Everyday Systems

It's finally looking/feeling like Fall where I am, and I'm thinking of "winter food"... all those warm dishes I associate with cold weather. Black bean soup, chicken pot pie, stews, chili that kind of thing. Not particularly Holiday food (though that will come), just the stuff that is a little too warm/heavy for summer and just right in fall and winter.

What foods do you associate with Fall/Winter that would be perfectly fine to eat on an N-day?

Baked sweet potatoes, roast chicken, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, spiced baked apples (you don't really need the sugar), baked potatoes, any number of casseroles...

I actually had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch today rather than my usual bento. I'm being a tightwad about the thermostat and warm food is good this time of year!

Well, I make soup all year, so not that so much, but beef stew, chicken and dumplings/noodles/pot pie (homemade)/biscuits, polenta with bolognese, chicken and dressing casserole with gravy. Oh, yum!

The temps here are 10-15 degrees cooler than normal, but I've only had the heat on a couple of times early in the morning.

Ummm! Crock-pot applesauce, chicken pot pie, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chicken puffs, and homemade chicken noodle soup! Yum! (Not all at the same meal, of course! )

Mimi

Zuppa Toscana with warm ciabatta bread; broccoli soup; chicken soup and biscuits; chili; chicken enchiladas;, lasagna; manicotti; roast beef with yorkshire pudding or Toad in the Hole; chicken pie; potatoes mashed with butter, cream and sharp cheddar cheese; mac and cheese; cottage pie; potatoes, parsnips and other vegetables roasted in goose fat; or today's dinner of chicken and artichokes. Breakfasts like steel cut oats with butter, cream and (real) maple syrup, or bacon and fried bread.

Reading this thread is making me really want soup and oatmeal -- not in the same meal. LOL!

mimi wrote:Ummm! Crock-pot applesauce, chicken pot pie, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chicken puffs, and homemade chicken noodle soup! Yum! (Not all at the same meal, of course! )

Mimi

Mimi, what are chicken puffs?

I made meatloaf last week and it was so good! Today our highs will be in the 40s and I'm thinking chicken and dressing casserole with gravy, green beans and a salad (?).

Comfort food is what I made for dinner last night...Chicken and Dumplings. I could eat that every night!

Jammin' Jan wrote:Comfort food is what I made for dinner last night...Chicken and Dumplings. I could eat that every night!

You and me both!

When I was a little girl, my mom used to take me to the next town to shop and we always went to one restaurant for lunch. I don't remember ever having anything but their chicken and dumplings. Well, honestly, it was one BIG dumpling in a bowl with the chicken, vegetables and gravy. It took me years, but I came up with a version that is exactly as I remember it.

I'll have to say that the chicken and dressing casserole is almost as good. I got the idea from the cafeteria at work -- it was one of the few things they made that was "almost from scratch" and was very tasty! It was one of those classic midwestern starch overload things -- served with mashed potatoes. But then, beef and noodles and chicken and noodles are "traditionally" served on mashed potatoes. Good, hearty wintertime food!

My comfort meal has always been creamed chicken on biscuits. It's the meal I always picked as a little girl on my birthdays.

But after reading this thread, I know what I'm making on Saturday - grilled cheese sandwich with Jarlsburg cheese for lunch and chicken enchiladas for the week ahead.

wosnes wrote:
Mimi, what are chicken puffs?

Oh, they're soooo good and soooo easy! They're my little granddaughter's favorite - she calls them chicken *pups*!
Preheat oven to 350Ëš
Soften and blend a 3oz. package of cream cheese with 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Add 2 cups of cooked chopped chicken breast (you can substitute canned chicken breast also), 1/8 tsp. pepper, 2 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon pimento, and some chopped onion.
Mix well.
Separate a can of crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. Press the perforations to seal. Stretch the rectangle out a bit to accommodate chicken mixture.
Spoon about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of the rectangle - pull up the corners to the center and pinch all the seams and holes shut. Makes 4 puffs.
Bake 20-25 minutes. (I use a stone and usually double the recipe, making 8 puffs)
Hope you like them.

Mimi

There should be a warning on this thread to not read it between meals...

mimi wrote:

wosnes wrote:
Mimi, what are chicken puffs?

Oh, they're soooo good and soooo easy! They're my little granddaughter's favorite - she calls them chicken *pups*!
Preheat oven to 350Ëš
Soften and blend a 3oz. package of cream cheese with 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Add 2 cups of cooked chopped chicken breast (you can substitute canned chicken breast also), 1/8 tsp. pepper, 2 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon pimento, and some chopped onion.
Mix well.
Separate a can of crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. Press the perforations to seal. Stretch the rectangle out a bit to accommodate chicken mixture.
Spoon about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of the rectangle - pull up the corners to the center and pinch all the seams and holes shut. Makes 4 puffs.
Bake 20-25 minutes. (I use a stone and usually double the recipe, making 8 puffs)
Hope you like them.

Mimi

Lol @ Kevin!

Additions to the list: Barley (I adore barley) and butternut squash and pumpkin.

KCCC wrote:Lol @ Kevin!

Additions to the list: Barley (I adore barley) and butternut squash and pumpkin.

Oh, I had some of the best butternut squash soup for lunch today -- from a restaurant. Roasted butternut squash simmered in chicken broth then pureed with a little Pernod and curry added. A walnut garnish. I might have to go get more tomorrow!

I made this for dinner tonight -- it's more stew-like than soupy:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neel ... index.html It was even better than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the recipe, Mimi. I'll try it.

I made a quiche for dinner tonight. The funny part is that my son, who is not an egg fan, is quite fond of quiches and was expressing his pleasure that I was making one.

So, of course I hadda repeat the cliche from the paleolithic about real men not eating quiche. To which my brilliant teenaged son replied, "Horsepucky! Real men eat anything they like!"

Several dishes not mentioned yet:

Barley N Broccoli soup--slightly creamy, hearty, warm, and satisfying.

Shepherd's Pie--although technically we should call it "cottage pie" because we use beef, not lamb or mutton. I make it with a beef-based gravy, not tomato-based as is commonly called for and this is a favorite around here and is on the menu for this week. Yum.

Hot Mexican Bean Dip: Layer seasoned refried beans (homemade or canned), sauteed and seasoned ground beef (optional), salsa, cheese, olives, onions and heat til hot. Serve with chips and/or soft, warmed tortillas of choice. Note: for extra richness, smear a package of cream cheese on the bottom of the pan before adding the beans....

Nope - Cottage pie is in my list . No tomatoes in ours, either.

Oh....mushroom barley soup. I found a great recipe online last year. I'll have to see if I can find it again!

Update: I found it:
http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11 ... rley-soup/

Noel, I made your butternut squash soup tonight. I used chicken broth I froze earlier from another of your recipes, and leftover roasted squash. Added a tiny touch of cream at the end - probably a couple tablespoons.

It was AWESOME.

Or so I thought. I was sure there wouldn't be enough since I was making about a third of the recipe, so I also made a simple cream-of-broccoli soup. I gave my husband and son their choice of soups. They both chose broccoli... and didn't seem wild about it. When pressed for a reaction to my experiment, hubby said he would eat it whenever I made it but it wasn't something he'd particularly look forward to. The butternut he admitted to disliking. (He was polite - and I asked.)

Now I remember one of the big reasons I hardly ever make soup... it gets a decidedly unenthusiastic response from most of the family. (They did love the cheese toast on homemade bread I made to go with it.)

Oh well. I totally adore the soup, and will enjoy the rest of it myself. Let them eat PB&J. So there.

KCCC wrote: Or so I When pressed for a reaction to my experiment, hubby said he would eat it whenever I made it but it wasn't something he'd particularly look forward to.

When I made something my ex didn't like, the only thing he'd say was that I didn't need to make it often.

KCCC wrote: Now I remember one of the big reasons I hardly ever make soup... it gets a decidedly unenthusiastic response from most of the family. (They did love the cheese toast on homemade bread I made to go with it.)

Oh well. I totally adore the soup, and will enjoy the rest of it myself. Let them eat PB&J. So there.

This is why I make soups for my lunches. I love soup, but I'm alone in my love of it. Since I'm on my own for lunch most days, I have soup. I could eat soup twice daily -- and yesterday I did.

I think soup should be a food group -- right along with meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, chocolate and cookies (not necessarily chocolate cookies, though they're good, too!).