Comfort Food

Weather is unpredictable this time of year. Traveling in January is just a bad idea.  My car has very low ground clearance, so although it has snow tires, it can't clear more than a few inches of snow.  I planned to go to my Dad's three weeks in a row and couldn't make it because of snow or ice or both.  I finally made it last week and decided to stay longer than usual.  After being away from home all week, I was ready for comfort food.
Mr. C had eaten all the frozen dinners. He was ready for a home cooked dinner, too.  Bread is sparse on Dad's diabetic diet; that is what I was craving.  I decided to make buttermilk biscuits.  Ah, warm, buttery bites of goodness.

As you can see, I had plenty of help.

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

5 tbs unsalted butter

1 cup buttermilk

Directions

Combine all the dry ingredients.

Grate butter into dry ingredients and toss to coat.

Pour in buttermilk and toss to combine.

Turn out on flexible mat. 

Compress dough lightly by folding mat over dough.

Pat dough into a 1/2 - 3/4 inch high circle or square.
Cut out biscuits with cutter the size of your choosing.

Place biscuits on a try lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 500 F for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Dinner

Refried Beans with Monterey-Jack cheese

Buttermilk Biscuits

Broccoli

Browned New Potatoes

I am glad to be back home. I've missed you! 

See you again, soon.

The Sweet Potato Gnocchi Coincidence

I am a disaster at meal planning. When we are entertaining or having family in, I write out a menu and shop specifically for that/those meal(s).  Otherwise, I never plan meals.  My pantry is stocked with all kinds of rice and pasta as well as dried beans. Almost all the vegetables are store-fresh, whatever looks good that week. Wish I had a big garden!   Having protein sources on hand is easy because we are vegetarian. About the only perishable (refrigerated) protein I use is tofu. The rest is frozen or canned.  Meals are inspired by the GardenWeb cooking forum, a cooking show once in a while, or something I concoct in a hurry.

Yesterday Trader Joe's had samples of sweet potato gnocchi that was so good.  Lots of butter, onion, sage, thyme, and sweet potato. By coincidence, the frozen sage and thyme herb bread dough I had given up rising was ready to bake about bedtime last night. Ugh!  I stayed up and baked it.  A coincidence tasting the gnocchi, but inspired by it none the less, we had sweet potato-herb bread-sausage stuffing for supper.




Then there are the nights, last night for example, when I plan to be home by afternoon, but I am still away when Mr. C gets home. A quick call to tell him to make his own supper.  Frozen pizza - his life saver.  :~) Thankfully there were a few pieces left when I finally got home.

SWEET POTOTO DRESSING*


2 medium sweet potatoes, peel and cut sweet potato into 1/4-inch cubes
6 Tbs. butter
1/4 large onion, small dice
2 celery stalks, small dice
3 cloves garlic, mince
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. sage
1/8 - 1/4 tsp thyme
About 2 cup  Herb bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 MSF Breakfast patties, thawed and crumbled
3/4 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil sweet potatoes 2-3 minutes to slightly soften.
2. Melt 3 Tbs. butter in non-stick skillet.  Saute onion and celery until soft. Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds.
3. Add sweet potatoes to skillet.  
4. Melt 3 Tbs. of butter in the same skillet and add cubed bread. Coat bread with butter and cook until just beginning to brown.
5. Sprinkle herbs to taste.
6. Pour chicken broth over mixture. Warm through. Add additional chicken broth as needed.
7. Add crumbled breakfast patties to the skillet mixture.
8. Salt and pepper to taste.

Made enough for 2 servings and a little left over for lunch.

*I did not measure ingredients when making this dressing. This recipe is a starting point. Use as a guideline and adjust to your taste. 

Potatoes and Eggs

5 small potatoes, peeled if desired, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 cup pepper, diced (I used red pepper)

3 Tbs. onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

3 eggs

In a little olive oil, saute pepper, onions and celery. Set aside. 

In the same skillet, fry potatoes in oil until crisp.

Scramble eggs with salt and pepper. Cut into small pieces.

Add onion, pepper, celery and egg to potatoes. Toss and serve. 

Top with cheese, salsa or ketchup if desired. 


Cotehele's Recipe