Friday, March 13, 2009

Sit Back and Get Comforted

Mmmm…comfort foods. Who among us doesn’t have certain foods that they turn to when they just need to feel—well—comforted?

Here is a countdown of my five absolutely favorite comfort foods:

#5—Pasta of any kind, but especially Miss Healthypants’ Homemade Chicken Helper Pasta. I made up this dish (not from scratch exactly, since it’s mostly made of canned and packaged stuff), and I absolutely love it. Even Iwanski likes it—although he’s not generally a big pasta eater (unless you count Chef Boyardee). Here’s how you make it:

MISS HEALTHYPANTS’ HOMEMADE CHICKEN HELPER PASTA

Ingredients:

2 Bowls of “Bowl Appetit” Pasta Alfredo (I buy these at Walgreens.)

Lots of cut-up vegetables—whatever you have on-hand—I like to use:
--Bell peppers (Trader Joe’s sells frozen red, yellow, and green bell peppers strips—awesome!)
--A small can of mushrooms (rinsed in water to get rid of the crazy amounts of sodium in the can)
--Fresh spinach
--Fresh broccoli

Some olive oil (I like the fancy-schmancy jalapeno olive oil the best.)
1 teaspoon (more or less) fresh garlic
1 big (12.5 ounce) can of chicken in water (again, rinsed to get rid of the crazy amounts of sodium in the can)
Red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

Follow the directions to make the bowls of pasta. While that’s cooking away in the microwave, in a big pan or wok, sautee the garlic in the olive oil, and then add the veggies and mushrooms (if you like mushrooms) and sautee them. Add the chicken, and then add the cooked pasta. Add some red pepper flakes to taste, and then let the whole lovely mix simmer away for a few minutes.

And that’s it! Yummy!


My #4 favorite comfort food is:

Lazy Daisy Bars—these are the easiest cookie bars to make, and Iwanski and I love them. When I was just a wee little one, my Mom would make them all the time, so they really remind me of my childhood. Here’s the quick and easy recipe:

Lazy Daisy Bars

2 eggs
¼ cup water
¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup brown sugar
1 package yellow cake mix
6 oz. chocolate chips

Beat eggs—add water, butter, and sugar. Add cake mix
and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees in a 9x13 greased
pan for 15-20 minutes.


My #3 favorite comfort food is definitely grilled cheese sandwiches. Nothing like cheese to make you feel constip—oh, I mean comforted. I like Muenster cheese the best for my grilled sammich. And very recently, Buck introduced me to the best grilled cheese addition EVER—bread and butter pickled jalapenos. YUMMY!


My #2 favorite comfort food?—Tomato soup. Hell, if you’re gonna eat grilled cheese, you gotta have tomato soup!—at least in my opinion. There’s something about how that velvety soup mixes with the melty cheese on the sandwich…man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.


And my #1 favorite food (drum roll please) is definitely...Triscuits and cream cheese. I mean, what’s not to love about it?

Triscuits = good

Cream cheese = sinfully good

Triscuits + cream cheese = the best comfort food EVER.

I especially love the Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits, with the cream cheese. It’s a spicy, dry cracker with a creamy, cool topping—to me, it’s just the ultimate sitting-at-home-on-the-couch-in-my-fat-pants comfort food. I love love love it!

But it doesn’t love me—or at least my waistline. So alas, I have to be careful of how much Triscuits & cream cheese I devour on a daily basis. Sigh…

So there you have it, folks—Miss Healthypants’ top five favorite comfort foods. Honestly, I just don’t know how I’d live without them.

Now…I’m dying to find out what all your favorite comfort foods are—so tell me, dammit!

17 comments:

Sling said...

I just had one of my favorites this morning!..Scrambled eggs & hot dogs.

Cut 2 hot dogs into tiny pieces.
Fry until they smell like they're done.
Crack 2 eggs into the pan,and scramble the whole mess together.
Serve with a warm flour tortilla.
YUMMY!..
My mom would always give us 7-Up when we had fevers,or a stomache ache,so that is my favorite comfort drink.

Anonymous said...

after some debate (not really that much debate), I have my top 5 comfort foods:
5.)Burritos...with spanish rice, ooie gooie cheese, sour cream, refried beans, wrapped in a warm tortilla and smothered in either a red or brown mexican sauce. Yum...I can taste it now.
4.)Mushroom and swiss cheese omelette.
3.)Spinach dip with dark or rye bread to dip in it. (yummy sour cream, cream cheese, chopped water chestnuts, spinach and Knorr vegee dip mix...wonderful concoction!)
2.) anything (and I mean anything) chocolate. Self explanatory. Can't live without chocolate.
and my number 1 favorite comfort food is: Oatmeal. Old fashioned, cooked rolled oats with raisins, topped with some granola for just a little sweetness. I swear I could eat a bowl every day and never get sick of it. Comfort, comfort, comfort!
I will look forward to reading the lists! Thanks MHP for the idea! And, yes, Lazy daisy bars are one of my family's favorites as well. I thought you might mention brown sugar bumps...or whatever they are called, which I was deprived of, because our Mother decided to wait to share that with the youngest members of the tribe. Oh, Mom is good with the comfort foods, isn't she?

Chris said...

Mmm, tomato soup with fresh homemade bread. I love anything casserole-y with lots of cheese for comfort food. Especially mexican or pasta dishes.

Diane said...

Diane's top 5 comfort foods
1. I agree with Chris,,,casseroles
2. Warm bread or biscuits with cold chunks of butter
3. any type of cookies or bars
4. my mom's homemade chili
5. graham crackers spread with peanut butter & then sprinkled with chocolate chips

YUMMY!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

My favorite comfort food is sloppy joe's made with ketchup, a little mustard, and a little sugar. Served on hamburger buns, with potato chips. Yummy!!

I can also attest that the Lazy Daisy Bars are awesome...and they made a GREAT christmas present!!

Random Thinker said...

Comfort foods: 1) chicken & dumplings, 2) kraft macaroni & cheese 3) chili, 4) oreo cookies and 5 ) pb&j.

lisahgolden said...

Oh my gosh - yes! grilled cheese and tomato soup. That was my favorite lunch as a kid.

Mashed potatoes, toast with butter and strawberry jam and hot chocolate, ice cream (cold comfort?) and french fries. Yep - carbs all the way....

Unknown said...

I knew that Lisa would go for the cheese and soup. I on the other hand have no comfort food. If I am in a bad way. I can't eat. But if I want something sort of decadent - veal Parmesan and for dessert Bananas Foster. Oh and Hershey's Chocolate with Almonds.

rosemary said...

garlic bread, pasta with butter, cherry pie, chocolate ice cream, soy sausages, chili rellenos, lobster, and cherry cordials....a daily diet of these foods and I would no longer be crabby...dead maybe but not crabby or hugry.

Daisy's Mom said...

I don't have a comfort food either... all food comforts me... seriously, I love food.

But I do have a comfort activity. When I am upset, I clean the kitchen. REALLY clean the kitchen. Scrub the walls, wash out the cabinets, and scour the stove top clean the kitchen. I can deal with anything if my kitchen is immaculate.

Barb said...

Okay, now I'm hungry! Grilled cheese and tomato soup is probably my #1 comfort food. I usually boil some egg noodles and throw them in the tomato soup (made with milk, not water) and I have to admit I use american cheese on my grilled cheese but usually add a slice of something else (whatever is on hand) to "spice it up" a bit.

Anonymous said...

Can Daisy's Mom come to my house please? I promise to make her really, really upset.

Leah said...

TORTURE!! This post is TORTURE!! :)
My mom used to make us snacks of e triscuits w/ cream cheese & spanish olives-yum!

Maria said...

Ah. Scrambled eggs or mashers. And both have to be made with cream. And lots. of. butter.

LostInColor said...

I would have never thougt triscuits of being comfort food. Grilled Cheese and tomato soup, definitely!

Jeanna said...

You've listed the essentials I think. I love the pasta recipe.
We don't consider dessert comfort food around here, we consider it mandatory.
One of my favs is enchilada pie, it's basically layers of cheese, refried beans, enchilada sauce, and tortilla shells. A kind of Mex-American mac and cheese.

Br. Jonathan said...

I read this last night when I was having to fast all day. It was pure torture!