Fall is a b-u-s-y time for most of us! There are so many evening activities, but everyone still wants a hot meal on the table! This casserole is perfect for one of those crazy weeknights. It’s a cinch to put together, it’s kid-friendly,  and it’s hearty enough for the chilliest of fall nights. It’s chock full of good ingredients but feels a little indulgent with the addition of tortilla chips and cheese – yum. You can make the filling ahead and then just assemble and bake it at dinnertime. (If you do this, you’ll want to bake it a little longer since you won’t be starting with hot filling.)

Tortilla Casserole

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, September 2006

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 – 15.5 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 – 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (try using a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for this)

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

5 cups tortilla chips (about 3 oz.)

2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

3. Stir beans, tomatoes, and chipotle chiles into sauce and simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in chicken, 3 tablespoons cilantro, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

4. Spread 1 cup tortilla chips over bottom of an 8-inch baking dish and top with 1 cup of the chicken mixture. Spread 2 more cups tortilla chips onto dish and sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Spread the remaining chicken mixture onto dish and top with the remaining tortilla chips. Sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese over the top.

5. Bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve.

I have an annual fall cooking ritual that makes me giddy with anticipation. On the first weekend boasting real, honest-to-goodness fall weather, I make my interpretation of chicken pot pie and a warm apple crisp. Football games are on in the next room and the whole house fills with the intermingling scents of savory chicken, flaky phyllo dough, and cinnamon laced apples. Amazing stuff.

The key to the ritual is to avoid making the menu too early in the year (when the weather might still be warm) and to make sure the schedule for the afternoon is pretty light so that everyone can enjoy those heady smells before dinner.

There’s nothing particularly healthy about  traditional chicken pot pie (I mean, those healthy pieces of chicken and vegetables are swimming in cream sauce and baked between two sheets of pie crust if you hadn’t noticed.) Undaunted, I discovered a way to make the filling with a creamless white sauce that is every bit as good as the full fat version, and then to top it with a sheet of puff pastry instead of pie crust. I think it’s even better than the original.

Since apple crisp is crustless to begin with, it’s essentially a healthier version of apple crumb pie. Keeping the sugar out of the filling and limiting the sheer amount of crumb topping helps to make this particular version even healthier. But honestly, if you’re craving Grandma’s recipe to celebrate the arrival of fall, I say go for it.

Oatmeal-Apple Crisp

Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2001

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (white flour will do in a pinch)

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats (1 cup granola works well also)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

6 cups chopped, peeled, Granny Smith or Macintosh apples (about 2 1/2 pounds)

(Granny Smith will be more tart and will remain firmer after baking when compared to Macintosh)

Cooking spray

3 cups light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine flour, oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

3. Combine  1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and apples in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with oatmeal mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with a fork. (If crust begins to darken but apples are not yet soft, cover with aluminum foil and continue baking.)

4. Top each serving with a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt.

 I still can remember the first time I ever tasted a kalamata olive. I was living in Atlanta and dining at one of my favorite restaurants, Fratelli di Napoli, where, several years later, we’d have our rehearsal dinner! I can remember thinking that olive was just perfect. Salty and briny and the most delightful accompaniment to the crusty Italian bread, roasted red peppers, and cheeses with which it was served. As a single, twenty-something foodie, living in a city where fantastic restaurants were popping up daily,  it seemed like I discovered a new favorite ingredient every weekend! I had a ball experimenting with those ingredients in my own kitchen, trying to replicate the flavors I was discovering.

This dish is one that would have fueled my love affair with kalamata olives! (Especially once I learned you could buy them already pitted! BIG idea there.) This is quick enough for weeknight cooking and really delicious. You could serve it over rice or with some warm crusty bread for dipping. Don’t skimp on the olives; they make the dish!

Spicy Mediterranean Seafood Saute

Adapted from Bon Appetit, 2002

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 pounds tilapia, red snapper, or orange roughy fillets – any mild white fish will do

1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (1/2 teaspoon might be too spicy if you are serving this to little ones)

4 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and  chopped (remember, you can buy them already pitted! BIG time saver)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Rinse fish under running water and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Combine cherry tomatoes, olives, and garlic in a medium bowl.

3. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Add half of the fish to the skillet and saute until just opaque in the center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to a platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining fish.

4. Add tomatoes, olives, garlic, parsley and crushed red pepper to the skillet;  saute until tomatoes are soft and juicy, about 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper and spoon over fish.