This time of year the sun goes down earlier and temperatures begin to drop… This calls for some warm comforting meals and treats! As a full-time student and also working full-time, its a necessity to have simple go to meals that aren’t super time consuming and are (for the most part) healthy and nutritious. Here are a few recipes I have either tried in the past or plan to try this fall season.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: I am a big fan of sweet potatoes – they are very versatile! The recipes linked give some good inspiration for your own sweet potato creation. It makes an easy, filling lunch. Typically it takes about an hour to bake them. If you bake several at time you can store them in the fridge and throw one in the microwave when you’re ready to eat one. Add whatever toppings you prefer and enjoy! (The sweet potato burrito – with guac, salsa, lime juice and black beans is the one I am going to give a try!)

Bacon Butternut Squash Soup: This is a new recipe I discovered this year. I have made my own butternut squash soup before, but this has an interesting spin with the bacon. If your in a time crunch it may not be the best option. Prepping and roasting the butternut squash is a bit time consuming. Buying the pre-cut squash saves quite a bit of time! A few things I did differentIy… I added cinnamon and nutmeg and used full fat coconut milk to make in a bit more creamy. Super delicious combination with the sweet butternut squash and savory bacon.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili: If you have a slower cooker – this seems like a great recipe! Only 20 minutes to prep and then the rest of the work is for the slow cooker. The recipe yields 8 people so plenty for your family or to save for left overs. You can really customize it to your personal preferences – Swap out or add veggies that you prefer, change the meat (or no meat and make it a vegetarian chili) or make it thicker by cooking it with the lid off for 30 mins.

Peanut Butter Cookies: This is a super simple, 3 ingredients recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth. I grew up making these except we would get the Betty Crocker bag, which calls for loads of sugar and butter. This is the healthier alternative with fewer ingredients. I would definitely recommend adding chocolate kisses to the center of each cookie if you are a chocolate lover!

Sautéed Cinnamon Apples: I made these a few weeks ago. Not only were they really yummy but while they were sautéing, they made my entire apartment smell like cinnamon apples! These can be used as a side or add some vanilla bean ice cream and make it dessert.

If you do give any of the recipes a try please let me know how it turns out in the comments… Or share your own go-to recipes! Thanks for reading 🙂