So we’re set to get a whole bunch of snow tonight, and that made me think about winter comfort foods. I’ve been making tons of soups lately.
Does anyone have any amazing recipes for the chilly weather?
I don’t know that I’d call it amazing, but it’s certainly one of my favorite winter foods. (And it’s simple).
Hamburger Bean Dish
1/2 lb. bacon cut in small pieces
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can kidney beans
8 oz. lima beans
1 cup onion
1/2 c. catsup
1 tsp. mustard
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 can pork and beans
Brown bacon and ground beef in skillet. Add onion, continue to brown. Put in greased casserole dish. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Bake in 300 degree oven for one hour.
(my 9x13 in. pan is not filled to overflowing, but is pretty full. It did get a few extra ounces of lima beans and a second can of kidney beans. I’ll eat it until I tire of it, then freeze some and eat it in the coming weeks).
Mmm…cold weather food. I think my favorite is a roast. My roast recipe is really simple. I just put it in a casserole dish with some salt and pepper and whatever vegetables (potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, and mushrooms are my favorite) I have in the fridge. All of the food is wrapped very loosely in tin foil. Then, I cook it on 325 until the meat thermometer says 140. If I’m cooking any root vegetables with it, I usually cook them on their own for about twenty minutes or so before hand. If I only cook them with the roast, they end up a bit crunchy for my liking.
A day or two later, I pull out the leftovers and make soup from it. First, I cube the meat and dredge it in flour. Then I brown the meat (I like my roasts rare, so moast of the leftover meat is pretty pink) in vegetable oil. I add some dry red wine, a little water, the leftover vegetables, and whatever spices suit my fancy. I cook it until it seems done. The flour part is important though because it leaves you with lots of brown bits at the bottom of the pot and they add a lot to the soup.
Mmmm…so good. I had a roast on Thursday and made soup from it on Saturday. It was just me for the soup and I ended up having all of it-three big bowls!
Crockpot soups are a favorite of mine too. Tonight, I had chicken and spinach soup. I used hard cider as a base liquid and just threw everything in the crockpot with whatever spices felt right. A couple of hours later, I had dinner! One thing I have noticed with chicken soup in the crockpot is that chicken breast dry out easily sometimes. I salt the breasts a little before I put them in and this seems to help.
I can probably work out a list of what spices I use if you’d like. I really just make things up as I go along for the most part. I’m not sure I’ve ever made the same thing twice.
Chili!!! I love chili on a cold day! If I had the stuff right now I’d make some now!
I’ve not experienced winter for many, many a year now. But I do recollect that I liked chili, no beans, with big slices of Velveeta cheese melted into it. And the traditional hot chocolate with marshmallows.
Grilled cheese sandwiches and Tomato soup.
Winter foods are my favourite. Stew, goulash, bean soup, gingerbread with butterscotch sauce, roast potatoes, gravy, mincemeat tarts. Pot roast. Chili. Potato and ham soup. Cream of mushroom soup.
Yum.
Spareribs and kraut with potatoes. Brown ribs first, drain kraut, peel & quarter spuds, slice up a small onion, throw them all in a dutch oven, add about 2 tbsps brown sugar, cover and cook in a 325 oven for a couple of hours. Winter comfort food heaven!
Chop up a metric assload of onions (Vidalia works great), and sweat/caramelize slowly in some butter. Heat up about a quart of beef stock, and add a splash of sherry and worcestershire sauce. Add in the onions. Spoon some into a heat-proof bowl containing a large crouton, and top with gruyere. Broil until the cheese melts and browns a little. Voila! C’est bon!
I have always loved a Reuben in cold weather. In fact, I can’t recall a time I’ve eaten one in the summer.
Ditto. Only now I make the sandwiches with sharp cheddar and serve Tomato Bisque instead of regular soup. Fancy! 
Mashed boniato with a little spice/cilantro.
You get the traditional starchy comfort potato feeling with a little tropical nuance- fantastic.
Thats one of my favorite meals but I like pepper-jack cheese in the sandwich and some blue cheese sprinkled into the tomato bisque. mmmmm, now I’m hungry
Pepperjack is wonderful too. I just didn’t have any on-hand last night. I did have fresh basil for the bisque, however. Tossed in a handful of dehydrated onion slices, too. Made a delicious combination.
I just made some of that, and me and the boyfriend are eating the hell out of it. Thumbs up!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Do you usually use fresh lima beans or what? I did frozen and they didn’t all quite finish.
I always use frozen. They do sometime end up a little firmer than the other beans. I suppose one could thaw them, but I generally don’t think about it in time to let them thaw.
Hmmm…it will have to be modified, because we absolutely loathe lima beans around here (and I’m not too fond of kidney beans, either). Maybe some Great Northerns?
Hot chocolate with marshmallows!
A big bowl of New England clam chowder with a side of toasted garlic bread is also acceptable.