September usually pleases us with warm sunny weather. In October, the trees begin to change colors, and it gets colder. In November, we can already feel a suitable winter and try to keep warm by any means. Most of the students come from other cities and countries and are forced to cook for themselves. However, not everyone has a lot of time to cook, but everyone wants to eat deliciously! This article includes simple and delicious dishes and drinks that will warm you up in the cold autumn.
Pumpkin cream soup with crackers and pumpkin seeds
Cooking time: 1 hour
Number of servings: 4
Kitchen tools: blender, saucepan, frying pan, oven
Ingredients: 1 carrot, 1 onion, 500 grams of pumpkin, 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 pieces of potatoes, cream (optional), 1 baguette of bread, or ready-made crackers.
Cooking method:
1) Peel the pumpkin from the peel and seeds, cut it into large pieces. Sprinkle with vegetable oil and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C. If you want to make crackers yourself, then you need to cut the baguette into small cubes. Crush a clove of garlic, pour a small amount of vegetable oil, and let stand for 10 minutes for more flavor. Next, mix the bread cubes with garlic butter and bake in the oven until crisp.
2) Cut potatoes into cubes, boil water in a saucepan, add salt to taste, and send to cook. Finely chop the onion and grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Fry the onion in vegetable oil first until golden brown, then finish and fry the carrots. Toasted onions and carrots are sent to the broth with potatoes.
3) Send the baked pumpkin to the broth and boil for another 5 minutes. Then grind with a blender until smooth. If you want to get a creamy soup, add cream (drain a small amount of broth from the potatoes so that the soup does not become too liquid). Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add other seasonings, such as turmeric or paprika.
4) Serve garnished with peeled, dried seeds and crackers.
Garlic-baked chicken thighs with baby potatoes
If you are a fan of a quick delicious dish, you will need only one sheet pan and no extra dishes, then this recipe is for you! Everyone in childhood ran to the kitchen to eat mom’s potatoes with chicken, so this recipe will take you back to childhood!
Cooking time: 1 hour 35 minutes (active cooking time 10 minutes)
Number of servings: 5
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken thighs, 1 kg baby potatoes, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, dry herbs (rosemary, basil, etc.)
Preparation:
1) Finely chop the onion and garlic, cut the potatoes into two halves. Add chicken, potatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil to the sheet pan and mix.
2) Place the pan at 360F in the preheated oven and cook for 1 hour and 25 minutes until the chicken is covered with a golden crispy crust and the potatoes are soft. To make the crust more crispy, set the oven temperature high and cook for another 3 minutes.
3) When serving, you can add fresh herbs on top.
Mac & Cheese
Everyone has eaten macaroni and cheese in their life. There are many recipes for this dish, the recipe proposed below is budget-friendly, fast, and delicious!
Cooking time: 45 minutes (active cooking time 15 minutes)
Number of servings: 5
Kitchen tools: baking dish, frying pan, mix bowl.
Ingredients: 1 pack of elbow pasta, 100-150 grams of butter, 3-4 tablespoons of flour, 3 cups of milk (or cream), 1 teaspoon of mustard flour (optional), 200-250 grams of cheese (ideally use 3 different types of cheese: cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella), breadcrumbs for topping, garlic clove, seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika),
Cooking method:
1) Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add finely chopped garlic and breadcrumbs, fry until the breadcrumbs become light brown.
2) Put the fried breadcrumbs in the mixing bowl, add salt and paprika, mix.
3) Cook macaroni for 8 minutes in salted boiling water. Drain the water, and rinse with cold water.
4) Heat the frying pan over medium heat, put the butter, and melt. Add the flour and stir until the mixture turns golden brown. Add milk or cream and stir until smooth. Next, reduce the heat, add cheese and mustard powder. Stir until the cheese melts.
5) add pasta to the frying pan and stir for 1 minute.
6) Transfer the resulting mixture into a baking dish, align, sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes.
7) Enjoy the mac and cheese with your favorite movie!
Cottage cheese casserole
Watch your figure, but do you want a delicious and simple dessert? This Russian recipe will not leave anyone indifferent! It can also be used as a breakfast.
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Number of servings: 6
Kitchen tools: blender, mix bowl, baking dish, oven
Ingredients: 500 grams of cottage cheese, 3-4 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, 2-3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 5 grams of butter, 10 grams of vanilla sugar.
Cooking method:
1) Whisk the cottage cheese together with sour cream, add flour, mix until smooth. Separate the whites from the yolks and whisk to peaks in a separate container. Add the whipped whites to the cottage cheese, sour cream, and flour, add sugar and vanilla sugar, and mix until smooth. If desired, you can add soaked dry fruits (raisins, cranberries, etc.)
2) Lubricate the baking dish with butter and spread the resulting curd mixture inside the mold. (the mixture should cover 2/3 of the mold). Beat the yolk and grease up the curd mixture to get a golden crust.
3) Bake for 30-40 minutes at a temperature of 350F.
4) Remove the mold from the oven and allow it to cool. Serve with sour cream, jam, or fruit.
Mulled wine
A sip of a hot wine cocktail will warm, relax and cheer you up. You can drink it in proud solitude for an exciting book, but it is better to have a pleasant conversation with friends. Depending on the specific recipe, the drink can soothe or, conversely, tone up. It is often used as a means of preventing colds. And it is also an indispensable attribute of the Catholic Christmas.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Number of servings: 4-5
Kitchen tools: Saucepan
Ingredients: 1 liter of dry red wine or non-alcoholic dry red wine (or grape juice), 100 ml of water, 1-2 tablespoons of lemon zest, 1-2 tablespoons of orange zest, half an orange, half an apple, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon of cloves, 30 grams of ginger root.
Cooking method:
1) Pour the juice or wine into a saucepan and start heating over low heat, stirring constantly.
2) Cut the orange and apple into slices. Cut the ginger root into small pieces.
3) Add all the ingredients to the juice (wine), warm over low heat for 30 minutes (do not bring to a boil)
4) Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and let it brew for 15-20 minutes. Strain the finished mulled wine.
5) When serving, you can add sliced fruit or a stick of cinnamon to the mug.
Try the dishes provided above, and you will save your time and warm up in the cold autumn!
