Have I mentioned before that I have a bag problem, issues with too many bags, more bags than I could ever use, a lovely collection of knitting bags? I think bags appeal to my “I want to be organized” nature. Or my “Oh, isn’t that beautiful? I need that.” nature. Therefore, we tend to carry a lot of different bag options for you at The Loopy Ewe, and I have personally tested and used each type. (Yeah, that’s it. I NEED to be testing all of these lines….) At the moment, I have three favorites (and I’m fickle. This will change with the wind.) I love my Offhand Designs Weekender bag. I packed this one to the gills and took it with us on Spring Break. It holds so much, and it’s in my favorite colors, Peppermint Mocha. (They call it Ruby Splash, but it’s clearly Peppermint Mocha.) We got a lot of different 
fabrics in, but I went for that one right out of the box. Another favorite is my new Atenti bag, which arrived last week. I will admit to having trouble picking out the one I wanted, because they’re all so cute. I picked Pops, but I have my eye on two others as well. This is another bag that would hold a whole weeks worth of knitting if you were to take it on vacation. (It also makes a great carry-on bag if you fly.) The fabrics are gorgeous and the workmanship is top notch. I love this new line. A lot of you are getting these in the mail this week and I know you’re going to be so happy with them. We have another order to put in with them already. My other favorite bag is my Namaste Laguna bag that I just received in the new Peacock color. 
I like how soft the animal-friendly faux leather is, I like that I can just wipe it off with a damp sponge if someone’s Latte should happen to drip, and I like how roomy it is inside. We just got a whole new shipment of all of the colors (and the new Newport Style bag) in and put them all up today. I know you’ve been waiting on them! (Several of you also have bag problems lovely knitting bag collections, and I like that about you.) Oh – and the Red Canvas Loopy Sock Bags are back in stock, too. Another bag that I like….
Remember that Little Loopy mentioned that we have Elf Cassie working here for the summer? Cassie is in college and will be getting married this summer (but we get to keep her until August). Her brother and sister have taken to calling her “Keebz”, since she’s a Loopy Elf and they liken that to the Keebler Elves. (Doesn’t that sound like a brother/sister thing to do?) They bought her a fun shower gift – a Loopy T-Shirt – and they personalized the back for her. Here she is showing the front and the back in the photo. We thought it was really cute and made her wear it around Loopy Central today. (Does that make her fiance “Mr. Keebz”? Just wondering.)
Today’s recipe is a delicious Macaroni and Cheese dish that takes comfort food to a whole new level. YUM!!
Mac and Cheese Crumble
1 pound pasta (corkscrew holds the sauce on best, but use your favorite)
4 slices day old bread
1 Tbl. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
1/2 lb. Gruyere cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
1/2 lb. fontina or provolone cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
1/2 lb. bacon, cut into 1 ” strips
10 Tbl. butter (unsalted)
3 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup flour
Stir fry bacon pieces in a large saute pan until done. Remove to drain on paper towels. Chop bread by hand or in a food processor until crumbly. Add 2 Tbl. bacon drippings to 3 Tbl. butter in a pan, and toss in bread crumbs. Stir until they are lightly golden and crisp. Set aside.
Cheese Sauce: Heat milk over medium heat (do not boil). Melt 6 Tbl. butter in a separate saucepan and whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in warmed milk next and cook until it starts to thicken (stirring occasionally.) Remove from heat and add in your cheeses, stirring until melted. Add bacon and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook pasta about 8-9 minutes in a large pot of salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add pasta to cheese combination and stir well. Put in 9 x 13 pan and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbling.
June Blog Contest: I know you’re not supposed to view food as “comfort” – any smart dieter will tell you that. Nevertheless, there are some foods (like mac and cheese) that just DO make you feel better. 🙂 At least until you get on the scale again. Leave a comment and let us know what your favorite comfort food is – this could be something that you like to eat now, or something that you liked to eat growing up. We’ll use the random number generator to pick a winner next Friday from all of the comments. (The winners of our monthly blog contests receive a $30 gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe. Maybe you need a new bag??)
Sheri funtoseesomanyofyousigningupforthenextKAL!
When the Twin Towers fell, my daughter had just been born 6 weeks earlier, and my MIL had died two days before, I remember baking pan after pan of Toll House Bars….Almost one pan everyday for the whole family to share. I think this went on for a few weeks, so I would have to say that is my comfort food x infinity.
For a meal, I LOVE Indian Daal soup with garlic naan…yummmmm, i could live on that, with some Toll House Cookie Bars and Ben And Jerry’s Creme Brulee ice cream for dessert…..just finished of the end of a pint tonight:) Love yah!! juli
Favorite comfort food: cheese grits. Sorry, you asked 🙂
Glad to see you used unsalted butter. That made it like totally healthy!!! Not!
My comfort food of choice right now is Whoppers. I can eat about 25 of them at one sitting. It’s the malted milk ball ones, silly! Not the Burger King ones!
Oh Lord…Squash Casserole!!! Not just a Thanksgiving staple in my house, it is probably my favorite comfort food. It’s basically a load of yellow squash, cheddar cheese, diced sweet onions and green peppers, some mayo, i think an egg, and then more cheese and breadcrumbs with some butter on top. Most Thanksgiving leftovers last a week or so in my small household of my mother and I, but the squash casserole is gone by the next day. Speaking of which, I have some squash in the fridge…hmmm…
Mmmm, when I was a kid, nothing was better than a peanut butter and Fluff sandwich. When you found one of those in your lunch bag, you knew Mom loved you a whole lot! 🙂
my favourite comfort food… chocolate chip cookies. Nice thick, semi chewy, warm from the oven with big chunks of dark and milk chocolate. LOVE those.
(has a slight problem with too many purses, which is daily trying to become a new collection of knitting bags *sigh*)
My favorite comfort food is real rye bread with caraway seeds toasted up and smeared with a bit of butter. And my favorite comfort drink is tea, tea, tea, and more tea.
Wow, that’s a hard one. Grilled cheese is a perennial favorite. And the favorite Texas comfort food nibble has to be chile con queso made with Velveeta and a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles all melted together and served with tortilla chips.
But, in the summer, my favorite thing to eat that always brightens my day is tomatoes. But not just any tomatoes. I either want the ones I grow, or, if they aren’t ready yet then I want Bettye’s Tomatoes from the Farmer’s Market. And Texas peaches. And blueberries. Preferably cobblerized ;>
And ginormous glasses of iced tea to wash it all down!
What a gorgeous, gorgeous bags!!!!
Must be a comfort to use…:-)
My comfort food is soup! On warm days gazpacho or zuchinisoup, on cold days carrotsoup or ministrone! To be honest and not modest: I’m one of the best soup makers in the world!
Do come by to taste it if you ever visit Amsterdam. 🙂
Comfort foods for me depend on the time of day and the mood I suppose…
Morning, it’s definitely a nice hot hazelnut latte (or iced if it’s hot out) and a bagel. Depends on the day as to what I want on it…
Afternoon, tomato soup and grilled cheese… mmmmmmm (although it’s not Campbell’s anymore, these days it’s Pacific brand organic roasted red pepper and tomato.)
At night, rich chocolaty brownies… the more chocolate the better…. turtle or german chocolate are awesome!
My favourite comfort food at the moment is a lemon sorbet thickshake – yummo!! The ice cream shop where we used to live made such nice ones … very refreshing in summer.
I am going to admit my ultimate comfort food – it’s taco bell. Nachos Bell Grande. It’s gross and yet yummy. This goes back to high school and college and this little job I had at a now closed family attraction in Orlando one summer and my HS BFF and I would go to Taco Bell and … well … now when I am really in a funk and even yarn buying won’t help, I hit the Bell.
My favorite food is spaghetti with homemade pepperoni sauce! (family recipie!)Might make some today for I can blame it on the baby! LOL!!!
My favorite comfort food would probably be freshly baked M & M cookies.
Dark chocolate dipped in almond butter!
My favorite comfort food is pasta tossed in pesto. Eating pasta, as I’m sure for most, sort of slows me down a bit. The earthy taste of a good homemade pesto, with lots of basil and pine nuts, helps to provide the sense of calm and security of my home.
Down in the Bog Chocolate Chunk cookies would be a close second 🙂
My favourite comfort food is chocolate….pretty much anything chocolate. That or anything sweet. Oh, and ice cream – that is always comforting, particularly mint chocolate chip! And if I’m desiring salty comfort food, I turn to Baked Lays chips. Such a shame they don’t have those here in South Korea. Thankfully, I’m heading home at the end of August, and then I can get me some Baked Lays!!
I think my fave Winter comfort food would have to be hot beef stew with lots of yummy carrots, potatoes, and turnips in yummy gravy.
In Summer I have a breakfast comfort food, but it’s only available in Denmark unfortunately: koldskal & kammerjunkere. You can see what it looks like here: http://www.kiltang.com/2008/05/11/koldskal/
Basically it’s a kind of milk with a light lemony flavor and you add these little vanilla cookie-like things to it -YUM!
I woudl have to say I have two favorite comfort foods – my mom’s fried chicken and popcorn. Give me a big bowl of buttery popcorn and a good book to curl up with on a rainly day.
I knew I should have stopped in yesterday. I could have fondled a Namaste bag and had it sitting next to me right now. Must remember to listen to inner voice!!!!
Homemade mac and cheese and my moms swiss steak and mashed potatoes are my Comfort food favs. I’m so thankful I’m reading this early in the morning. I have some great dinner ideas for the coming week.
Comfort food? Two words… Apple Pie!
The new bags are gorgeous! My favorite comfort food is potato cheese soup with bacon, pasta, and cheese!!
My alltime fave is choclate. It never fails!
Definitely homemade Mac and Cheese and warm Apple Pie with ice cream.
My fave comfort foods are grilled cheese and tomato soup. Mom always made this when it rained or we played outside in the snow for hours.
OMG, I can think of so many meals and foods that always seem so comforting, and yummy, and filled with love because my mother is such a great cook.
My comfort food would be soup of any kind. I love my Mom’s Confetti Soup, a simple potato soup loaded with bits of celery and carrots and topped with crumbled bacon. Yummy!
That is easy B A C O N.
or any other pork product for that matter. I regularly thank God that pigs were made at all!!
Yep….I am glad for my husband, my kids, knitting, running and BACON. Without any of them I would feel less satisfied!
For me, comfort food is very simple, something someone else makes. Nothing fancy, really. My youngest grandaughter and I share another comfort food, buttered saltines. My mother would make these for us when we were sickly and put them under the broiler until they were warm and bubbly and just a little toasty. Yummmmm. Emily and I eat them cold, without the broiler step. (we can’t wait).
I love all the bags, but would generally spend my money on what I could tuck into them.
My favorite comfort food is a soft boiled egg in a bowl with ripped pieces of bread.
My mom used to make it for me when I was sick or just bummed.
I keep trying to make it just like her but it’s definitely missing something when I make it.
My comfort foods are ice cream and mashed potoes with sour cream, butter, salt and pepper.
those bags are lovely! You always have so many nice things at your place– I don’t know how you work all day with all the fun things available to you.
My favorite comfort food sounds gross: Gourmet Sausage casserole. Its something my mom made in the 80s that was sophisticated in it’s time but sounds scary today, but I still love it. Bulk sausage, rice, dried chicken noodle soup mix, green pepper and onion, and the secret ingredient, water chestnuts! How can you not want some of that, right? ha!
Kaluskl a la my Babka! It’s like spaetzle swimming in clarified butter, bacon, and onion. Always accompanied by steamed cabbage and cottage cheese! Oh and a glass of milk is also required:)
As a true southern girl, my favorite comfort foods are chicken and dumplings and banana pudding. You can’t go wrong with the carbs and the sugar. I’ll miss y’all this week leaving on vacation to the Outter Banks
of NC and of course Loopy is going too. I hope he likes sand and waves.
DH wanted to know why there are so many bags. Should I tell him one is just my knitting for the week?…I don’t so and of course I have to have room to pack after the visits the LYSs!!
Oh comfort foods, where shall I begin? When I’m down and out, and not feeling well, I like the comfort of my mother’s Chicken corn soup – it’s PA dutch. Chicken in a chicken base, of course, with corn (usually frozen off the cob), and rivels (little hunks of dough), with parsley, and salt. It’s just delicious, and try as I may, I cannot replicate her soup, even using the exact recipe…………Gosh, my mom is great! 🙂
My fave is graham crackers and milk. Whenever I just want to sit and veg (not as often anymore with knitting, heh heh, but I can’t nom on yarn for sustenance), I pull out the Honey Grahams. One cello-wrapped package is all it takes. I pour milk into a clear glass mug that I’ve specified (in my head only) especially for this purpose, grab a plate to hold the package of crackers and to catch any crumbs, then go find a comfy place.
I sit on the floor with back against the couch or balance the plate and cup on my lap while internetting. Taking the single cracker in hand, I crack it in half along the perforations then double it up to crack again. Four rectangles in hand sandwiched together go down to the depths of the moo juice. Ahh, not long enough to fall apart and just long enough to still have some – just a little – crumble crunch. I lift to my mouth, and nom down without really chewing. Ummm. That’s so good. Lick the fingers and proceed to the next wafer please!
I hope I never grow up!
I think I’m like a lot of the others and have to go with grilled cheese and tomato soup. Nothing better when you’re not feeling well or just can’t come up with anything else for supper! 🙂
The mac and cheese looks great! Think I’ll have to try that one!
Chocolate. Plain and simple. I eat it when I am happy, sad, worried, celebrating, by myself or in the company of friends. And because I get such comfort from it my family knows that I do not share!
My comfort food is, and always has been, cold cereal. Specifically, plain Cheerios in vanilla soymilk. It’s what I eat a lot of when I’m feeling really stressed out.
Another one is Dove Dark Chocolates, but the cereal one is way healthier 😉
Comfort food!!! Biscuits with honey or jelly. Pot roast with potatoes and carrots. Best stuff on earth when you’re grieving, in need of an internal hug, or just plain need good wholesome food that reminds you of home. I have been eating a lot of comfort food lately. 🙂 And I m better for it!
Comfort food? Chili! Pop it all in the crockpot before work and then pick up a fresh loaf of bread at the bakery on the way home. Come home, freshen the loaf in the oven for about 10 mins and dish out that chili. Yummy! And after dinner? Anything chocolate will do, but hot chocolate chip cookies from the oven are the best to snuggle with a fresh cup of coffee.
Love all the new items on the website. My credit card company is going to love me this summer… /wry g/
Piping hot french fries. Not much better!
Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. It brings home back to me so fast it’s not even funny.
As for beverages, nothing really beats hot cocoa. 🙂 Especially with a solid pinch of a nice spicy cinnamon.
Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese – no question. Yum!
Chicken and dumplings or chocolate depending on the kind of comfort that I need.
Comfort food…Ben & Jerry’s icecream 🙂 Especially Caramel Chew Chew and Peace of Cake…incredibly expensive though so only for special occasions. Anything that is regarded as not the most healthy choice is often comfort food for me…pizza, baked potatoes…sooo bad and yet soooo good 😉
Tomato soup and grilled cheese!
Home made navy bean soup with fried bread dough.
My favorite comfort food is Thanksgiving fare – turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and giblet gravy over all of it! I always remember coming home for Thanksgiving, seeing all my family, and just basking in the the love and triptophan (sp?)….
When I was sick my granny would make me a soft boiled egg with salt, pepper, butter and some toast broken up in it. And the Laguna in saddle has been quitely whispering to me. Occasionally it has begun to YELL.
Comfort food? Depends on how much comforting is needed. A basic comfort food is french fries drowned in brown gravy. If I need serious comfort, I agree with one of the other commenters – McDonald’s. Bring on the grease and cheese!