A Grown-up Halloween Feast
Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup With Cilantro Walnut Pesto
This simple fall soup from A Sweet Spoonful can be made a few days ahead—it’s a classic warm-up soup that seems much more decadent and creamy than it really is. The pesto, while not required, is a really nice touch and can be used later on sandwiches or pizzas.
Cranberry Maple Skillet Cornbread
There’s nothing like baking up a cranberry-flecked, buttery cornbread to welcome guests into your home on Halloween evening. The perfect accompaniment from Cookie and Kate to a fall soup, or a most welcome post-trick-or-treat warm-up snack.
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Lentil & Sweet Potato Empanadas
For a quick bite that will appeal to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, these flaky yet hearty empanadas from Love and Olive Oil are made with black beluga lentils and sweet potato and boast a creamy lime cilantro dipping sauce that you’ll wish you’d discovered earlier.
All-American Beef Chili
While the ingredients aren’t revolutionary, this chili from The Brown Eyed Baker manages to strike the perfect balance of spice and spoon-ability: thick, rich and comforting.
Molasses Cookies
These grain-free cookies from Five and Spice are soft, chewy and will make the house smell like a fall evening in a matter of minutes. Dates are the main sweetener here, so you can feel good about feeding them to the Halloween candy crowd, too.
Parmesan-Crusted Pesto Grilled Cheese
Hot, simple panini sandwiches by Two Peas and Their Pod have Halloween dinner written all over them: they’re satisfying and filling, yet require very few dishes and very little effort. These make the cut with their flavorful pesto and interesting (and liberal) use of Parmesan.
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