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Monday, January 24, 2022

Comfort Food For Frigid Nights

Hi Friends, can you believe I'm back again so soon? I'm going to try to be better about posting this year....now that I have settled into a routine with working from home and I know it's for the foreseeable future.  

It's been brutally cold on the mountain top with wind chills in the -30's F at times....the perfect nights to warm up with some ultimate comfort food meals. 

I always plan my meals around the weather - if it's intensely cold I like to use the oven to help heat the house. If it's only moderately cold (20F and above) I'll use either the oven or the stove top. 

Any of you who have been following my super-sporadic blog posts for any length of time know I am a huge foodie. I wake up in the morning thinking immediately of what I'm making for dinner that night. Luckily I have a sweetie who will eat anything I put in front of him, and absolutely loves it when I experiment with a new recipe. 

I've been on the hunt for a good meatball recipe for my entire adult life, and I think I have finally found it, which delights me (I know, I'm so lame!) I recently read this post where 4 top meatball recipes were compared side by side and this one won, hands down - I knew right then I had to give it a try and I'm so glad I did - it's a keeper for sure. 

The recipe is Anne Burrell's Excellent Meatballs and they are surely aptly named. 

I admit I did not try her sauce recipe which is also included in that link - lately I've been using this recipe by Cookie & Kate and it's so simple and delicious. In the summer when I have fresh tomatoes I go with a different fresh tomato sauce recipe....when I have basil but no fresh tomatoes I make Marcella Hazan's Tomato Basil Garlic Sauce from her cookbook The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking which is an excellent book, although no photos. 

Back to the meatballs - they were awesome! The recipe made plenty so I have some in the freezer for future meals as well, which I love. 

I used this blend that my market had on sale recently: 

I picked up three packages when it went on sale, and I grabbed one out of the freezer recently to make meatloaf, which I hadn't made in what felt like eons. 

I noticed there was a recipe for meatloaf on the back, and when I looked at it it was so close to the way I always made my meatloaf I decided to give it a try. 

I'm not one for overthinking meatloaf - I'm very old school in my belief that it should be a simple blend of onions, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk, salt & pepper, and topped with beef gravy (I left off the ketchup in this recipe.)

Well, this recipe was pretty much that except with the addition of a tablespoon of parmesan cheese and a package of onion soup mix. I only had beefy onion soup mix in the house, so that's what I used and this is my new GO-TO meatloaf recipe! Note there's no salt listed in this recipe as there's enough in the soup mix that it's not needed. This was AMAZING!! 


I made two smaller meatloaves and froze one, so I cut the cooking time to 60 minutes and then checked it with a meat thermometer to make sure it had reached 160 in the center. 

We had this for dinner last night, and we both have leftovers for tonight and I can't wait! 

Another of my frequent winter recipes is this Cheddar Broccoli Soup from Averie Cooks - I've been making this for a few years now, and it never disappoints. 

It's rich and hearty and incredibly tasty on a cold winter's night! I usually serve it with a batch of cornbread straight from the oven, and we both love it. Such a simple meal, soup and bread, yet so satisfying indeed! 

I'm sure you all know by now that I'm a huge HUGE fan of Ina Garten's recipes as well - I have 7 of her cookbooks and I have her 2018 book Cook Like A Pro sitting in my shopping cart on Amazon right now! I have tried SO MANY of Ina's recipes and have never had one fail, she's so consistently awesome. 


One of the recipes I go back to time and time again is her Perfect Roast Chicken. I've tried other roast chicken recipes, yet I keep going back to this one - I even grow fennel in the veggie garden just for this recipe, as I am not a huge fennel fan at all. When I don't have fennel I just leave it out and use more carrots and onions as the base, and it's fabulous both ways. During the winter months when my herb boxes are under snow I dig out the frozen thyme and snip it to use it in this recipe and I honestly can't tell the difference from using my fresh thyme. 

That's what's been on the menu here...it's a quiet night tonight, Sweetie and I will both be enjoying leftover meatloaf in our respective homes....he'll be watching football, no doubt, and I'll be watching Ozark on Netflix - what a great show! 

What's happening in your neck of the woods? 

29 comments:

  1. Your meals always look so good! A good meatloaf with gravy over mashed potatoes is a favorite. I may have to make the soup recipe. Good way to have broccoli, right? I did steam some broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts and made a horseradish sauce to serve over.

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    1. Sweetie often picks up a big bag of broccoli florets when he goes to Sam's Club - when I have that in the house I try to think of creative ways to use it up, and this soup is a great way. I also have a great recipe for sausage and broccoli orecchiette which I need to add to the menu one of these days!

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  2. Yum on the meatloaf. I pinned your recipe it sounds great and looks so delicious. I am so happy Ozark is back too. Happy Tuesday. xoxo Kris

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    1. Leftovers were amazing last night too Kris! There's an extra egg in there (I always used only one) and I think that helps make it even more tender!

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  3. Enjoyed your post. I fix meatloaf often, also meatballs so your information was very interesting to me. I will have to look for that Meatball and Meatloaf Mix. Your lovely sitting area is very calming. In south-western Ohio, our weather is cold but not near as cold as your mountaintop home. Our 8th grader slipped & fell on the ice on the way to the school bus this morning. Luckily he was okay, but made me very grateful that I can stay inside today.

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    1. I'm glad he was ok Jan, that's never fun but of course at that age they bounce back pretty easily! If I slipped and fell on the ice I'd be sore for a week!

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  4. You've inspired me! I'm going to try these recipes.

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    1. I'm glad, Stacey, that I inspired you! Most days I get out of bed knowing exactly what I'm making for dinner....today I struggled! But I settled on a ham and bean soup and cornbread. When I make a cornbread (like I did last week for the broccoli soup) I always get three dinners out of it - two chunks get frozen for future easy-peasy meals!

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  5. Glad we will be hearing from you more often!

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    1. I'm going to try....although all bets are off once gardening season rolls around!

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  6. Your photos always make me hungry! We love meatloaf too but I always have used a ketchup base, will have to try the gravy, that sounds so good! Nothing like comfort food on cold days! Glad you are enjoying working from home and look forward to more posts from you! Have a blessed day!

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    1. Thank you Marilyn! I do enjoy working from home, for sure! It gives me time to create more labor intensive/creative meals as I can meal prep in between emails!

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  7. I'm so glad you're blogging again! And as you know, I'm a huge foodie, too. It's hard to find others who are as passionate about food and cooking as I am, so I feel connected to you that way. ;-) And like your BF, my hubby will eat anything I put in front of him. We're both lucky that way!

    I love Ina - she's one of my faves - and I totally agree about her chicken. We both love fennel though, so I do use that. I also have most of her cookbooks. There were a couple that I checked out from the library and didn't really have many recipes I'd be interested in, so I didn't buy them.

    My latest favorite is Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest. I get her daily emails plus follow her on IG. Are you familiar with her? Her recipes are delicious, easy to make, and healthy. She uses only real foods/ingredients - nothing packaged.

    Speaking of that, if you want to ever try a new meatloaf recipe (that Lipton onion soup mix has a lot of chemicals in it - didn't know if you knew that), 1840 Farm has a delicious meatloaf that's one of our faves. Here's the link:

    https://1840farm.com/2016/01/meatloaf/

    I change it up by making my own meatloaf recipe (I get organic grass-fed ground beef at Aldi, they have great prices on that plus groun turkey), no measurements, I just throw in eggs, panko breadcrumbs, a little ketchup, and sauteed onions and celery. And seasonings. Then I make a glaze of ketchup, vinegar, and a little mustard and brown sugar. Bake another 10-15 with the glaze.

    Tonight I'm making a Vegetable Biryani recipe that's served over brown rice. I'm trying to incorporate even more veggies into my/our diets. (I've been putting organic baby spinach in everything!) Last night I made a sheet pan dinner with apple chicken sausages (Trader Joe's) and tons of veggies (including fennel, sorry!) and roasted it all.

    Also this morning, I'm putting organic boneless chicken breasts (Aldi win again for their prices) in the Crockpot with a little broth just to poach them. I'll then shred and put in freezer packages. That way I'll have cooked chicken at the ready for all kinds of recipes.

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    1. That's so smart, Melanie, and I made a wonderful ham and bean soup last night that you would love! I actually simmered it for about an hour to really get all those aromatics into the broth before adding the beans....I also added a container of leftover mashed potatoes that were in the fridge which made it a little creamier, and it was so good! Here's the recipe if you want to try it: https://cafedelites.com/ham-bean-soup/

      I wish I had an Aldi closer to me, but I may just have to start making monthly runs down there - it's about 35 miles away, bummer. I love that store! Our mountaintop market is soooo expensive, I end up ordering things online when I can from either Target or Walmart and then just buy my fresh foods at the market. I normally make my own soup and salad dressing mixes, and I will make a big jar of beefy onion soup mix and just have it for use in that recipe. Thanks for the meatloaf recipe, I'm going to check it out!

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  8. I make my mother in laws meatball recipe. I learned this in her Naples, Italy kitchen and my husband requests it almost weekly. I'd be glad to share the recipe separately if you'd like.
    I use the DASH Diet meatloaf recipe which is a pretty close version of Julia Child's and I appreciate that it has no artificial ingredients. I do add mushrooms though!

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    1. I'd love your mother's meatball recipe, Patricia, thank you! You can use the Contact Me tab at the top for sending it. And I'm going to check out both Dash Diet and Julia Child's meatloaf recipes - isn't it amazing how many variations are out there?

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  9. Good seeing your beautiful beautiful Dining room again! I just love it! You make the most delicious looking foods. Sure good seeing a post from you again.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Henny! I do love to cook, nothing new there! Now that I work from home I have more time to be creative in the kitchen, which makes me so happy!

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  10. I am so glad to see your posts! All of these recipes sound amazing. This covid thing has been so hard, but it is great that you enjoy working from home. I actually moved from the mountains of NC to Florida and am happily enjoying walks on the beach!

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    1. Wow, Penny, I feel as if you had just moved to the mountains of NC, that was a quick turnaround! Walks on the beach sound heavenly - it was -11F here this morning and I'm dreading going out to feed the birds and bring in wood!

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    2. We actually lived in NC for 20 years before moving back to Florida! We did buy, fix up, live in and sell 5 homes while there.

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  11. I think the tried and true is best for these winter meals we love, and nothing should be changed when it comes to meatloaf or a roasted chicken (and Ina keeps it basic and perfect!). I am so inspired by the cold weather, I make a recipe and freeze half, or portions. When we are stuck inside, sometimes we feel lazy and just want a basic recipe that brings comfort and memories. You've shared that to a T!!! Thanks so much Debbie!

    Jane x

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    1. Jane, so nice to hear from you, hope you're staying warm! I usually make enough for a few meals as well, and often my daughter reaps the benefits of that! When the freezer was stuffed prior to Christmas, I told her to get over here so I could make room for food for Christmas visitors....she's still enjoying the fruits of those labors!

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  12. All of the meals look and sound wonderful. Especially the soup!

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    1. Maybe you'll give it a try, Penny, although in Florida I'm sure you are eating much lighter fare such as seafood and salads. I look forward to that type of menu come spring!

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  13. Well now I am really hungry. Meatloaf mashed potatoes and gravy sounds good. I am currently trying to figure out my new instant pot. I use it for the first time last night and managed to undercooked rice. Hopefully I will get the hang of it soon. Hugs, Laura

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    1. I have an instant pot too, Laura. I use it mostly for making broth (slow cook at least 24 hours) and baked potatoes and baked sweet potatoes (pressure cook for about 25 mins) - Sweetie bought it for me a few years back but I guess I'm pretty old school and stick mostly to the stove/oven/grill!

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  14. Hi Debbie! Oh your house looks so clean and tidy! I can't keep mine that way with all the pets lol! (Plus I hate housework!!)...love the foodie photos. I'm the same way, always thinking about what's going to be for dinner! The spaghetti dish looks yummy! I made chicken meatballs and they are so delicious! But I have to say, I zoned out of everything when I saw those mashed potatoes and gravy lol! ;)))

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    1. What is it about mashed potatoes and gravy that just screams comfort food, Rain? As for keeping the house tidy, I hate to vacuum....so a few months back I broke down and got myself a robot vacuum - not a Roomba, but a Roborock. I can run it every day or so and it does a very decent job of keeping the floors tidy! It doesn't mop, but that's ok, as long as it picks up the debris from the floors that's such a big help!

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I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment...I truly love reading your comments and I try to respond to each and every one of your sweet comments right here on my blog page!