Foodie Friday

Ok, I have saved one of our family’s absolute favourite comfort foods for this week.

Why this week?  I have no idea.  It just seemed like the right time and I think you’re ready for this incredible cold winter comfort food experience.

Do you feel ready?  I hope so because here we go…..

This week’s comfort food recipe is…..

SLOW COOKER GUINNESS STEW!

Now it sounds a bit daunting but the only special items you need are a slow cooker and a can or bottle of Guinness.  What is Guinness???  Are you serious?   It’s like water or milk around here for my husband.  It’s a staple and necessity of life.  Let’s just say he likes it very much and therefore he also likes this stew very, very much.

Guinness is an irish beer that is more like a meal all on its own.  Here’s a little about Guinness if you really don’t know what it is.  And if you haven’t heard of Guinness before I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.  

Ok, enough preamble, here is the knock-your-socks-off, eat-till-you-can’t-eat-anymore, fabulous, fantastic, fantazmagorical (word?) Guinness Stew...

Mouth watering?  I thought so!

Slow Cooker Guinness Stew


Slow Cooker Guinness Stew

1 (400ml) can Guinness
2 cups beef stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, cut in 1” pieces
1 large potato, cut in 1” pieces
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
2 onions, cut in wedges
2 Tbsp butter
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 kg chuck or round steak (stewing beef)
salt + pepper
2 Tbsp flour
¼ cup flour
½ cup water
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Stir beer, stock, garlic, carrots, potatoes, rosemary and thyme in ceramic part of cooker.

Caramelize onions in butter and sugar in saucepan.  Then add to cooker.

Sprinkle beef lightly with flour, salt and pepper.  Brown meat, mix in cooker.

Cook for 8 hours on Low or 4-5 hours on High.

If you find it a bit bitter from the beer, a little brown sugar.

After cooking, mix flour and water in small cup.  Add mixture to stew, set on high, stir till thick.  

Add parsley and serve.

All done!

We had our stew with these easy and really cute cheddar cheese biscuits that my 7 year old and I made.

Delicious cheddar cheese biscuits.
Perfect for soaking up the stew juices that's left behind in the bowl.

I found some of these fun ads for Guinness....

Do you have a favourite comfort food?  I’d love to hear what it is in the comment section.

Foodie Friday

Happy Friday!

Is it warm where you are?  We have had crazy weather here.  One week it's unbearably cold and the next it feels like Spring is coming.  It is so hard to know what to wear.

But I do know that when the cold temperatures are upon us it brings out the deep desire to be warm and cozy and enjoy our favourite comfort foods.  Last week I shared Oven Fried Chicken and this week I will share my absolute favourite homemade Mac and Cheese ultimate comfort food recipe.

This is so delicious you won't be able to stop yourself from having more than one serving.  I'm serious!

This recipe makes a lot and is great for freezing so you can save it for those days when you just don't know what to cook and you want something easy and tasty.   Just make sure you use a large pan!

Homemade Mac and Cheese


Mac & Cheese

1 lb macaroni
1 can tomato soup
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
3 cups shredded or cubed cheddar (or mixed cheese)
1-2 cloves garlic
8 Tbsp butter, divided
¼ cup dry bread crumbs (or other favourite crunchy topping)

Heat oven to 350F

Cook pasta.  

In very large bowl, combine pasta, soup, tomatoes, cream cheese and 6 Tbsp of butter.  Make sure cream cheese is mixed in well before baking.

Pour into 9x13 baking dish.  Top with bread crumbs and dot with remaining butter.

Bake 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbly.

All ingredients combined in a very large bowl.

Almost ready to go in the oven.

Bread crumbs and wheat germ with butter for topping.

This is all you need for a complete and satisfying meal.  Enjoy!

Do you have a favourite comfort food?  I'd love to hear what it is in the comments.

Foodie Friday

I am continuing with comfort food recipes and this week I am sharing…..drumroll please…..the magnificent…..

MEATLOAF  

Need I say more? 

Ok, I will, just cuz that’s who I am.  If you know me you know I can talk your ear off if given the chance.

Meatloaf is hands down one of the best comfort foods around.  It is so delicious when it’s fresh and hot right out of the oven but it is also great in a sandwich the next day.  You can’t go wrong with meatloaf.  It’s cheap, easy, contains ingredients that most people already have in their kitchens and generally doesn’t have leftovers that last more than a day or two.

Ok, that’s all.  I think you see my point.  Here’s the recipe so you can go and enjoy your own yummy, comfort food meatloaf tonight...

Meatloaf

1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup, divided
1 pkg stuffing for chicken
1 egg, beaten
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
¼ cup chili sauce

Heat oven to 350F.

Mix meat, ½ can of soup, stuffing, egg, onion and thyme in bowl.  Don’t be afraid to use your hands to mix it up completely.  

Press evenly into 8x4 loaf pan.

Bake 55 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked.

Heat remaining soup and chili in small sauce pan.  Spool over meatloaf just before serving.

We don’t normally have chili sauce in our home so I substitute that with BBQ sauce.  It works great and gives it a nice tang!

6 ingredients in a bowl.

Ready to bake.

Baked and smelling yummy!

On a plate for one of my boys.

Foodie Friday

It’s Foodie Friday!!

I don’t know about you but it’s been really cold here in Ontario.  We’ve been lucky and haven’t had the same cold temperatures as other parts of Ontario and Canada but it’s still been very cold.  The kind of weather that makes you not want to leave your cozy little home...or warm bed for that matter.

And since we’ve been experiencing these arctic temperatures it only makes sense that we crave comfort food.  The food that warms us up inside and makes us feel so cozy and happy to be in our warm burrows surrounded with our family.

So, I decided for the next few weeks I would share some of my favourite comfort food recipes with you.  The weather is supposed to change drastically again next week, to almost spring like temperatures, but we’ll ignore that, remember it is still winter and enjoy eating these hardy, delicious meals that remind us of when we were kids.

This week I thought I’d start with a fun one.  It’s called….

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

That’s right, OVEN Fried Chicken.  It’s a healthier take on the traditional fried chicken but it still tastes just as good and has the same crunchy coating like regular fried chicken.

Again, I apologize for not having a bunch of pictures.  I am still trying to remind myself to take pictures of the entire process.  Hopefully, I’ll get better at that but in the meantime you can enjoy the final outcome and grab a napkin to wipe up the drool that I know is forming at the edge of your mouth. 

Here we go, easy and oh so tasty 

Oven Fried Chicken (serves 2)

⅓ cup Fine dry bread crumbs

2 TbspGrated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Paprika

¼ tsp Seasoned salt

4-6 Chicken parts (skin removed) about 1¼ lbs

Combine first 5 ingredients in plastic bag.  Mix well.

Add 2 pieces of chicken at a time.  Shake to coat.  Arrange in a single layer on broiler pan or greased foil-lined pan.  

Bake 350F oven for about 1 hour until tender.

This can easily be multiplied to serve more than 2 people.

To make it even healthier I sometimes add a little wheat germ with the bread crumbs.  Gives a great crunch and no one is the wiser.  

This time I served the chicken with some steamed veggies (broccoli, asparagus and carrots) and a baked potato that had fun and yummy toppings waiting at the table so everyone could enjoy it the way they like.  It was the perfect comfort food meal to fill our bellies.

Check back next Friday to read about another favourite for a cold winter day.

Do you have a favourite comfort food?  I'd love to hear what it is in the comments!