Thanks to those of you who have checked in via email and comments, to let us know that you are ok, despite this massive storm that has moved through your area. We continue to watch the news and are thinking about all of you. What a storm. 🙁
Since today is Halloween, I decided to share some fun blog posts from other people! These are some of the blogs that I read regularly, and don’t share them often enough with all of you. (And then scroll to the bottom of the post for a chance to win a treat from us!)
Want to see how some zoo animals react to pumpkins and masks and other Halloween celebrations? (I like the baby Cheetah trying to hide behind the pumpkin. Although the monkey and mask is cute, too.)
Here are some cute dinner ideas. (I like the Rice Krispie Candy Corn Cupcakes and the Mummies in a Blanket.)
My favorite food blog is the one my dear friend Monica writes. You might want to check out her:
Whole Grain Maple Pumpkin Spice Donuts (good any time this fall)
Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (and her other flavors of overnight oatmeal)
Hot Spiced Drinks (yum – hot apple cider!)
Maple Pumpkin Spiced Lattes (made in your slow cooker)
Baked Potato Soup (can also use leftover mashed potatoes. I made this last winter and it’s delicious.)
Of course she has tons of non-fall recipes, too. Check her recipe index.
Check out the Halloween Hay Bales, all dressed up for the holiday. (Mummy – ha!)
Free printable pumpkin carving patterns.
Last minute quick-and-easy costume ideas. (I can’t pick a favorite – several of them cracked me up! But Ceiling Fan? Love that.)
Creepy music to download for free.
Since we don’t get to go trick or treating with our own candy bag any more, we thought we’d put together a bag of treats for one lucky winner! (Shown here, $60 value.) If you’d like a chance to win, just leave a comment below and tell us your favorite food or drink that you make (or buy) when it’s cold and rainy and blustery and you just need something warm and wonderful. I tend towards soup when it’s cold outside. Even better if I can make it in the slow cooker so that it’s ready and smells wonderful when I get home from work. I have a few favorites. Wild Rice and Chicken Soup, Lasagne Soup, Cheddar Chowder, and Cold Weather Chili. Even better with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on the side. So what is your go-to food when it’s cold and you need something that warms you up? We’ll randomly draw a winner next week!
Sheri wishingIhadleftsoupintheslowcookerfordinnertonight
A hot spiced tea made with black tea, clove, cinnamon, allspice,various other spices, orange juice & pineapple juice and kept on low in the crockpot. Tastes great, has tons of vitamin C & makes the whole house smell delicious!
I love a nice thick creamy soup and rolls on a cold day. Afterwards I get out the needles and knit on something big to keep me warm!!
I love chicken with wild rice soup. Cinnamon orange spice tea is also great on cold days…
I have to vote for that wild rice & chicken soup you linked. I tried it when you first posted it…yum! Those “grown-up” grilled cheese sandwiches were pretty good too.
A big bowl of any kind of homemade soup and warm crusty bread. Tastes even better when you eat it in front of the fire!
I love soups. One of my favorites is a black-eyed peas and mustard greens soup. I also have great recipes for carrot ginger soup, pumpkin soup, and tomato soup.
Thick pea soup with warm bread!
I’m with you on the soup. For me it’s either Clam chowder or cheesy potato soup!
Beef stew! With nice, thick gravy to be sopped up with a thick slice of crusty bread. And there’s always room for a nice cup of tea.
I really miss my mom’s “noodle soup”. She would fix a pot roast in the crock pot, with big chunks of carrots and potatoes, and then the next day she added egg noodles to the leftover broth & more veggies (and maybe a scrap or two of meat if we hadn’t devoured it all yet) and turn that into soup.
I like roast chicken with vegetables or split pea soup. Yum!
Definitely my mom’s beef stew.
Chilli, and it has to be my mom’s recipe.
Frito Chili Pie, followed up with hot cocoa made with milk and Ghiradelli chocolate!
I have a couple. If it is rainy then I want grilled cheese and tomato soup. If it is a chilly evening then chili with cheese and onions. Hot chocolate has been sounding good lately too. My go to warm up drink is hot tea though. I’m currently in love with a Maple tea we got in Canada this summer.
Two words: Pot Roast. Makes the house smell wonderful and makes your mouth and your tummy feel wonderful.
Maybe not a traditional choice, and definitely not a tradition of my home country (Scotland), but right now my favourite go to meal is chilli con carne! Quick make, cheap ingredients and goes down a storm with the husband too.
Lamb shank soup with fresh buttered bread. Nothing better on a cold windy rainy day
Miso soup, but not the type that you get in most restaurants. I like it the way my partner makes it, thick with lots of julliened veggies, big chunks of mushrooms and tofue with a high-quality aged dark miso…. nom a nom!
Mini Meatball Minestrone is my favorite with warm crusty bread or rolls. YUM!
Homemade Chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. Yummm
Tomato soup and grilled cheese. Classic!!
My go-to cold weather food would be potato soup. It’s something my grandmother and mother always made when we weren’t feeling well as kids. Every time I make its like a great big family hug in a bowl.
Chicken noodle soup is a favorite at our house!
Pumpkin bisque!
We call it Nana Soup, because my MIL first made it for us. Quick and easy.
1 lb ground beef, browned
2 cans ranch style beans
2 cans minestrone
1-2 cans Rotel
Deeeeeeelicious!
I make a big pot of seafood gumbo that will warm anyone’s body and soul with the Creole seasoning lingering on your palette and in your belly!! Once you have made the gumbo, let it simmer on low heat the flavors permeate throughout the house.
mulled apple coder
My favorite go-to food when the weather’s cold outside is chili. If I can get it in a bread bowl (my favorite ski-day lunch!), all’s the better!
Apple Crisp. The house always smells just like grandma’s house when its baking. Brings back memories.
Cold day food…Crock pot full of chili, cheddar cheese rolls, and spiced cider. Or turkey/ noodle/veggie soup with peanut butter and honey sandwiches, hot cocoa.
If I’m in the mood for cooking, chili with avacado on top is my cold-weather favorite. If I’m more in the mood to eat right now, it’s a can of tomato soup and a grilled-cheese sandwich.
If it is just to warm me up on a cold day then I open a tin of Heinz vegetable soup and put some grated cheese in to melt. Perfect comfort food. I love it.
I love cooking in winter, but because we ski every weekend, I don’t seem to get to cook as much as I like. I think my favorite go to is my home made chicken soup and bread. Heats up the house and the tummy. 🙂
Beef stew with hot biscuits on the side!
I like to have a batch of chili in the crock pot. It’s nice to smell it cooking and know that supper is already done. I received my first order from The Loopy Ewe. It was great! I will be ordering again for sure. Everything was packaged and wrapped so nicely! The personal that you included is such a nice touch. It really made everything seem like such a treat! I’ve already asked my daughter to send me her Loopy Ewe Wishlist for my Christmas shopping.
Cheeseburger soup in the crock pot.
clam chowder.
The new england variety. nothing like it!
Potato & Leek chowder, topped with some sharp cheddar cheese.
my favorite cold weather meal is butternut squash soup and cornbread.
Our go-to comfort dish is chili over rice with cheese on top (we’re asian so we love the rice).
I like to make mulled cider when the weather starts to turn. I can curl up with a big mug and some knitting.
My comfort food is homemade chicken soup and fresh baked bread or rolls!
Mulled wine!!
Warm apple cider! yum!
Nothing like a pot of homemade chicken/veggie soup with a box of Mallowmars for dessert!
Homemade beef stew!
My go to meal when it’s cold is chili and jalapeño corn bread. Reminds me of my childhood and it warms me up and clears the sinuses!
Homemade Chicken Soup in the slow cooker
White chili and white corn bread. Great tasting and not so hard on white t-shirts. Never fails I get tomato sauce on my white t-shirts.