Harvest Apple Cider Chicken & Butternut Squash Mac N’ Cheese Recipes

I recently hosted my 3rd annual Harvest Picnic at home with my family. I looked up seasonal recipes made with apples for this picnic but couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I knew I wanted to make a sauce or a glaze using apples or apple cider. So, I decided to make my own.

There are a lot of apple cider chicken recipes out there, but after reading through a few I decided to wing it using ingredients I know taste good. Some of the recipes I found required onions or chicken broth, but that was not the flavor profile I was hoping for. That felt more like chicken noodle soup recipe than cider chicken. I wanted sweet, but savory so I went with Dijon mustard and white cooking wine. There is no right or wrong way to make a cider chicken recipe, but this is how I made mine and I was happy with how it came out. You can add onions of course, but with several guests who do not like onions, it was a safer bet to leave them out.

For a side I made my butternut squash mac n’ cheese at my cousin Keith’s special request. This is a recipe I created a few years ago because I enjoyed a butternut squash frozen mac meal from Trader Joe’s and wanted to make one without pepper and with more cheese.

My aunts and cousins brought salads, appetizers, and desserts. My Aunt Tammy’s harvest salad with apples, Cousin Ginger’s squash prosciutto lasagna and a side of roasted green beans completed the dish. And of course, a cup of fresh apple cider (or hard cider for those inclined) pairs well with this meal. With dessert I like to make a mulled hot apple cider.

I did not make these recipes with the intention of sharing them, but they were a fan favorite, so I decided to share them on my blog. The only pictures I have are these few from my cell phone camera roll. This was one of those meals that was enjoyed in the present without cameras and cell phone recording everything, making it all the better. With these recipes, it is all about the deliciousness and not the aesthetics. Let’s just say that they were so good that we didn’t have any leftovers except for one small container that I ate the next day for lunch. Yum.

Apple Cider Chicken Recipe

Important note:

I made this recipe double the quantity for my large family, but this halved recipe should be more than enough for a family or guest list of 4-6. Or if you’re cooking for just a couple people, there will be enough to have wonderful leftovers for a few extra meals. Leftovers can also be frozen.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Skin-on chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)
• Apple cider
• Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Rosemary
• White cooking wine
• Two apples (preferably Honeycrisp)
• Olive oil

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190 Celsius.

Sear chicken on a stovetop pan with olive oil and a splash of apple cider. Sear both sides until golden and place into a Dutch oven or oven-safe pot.

Slice apples and spread the apples over the chicken. Bake for 10 minutes as you prepare the apple cider sauce.

To make the sauce, mix 1/2 cup of apple cider and 1/2 cup of white cooking wine. Mix in 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and three cloves of chopped garlic.

Pour sauce over the chicken and sprinkle fresh sprigs of rosemary on top. Bake for 25 minutes or longer if needed to fully cook.

Butternut Squash Mac N’ Cheese Recipe

Important note:

This is a big recipe. As I had many guests, I used a whole box of pipette pasta and all of the cheese sauce. For a normal family size portion, make half a box of pasta and only use half of the cheesy squash sauce. The other half of the sauce can be placed in a freezer safe bag and kept frozen to use another time. I love doing this because if I’m busy, I’ll have a whole serving of sauce left over to make this mac n cheese recipe on a busy work night.

Ingredients:

• One large butternut squash
• Two blocks of Trader Joes’ Unexpected Cheddar (or Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar)
• A cup of orange shredded cheddar cheese
• One pint (or one cup) of heavy cream
• Barilla pipette pasta (or your favorite macaroni pasta)

Recipe:

Cut your squash in half and remove the seeds. Bake in the oven (covered with tin foil to prevent burning) at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) for about an hour or until very soft.

While the squash is still warm (but not hot), scoop the squash into a blender. Chop up both blocks of cheese and place into the blender with the squash. Add a cup of the shredded yellow cheddar and the pint of heavy cream and blend until smooth. Add more cheese if needed for extra taste.

Bring water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until soft then strain out the water before scooping in the cheesy squash sauce. Mix and cook on low until fully mixed in. Enjoy!