Anyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with Fall. Well, obsessed may be putting it lightly. I love everything about it. The leaves changing colors, the pumpkins, the apple cider, the crisp morning air, and of course when Halloween rolls in, the scary decorations!
This year, Erin and I decided to have a "Happy Fall Y'all" party. And I just want to say this: I LOVE my friends! We asked everyone to bring a Fall inspired dish, and everyone (well mostly everyone) went above and beyond to make this get together fall-ish!
For the decorations, I made the trek to craft mecca - Hobby Lobby. I had bought dollar store foam pumpkins and picture frames, so I was on the hunt for gold metallic spray paint for the pumpkins and glass chalkboard paint for the frames. I had this imagine in my head. Burlap, gold pumpkins, autumn colors. It was going to look great!
Once I got home, I spray painted the pumpkins, made mini chalkboards, and also a candy corn garland made from dollar store plates painted and cut into triangles. Like I said, I LOVE Fall. And pretty much any excuse to decorate. Of course every chance they got, Scout and Radley would play with the mini pumpkins.
Once the chalkboard paint was dry, I drew a pumpkin on one and my favorite quote from my favorite movie, Practical Magic, on the other one. I think they turned out great!
When we decided to have the Fall party, I already knew that I wanted to have a chili bar. So the search for the perfect chili recipe began. My mom and grandmother both have great chili recipes, but I wanted to find my own. After surfing Pinterest, I found a GREAT turkey chili recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod. SO easy and it tasted amazing! We were even able to freeze a good bit to bring out when the weather gets cooler.
Along with the chili bar, Erin and I made our own pumpkin and bat chips made from whole wheat tortillas. And of course we had to make something sweet. We tried to make mini caramel apples, but the caramel did not harden fast enough, so it sorta slid off the mini apples. Oh well! They still tasted great!
Leading up to the party, I was excited to see what everyone would be cooking/bringing to the party. Little did I know that we were going to have SO MUCH food. We had corn casserole, pumpkin Oreos (which are so yummy!), guacamole cascading out of a "vomiting pumpkin", pecan pie, and PUMPKIN Mac & Cheese. Yes, you heard me right. Pumpkin Mac & Cheese. And it was phenomenal. I will post the recipe that Chip posted on his Facebook at the end of this blog. You will want to make this every single day!
We bobbed for apples and ate until we could not fit any more food in our stomachs. And of course we had Practical Magic on all night and the pumpkin beer was flowing! It was a wonderful Fall Party. I am so grateful for my friends who love themed parties just as much as I do!
Happy Fall Y'all!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup small-diced onions or leeks
4 tablespoons of butter (half a stick)
*1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (or a mix of paprika and cayenne)
*1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
*1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
*Salt, black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg
*Rosemary (as much as desired)
*3 tablespoons flour
*1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
1 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock
*1 cup pumpkin puree
*8-10 oz. grated cheese (I like Gouda, Gorgonzola, and cheddar)
*8 oz. elbow, penne, or small shell pasta
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
2. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter and onions; saute until onions are softened. Meanwhile mike/cream and vegetable/chicken stock in a saucepan and heat just below a simmer.
3. Add desired herbs and spices to onions. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it is incorporated and no longer raw; 1-2 minutes.
4. Slowly add hot milk/stock mixture, stirring constantly until completely incorporated. Bring to a summer; mixture should thicken. Turn heat down to low.
5. Add cheese bit by bit, stirring until melted and smooth. Add pumpkin and stir; mixture will be very thick. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6. Add pasta to cheese sauce. stirring until combined.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
8. Turn on broiler. Add cheese to top and bake until well-browned and crispy on top. Cool for 10 minutes!
ENJOY!
Until next time,
-H
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