Fall Food Memories

I anticipate October every year not only because I love fall; it is my favourite season of all, but also because I love Halloween. This love affair started when I was a child and continues to this day. I'm now a grandma of three who shares this love with my three grandchildren. When I was a child, we went trick or treating for our goodies, but as an adult I try to make fun and quick or pre-made meals before the trick or treating night out. They vary every year; the one thing that doesn't is that I try to make them hearty as we usually have snow, and the temperatures below zero Celcius.

On Halloweens gone by I've made various dishes that have made their way out of the traditional ghouls' night out. I now make treats in the month of October that are Halloween themed. I've made a cauldron of cheesy goodness in a hollowed out pumpernickel loaf with nachos, pretzel sticks, and the bread itself to dip it out. I will probably make this again this year so that we have a snack ready to eat, and it's quick.

When my daughter was a child, I made her terrifying tamale pie based on a recipe I found in a book full of spooky recipes. I still have that book and pull it out every October for ideas, and I still make this pie every year because without the decorations, it makes a great fall meal. I think the part I love the most about this is the cornbread topping. I think cornbread is a definite fall food.

For one autumn lunch I made cut out jack-o-lantern faces on bread that I was using for grilled cheese sandwiches, and my granddaughter was very impressed and that didn't really take much of an effort.

For desserts, we make chocolate cakes or cupcakes decorated for Halloween, but I've also made this great recipe with a chocolate crumb bottom, topped with orange jello and another filling made of cream cheese. It's then decorated like a graveyard, and it's also very tasty. When I make this, I start it the night before and then finish it up the next day as the jello has to set over the cream cheese filling. This goes very fast when I make it. One other easy favourite that can't be overlooked is the worms in dirt. The kids can make their own worms in dirt after we make the chocolate pudding. I know my grandchildren have had this on more than one occasion and love making and eating it.

The recipe I have here is a great meal that can be prepared before the big night out and just reheated for your Halloween supper. This is a flavourful meat pie that can be decorated like Frankenstein or a jack-o-lantern or anything you like using vegetables on top. You can top the pie with raw vegetables or add them the last 5 - 10 minutes in the oven.

Also, if you use hamburger as your meat ingredient, it's a cottage pie; if you use lamb it's shepherd's pie. This is something I didn't know as a child. I just thought it was all called shepherd's pie. Either way you prepare it, it's delicious. My grandchildren, daughter and myself all love this pie.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Meat Pie

Ingredients:

Filling

1. 2 tablespoons oil
2. 1 cu p of chopped onion
3. 1 stalk of chopped celery
4. 1 lb of lean ground beef
5. 3/4 cup of mushrooms
6. 2 teaspoons parsley leaves
7. 1 teaspoon rosemary
8. 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
9. 1/2 teaspoon salt
10. 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
11. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
12. 2 garlic cloves
13. 2 tablespoons flour
14. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
15. 1 cup of beef broth
16. 1 can of peas and carrots
17. 1 small can of sweet corn kernels

Topping

1. 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into cubes for boiling
2. 8 tablespoons of butter
3. 1/3 cup of milk
4. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5. Add or omit salt and pepper to taste

Instructions for preparing the filling

1. Add the oil to a large skillet over a medium high setting. Once heated add onions stirring until they are translucent.
2. Add meat and break apart. Add the herbs and spices and garlic. Stir and cook until meat is browned.
3. Add the Worcestershire sauce
4. Add flour and tomato paste.
5. Add broth and vegetables bringing to a boil. Then simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Add meat mixture to a casserole dish.

Instructions for preparing the topping

1. Boil potatoes until soft and mashable.
2. Drain potatoes when they are cooked and ready to mash.
3. Mash.
4. Add butter, milk and garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spread out over top of meat mixture.
6. If desired, decorate with vegetables to make spooky faces either after baked or with a few minutes before done baking.
7. Bake for 50 minutes.

Now all you need is a simple green salad to add to this. I know usually for the kids the salad is overlooked when they want to get out to all those beautifully decorated houses. I hope you enjoy this recipe as we do. It'll keep your trick or treaters warm and energized for the night, but this will make a great meal any fall night.