Recipes from the Garden: A Taste of the Season

Welcome y'all to fall. It's time to gather those cast iron skillets and create some autumn happiness. The first recipe is a skillet filled with sweet potatoes, apples, Brussels sprouts, onions, chicken and bacon. It is packed with flavor and delivers a lot of food groups in one pan; consider it autumn in a meal. Apple Walnut Skillet Brownie has everything you love about these cooler days with your first bite of tender apples and the warmth of cinnamon and nutmeg. Eaten warm from the pan, this dessert screams fall. Next up, Pumpkin Pie Crisp offers a sweet, creamy pumpkin pie filling topped with a golden crumbly streusel. This just might replace your classic pumpkin pie at the Thanksgiving table. Ok, the finale is barely a recipe but just a reminder of the dog days of summer. Bring in your s'mores and warm up to a favorite treat!

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Harvest Chicken Skillet

Ingredients 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into ½ inch cubes 1 tsp  kosher salt - divided ½  tsp black pepper 5 slices thick-cut bacon - chopped 3 cups Brussels sprouts - trimmed and quartered (about ¾ lb) 1 medium sweet potato - peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 8 ounces) 1 medium onion - chopped 2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and cut into 3/4 inch cubes 4 cloves garlic - minced (about 2 tsps) 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme - or ½ tsp dried thyme ½  tsp  ground cinnamon 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth – divided

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add the chicken, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate lined with paper towels. Reduce skillet heat to medium low. Add the chopped bacon and cook until crisp and brown and the fat has rendered, about 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a separate paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but one and a half tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan. Increase skillet heat back to medium high. Add Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, onion, and remaining half teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until crisp-tender and the onions are beginning to look translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the apples, garlic, thyme, and cinnamon. Cook 30 seconds, then pour in a half cup of the broth. Bring to a boil and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved chicken and remaining half cup broth. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved bacon and serve.

Serves 4

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Apple Walnut Skillet Brownie

Ingredients 1 cup flour ½ cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar ¼ tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 2 eggs slightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla 1 stick butter melted 2 cups apples, peeled, cored ¾ cup chopped walnuts 1 Tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 350?. Place an 8- or 9-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat. Whisk the flour, both sugars, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and melted butter together. Place the chopped apples and walnuts in the flour mixture, toss to coat. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Stir until the flour has been thoroughly mixed in. Melt one Tbsp of butter in the hot skillet. Swirl to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Add the cake mixture and place the pan back into the oven to bake 35-40 minutes until the sides are dry and a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean. Cool about 20 minutes and serve warm.

Serves 8-10

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Pumpkin Pie Crisp

Ingredients Pumpkin Filling: 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree 1 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice ½ tsp salt 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract ? cup heavy cream Cinnamon Streusel: 2 cups flour  ¾ cup granulated sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 2 tsps cinnamon ½ tsp salt 1½ sticks melted butter

Preheat oven to 350?. Butter a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt and vanilla extract. Whisk in heavy cream until smooth. Pour into prepared skillet and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Add melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbly. Scatter the cinnamon streusel topping on top of pumpkin pie filling. Bake until the filling is set and the top is golden brown, approximately 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. If you wish, top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 6-8

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Indoor S'mores

Ingredients 1 cup chocolate chips 8 large marshmallows graham crackers for dipping   Preheat oven to 400?. In a cast iron skillet, add the chocolate chips. Snip the large marshmallows in half and place on top of the chocolate chips, (you could substitute mini marshmallows). Place the skillet in the oven for 7-9 minutes or until the marshmallows turn golden brown. Serve warm with graham crackers.