This Comfort Beef Stew is easy to make, but not as simple as my Comfort Chicken Soup because I sauté the meat before putting it in the crock pot. This takes time and means an extra pan to wash, but well worth the effort.

Ingredients:
• 2 ½ pounds stew beef
• ¼ pound pancetta (no need for broth)
• carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, sliced or chopped (These are my favorites, but add your own)
• 1 teaspoon cumin (again, my favorite, but add your own)
• salt & pepper
• noodles

In a frying pan:
• Saute the pancetta, remove to a crock pot
• Coat beef with flour, salt and pepper, braise, add to the pot
• Add vegetables and spices to the pot and cover with water.
• Cook slowly for six or so hours.

Some people add potatoes, but I usually boil noodles and add them toward the end.  Using two packages makes the recipe go a long way; I simply have several meals in the freezer, or I can feed a crowd.

        This is my ten year-old granddaughter’s specialty. Thanks, Abigail, for writing it up, taking the pictures, and emailing it along. And thank you for being willing to share it with all my cottage-by-the-sea friends. It is sooo yummy, simple to make, and good for you, too. I wish you were here.

Guacamole
   Ingredients:
1. 1 avocado
2. 1 small spoonful of Dijon mustard
3. 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)
4. 1 half diced tomato (optional)
5. 2 shakes of salt & pepper each

        Recipe:
1. Cut avocado in half
2. Take pit out
3. Scoop avocado into bowl
4. Smush avocado with fork
5. Add mustard
6. Add S&P
7. Add lemon juice
8. Add tomatoes
9. Eat with Tostitoes chips
10. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

This is from my daughter, who adapted it from “Cook’s Illustrated”. We both double the recipe.

Classic Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
6 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cups whole milk
8 ounces (2 cups) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Make macaroni, drain, set aside.  Do not undercook.

In large pot, heat butter over medium-high hear until foaming.  Add flour, mustard and cayenne.  Whisk well to combine, about a minute. Gradually whisk in milk, bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly.  Mixture must reach full boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer, about 5 minutes.  Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1 teaspoon salt until cheeses are fully melted.  Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes.  Transfer to baking dish.  Add bread crumbs if you want (I don't usually put those on.).  Broil if you want!   

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Broccoli-Cheese  Soup

My sister gave me this recipe from “Cooks Illustrated.” Here is my rendition. This is not the most simple soup in the world to make, but it isn’t complex either. And it is yummy and nutritious.

Heat 2 Tablespoons butter in large pot or Dutch oven.
When foaming subsides, add:
2 pounds broccoli, florets and stems, chopped in 2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
(optional: two medium garlic cloves, pressed)
Cook, stirring frequently for 6 minutes

Add:
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring once.

Add:
2 cups chicken broth
2-3 cups water

When simmering, add:
2 ounces (2 loosely packed cups) baby spinach
Cook for about one minute until wilted.

Blend mixture. I use a food processor but you can use a blender. Blend to desired consistency. I like the texture of a few small lumps.
Add to the mixture:
1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (3 ounces)
¾ cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Return to Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Add water to adjust consistency of soup
Salt and pepper to taste

You may find that it is a little difficult to find all of the ingredients in the photograph. Here is a clue. I buy herbs and spices, in this case the dry mustard, in bulk. Whenever I can, I roast a chicken for a couple of meals and then make chicken broth.

Yorkshire Pudding
      Now here is the ultimate comfort food, the comfort being in the pudding itself and in the accompanying roast beef and gravy. And, it’s easy to make.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Put 1/3 stick of butter in a 9x11 pan (I use Pyrex)
Melt in preheating oven.

In an electric mixing bowl
Beat 4 eggs
Add 1 ½ cups four
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
Beat for two or so minutes.

Pour into Pyrex with the sizzling butter.
Bake for ½ hour or until golden brown.

Simple tips~
• I prefer an electric mixing bowl but an electric hand beater will do.
• Yorkshire pudding recipes call for the drippings from the roast beef rather than for butter, but I like to use the drippings for gravy.
• Do not compromise: be sure to use butter.
• I make the pudding before I cook the beef, especially if I only have one oven. It will stay warm on the top of the stove, but then I turn off the oven, stick it back in while making the gravy.
• Do not skimp: I want to have plenty for everyone so if I’m serving more than four people I make two batches, mixing one at a time. I put the first aside in a bowl and then pour each batch into a separate Pyrex and bake at the same time.

        When asked what she’d like to eat when visiting us, my six-year old granddaughter requested, “Meatballs-Made-by-Her.” I’m the “Her”, and you know about meatballs.The comforting thing about them is
that they are easy to make.

In a food processor add the following:
2 pieces of bread (great use of the heal or those pathetic slices left in the bag)
1 medium onion
1 egg
¼ cup milk
1 Teaspoon salt
1 ¼ pound of 90% lean hamburger

Form into balls. Now here are your choices.

* Microwave  and serve with sauce
* Put in baggies and freeze in meals sizes. I usually microwave them just a little so they keep their shape.
* Fry them. Gives a different flavor, but remember, now you have another pan to wash.

        Before I begin, let me review one of my rules for Comfort Food—it must be delicious but it does not need to be nutritious. And yet, let’s face it, don’t we feel exonerate, and maybe even “holier than thou,” when we prepare something that is both?
      Today I’m feeling healthy and wise as I make my version of Carrot-Cauliflower with Tarragon Soup from “The Body Ecology Diet,” by Donna Gates. (The book was given to me by Grace, my nutritionist/nurse friend at Deborah’s Natural Gourmet in West Concord, MA--check out the store’s website.) This soup is simple to make, especially since the cooks (that’s you and me trying instill a modicum of simplicity into our lives) don’t need to be precise about the amounts of each ingredient.

Here it is, Comfort Carrot-Cauliflower Soup. The official recipe calls it creamy. It may look and taste creamy but there’s not a smidge of cream in it.

In a large pot, sauté until translucent:
1 medium onion in
2 Tablespoons butter (or ghee) and
1 Tablespoon dried tarragon (I love tarragon)

Add:
2 cups diced carrots
1 cauliflower head, cut into floweret size (“What does she mean?” you ask.  You’ll figure it out.)  

Cover with water and simmer for a half hour or until tender.
When cool, blend the mixture, and return it to the pot.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for ten minutes.

There you have it, a creamy comfort soup without the cream. You can create your own variations to the recipe, such as substituting chicken broth for the water, but I want to keep it simple for you. 

         My daughter makes these every New Year’s Eve, but I promise you, they are delicious any time of year.  I haven’t given you the specific amounts of each ingredient, but not to worry, you’ll figure it out. It’s all in the taste and texture. What you’re aiming for is a just the right spreading consistency, and of course, enough for everyone.
     An added benefit is that you can use up all the cheese that accumulates in your refrigerator. Except for the sour cream, I usually have everything on hand so I don’t need to make a special trip to the store.

Here you go. Simple!
In a food processor grate  
    Two or three different cheeses (one orange, for color)
Add equal amounts of
    Sour cream  
    Mayonnaise                                                                       
Add
    Onion salt—optional
Spread on
    Stone Wheat Crackers
Sprinkle
     Paprika, for color
Broil and serve.

   Of course all brownies are comforting but these are especially so because after adding the first ingredient to the Cuisinart, it takes only 15 minutes before I am shoving the pan into the oven. How simple is that for comfort on a busy holiday morning?
    I got this recipe for brownies from a friend of my mother’s when I was a teenager and have been making them ever since. My mom, a proud-confessing chocoholic, always made chocolate brownies, the kind where you have to melt the chocolate, which takes time and produces another pan to wash. Ugh. We’d always tried to convince her not to add nuts, but she held strong to her idea that there was a right way, which was to follow the recipe exactly.
    For sure, these Brown Sugar Brownies are simple to make. But it is the taste that is the most comforting, all the way from the yummy batter, to the chocolate bits, to the finished product. Give it a try, unless, of course you don’t like brownies. In that case, how about comforting a friend?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor mix:
3 eggs
2/3 cup margarine
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix in
2 cups flour (if you want a little nutrition, substitute a cup of whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Add
1 cup chocolate bits
Put mixture a 9x11 pan and shove into the oven. (I use a Pyrex pan and spray it with Pam.)
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe (Blog 12/7/10)
 Throw (not literally but I guess you could) into a crock pot:
• 3 pounds chicken breast, cut in bit size pieces
• 1 large onion, sliced           
• 6 carrots, diced           
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 3 celery hearts, diced
• 1 quart chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon tarragon (the blog says 2 teaspoons, but when I tasted it, I decided it needed more)
         I cook this for eight hours under low heat, but you can be flexible about the time and temperature.
          Before serving, add cooked noodles. I use wide one, but any size or kind will do.


Keep it simple
• It takes me about twenty minutes to cut and slice and get the soup simmering.
• Add other ingredients such as green beans, parsnips, parsley, ­­­­­­your favorite_______.
• To stretch it out, add more broth and noodles. Of course this depends on the size of your crock pot.
• Easy to freeze.
This recipe gives you
• a comforting meal for a large group of people
• plenty of meals for yourself and your family
• meals to share with others.