chicken soup w/rice
chicken soup w/noodles
chicken soup w/potatoes and veggies only
chicken soup w/rice, lemon and egg (google 'avgolemono' it's the best chicken soup there is)

nana's chicken soup
posole
cassoulet (mmm decadent)
scrambled eggs & toast
fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy
kale, white bean and sausage soup
big fresh garden salad
salami!
chocolate chip cookies
dark chocolate

mac & cheese was never a biggie for me. Unless it's jazzed up with things like black olives, peppers, onion, etc. And good cheese.


red lentil soup
swiss chard
roast chicken
clam chowder
coffee
cheese
olives
beer
pumpkin pie
coconut rice

in no specific order,

lamb shanks with horseradish mashed potatoes
baby back ribs cooked low & slow with homemade barbecue sauce
clam dip with Ruffles potato chips
french toast with butter and maple syrup
cake with buttercream frosting
brie cheese on crusty french bread
hummus and roasted sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil
vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce & chopped peanuts
marshmallow peeps
enchiladas with guacamole and sour cream

My baby's Chicken pot pie
My chili ( it's different)
Chicken soup
Mashed potatoes
Pretty much anything my baby makes.

I used to believe comfort food was simply fat laden heavy food. For me it's interesting how much good and bad are combined in the concept, sure there is chicken noodle soup, but in contrast Mac and Cheese looms ever present on lists. A hot bowl of oatmeal and a fried chicken dinner complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, still warm chocolate chip cookies and milk are other examples. One of my favorites is an oven hot roll and honey, then too, what is it without the butter?

In other words, comfort and health consciousness don't always equate.

OK...

Korean Kim Chee
Russian Mennonite Beet Borsch
German Sauerbraten
Polish Mennonite Bierocks
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
My Dad's Oyster Stew
German Mennonite Plumamous (chilled Christmas sweetened buttermilk and prune soup)
Provincial Ratatouille (Julia Child's version)
Mom's Homemade Macaroni & Cheese with Diced Tomatoes
Dilly Casserole Bread (made with cottage cheese, dill seed, and minced onion; I think originally off the back of a yeast packet in the '60's)

I don't really care too much for rich, heavy, meat-laden foods. I will eat them from time to time, but pay dearly for it.

My incomplete list:

My Mom's Recipe for Taglarini (American Chop Suey with Creamed Corn and Olives added)
Pistachios (spumoni ice cream, Pistachio pudding, or the nuts themselves)
Fritata
Rosemary Chicken
shredded wheat
grape nuts on yogurt with fruit
Pastisio
Imam Baledi
Mac and cheese esp. with broccoli
mulled cider

Chicken & dumplings... my mom made the BEST.

Peanut butter pie (specifically, my sisters peanut butter pie)... um, it's peanut butter?

Peanut blossom cookies, just like my mom makes... again, peanut butter.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (strawberry preserves) with a very tall glass of ice cold milk... are you sensing a peanut butter theme here?

Irish stew, in a crock pot, after it's been cooking for days.

Macaroni and cheese... no, not out of a box. Homemade with bread crumbs on top.

Tuna noodle casserole... egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, lots of tuna and lots of peas. Baked with bread crumbs and grated cheesed on top.

Fish sticks... Mrs. Pauls, with tarter sauce from a jar.

Grilled cheese sammies, dunked in soup.

Pancakes, with maple syrup and lots of butter.

And of course... ice cream (with peanut butter and chocolate... surprised?)

Hmm, top ten, huh?

In random order:
Soup - several different kinds (chicken noodle & tomato are automatic)
Pasta - again, just about any kind, especially with a cheese/cream sauce or meaty tomato based sauce
Yogurt - rich and creamy (not the low-fat fake stuff)
Ice Cream or Frozen Custard
Peanut Butter - on or in just about anything it goes with (PB&J sandwiches are a definite)
Beef Stew over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes
Mashed Potatoes (especially with skins on)
Eggs/omelets
Pizza
Mac & Cheese - souped up the way I do it or made homemade (as long as it's creamy)


Just to name ten.

random order:

biscuits and gravy (all kinds, even vegetarian will do it) with a side poached egg
mac and cheese, home made Only with broccoli
Indian Masala Dosa
green onion and sunny side up egg on toast
soups..literally all kinds -especially chicken stock based w/rice
really hearty beef stew (home made)
Chinese Take out (some kind of chow fun/or fried rice/egg roll/garlic broccoli thing)
Indian take out (chana masala, chicken tikka masala yummm)
yummy toast w/butter and honey....
cocunut bliss ice cream YUM

I blame the 80's for the whole Mac and Cheese thing. I mean, dairy and wheat production sky rocketed -- and processed foods reached the pinnacle in the 80's. So, being a kid in the 80's with a single mom, mac and cheese, hamburger helper, campbells soups were all staples. Thank the gods I got over that crap! :-)

Cream of wheat (not instant) made with milk and topped with butter.
Pasta Aioli with parmesan or romano Cheese
Poached eggs on toast
Chocolate ice cream
Brownies.
cream of tomatoe soup with a tuna samich
english muffin toasted with buttter and peanut butter mixed
Cheese grits
Cherrios
beef stew

On our birthdays (at least for the three kids Dad raised) we were allowed to select our meal. (lol -like death row!)

For my brother, it was lobster. Well, I grew up on the shore, so seafood was a daily -if seasonal- thing, so not sufficeint as a treat. My sister wanted dessert for supper, no surprise there. For me, and it's always been my favourite comfort food: Fancy Beans. (my name, there's not much else that fits.) Think Chili without the spice; molasses, honey, brown sugars replacing the tomato and you get close.

As a kid it was simply,

1 large diced onion, 2-3 celery ribs. 1 bell peper diced similar to diced carrots, about the size of pencil eraser... and simmered in skillet to 'just this side of crisp' -set aside.
3/4-1lb ground beef, browned in same skillet

With meat browned, replace the veggies, and a quart of baked beans, store-bought or homemade. Heat only until hot (as opposed to cooking more), helps keep the 'medley' of flavours.

That was the simplest and child-friendly way. As adults, we know we are free to experiment with substitutions -and depending on my mood -and fridge contents- I subsitute all over the place.

I still prefer the sweet baked (not steamed!) beans. (One can also get the tomato by using too much ketchup on their OWN plate! lol) And I like to add red kidney and lima beans -canned/frozen (not dried, I'm sorry but I can never get dried to re-consitute to my satisfaction -always taste of chalk, even after inclusion in recipe)

The extra beans means doubling the skillet-prepared ingredients. I like bag sausage for some of the meat. Have been known to sneak in (about 1/3 of the gr.beef) ground turkey or ground pork. I've even diced kielbasa or other sausage.

As you experiment, you may wish to transfer to a dutch oven for space, as the additions add up! It's also shamelessly easy to stretch should more set down at the table than you'd planned. FREEZES FABULOUSLY.

Sneer'rs beware. I've changed many an upturned nose with one taste!

Top ten comfort foods? Hmmm.

Poached Eggs on Toast.

Double Fudge ice cream.

Peach yogurt.

Crab Louis salad

Oyaku Donburi allrecipes.com/recipe/oya...detail.aspx

Root beer float

meatloaf
puppychow(chex with powdered sugar, m&ms, pretzels and chocolate)
beef stogranoff
chocolate malts
chocalate shakes
breyer's ice cream
chex mix

mashed potatoes
pot roast
pudding
cake
chocolate
hard cooked eggs
toast
potato salad
spaghetti
Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk or Phish Food

Taglarini ( this is like American chop suey but with creamed corn added and olives baked on top with cheese
Macaroni and cheese ( I make a cheese sauce and mix in the noodles)
Hash (turkey, roast beef, or just vegies, yum)
Smoked oysters
Cold lemonade (very tart)

Small neighbor children with mango sauce

my mom's homemade refrigerator soup
again, her homemade minestrone soup
homemade bread
homemade beef stew
a really well made cheese steak sub
my sister's scratch strawberry shortcake
my mom's deep dish lasagna
a jim dandy sundae from Friendly's
a hershey's chocolate bar
cashews

safe journeys

mmmm comfort foods are a wonderful way to relax and just let the mind go blank with flavors dancing on your tongue....

steak with champignon mushrooms
chocolate (of course)
rice pudding
brown gravy
sweet baked beans
bacon
strawberry cream cheese on cinnamon raisin bagel
homemade minestrone soup
pizza
homemade breads

Chicken and dunplings
cheesy cream of wheat or grits
warm bread and butter
garlic pasta
bean soup,black beans my favorite
lentil soup

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese is # 1 on my list
Lasagna
Waffles
Cold sesame noodles
Fried Chicken w/mashed potatoes
Potatoes au gratin
Cheese cake
Risotto
Monkey bread