🍂🌻 Chili Champions & Backyard Cooks 🌻🍂🍁 Chuckwagon Fall Recipe of the Day — Tuesday, September 22, 2026

🍎🥩 First Day of Fall Apple Cider Braised Beef with Maple-Roasted Harvest Vegetables 🍠🍁

Good morning, folks! 🤠🍂

Happy First Day of Fall, friends!

Today we're officially welcoming one of my favorite times of the year with a recipe that will make your whole house smell like autumn!

We're taking a beautiful chuck roast, giving it a good sear in the cast-iron Dutch oven, and letting it simmer low and slow in apple cider, beef broth, garlic, onions, and herbs until it's so tender you can pull it apart with a fork.

Then we're serving it alongside maple-roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, and Brussels sprouts for a colorful harvest supper!

This is the kind of meal that makes you want to put on a pot of coffee, open the windows, and enjoy the blessings of a new season. ❤️

🥩 Apple Cider Braised Beef

Ingredients

• 3–4 lb boneless beef chuck roast

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 large sweet onion, sliced

• 2 crisp apples, cut into thick wedges

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1½ cups unsweetened apple cider

• 1½ cups beef broth

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, optional

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

• ½ teaspoon onion powder

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water, optional for thickening

🍠 Maple-Roasted Harvest Vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 3 large carrots, cut into chunks

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

• 1 large Honeycrisp apple, cut into thick wedges

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• ½ cup chopped pecans, optional

🔥 Let's Get Cooking!

1️⃣ Season That Roast!

Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels.

Season generously with salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and onion powder.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Sear the roast for approximately 4–5 minutes per side, until a beautiful brown crust develops.

Remove the roast and set aside.

2️⃣ Build Those Fall Flavors!

Reduce the heat to medium.

Add butter and sliced onions to the Dutch oven.

Cook for approximately 5–7 minutes until the onions begin to soften.

Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds.

3️⃣ Bring On the Apple Cider! 🍎

Pour in the apple cider and beef broth, scraping those wonderful browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Stir in:

• Worcestershire sauce

• Dijon mustard

• Apple cider vinegar

• Brown sugar, if using

• Thyme

• Rosemary

Return the roast to the Dutch oven.

4️⃣ Low and Slow!

Cover and place in a preheated 300°F oven for approximately 3–4 hours, until the beef is fork-tender.

During the final 30 minutes, add the apple wedges around the roast.

This keeps them tender without letting them completely fall apart.

5️⃣ Make That Country Cider Gravy!

Remove the roast and apples from the pot.

Skim excess fat from the cooking liquid.

If you want a thicker gravy, bring the liquid to a gentle simmer on the stovetop and stir in the cornstarch mixture.

Cook until thickened.

Spoon that beautiful cider gravy over the sliced or shredded beef.

Oh my goodness, friends! Just wait until you smell this! 🤠

🍁 Let's Roast Those Harvest Vegetables!

6️⃣ Prepare the Vegetables

Preheat the oven to 425°F once the roast is finished, or use a second oven if available.

Toss the sweet potatoes, carrots, and Brussels sprouts with olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Spread them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.

7️⃣ Roast Until Golden!

Roast for approximately 20 minutes.

Add the apple wedges, toss gently, and continue roasting another 15–20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and caramelized.

Sprinkle with toasted pecans before serving, if desired.

⭐ MawMaw's Chuckwagon Secret

🍎 Don't use apple cider vinegar in place of apple cider!

They are two completely different ingredients.

Apple cider gives the beef a wonderful, mellow apple flavor, while apple cider vinegar adds a little tanginess.

Today's recipe uses both, but in very different amounts!

And remember, a chuck roast needs time. If it isn't fork-tender yet, keep cooking it gently until it is.

The best country cooking isn't always the fastest cooking! ❤️

🍽️ Make It a First Day of Fall Feast!

Serve it with:

🥔 Garlic-butter mashed potatoes

🫘 Southern green beans with bacon

🌽 Warm skillet cornbread

🥖 Homemade yeast rolls with apple butter

🥗 Cranberry-pecan harvest salad

🍎 Cold apple cider or sweet tea

🍂 And for dessert?

🎃 Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Maple Vanilla Sauce

Warm cubes of bread baked in a creamy pumpkin-cinnamon custard, finished with homemade maple vanilla sauce and a little whipped cream.

Now that's a wonderful way to welcome fall! ❤️

💜 First Day of Fall Chuckwagon Encouragement

As I sit here thinking about the changing seasons, I'm reminded of how much our lives are like the world around us.

There are seasons when everything seems to be growing and flourishing.

There are seasons when we feel like we're standing still.

And there are seasons when things begin to fall away, and we wonder what God is doing.

But look at the trees.

They don't fight the changing season. They simply continue doing what God created them to do.

And when the leaves fall, the tree isn't finished. It's preparing for another season.

Sometimes God allows things to change in our lives because He's preparing us for something we cannot see yet.

Maybe you're entering a new chapter.

Maybe you're leaving something behind.

Maybe you're waiting on an answer to a prayer.

Whatever season you're walking through today, remember that God hasn't forgotten you.

He was faithful in your yesterday.

He's faithful in your today.

And He'll still be faithful in your tomorrow.

God is right on time, friends. Trust Him with every season of your life. ❤️

📖 Scripture for Today

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"

🍁 First Day of Fall Table Question!

Which FALL food are you most excited to enjoy this season?

🍎 Apple cider & apple butter

🎃 Pumpkin bread & pumpkin pie

🌶️ Homemade chili

🥣 Beef stew & cornbread

🥩 Pot roast & gravy

🍏 Apple crisp & cobbler

🍠 Sweet potatoes

🤠 Something else!

Share my favorite!

👇 Tell us in the comments! And if you've got a favorite fall recipe, an old family favorite, or an upcoming chili or BBQ cook-off, share it with our Chili Champions & Backyard Cooks family!

We love seeing what's cooking in everybody's kitchen!

🍂🤠 Happy First Day of Fall, Friends!

May this new season bring warm meals, beautiful memories, grateful hearts, and the reminder that God's goodness is with us through every season of life.

Faith ⭐ Family ⭐ Friends ⭐ Food ⭐ Memories ❤️🍁🌻