Ace Family Favorite Meals This Fall with Star Market

Fall into Flavor with seasonal recipes kids can help create, meal planning tips, and tailgating inspo.

Sponsor content courtesy of Star Market.

Photo by: Full Tilt Studio

Full Tilt Studio

As summer’s slower pace winds down, it can be daunting to embrace back-to-school and work busyness. But with Star Market’s online experience, you’ll ace meal planning with shoppable recipes, time-saving tips, and loads of seasonal inspiration. Plus, you can watch snackable short-form videos or sign up for virtual cooking classes with celebrity chefs to step up your game, whether it’s weeknight dinner or weekend tailgating. It’s all designed to help you find your flow in the kitchen, so you can free up time to slow down and savor the season with family and friends.

When it comes to weeknight dinners, think quick-and-easy. And remember that the fastest way to get dinner on the table is to get your kids involved. Find plenty of seasonal inspiration for nourishing yet simple suppers, like spaghetti squash boats, caramelized butternut squash, or hearty pumpkin chili. Scooping the seeds from squash and pumpkins is a fun, kid-friendly project, and they’ll learn to experiment with warming spices such as cinnamon, cumin, and ginger. Comfort food classic soups like chicken noodle and vegetable minestrone offer older kids a chance to practice their knife skills on veggie prep. Plus, the shoppable recipes make it easy to create grocery lists and seamlessly add-to-cart for grocery pick-up or delivery.

BONUS FOOD TIP: On nights when you don’t feel like cooking, try a “boards for dinner” theme. It’s also a great way to get kids involved with dinner prep.

  • Charcuterie Board: Stop by the Deli to pick up charcuterie trays chockful of gourmet cheeses and meat. Then grab in-season, fresh-cut fruit and veggie bowls from the produce department. Arrange on a board with crackers, baguette, or flatbread.
  • Dips & Spreads Board: Pick up house-made dips and spreads like guacamole dips, along with hummus, tzatziki, pimento cheese, and salsa. Transfer to small bowls and serve them atop a large board with an assortment of chips, including pita, tortilla, or pretzel, and flatbreads such as pita and naan.
  • Sandwich Board: pick up sliced deli meats and cheese by the pound plus a loaf of fresh sourdough from the bakery. Arrange on a board with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mayo, and assorted mustards.

For football fans, tailgating season is a fall tradition unto itself. But there’s always room for new ideas. Through bite-size videos and virtual cook-alongs, experts and influencers share recipes for tried-and-true classics that’ll earn you major points with your crew. Maybe they’ll inspire you to add a new twist to your family’s chili recipe or divulge their secret to making tender-yet-crisp wings. But tailgating isn’t just about the food—you’ll also get insight from the pros on the best cooking tools and equipment, from grills to meat thermometers to coolers.

BONUS FOOD TIP: We can’t get enough of slow-simmered soups and hearty braises this time of year, especially as temperatures dip. Here are some fresh spins for your next batch of tailgating chili:

  • Amp up your chili by borrowing from the global pantry: try spiking it with fish sauce, add a dollop of curry paste, or sluice it with sambal.
  • Set up a chili dog bar with hotdogs, buns, homemade chili, and assorted toppings, such as chopped onions, relish, mustard, sour cream, hot sauce, and shredded cheese.
  • Go vegan: make a meatless chili that’ll earn MVP status by incorporating umami-rich ingredients such as tomato paste, mushrooms, or miso.

There’s just something about the aroma of baked apples, pumpkin pie, and cinnamon that conjures up fall memories. Create your own autumnal nostalgia with apple-centric recipes, like stuffed baked apples, apple butter, apple pie, and apple tarts. Dust off your crockpot, pull out your favorite cozy sweater and let a batch of apple cider simmer low-and-slow with cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange wheels, and honey. Sip it straight up or spike it with a nip of whiskey for a drink that’ll warm you to your toes. As for pumpkin treats, discover online recipes for pumpkin rolls, bread, muffins, and of course, pie. But if you’re in the mood for a quick fix, we’re all for snagging a homemade pie from the bakery section.

BONUS FOOD TIP: Don’t toss those apple peels and cores or pumpkin seeds! Practice reducing food waste and maximize the flavors of fall produce.

  • Apple peels can be roasted or dehydrated to make apple chips, tossed into smoothies for a fiber boost, or folded into pancakes and muffins for Sunday brunch.
  • Use apple cores to make your own apple cider vinegar to whisk into dressings, steep with tea for afternoon sipping, or infuse simple syrup for crafting cocktails or drizzling over ice cream.
  • After you make pumpkin pie or carve that Jack-o’-lantern, transform seeds into a munch-worthy snack by roasting them with cinnamon and sugar (try this one with your kids!).

For more seasonal cooking tips, chef-inspired meal ideas, and time-saving hacks, visit www.starmarket.com/fall.

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