Our WI Family’s Top 5 Fall Recipes

Our family is German, Panamanian, American & French, so we’re quite eclectic! Regardless, the best fall recipes are German and American (that good southern kind of American cookin’!)!  If you live in Wisconsin, I’m sure you’ll agree with me.  I was hesitant to divulge the recipes at first, but phenomenal foods deserve to be eaten!

I just hate when you search online for a recipe and have to scroll down the blog through someone’s life story just to find what you’re looking for!  So let’s skip to the good part, ‘ey?

The absolute best thing about this recipe is how well it freezes!  In hunting season, my Grandpa Fred would bring home loads and loads of meat.  Too much meat!  So, he’d make his chili in massive batches and freeze it.  Grandpa used different kinds of meat from his hunting trips, but I like sirloin best for this chili.  Every time I went to Grandma & Grandpa’s, I’d go shopping in their freezer, always taking home a big bag of chili!  Grandpa Fred passed in 2018, but I plan to keep the recipe in the family for many years to come!

• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 14.5oz. cans of diced tomatoes
• 3 8oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1 6oz. can of tomato paste
• 2 4.5oz. cans of chopped green chiles, drained ( I recommend Old El Paso )
• 3 14oz. cans of Bush’s Chili Beans in Chili Sauce
• 2lbs ground sirloin ( use fat, coarsely-ground beef, or sirloin)
• 1pkg McCormick Chili Seasoning

Oh, ya know, just use your big ol’ stew pot and cook it up real good.  If you don’t have one, get one – it’ll be worth it.  You could also use a big cast-iron pan and a crockpot.  Now, if you don’t own those… you don’t belong in the kitchen anyway.

1. Sautee the garlic ‘n veggies until tender.
2. Add yer seasoning and meat.  Brown the beef.  You could drain some of the fat if you want, but why would you want that?
3. If you’re using a stew pot, dump in the rest.  Cook on low for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.  If you’re using a pan, now is the time to dump everything in the slow cooker.  Cook on low up to six hours.
4. Add your favorite chili toppings and dig in!  I like shredded cheese, sour cream, a few diced raw onions, and Townhouse Original Crackers. Yum!

The only way to make cornbread is the southern way… and with cheese, please!  Would the southerners approve of my Jiffy Mix??

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 2 8.5oz boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 14.75oz. can cream-style corn
• 4oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat your oven to 425.  Put the vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet and keep it in the oven while it’s preheating.
2. Combine the butter, eggs, Jiffy Mix, buttermilk, and corn in a large bowl.
3. Once the oven is preheated, remove the hot skillet from the oven.  Carefully pour the batter into the skillet, without splattering the hot oil!  Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 15-25 minutes.
4. While that’s baking, cut the cream cheese into small pieces.  Once the bake time is up, pull out the skillet.  Sprinkle the cream cheese cubes and shredded cheese evenly over the top.
5. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.  Serve warm!

Bake until golden brown and just until the edges of the cornbread start pulling away from the edges of the skillet.

Louisiana is home to the BEST food in America, hands down.  I found this recipe while traveling in NOLA, and I’ve never been more obsessed with food!  Despite all the sugar, I swear, this is a side dish!  Don’t go skipping dessert just because you had some of this sweet, sweet potato casserole.  That’s just not the way to live your life…

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts (preferably pecans)

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 egg, well-beaten
• 1/4 cup butter

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust and set it aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine all sweet potato mix ingredients thoroughly.  Make sure to follow the order listed.
3. Butter a baking dish and pour in your sweet potato mixture.
4. Sprinkle the crust mixture evenly over the top.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  I know it smells delicious, but make sure to let it sit for another 30 minutes before serving!

You’re gonna want to make at least 2 batches of this.  When you’re at the store, get enough ingredients to bake a casserole every week in October!

White wine, spices, and that sweet aroma of hot apple!  Wine not?

• 4 cups apple juice
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 bottle of white wine
• Optional: (1/2 cup brandy)

1. Combine apple juice, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar in a pot.  Bring it to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Add the wine and simmer just a little bit longer.
3. Just before serving, remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves. Add the brandy, and drink responsibly!

Obviously, there’s a cheese recipe in this mix.  I’m a born and raised Wisconsinite!  To do this recipe justice, use a cast-iron pan, get freshly baked sourdough from a good bakery near you, and for goodness sake, get the good cheese!

• Sourdough Bread
• Goat Cheese
• White Goat Cheddar
• Butter
• Briar Patch Jam
  • NOTE:  This Jam is a combination of Black Raspberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Jams.  We get it from Barb’s Garden & Pantry Jams, which sells at Farmers Markets in IL & IA.  They also sell online, but you could swap it out for a different brand of blackberry jam from wherever you shop!

1. Heat up your cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
2. Cut the bread into thin slices, approximately 1/3 inch.  Lightly butter one side of each slice.
3. Grate the cheeses and mix them together: 1 part Goat Cheese, 2 parts Goat Cheddar.
4. Once your cast-iron skillet is warm, place 2 slices of bread on the pan, butter side down.  Once the butter on the bottom side is all melted, and it is a light golden brown, flip it over.
5. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on both slices of bread.  Wait until the bottom side is golden brown and the cheese is melty.  Then, carefully fold the slices together and press down with your turner.
6. Plate the grilled cheese.  Using a butter knife, spread 1 scoop of Briar Patch Jam on the top of your grilled cheese.  Enjoy!

Grilled cheese is best cooked slow.  Keep the skillet on medium and be patient while that cheese melts!  There are no measurements to this recipe because there can never be enough cheese.  Just pile it on there until it starts falling off, then you’ve got it!

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