Ahhh the joys of winter. The winds that cut through your flesh as easily as a knife slices through butter. Snow drifts so big that after all the rest of the snow is melted in May (if we’re lucky), there will still be remnants of those drifts for another two weeks. And my personal favorite, ice. Ice covering every object that doesn’t move. There is nothing like having to get up at the crack of dawn for work, rushing to get ready on time and then walking out to your car to discover the doors are frozen shut. Ahh yes, how I love winter.
Puh-lease.
But there is one thing about winter that I do love.. warm and cozy comfort foods. It’s around August or September that I’ll start looking at my crock pot with a longing that comes from memories of past wintery cold evenings, cozy in my little house enjoying the mouth watering aromas coming from that pot. Or how I feel the need to just hug my oven come December. For she is the main source of warmth and deliciousness in our tummies during January through April.
Imagine yourself on a cold and snowy Sunday morning. When you wake, you’ve realized you’ve slept in and that brings a smile to your groggy little face. Instead of jumping out of bed and greeting the day with a big cheery HELLO! You snuggle further under the blankets and just enjoy the warmth and silence. When you finally do decide to get out of bed, it doesn’t even bother you that much that it’s freezing outside because you know that today is the one day of the week that you can stay in your PJ’s and warm fuzzy slippers. Today is the day that you can spend in your warm kitchen, creating foods that have made you feel warm, cozy and loved on even the most chilliest of winter days. Feel good foods. Foods your mom made you as a kid. Foods you discovered on your own and perfected in your very own kitchen. Foods that allow you to block out the stresses of every day life.
Yeah, winter might not be as bad as I thought, eh?
Hearty, stick to your ribs dishes that block out the fact that the friendly neighborhood squirrel is perched upon your back yard fence, frozen for posterity.
And well.. there really isn’t too much more to say about warm and snuggly cold-weather comfort foods. We’ve all got our favorites, and I’ve highlighted quite a few of mine in this post. I hope you check them out and maybe give one or ALL of them a
try this winter. Hey wait.. did I happen to mention pot roast? Didn’t I hear somewhere that 2008 is the year of the pot roast??
Leave me a comment with your favorite.. if you’ve got a link to the recipe, please share it!
Thank you Foodieview for having me over again! And thank you to the amazing cooks/chefs that I’ve highlighted today.. ya’ll are droolworthy in my book! 
xoxo
You can find more comfort food recipes on FoodieView (including Macaroni And Cheese, Pot Pies, and Pot Roast).
Lis has lots of delicious recipes perfect for a cold, winter night at her blog, La Mia Cucina.
Oh Lis, that mac & cheese is calling my name… and so is the pot roast.
We love Cincinnati style chili with all the fixins in the winter!
http://www.andreasrecipes.com/2006/01/01/cincinnati-style-chili/
Comment by Andrea — January 21, 2008 @ 9:53 pm
What a great update!! I wish I had a few of those things for dinner tonight!! It’s perfect rainy-day food
Comment by Beth G — January 22, 2008 @ 12:34 am
Pot roast! Pot roast! Yeh! I think I’m having this for lunch as it’s on the menu right now of the homey diner next to the office.
Comment by veron — January 22, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
Holy cow, Andrea - that photo of the chili on the spaghetti has my tummy growlin’!
Beth.. don’t you hate that? Find something that looks really good and realizing you can’t eat it for dinner that night.
Sis! You are so lucky to have a diner like that close by! All we have is fast food, which makes me gag. I’d bet you make a fabulous pot roast, too.
xoxo
Comment by Lisa — January 22, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
I love pot roast, but my husband isn’t a huge fan so we rarely have it.
But I really love pinch my salt’s potato corn chowder.
http://pinchmysalt.wordpress.com/2006/09/09/is-fall-here-yet/
I will make a big pot and eat it for lunch everyday.
Comment by courtney — January 22, 2008 @ 10:07 pm
I’m thinking I need mac & cheese but your baked pasta looked pretty divine as well!
Comment by MyKitchenInHalfCups — January 23, 2008 @ 5:43 am
I could really go for some of that mac and cheese right about now.
Comment by peabody — January 23, 2008 @ 10:38 am
Okay, Lis. So I guess I’ll concede that living in that kind of weather is a little much. But I’d still like to try. Out in Paradise, comfort food is kinda like a humongous carne asada burrito from our local Mexican eatery. But at home, the ultimate is a savory beef stew. Or Coq au Vin. Or Cobbler. But that photo of your Beef Pot Pie is looking just fine right now. YUM! And thanks for the hugs!
Comment by kellypea — January 26, 2008 @ 9:47 am
I am all about pot roast right now…my mom’s especially. I can’t never do it like hers! Great roundup Lisa!
Comment by Tartelette — February 4, 2008 @ 7:55 pm