Every Thanksgiving, I try to make a new stuffing.  Last year I did this one.  I have always wanted to make an oyster dressing, and this would be the year!  I LOVE raw oysters, but cooked, I generally only like when deep fried or covered up like in "Oysters Rockefeller"... I wasn't sure what to expect, so this was an experiment...