Comfort Foods Season Easy Meal Ideas for Fall By Susan Diamond

Maple Pork Chops and Apples

Now is the time to take advantage of the bounty of apples at bargain prices. Forget everything you ever learned about which apples are best for baking and which ones are better for eating. Simply pick the best of the crop and start slicing.

Bake or sauté apple slices in a little bit of diluted lemon juice and a generous sprinkle of sugar (brown, white or raw). While the apples are getting soft and juicy, reach for your bottle of maple pancake syrup and squirt it at a seasoned pork chop. Bake, broil, BBQ or fry your mapleized meat until the glazey chops are done to your liking. Top it with the baked apples and enjoy a fall meal that's sticky sweet.

Pot Pie

The pot pie is an all-inclusive meal. It has meat, vegetables, and a delicious pastry crust. Don't be intimidated by the fancy shmancy appearance. There's perfectly delicious ready made pie crust and flaky pastry sheets as near as your grocer's aisle. No need to cook up meat from scratch. Make pot pie when you have left-over chicken, beef, or turkey. Onions, carrots, corn and peas are the usual ingredients for a pot pie, and we're not knocking it. But you can try some exotic veggies like leeks, asparagus, roasted beets, or cauliflower. Feeling wild and crazy? Add a pear if you dare. Milk, broth, butter and a little flour make up the creamy white sauce. Throw it together any which way and it's guaranteed to be delish!

Not Yo Mamma's Mac and Cheese

There's no limits to what can be done with macaroni and cheese. First thing we recommend is to shake up your shape. Select an unusual pasta; green, orange or black noodle perhaps? Next think cheese. Stay away from the cheddar and go bold. Italian cheeses can be blended for a bueno mac and cheese, or stay domestic and use colby, pepper jack, or swiss. Gobs of butter melted in steamy milk is the base for your cheese sauce. Don't forget your seasonings, add a splash of hot sauce, and add your cooked pasta. You don't have to stop there. Think protein add-ons like like deli meats, white beans, or fish. This gussied up mac and cheese is great as a stand alone meal, or cut the portions and serve as a side.