Because it's the first Friday of October, we decided that we'd revisit some of our favorite Fall meals!
The first is our Halal Cornish Hens with Apple Cranberry Rice. This recipe was easy and delicious! We started by making a slightly sweet and savory vegetable mixture that uses celery, onion, pecans and is simmered in some apple cider. Then we combine that with our fresh cut apples, dried cranberries, seasonings, and rice. Some of this tasty mix gets put into each of the hens and cooks with all the tasty juices from the hens. Speaking of the hens; throughout the baking process we are basting each hen using an earthy, sweet glaze that we made by combining apple cider, maple syrup, ground cinnamon and... a little bit of dijon mustard. The mustard is controversial, some people are disgusted at the idea of using mustard, however, I really believe that the mustard helps reduce the sweetness of the glaze while also adding a little acidity that improves the overall flavor of the whole dish.
This Cornish hen recipe is one of my all time favorites. The skin gets nice and crunchy with the glaze and mixes with the sage in the rice and the juiciness of the hen to create a delicious memorable meal. I actually plan to make this in the next few weeks! The only thing that I intend to add are some mixed vegetables, which you can pick up from our site...
The next recipe is easily one of my all time favorite soups: our Butternut Squash and Halal Italian style sausage! It's great anytime of the year, but there's something special about having this tasty soup during the season when the trees are all turning beautiful shades of orange and brown. Originally when we made this recipe, I decided to make our own Italian style sausage using Midamar's Halal ground beef and some seasonings. However, if you wanted, you could skip making the sausage and use our Italian rope sausage, or rather than use a ground sausage, you could opt in our Halal Italian meatballs. If you did choose to use these other meat options, you would add it at the same time that you fry the peppers and onion. Other than those optional changes, this soup is simple and easy to make on a windy day. It's chock full of nutrients to keep you going or to get you nice and warm. I plan to make this for my family get together later this month where I will serve it bread and butter for those who want it.
This is another one of those soup recipes that made me understand that it's not that I don't like soup, but rather, I only like specific soups. The hearty, almost stew like consistency of this soup creates a warm, filling, food that makes for a cozy night home with the family. Warm soups make for warm nights!
The final recipe is a slightly healthier take on the chicken pot pie: the Chicken Mug Pie! I've found this recipe to be great for both late fall as well as winter. It's an easy meal that fills up and warms up on those especially cold days. For me, I really like making this after snow blowing the driveway. Cooking it warms me up a bit but eating it warms your nose and throat and relieves that cold chill that gets down to the bone. It's got plenty of nutritious vegetables to give you what you need after a long days work and it's marginally healthier than a pot pie. Less bread equals better for you right? Maybe, either way, this meal is a lot faster than making traditional pot pie and it's a halal option which is one of my personal favorite parts!
I haven't tried this myself, however, I have been brain-storming ways to mix this recipe up a bit and I think that adding some heat would compliment the richness of soup. With that said, I've been finding Cajun seasoning to be hitting exactly right for me. It adds a great flavor, and just the right amount of heat to get me to feel it. With that said, I'd probably add about 1 tbsp or more to taste while cooking the vegetables. That should impart a lot of the flavor. Just before the soup is finished, I would give it a taste to make sure it's to your liking. You can always add more just before serving if necessary. Just add it little by little to ensure that you don't over do it!
And that's it! I hope you try these recipes love them as much as we do. We'll see you next week with more great Halal recipes!
