Fresh Idea Friday - Fall Recipes

I have missed the last several Fresh Idea Friday topics that my friend Lisa posts on her blog, but finally I have some input (even though I am a week late!). This past idea was to share our favorite fall recipes. I love getting back into baking again and smelling all the good food that comes out of the oven! Here are some of my favorites:

Spiced Apple-Butternut Squash Soup

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
6 c. chopped peeled butternut squash
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, chopped
3 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) vegetable broth
1/2 c. Honey Nut Flavor Cream Cheese Spread (I used plain)

Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onions; cook 4 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in nutmeg; cook 1 min. Add squash, apples and broth; stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 50 min. or until squash and apples are tender, stirring occasionally.
Cool soup slightly. Add, in batches, to food processor or blender; cover. Process until smooth; return to saucepan. Cook on medium-low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Ladle soup into eight serving bowls just before serving. Add 1 Tbsp. of the cream cheese spread to each bowl; stir gently to swirl. Makes 8 servings.

Options:
~Substitute chopped peeled pumpkin for the butternut squash.
~Prepare as directed, but do not reheat the pureed squash mixture or top with the cream cheese spread as directed. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. When ready to serve, pour into saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until heated through, stirring frequently. Top with the cream cheese spread as directed.
~Top with sour cream instead of cream cheese.

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Spicy Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Chunks

1 pkg. (2-layer size) spice cake mix
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened, divided
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used choc chips)
1/2 c. thawed cool whip
2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cake mix as directed on package, reducing water to 1/2 cup and increasing oil to 1/2 cup. Add half of the cream cheese, the pumpkin, cinnamon and ginger. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Stir in chopped chocolate. Pour into greased 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan.
Bake 40 to 45 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
Mix remaining cream cheese, whipped topping and sugar until well blended. Spread on top of cooled cake. Cut into 16 slices to serve

Options:
~Substitute yellow cake mix for the spice mix for a less spicy version.

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Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2 1/2 c. flour

2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. cooked pumpkin
1/2 c. veg. oil
2 c. chopped apples

Topping:
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 tsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, sugar, spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Combine eggs, pumpkin and oil and add to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into greased muffin pans. Sprinkle with topping. Bake 35-30 minutes. Makes ~1 1/2 doz muffins.

Options:
~I used half whole wheat flour when I made these and they tasted great.

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***The first 2 recipes came from Kraft and the last one was from the Blooming Glen cookbook....my favorite two places to look for recipes!

***Check out Lisa's blog for other great fall ideas!