Stormy Days and Food

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…Oh that’s another story, but sitting in a blizzard gets that part of my brain going. The other thing that happens is that I want to cook, a lot. So, that got me thinking. I wondered how many people were ready, food wise, for the storm?

Being someone that caters, I have lots of fun choices to choose from if I cannot get out for a few days. But what a drag it would be not to. So here is my list of items that I think you should have, just hanging around, at your home when the weather gets ugly again: staples like eggs, milk, cheese, tofu, meat of some kind, bread, my favorite junk food POPCORN (a lot of it), pasta, items to make soup, and of course, licorice.

So here is how my day went making food on Sunday:

The first thing I really wanted was some kind of fun breakfast/lunch. So Mike and I came up with an omelette (he made it of course). This is easy to make and very filling. So, having eggs in the house all the time is a good idea. And later, if you’re still into eggs, you can make egg salad, or if you really want to have fun, deviled eggs.

I always have some kind of meat and vegetarian item in the house as well. In this case we ate bacon. Mike made a great omelette filled with cheese and sautéed onions and bacon on the side. Now, I knew I was going to want more with this meal, so we also had yummy whole grain toast with peanut butter and Maples raspberry jalapeño jelly. Yes!!!

As we sat at the breakfast bar and ate our brunch, we looked out at the angry white stuff swirling in the back yard. This only made me think…hmm…later I know I will want to make a lot of snacks. The weather had me puling out cookbooks I have not looked at since…forever. By the time we were done with brunch, I had planned a dinner party where everyone who came would also cook. Man, I just have food on the brain!

So then, of course, it was time to lay on the sofa and watch movies. After all, what else could I do? Oh yeah, eat something while I was lying around! So, my choice was air-popped popcorn. I honestly have on hand, at all times, the largest bag you can possible purchase. Sometimes, as in this case, two bags. I find it is comfort food that also fills me up. So that’s what I started on, and I ate a lot of it too.

In about 2 hours, yep, it was time to eat something again. So, as we watched movies, we snacked on whole grain crackers and canned oysters. We only had one can of oysters, so I will make sure I buy more for back up. Something I really wanted, but did not have in the house, was salami, a good salami and a good cheese. Add another thing to the list.

Midway through the movie, I thought…gee, supper? What should we have? I had to stop the movie and go rummage through the freezer to find something. Well, I found ribs. Lucky me. I thawed them out and put a rub that Mike made on them. I put them into one of my favorite baking dishes: the Well Equipped Kitchen casserole dish. They are awesome to use.

After putting them in the oven, I started thinking that I wanted some baked mac-and-cheese. Why not, I thought: I have already done damage with food today.

So I made some homemade mac-and-cheese to go with the ribs. It was fast and easy too. My mom used to make it all the time and I will put the recipe down below. I rounded the meal off with fresh pea pods that I just happened to have in the fridge. We found that since there was no driving involved, a little wine and beer was great in between eating.

Last, but not least, there was one Skinny Cow strawberry cheese cake left in the Freezer…hmm. We would have to see who gets that. I think the person that wakes up and blows the snow in the morning will earn it for sure. I will have to work really hard at the gym!

So by the time you read this, all will be back to normal with the weather, and the hot conversation will be: “where were you and how long did it take to get dug out?” But, you know, that is something I also love about living here. We are tough!

Donnie’s Mac-and-Cheese ~ serves 4

Boil two cups of pasta ~ while that is cooking, melt about 1/4 cup butter (do not brown just melt) ~ add two or three tablespoons of flour (stir in the flour with a whisk) ~ then add about two cups of milk (stirring continues with the whisk, you want it to be creamy) ~ add your favorite cheese to taste ~ after everything is melted and creamy, add the cooked pasta to the cheese mixture ~ put it in a oven safe bake dish ~ place in oven at 350 degrees and bake until golden brown on top.

Oh, I left out that my mom always added an egg to the pasta before placing the it in cheese mixture. I too add an egg. Now, I also want to tell you that my measurements are guess-ta-ments.

Well, it’s time for a bedtime snack of course! I think it’s going to be a piece of the awesome homemade brittle that Martha Berryhill dropped off. Yep, it was quite the eating day at the Jenkins home. I really hope there are not too many more storms.

Until next week, eat well and stay safe.