Comfort Food Roundup

Grab your fuzzy socks, your hoodie and head to kitchen to make up some of the favorite comfort food dishes!

I’m one of those people who love fall weather. I love to see the leaves change, feel the cool crisp air on my face and reach for an extra blanket at night. Fall, to me, is the start of the holiday season. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to me equal comfort foods. I normally run cold though you’d think with the extra flubadub I have around my mid section that wouldn’t be the case but it’s true, My hands and feet are always cold, the tip of my nose is forever a light pink and frigid and I’m always found in a hoodie or sweat shirt.

Growing up fall was that time of year where we got a break from all of the outside chores. No more cutting 41 acres, tending to the gardens, the flower beds or yard work. Fall was where I got to be inside under Mom’s feet as she would say, in the kitchen, and be close to all of those amazing food smells. This time of year is where my family and I gravitated to more comfort food type recipes. Pot roasts, breads, meatloaf, cakes and stuff that just warmed us from the inside out.

Mom, Dad, and Grandma were the cooks in our family. The foods they created were simplistic, maybe even peasant-like but they all shared one common theme: DELICIOUS! They went with dishes that could be created out of whatever they had on hand and fed a very large family. Many of their recipes weren’t written down but fortunately I was blessed with a strong memory retention which has allowed me to easily recreate many of those recipes that I have shared with you to date.

When you think of comfort food, what to you is your go-to comfort food? Or are you more like me, where your comfort food preference is situationally dependent? Broken hearts I found I went towards chocolate/chocolate cake. When I’m really missing my parents/Grandma I went to one of their iconic recipes that somehow made me feel “with” them again. When it’s a cold and rainy day I’m all about mac ‘n cheese or simple warm bread and butter.

Today I’ve put together some of my favorite comfort food recipes. Don’t see yours listed? Let me know!

1. Grandma’s Southern-Style Chicken & Dumplings – This dish is all about stick-to-your-ribs and hug-you-on-the-inside! This recipe is grandma to me. It’s that dish that I always find comfort in as it just feels like it hugs you on the inside.
2. The Creamiest, Cheeziest Stove Top Mac ‘n Cheese – Mac ‘n Cheese is one of those dishes that always makes me feel “at home”. It’s just so comforting when you grab a bowl full of uber cheesy mac ‘n cheese!
3. The BEST Meatloaf recipe you’ll ever make! – There’s just something that screams “HOME” like a big fat slice of tender meatloaf all covered in a tangy sauce with a plate of mashed potatoes!
4. Crusty bread with lots of butter – Growing up Mom made homemade bread every Sunday. Nothing, NOTHING beats homemade fresh bread straight out of oven that you just load up with butter. I could eat a whole loaf I swear of fresh, warm bread!
5. Mom’s Pot Roast and gravy – Every Sunday this was a mainstay in my house. A huge pot roast with her to-die-for gravy, potatoes and carrots. This was hearty and just stuck to your ribs after a day outside in the cold!
6. Chocolate cake – this with a glass of ice cold milk is my favorite dessert comfort food!  This was always my broken heart healer!

7. Pumpkin Hearty Beef & Bean Chili – Chili is that recipe that when I’m chilled to the bone, to my core will always warm me up. The pumpkin in this recipe lends such a perfect umami flavor!
8. Creamy and Buttery Mashed Potatoes – When I’m sick and nothing tastes good, mashed potatoes is the ONLY dish that I can taste. From butter, to the salt and the hint of pepper it’s truly my favor sick food preference!
9. Chipped Beef On Toast (SOS) – Every year for my birthday this is the dish that Mom always made me. This is my dish that when its super cold in the winter and you’re trapped inside, I always gravitate to.  Just a few peasant ingredients that always seemed to warm our bellies on a cold winter’s eve.
10. Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage – Even though we made hundreds of these every summer, Mom always pulled them out in the fall and winter for dinner. They were hearty and paired perfectly with a big scoop of mashed potatoes and a few homemade rolls.
11. Italian Stuffed Shells – Pasta is not something I personally would have ever considered comfort food but marrying into an Italian family I quickly learned that it is. In the fall I make this dish at least 3 times a month for Mr. Fantabulous. It freezes beautifully and, when it’s cooking, makes the house smell like a little Italian kitchen in Italy!
12. Pizza – Pizza is my all time favorite comfort food but then again, it’s my all time favorite food. Pizza just makes me happy.

13. Ground Beef Stroganoff – Chili is that recipe that when I’m chilled to the bone, to my core will always warm me up. The pumpkin in this recipe lends such a perfect umami flavor!
14. Creamy Chicken & Gnocchi Soup – This soup is one that not only warms you up from the inside out but also keeps your belly full for hours thanks to the gnocchi. It’s creamy without being super heavy. This with a side of oyster crackers or garlic bread sticks and I’m one happy girl!
15. Roasted Pork and Sauerkraut – There’s just something about a super juicy slice of pork roast, some tangy sauerkraut and side of mashed potatoes that just feels right in the cooler months.
16. Meatballs and Sauce – Meatballs and sauce – just a simple bowl of those with a few slices of buttered bread is one of my favorite comfort food meals. Mom would make us this after a day out in the snow. If I close my eyes,
17. Chocolate Mousse – I love chocolate mousse on those super cold, frigid nights when you’re all bundled up under some blankets, a fire is going in the fire place and I’m watching chick flicks. This is the perfect “me night” dish!
18. Potato Chips & French Onion Dip – Chips and dip is my kryptonite and that comfort food that, when all else fails I know will comfort me.

Now your turn – what are some of your comfort foods you gravitate to in the cooler months?

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