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
Chili — in a bunch of varieties. I like a variety of beans (black, chickpeas and black eyed peas) and lots of peppers and onions. It’s best when it is thick and topped with cheese. Bring on the tortilla chips!
Home made navy bean soup with ham and bacon along with crusty rolls and fresh butter.
For me it is home made chicken and dumplings. Warms the tummy!
Chili is the go-to recipe in our house during cold weather. And, we love to make hot chocolate with whipped cream after a good session of snow shoveling.
I love Chili on a cold day. I also love the Keurig Hot Apple Cider YUM
Thank you 🙂
I tend toward soups and stews when it’s cold, too. From chili, potato soup, lentil stew, white chili, beef/vegetable stew, to minestrone, and chicken and wild rice stew.
For me, it’s also soup. That, or anything involving butternut squash! So I guess I can narrow it down and say butternut squash soup!
I love throwing random stuff on my slow cooker (OK: not too random, things that I think would go well together!) in the morning and come back home from work to find a new surprise (usually it turns out pretty good!). But, my favorite comfort food when it’s cold outside is a “quiche tatin” (here is a link for a recipe: http://irishherault.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/quiche-tatin-recipes/). Basically, it’s a salty upside down pie made with bacon, potatoes, Swiss and goat cheeses. It’s easy and delicious, believe me! Moving from South of France to Indiana many years ago was a shock for me during the first winter (and it still is…), and quiche tatins are what help me to lift up my spirit and make winters more bearable 🙂
Lynn Rosetta Kasper’s vegetable soup is the best! That a nice cup of tea.
Definitely soup- Weight Watchers Potato soup
I always go for chicken and dumplings – they’re so good, and awesome as left-overs.
Chai latte with soy milk. Or chamomile tea and a nice pastry. Soup is also wonderful, especially pumpkin or squash at this time of year.
Gosh – so many good options from people! BUT – My all-time-favorite-every-year-for-30-years-when-the-cool-weather-starts drink is spiced orange tea! This has been around forever and probably isn’t anything new to lots of people, but here’s the recipe: Mix together 1 cup plain white sugar, 1 cup orange drink mix (Tang), 1 cup intant iced tea (unsweetened), 1 tablespoon ground cloves, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon. ( more or less on the spices – it’s all a matter of taste). When all of this is mixed up really well, add 3 (+/-) teaspoons to a cup of hot water. (I usually add about 4). YUUUUUMMMMMMMM. Soothing, warm, sweet. I’m sure all that sugar is soooooo bad – but gosh, this is yummy on a blustry day!
Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate!
For me it’s a cup of Chai Tea, it warms me up!
Warm vegetable soup with pesto
I’m a big Chili fan, with cornbread! 🙂
Our favorite cool weather meal is homemade vegetable soup with crusty bread and warm apple pie for dessert. Mmm!
I can wait to try the pumpkin oatmeal – I love that it has a gluten free option too!! Anything pumpkin is my choice this time of year! When I can’t just eat dessert, I go for some plain old spahgetti with my mom’s sauce – there’s something about the childhood memories of my mom’s sauce and knowing that nothing else out there can match it!!
Chili or tomato soup and grilled cheese. Hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows is also a must!
Pot roast with roasted parsnips, carrots and potatoes, yum!
I love wild rice soup when it’s cold outside!
soup soup soup, especially with lots of chicken , celery and carrot in it..
but for a quick fix my yummy rice porridge with dried fruits is perfect as well
Hands down… hot chocolate!
My cold weather comfort food favorites are: Shepherd’s Pie-my family loves this! Chilli, Sausage Gravy and Homemade Biscuts, Wedding Soup, Apple Cake served warm with carmel sauce and whipped cream.
I love to make my grandma’s potato soup recipe. It’s easy, I always have the ingredients and it makes a ton!
I make Mushroom Hot Pot – it’s the vegan equivalent of chicken soup!
http://www.theppk.com/2011/10/mushroom-hot-pot/
I make pumpkin-mushroom soup! Its delicious, warm, and best of all VERY FAST and EASY! Heats us very well as leftovers, too : )
Beef Stew is my favorite cold weather meal!
Chicken pot pie is my all time favorite comfort food.
I’m so hungry having read all these posts ! For me… beef stew and homemade biscuits ( topped with homemade strawberry jam) . My mother’s applesauce cooking on the wood stove and ginger cookies . Hot cocoa with Baileys !
I make chicken chili. A lot of fresh herbs. Make in a pressure cooker
A nice cup of hot, spiced cider really hits the spot for me on a cool day. It goes very nicely with knitting!
When the weather turns the first thing that happens is that I start drinking a lot of hot tea. I find that I just always want a mug near me. I also start really craving big bowls of chili with jalepenos and cheddar cheese, and on days when I want something a little lighter it’s french onion soup. Hmm… I see a melty cheese theme here. No cheese in the tea though, that’d be weird.
Mmm pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie.
I like to put a packet of hot chocolate mix in some coffee. Delicious!
My favorite go to meal when it gets cold is chicken and sausage gumbo! I take an entire day to make it, and it tastes best the next day.
I love beans… Mixed beans with spicy sausage simmered on the stove for most of the day with garlic bread, crunchy out of the oven.
Chili or chicken soup, homemade.
Our homemade vegetable soup, which we have been making for 30+ years, really hits the spot on those cold rainy days!
I anything hearty and slow-cooked on a slow day. I don’t know why slow makes it better, but it sure seems to! I’ll be making my grandma’s beef stroganoff this weekend.
Hot chocolate!
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are my go to food on a cold day!
Nothing warms me fater than a bowl of home made chili. Yum!
Fater and faster.
Another chili on a cold day lover!
Pumpkin spice lattes are my #1 choice!! I also like tea any flavor and clam chowder.
As Spanish as I am ( Puerto Rican )
My mother would make a nice Spanish soup when I’m cold that what I make a nice creamy Spanish soup ., with chicken chunks delishes .
Shrimp chowder! Yum!
We love Hamburger Soup when it gets cold and rainy. It just has hamburger, onions, canned tomatoes, cubed potatoes and carrots, a small can of corn and green beans and some chopped cabbage if we have some. Pair it with sourdough bread and it’s wonderful.