Sunday, November 7, 2010

Flavors of Fall


There are a handful of foods that I can associate primarily with the fall season. They are……
  • Squash
  • Pumpkin
  • Cranberry
  • Apples
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Carmel 
I somehow managed to use all of these in the past 24 hours. 


I got lucky enough to score a free night with the house to myself last night.  Those don't come around often with a full house, so I embraced the rarity by making a date night with myself. 

First, a delicious dinner for one. 

This was the inspiration for tonight's meal……


 I stil stand by my preference of not being a big pasta fan, but I've always said, unless it's stuffed with a veggie, my liking takes a turn.

I made a lovely fall veggie roast to serve on top of the ravioli.  Acorn Squash, Eggplant, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach in a Maple, Dijon, Balsamic glaze with goat cheese and dried cranberries.


 This morning, I slept in but really, woke up early.  I just love turning the clocks back. Even though the clock said 8am, by internal body clock was thinking it was really 9am so hunger arose shortly after I did.

We had the house to ourselves this morning, so I wanted to surprise Toly with a warm and satisfying Sunday Breakfast.  I got to work on making

Baked Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut French Toast 


  • 6 slices of Cranberry Bread (You could also use Cinnamon Raisin or any other version)
  • 1/4 Cup Canned Pumpkin
  • 1/4 Cup Almond Milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon 
  • 1 TBL Pumpkin Cream Cheese (you could omit this or use regular) 
  • 2 TBL Dried Cranberries 
Cube the bread and set aside.  Mix all of the ingredients and add the bread cubes to coat. Spray a baking dish and place mixture in the oven for 30 min at 350. 



This was incredible!  It reminded me of Bread Pudding but just a tad less sweet.  I ate my serving with a dollop of Vanilla Yogurt, Pumpkin Butter, and Cran-Apple Butter. 


A great Sunday Breakfast.  Well, for me at least.  I didn't realize that Toly didn't get home until very late last night and when I woke him up at 8:30am to eat, he had only gotten 4 hours of sleep.  Opps. ;)   Oh well, he still humored me so that we could enjoy our breakfast together.

So far, today has been lovely.  I went to the gym, ran some errands and made some things to take to our friends house tonight for the Eagles Game.

Greek Salad 

Carmel Apple Cake 

Don't get too excited, it came from a Duncan Hines Box, but it does look pretty fantastic if I do say so….

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend! 

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13 comments:

  1. hahah- I totally just got too excited about your dessert. ! What great treats you're bringing to your friends. But lets talk about your dinner last night- amazing. I totally want to try the TJs dish topped EXACTLY like you have it. Oh my yum! I bet the dried cranberries in combo with the maple added the perfect amount of sweet. Go Eagles!!

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  2. love the flavors of fall. we must utilize them before they go away!

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  3. I just got caught up on your old posts- congrats on groundbreaking and the personal trainer certification!! Definitely an exciting weekend.

    I'm not a huge pasta person either, but butternut squash stuffed ravioli (or should I say triangioli?). YUM!!

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  4. mmm! that bread pudding looks awesome!! :)

    nice work incorporating alll those delicious foods into one meal! <3

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  5. I'm pretty sure if your husband didn't get out of bed for that breakfast, he'd be crazy! That looks absolutely delicious!

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  6. I can't remember the last time I had ravioli. It has to be more than 4 years ago. GF/DF Ravioli isn't exactly easy to find!

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  7. That french toast looks ridiculously good! I love french toast and pretty much any variation =) I think the flavors of fall are amazing!! You did a great job incorporating so many of them!!

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  8. oh MY! one heck of a day of eats! I must find that TJS ravioli!! we just got a tJS so i love all of the goodies there :)
    hope you had a great weekend love!

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  9. Boxed cakes are pretty tasty as far as I'm concerned!! :)

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  10. I love the packaging on that ravioli-- so cute! Looks like the perfect easy meal.

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  11. Everything you post always looks so delicious!!! Have a great week :)

    Jen
    http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/

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  12. man Lauren, man!! I always come to your blog and get hungry....and jealous of your presentation!

    YOU = AMAZING EATS.

    Wait that's not all you =.

    You are also kind, thoughtful, A GREAT COOK, sweet, beautiful, courageous........

    okay, I could go on but I need to get back to studying!!

    Adore you!

    TAKE CARE AND HAPPY WWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEK!

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  13. Holy moly, Lauren, you've been so creative lately! That ravioli looks fabulous... I also had butternut squash pasta last night! And that caramel cake? Even if it came from a box, it still looks fabulous.

    Have a great week, dear!

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