Winter Recipes I’m Begging My Sister to Make—But I’ll Do It Myself If I Have To

7kidskitchen’s sister here again!

I’ve always thought about what I’d do if I won the lottery. And now, as an adult, I’ve landed on two things: I’d get a private chef and maybe someone to do my laundry and fold it. 😂 I actually enjoy cooking, but the planning, grocery shopping, and cleaning? Not so much. And laundry? I’d be very happy never dealing with that again.

I haven’t won the lottery, but I do have a private chef—my sister!!!! So here are some of the cozy recipes I want her to make for me this fall.

If you had your own private chef, what’s one dinner that would be on your list?

If my sister doesn’t come through, this list also doubles as a little Sunday night dinner inspo for me and my roommates. I usually go out on Saturdays, so Sundays are my stay-in, chill-out days. I’m really trying to break my habit of ordering Chipotle every Sunday 😅 so this list is here partly for her… and partly to hold me accountable when I feel like cooking but don’t know what to make.

Share this with someone who needs some Fall cooking inspo!

Soups

• Sweet Potato Soup — Love & Lemons recipe link!

• Roasted Red Pepper Soup — Love & Lemons recipe link!

• Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup — RecipeTin Eats recipe link!

• Grandma’s Vegetable Soup — Allrecipes recipe link!

I lovveeee soup. I always feel kind of healthy when I eat it, and there are always leftovers—which I will literally eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Soup is also the easiest thing to serve a crowd. If I’m making dinner at home (which isn’t that often 😅), I always want to make enough to offer some to my roommates. So that’s why soup is just the best.

I’ve legit never heard of sweet potato soup before, but I love sweet potatoes, so I feel like this is going to be an amazing experience.

The roasted red pepper soup? It just looked and sounded delicious.

My mom used to make me cream of chicken soup when I was a kid, and I haven’t had it in forever—but I remember loving it. I want my sister to make this one for me because, honestly, it kind of intimidates me to make it myself.

And vegetable soup! Every meal I make for myself usually involves some kind of meat, so I’d love to have a go-to veggie soup that feels filling and satisfying. That’s why I really want to try this one. I also love a grilled cheese on the side of any soup so I’ll probably be adding that to each recipe.

Main Dishes & Savory Mains

• Chicken & Brussels Sprouts with Apple Cider Sauce — Food Network recipe link!

• Lemon Garlic Butter Chicken — Julia’s Album recipe link!

• Tuscan Salmon — Toni’s Recipes recipe link!

• Creamed Corn Chicken — Half Baked Harvest recipe link!

I grew up hating Brussels sprouts. If they were on the dinner table, I’d immediately start brainstorming ways to get them off my plate. But now? I love them—so I’m really excited to try these two chicken and Brussels sprouts dinners!

Also, I LOVE salmon. My sister isn’t a big fan, so she doesn’t make it much—definitely saving that one for a Sunday night dinner just for me. Especially salmon with a creamy sauce… that’s my favorite. It looks so good!

I also love any recipe with corn in it. I love Half Baked Harvest’s recipes—they’re always so fun—but they usually have a ton of ingredients I don’t already have at home. Fingers crossed Mary makes this one!

Honestly, I would love for Mary to write a Substack on pantry essentials. Like, what are the things you should always have on hand because they show up in a lot of recipes? Every time I cook something new, I feel like I’m buying a million random ingredients.

Dips & Side-ish Crunches

• Street Corn Dip — Half Baked Harvest recipe link!

• Maple Chipotle Pumpkin Hummus — How Sweet Eats recipe link!

I made this street corn dip for my book club one month and it was gone in minutes. It was so good. Definitely making it again the next time I host the girls!

If I’m being honest, I had never tried hummus until last year 😂😂. I just didn’t like the look of it (or chickpeas in general) so I avoided it for no real reason. It’s kind of like how I feel about cannolis. I’ve never had one, just because I’m totally judging a book by its cover.

Are there any foods you’ve never tried just because of how they look?

Anyways I tried it and it’s really good. I like regular hummus and roasted red pepper hummus so this maple chipotle pumpkin hummus sounds perfect for winter time.

Baked Goods & Snacks

• Homemade Sourdough Bagels — Farmhouse on Boone recipe link!

• Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies — Broma Bakery recipe link!

• Baked Apple Cider Donuts — Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe link!

Mary was really into sourdough last winter, and I’m kind of hoping she starts up again—mainly so she can teach me. I still can’t stop thinking about the bagels she used to make every week. They were just so good.

I also love banana bread, and I’ve tried banana bread chocolate chip cookies before… unreal. Definitely want those again.

And apple cider donuts? Of course.

Okay talk soon!!!!!