Fall Family Feast Recipes (by popular demand)

Rather than post these for everyone on Facebook, I thought I'd do it here.
Credit for the Rainbow Roasted Pepper Soup goes to Allrecipes.com member Leslie.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/rainbow-roasted-pepper-soup/detail.aspx
You can find that recipe at the link above.

Credit for the Autumn Potato Casserole goes to Allrecipes.com member Karen Berlecamp for her Baked Potato Casserole, which I adapted.

Autumn Potato Casserole
Recipe as shown makes 10 servings. Now I wish I had made more because there were basically no leftovers.


Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cooked and cubed (I added a couple of brown ones I had on hand to supplement)
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise*
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons minced chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Fry bacon until crisp. Remove from grease and blot before crumbling, saving grease for onions.
2. Fry onions in the bacon grease(my hubby hates undercooked onions, so when I use them, I try to pre-cook them first). 
3. When onions are cooked, remove from grease with large spoon and put in bowl with potatoes.(This step was important, because the grease gives a little more moisture, and the potatoes are more the consistency of baked potatoes than scalloped anyway.)
4. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, onions, and bacon.
5. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; add to potato mixture and toss gently to coat. 
6. Transfer to a greased 9 X 13 glass baking dish. 
7. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned

Green Beans with Bacon 
(My own method of spiffing up green beans. We're German, so we like all things bacon-y.Sometimes I add toasted almonds too.)

Ingredients:
2 lbs.fresh or frozen whole green beans (I couldn't find decent fresh, so I used whole frozen and they were fine)
1/4 lb bacon (fried crisp-tender, you want it cooked but a little chewy)
Butter
Salt and Pepper

1. Boil beans until crisp tender.
2. Toss beans with a little butter.
3. Crumble bacon and toss with beans.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.

I may add diced red apples next time...

Credit for the Maple Glazed Spareribs goes to Gooseberry Patch Holidays at Home Cookbook
Recipe by Sandra Nichols

Here is the basic recipe but I tripled it and modified it slightly.

Ingredients:
3 lbs pork spareribs cut into serving size pieces
1 cup of maple syrup (I used the real stuff, but it was expensive, don't know how pancake syrup would go)
3 T. orange juice concentrate
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. curry powder
1 clove of garlic crushed
3 T. catsup
1 T. toasted sesame seed (I didn't use these and we didn't miss them)

1. Place ribs meaty side up on a rack in a roasting pan (I boiled mine in a pot of water with onion salt instead until the meat pulled away from the bone.)
2. Mix remaining ingredients in a pot except sesame seeds. Bring to boil over medium heat, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. When ribs have cooked, remove from rack and drain. Coat them with the sauce and place into roasting pan (no rack, and I always spray the pan with cooking spray first to make cleanup easier.)
4. Bake ribs uncovered for 25-30 minutes basting with sauce occasionally. Remove from sauce and put on platter. You can serve the sauce as a gravy if you like.

If using sesame seeds, toast them and sprinkle on the ribs just before serving.

Harvest Apple Salad


Dressing:
2 T. sugar
2 T. green onions diced
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup orange juice
juice from 1 lemon

1 red delicious apple cored and diced
1 bag of field greens with spinach

1. Mix dressing ingredients and toss 2-3 T. with salad greens and apples in a bowl. 
2. Save remaining dressing to serve on the side if needed.

This salad was really refreshing and simple!

Pumpkin Pies:


No secrets here, I used 2 Pillsbury pie crusts, and 1 can of Libby's pumpkin, and followed the instructions on the can exactly. Juergen hates nutmeg in his pie, and this recipe only called for ginger, cloves, and cinnamon as seasonings.Made 2 9" pies which I served with canned whipped cream because it was easy and I was exhausted!


Country Apple Dumplings
I haven't tried this yet because I had made way too much pumpkin pie, but I have the ingredients and the fact that it has garnered over 1300 reviews on Allrecipes.com makes it intriguing.
Think I'll try it for Halloween night. Recipe makes 16 servings.

Ingredients:

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew ™

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
2. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. 
4. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. 
5. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. 
6. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
7. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. 
8. Pour over the apple dumplings. 
9. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.
10. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

There you have it!