Favorite comfort foods?

[Longhorn]

Last night, I had grilled cheese and tomato soup -- my favorite comfort food meal. I hadn't had it in ages, either, especially the grilled cheese -- not on any diet I know of! ;)

What's your favorite?

[bearfan454]

1. Fettucine and meat balls for me

That's what I make for my comfort food.

[demnan]

2. Rigatoni in betchnel sauce

or if I don't have time to make that a bowl of vegetable soup and a thick piece of homemade bread.

[Frogtutor]

3. Homemade Mac & Cheese; Mmmmmm....n/t

[SOteric]

4. Egg pastina, tagliatelle Bolognese, linguine and white clam sauce,

sfoglia, bagna cauda, white bean and goat cheese salad, roated garlic and toast, arrabiatta...oh golly. I should be a lot bigger than I am.

[imenja]

8. did you grow up eating that?

I associate comfort food with child hood favorites. Were your parents gourmets?

[SOteric]

10. Yes, I grew up eating those things,

and my parents were Italian immigrants, and also, yes, my mother was a classically trained executive chef.

[imenja]

11. lucky you

Here I thought you were being pretentious. You must be a great cook!

[merci_me]

5. Mine are the same, but

the tomato soup has to be Campbell's made with milk and Hi-ho or Town House crackers along side or Campbell's Italian Tomato Basil with only a half can of water added to it.

For the grilled cheese, I like one slice of American and one of Munster, lots of butter and a side of sweet cucumber pickles. Oh and a diet Vanilla Pepsi.

I usually always have all of the ingredients on hand, except not always Munster. I should keep Munster on hand all the time, cause it seems like everytime I get the sniffles and need my comfort food, no Munster. Maybe if I had it here, I could keep the sicky at bay.

[Longhorn]

15. We have a lot in common!

I prefer Campbell's, too. We made it with milk last night but I really prefer it made with water. And I like any kind of cracker with it but especially Ritz. I like to plop one in, let it get good and coated but not soggy, and then eat it in one bite and on to the next!

I'll have to try your cheese combination -- I usually just use American. But I do like to make them with plenty of butter! And my favorite soft drink of all time is Diet Pepsi Vanilla! :D

[SW FL Dem]

29. Same here

We make Campbells tomato soup here as well. I make it with half low-fat milk and half water. The grilled cheese is with American on whole wheat. My only twist is from my veggie college days - I add a few tablespoons of small curd cottage cheese to my soup - mmm Delicious!!

[Stinky The Clown]

6. For pure, simple comfort ..... pasta with a bit of olive oil and some

parmesan cheese. If I'm feeling particularly desperate for deep comfort, I'll add a can of anchovies to the olive oil and heat it until the anchovies dissolve. They add flavor but no real "fishy" taste.


MmmmmMMMMMmmmm

[imenja]

7. potatoes, beans, oatmeal (not together!)

Anything with potatoes, mac and cheese. I also find beans very comforting because of the soft texture and they are completely healthy provided you don't load them up with sausage.
Another comfort food for me is oatmeal with raisins.
I love the grilled cheese, tomato soup combo. Best school lunch ever.

[NMDemDist2]

9. hmmmm two or three here

one is grits and soft fried eggs with cheese and butter

yankee pot roast with carrots and taters

meatloaf sandwiches

[fortyfeetunder]

12. Homemade chicken (or turkey) soup

With rice and veggies.

Lately, pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup)has been a welcome substitute.

[Eurobabe]

13. homemade bread with gobs of butter

mashed potatoes with gobs of butter, and macaroni and cheese.

In that order. Oh, my tummy is growling now!!

[NMDemDist2]

14. i see a pattern there I think

but i'm with you, gobs of butter or no butter at all, thank you very much

[Dora]

16. That's the best.

and if it's a grilled cheese on sourdough, then it's the BESTEST!

[yellowdogintexas]

17. really good Mexican food; Mac and Cheese;

good home made soup

and fresh warm bread w/butter definitely

[yellowdogintexas]

18. ALT tomato soup: Campbell's Tomato Bisque Soup...

with shredded cheese melted in it and some red pepper flakes.

Myhusband's personal favorite comfort food, his own invention.

Does NOT work with regular Cream of Tomato either, must be Tomato Bisque

[sleepyhead]

19. Tomato Bisque! Yummy!

My all-time favorite, but it's gotten very hard to find around here. Whenever I see it in the store, I buy as many as I can carry. I used to eat it with Kraft Mac & Cheese when I was in college. (Never eat the Kraft stuff any more; I am all grown up now and I make it from scratch!)

[NMDemDist2]

20. share that "all grown up" Mac and Cheese recipe huh? Please? n/t

[sleepyhead]

23. I'll do it this afternoon.

I have a very poor memory for recipes (there are actually 2 different ones that I use) so will pull out my notes later today and post them. (I have to run to work now - sigh!)

[NMDemDist2]

24. great thanks, I'm not a big Mac and Cheese fan, but hubby loves it n/t

[sleepyhead]

27. OK, here goes.

Baked Mac & Cheese w/eggs

1/2 lb pasta of choice
2 1/4 c. shredded cheese (I usually use sharp Cheddar, but it's also
good with Monterey Jack or Fontina)
2 eggs
1 c. milk (I use cream for extra decadence)
Salt/pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
Butter

Preheat oven to 375.
Boil pasta until not quite tender. Drain. Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Alternate layers of pasta and 2 c. cheese, ending with pasta.
Beat eggs thoroughly, mix in cream and seasoning. Pour over pasta and cheese. Top with remaining 1/4 c. cheese and dot with butter.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until set.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

When I am feeling even more ambitious, I use this next recipe:

Baked Mac & Cheese

For Bechamel sauce:
3 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
1/2 onion, minced
2 1/2 c. milk, warmed
10 peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan until bubbly. Add onion and cook until soft. Sprinkle with flour and stir well, allow to cook for a few minutes until flour is lightly browned. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Add peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, and nutmeg. Cook on lowest heat possible for 10 minutes. Sauce will be thick. Strain and reserve.

For mac & cheese:
1 lb. pasta of choice
3 c. Bechamel sauce
3/4 lb. cheese of choice (see above - you probably want a milder
cheese for this)
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
salt/pepper to taste
1 c. breadcrumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Boil pasta until not quite tender. Drain. Grease a 2 1/2 - quart baking dish. If using 2 cheeses, combine them. Alternate layers of 1/3 of the pasta, then 1/3 of the cheeses, then 1/3 of the sauce, sprinkling each layer with black pepper to taste. When all is used up, sprinkle top with bread crumbs if using. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until set.

Neither of these is exactly a low-calorie meal, but I make both of them frequently and they are delicious. The second recipe may even convert you into a mac & cheese lover!

[NMDemDist2]

28. thanks! n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

21. jeez, for a second there I thought I was replying to my husband

we have gone on safari, practically to get Tomato Bisque soup.

We also clean out the shelf when we find it in the store.

I like to use it in casserole recipes which call for tomato soup instead of the plain stuff.

Where do you live?

Target carries it here, also Albertson's and Kroger. And I think Tom Thumb also.

[sleepyhead]

30. I will have to make a trip to Target for soup!

I am in Brooklyn - occasionally I will find tomato bisque in one grocery store or another, but not consistently. When I lived in Chicago it was everywhere. We don't have any of the stores you mentioned around here. Boo hoo.

[Nicole]

22. Chicken & Dumplings

or white bean & ham soup.

[Frogtutor]

25. Oh! How could I forget chicken & dumplings?! n/t

[Blue Gardener]

35. Mmmm, Chicken and Dumplings

Mom always made the dumplings with Jiffy Mix, and they were wonderful. Very light and fluffy.

[Mrs. Overall]

26. An over-easy egg with crisp hash brown potatoes

The egg must be broken and a forkful of hash browns must be dipped in the gooey yolk. This makes me very happy.....

[Sparkly]

31. That pic in this thread cracked me up

I thought that was your comfort food! (A little hungry, are we?!)

(Edited: Now I got it... Longhorn... Duh! :dunce:)

For me it's home-made vegetable soup or minestrone!

[Dees]

32. Mac and cheese, meatloaf, fried chicken,

mashed taters, chili con carne, BLTs, blackberry cobbler and pot roast.

[Longhorn]

33. That's quite a meal!

;)

[WritersBlock]

34. Biscuits & gravy, chicken fried steak

And I'd give my eye teeth for a grilled cheese sandwich made with American cheese - not cheese food; cheese. I know it's disgusting processed yuckystuff to cheese afficionados, but I miss it. And cheddar's lovely, but sometimes you just gotta have stuff you grew up on.

[Blue Gardener]

36. Pancakes

Preferably blueberry, with lots of butter and syrup. And a big glass of orange juice.