Cold weather comfort food?
I am crazy busy over the next few days (and then leaving for a vacation in ITALY!) so I’m going to do that classic “blogger punt,” and ask you all a question:
Now that it’s winter again (*sob*) what’s your favorite, easy, cold-weather comfort food? (Or warm drink.) Share your recipes in comments!
Here’s one of mine, that I posted before–but I made it again last night and it’s so good. If you missed it the first time, or never tried it, you simply must.
PseudoNachos
Cooked brown rice, whole-wheat couscous, or quinoa
1 bell pepper (any color) chopped and seeded
1 can or 1/2 bag frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 to 1 cup thinly sliced or grated cheddar cheese
1 16-oz jar salsa
Sour cream or Greek yogurt
Cook rice or couscous according to directions. Heat pepper and corn in a skillet until corn is heated through and peppers are tender yet crispy, like an Auden poem. Add beans and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Add salsa and cook until bubbling, stirring all the while.
Serve over rice or couscous, with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top. If you make couscous or quinoa,* the whole thing can be done in about 15 minutes.
*Or if, like me, you always keep some form of cooked grain in your refrigerator. This is the biggest tip I could offer for easy, healthy eating. (I started doing it this summer.) Cooked grains are like the plain black trousers of food: perfect as a base for anything. If you have a few cups of brown rice, say, in your fridge, you always have a meal: eat it hot or cold with milk/soy milk, nuts, and some honey for breakfast; add Greek yogurt and salsa for a quick snack; mix with chopped tofu and sriracha for lunch; heat up with some vegetables and a couple of Trader Joe’s chicken sausages, sliced, for dinner; boil some frozen vegetables with a cube or two of chicken bouillon and throw in a handful of rice and voila, soup.
What’s your favorite cold weather comfort food? Or, what tricks have you figured out for healthy eating on the go?
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (15)
15 Responses to “Cold weather comfort food?”
Leave a Reply
Subscribe
Roasted roots are both a great comfort food and a plan ahead strategy. I belonged to a CSA this summer, and despite splitting the share, still would end up with more food than I could eat in a week sometimes. The solution was to do a big mixed roast on Sundays and snack all week. Just about every vegetable tastes good tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and baked at 425 for however long it takes (broccoli is quick; potatoes take a while). And bonus: most of them taste great cold, too. My favorites are squash, potatoes, parsnips, and carrots, but brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans all work, too.
Chicken Pot pie, my favorite frozen variety has gone MIA at all grocery stores I have looked at. So I take the easy way of making it. I use Pillsbury pie crust, store bought roasted chicken breast, 2 jars of chicken gravy, frozen corn, peas, onions and green beans. Since the chicken is already cooked I just put it in to cook the crust to a golden brown and I use a toothpick to make sure it has warmed through, but generally about 20 minutes in the oven will do. I put it in at whatever temp the pie crust box recommends.
For a terrific winter warmer, see this recipe for a hot rum drink called The Franklin Stove:
http://dryfoo.blogspot.com/2009/10/franklin-stove.html
I’ve made Robin’s pseudonachos and they are fabulous. I also love her Greek Casserole and I make that about every other week during the colder months. When I warm it up in the microwave at my office, everyone perks up and wonders what smells so delicious! I agree with BlueMoose – almost any vegetable tastes great with a little olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper and roasting. Check out my favorite recipe for broccolini on my blog at http://nutritionbythenumbers.blogspot.com.
When the weather starts to get colder there is such a temptation to snuggle under the covers with some warm cookies & hot chocolate. Roast some veggies instead, and your plain black trousers will still fit in April!
in the winter the crockpot comes out. i’ve been making chili at least once a week. i just throw in ground beef and whatever happens to be in the fridge/pantry.
For anyone wanting the Greek casserole recipe, it’s here:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/missconduct/2008/01/easy_greek_cass.html
And it is yummy!
But don’t go dissing hot chocolate and cookies under the covers! Sometimes short-term pleasures are important. And we love our bodies no matter what size they are, around here.
Melissa’s blog is really fun reading, and enlightening. My faith in Paul Newman has been shaken, I must say.
This is my all time favorite soup, from Heidi’s 101 cookbooks blog:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baby-lima-soup-with-chipotle-broth-recipe.html
Sounds meh, tastes ohhhmygodd delicious, and is super easy, with ingredients that can sit quietly in the cupboard or fridge until you need them/
I don’t cook much. But in the cooler months (rarely gets below the 30s here in Central Texas), I make my mom’s vegetable soup pretty often. The original recipe has beef as well, but I just don’t like beef that much. The soup is basically a beef broth with whatever veggies you like. I do potatoes, corn, carrots, onion, stewed tomatoes, and celery. I also add pinto beans and would prefer some peas as well, but my husband hates peas. The main seasoning and major flavor of this soup is chili powder. When the potato cooks until it’s soft, with the broth and chili powder? Mmmmm, one of my favorite things.
I made a healthier chicken pot pie this week that was really comforting. The filling was diced celery, onion, and carrot, green beans, and peas (about a cup of each). Saute everything but the peas in a bit of butter and olive oil with thyme for 5 minutes and sprinkle four or five tablespoons of flour over it. Stir the mixture for a few more minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups of liquid — I did a cup of skim milk and 2 1/2 cups of fat free, low sodium chicken broth but you could play with the ratio. Let it come to a boil and thicken; add more flour if you need to. Add the peas and about a pound of poached, shredded chicken breast and salt and pepper to taste, and top with drop biscuits made from Trader Joe’s multigrain baking mix. Bake for 20 minutes at 375. I bet with extra vegetables and some nice vegetable broth, it would be a good vegetable pot pie too.
I always make a giant pot of chili at the start of the cold season and freeze it in single serve portions. The ingredients vary every time I make it but the basics are the same:
A can or two of vegetarian baked beans
1-2 bottles of chili sauce
1 lb. ground turkey, browned with some chopped onion
A little bit of chopped jalapeno
Whatever other vegetables I have around – corn is good, mushrooms are good, potatoes are good but they don’t freeze that well
Whatever seasonings strike my fancy, always including some cinnamon for a bit of sweetness
Brown the meat/onions, toss it along with everything else into a big pot and simmer. Comes out sweet & a little spicy and my friends love it! I just got a new crock pot (yea wedding gifts!) and will have to see how it comes out if I make it that way, after all the wedding craziness is over…
You mention ground turkey, Michelle, which reminds me of another easy favorite–a pound of ground turkey along with a package of frozen mixed vegetables (I get both at Trader Joe’s, which has a nice Vegetables in Butter Sauce bag with carrots, peas, cauliflower). We like to lace it with Tabasco because we are spice addicts.
tender yet crispy, like an Auden poem
*applauds*
Big ditto to Sweet Machine. That line made me pause, and come back for more, and go on, and come back to savor it again…in fact, rather like an Auden poem, itself.
I have a beef stew I love to make in the crockpot this time of year, but the thing that came immediately to mind is the way I frequently end cold and unpleasant days like this one. I warm up some milk in the microwave, add a splash of maple syrup and some nutmeg, and feel immensely comforted.
Three-Ingredient Chili
Two pounds ground beef or turkey, brown and drain
Two 24-ounce jars salsa (you pick the “stength” (I like one mild and one medium)
Three 15-ounce cans Trader Joe’s Marinated Bean Salad
Bring it all to a simmer and let it be for about an hour. Better made today and enjoyed tomorrow. You’ve made enough to share with a small crowd. To die for with warm beer bread or corn bread.