Long-term math substitute Mr. Aaron Aumiller has many fall recipes that would be a shame not to share. These recipes range from salty to sweet and are a mixture of amazing treats that many teachers and students can make and enjoy with their families and friends. 

The thing that Mr. Aumiller enjoys the most about cooking is having others try his recipes and  seeing the joy on their faces when they are loving the food that he makes.

“The thing I enjoy the most about cooking/baking is sharing what you make with people you care about.  There’s something fun about giving people things that you made yourself and what better to give than food?” Mr. Aumiller said. 

Overall, baking is what he loves to do the most though, since baking sweets brings him nostalgia from when he was younger. 

 “I prefer making sweets more than salty foods.  Salty is great, but having cookies/pies/cakes or any kind of dessert around the house is the best.  Depending on the sweet, it often reminds me of times at my grandparents’ as a kid, especially holidays with all sorts of cookies and treats around the house,” he said. 

When he has to choose something salty or savory to eat, Mr. Aumiller will choose lasagna.

 “My favorite of these recipes would have to be the shortcut lasagna.  It’s incredibly easy to make and it tastes awesome.  For added bonus you don’t have to use much ricotta cheese, which in my personal opinion is the worst part about normal lasagna,” he said.

Cooking or baking should be something easy that you can accomplish without spending too much of your time. Mr. Aumiller’s recipes below demonstrate that cooking and baking can be a simple process. 

 “I found or was given these recipes. I did, however, change the pumpkin seed recipe to be something I liked more. I mostly just look for foods I think will taste good and that don’t seem overly complicated. Simplicity is key so the actual cooking process is more enjoyable,” he said.

He found his passion for cooking through the people in his life like his mother. And has been cooking and baking since seeing his mother’s work in the kitchen as a child. 

“She is my favorite cook hands down.  She compiled tons and tons of recipes and taught me the very limited amount I know about cooking.  I saw her enjoying it and taking pride in what she made as I grew up (especially when the whole family loved wherever she made) and that gave me my initial interest in making food, to make it for other people to enjoy.” 

Mr. Aumiller invites you to prepare the following recipes on your own so you can find joy in sharing these delicious recipes with your own friends and family. 

Pumpkin seeds

 ¾ cup of raw pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp of olive oil

 ½ tsp of salt

¼ garlic powder

¼ tsp black pepper

Pumpkin seeds are one of the salty treats. To get started you would use ¾ cup of raw pumpkin seeds, 1 tbsp of olive oil, ½ tsp of salt, ¼ garlic powder, and lastly ¼ tsp black pepper. If you want to, you can add paprika which gives off a red color and adds flavor. After you’re done adding all your ingredients you begin to mix thoroughly. After everything is ready you add the seeds on to a cookie sheet with a layer of light grease. The seeds should be laid out evenly, you then set the oven to 350, and when it is heated you let the seeds cook for 15 minutes. After every 5 minutes you should mix or stir them around to be cooked evenly. The seeds should come out to be a nice golden brown. 

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up

1 tb. lean ground beef

4 slices Oscar Mayer Bacon, chopped

1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1 small)

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cutes 1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust

Start with 1 lb of lean ground beef and 4 slices of Oscar Mayer bacon, which should be chopped. ½ cup of chopped onions, ½ pound of Velveeta cheese. Cut the Velveeta cheese into ½ in cubes. Then grab one package of refrigerated pizza crust. You are then ready to begin to heat the oven at 400. While you are waiting for the oven to heat up, you put the beef and onions in a skillet to cook. And when the meat is browned, you then add the Velveeta cheese into the mix. Set the filling to the side so it can cool, then start to unroll the pizza crust, pressing the crust down until it is about 15×8 inches. You then start to fill up the crust evenly, and roll up the dough. And finally when the oven is heated, let the roll-ups cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. Then sit back and enjoy a savory snack. 

Shortcut Lasagna 

8 oz. uncooked medium egg noodles

1-1/4 cups fat-free ricotta cheese

1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded sharp provolone cheese, divided 

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound ground round

2 cups tomato sauce

When starting off you grab 8 oz. of uncooked medium, 1 ¼ of fat free ricotta cheese, 1 ½ cups shredded sharp provolone cheese. The cheese should be divided out. 1 teaspoon of dried basil, ½ tsp of dried oregano, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black, 1 pound ground round, and 2 cups of tomato sauce. After getting everything together you heat the oven to 375. While the oven is heating, put the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes. While waiting for that, you combine the other seasonings. The seasonings are the basil, salt, organeo, and pepper. And don’t forget to also add the cheese in with this. The beef should then be cooked in a skillet until it is brown, then add tomato sauce into the meat. When everything has cooled down, mix the meat and noodles together in a bowl. Then you put the mixture into a 11×7 pan. Finally, spread the ricotta evenly on top then proceed to add remaining noodles on top. Then cook for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted completely. Enjoy. 

Nilla Apple Crisp 

8 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apples about 4 large/2 Lb

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided

2 tsp. ground cinnamon, diced

⅓ cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

¼ cup cold margarine 

25 Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers, crushed

1 ½ cups thawed Cool Whip Lite Whipped Topping

To make this recipe you start off with apples. Granny smith apples, which are pretty large. Then you grab the other ingredients. ½ cup of firm brown sugar, which will be divided on the apples, 2 tsp ground cinnamon. The cinnamon will be diced, ⅓ cup old fashioned oats, ¼ cup of cold margarine. Then we bring out the Nilla Wafers, and we will crush them. Then we get 1 ½ cup of cool whip as well. First step is to set the oven to 350, and then start to toss the apples with the brown sugar and cinnamon. You will need a 8 in or 9 in baking dish. You then mix the oats with the mixture you made before. You mix it all together until it looks very crumby. You will cook these apples for 30-35 minutes, or until the apples are tender. And when it is cold down, add on some sweet whip topping for your sweet treat. 

Blueberry Buckle

¼ cup butter

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup sugar

½ cup milk

1 egg

2 cups washed fresh blueberries

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking powder

crumb topping

Start this recipe with ¼ cup of butter, adding  ½ tsp of salt, ¾ cup sugar, ½ cup milk, and 1 egg. Then for the more dry ingredients, 2 cups of washed blueberries, 2 cups sifted flour, 2 tsp baking powder. You then when the time comes, add the crumb topping which is made from blending of  ¼  soft butter, ½ sugar, ⅓ flour, and ½ tsp cinnamon. You will add the cream and sugar together and mix until it is light. You will then add the egg and the many other dried ingredients. While you do this you will periodically add milk while you beat it until it is close to completely smooth. You will then fold in the berries, then you finally sprinkle the crumbs on top. You will cook this in a 9 x 9 x 2 pan. You will bake this for 35 minutes, with the oven heated at 375. After that you can just sit back and enjoy it.