30 Days About Me: Day 21 – Recipes I Love

Day 21- A recipe you love

I have two recipes I love.  Firstly, an old family recipe called “Elsie’s Casserole”.  It was created by a distant relative and is so old that it actually has measurements in POUNDS of ground beef and sausage!

ELSIE’S CASSEROLE

• 3lbs   Lean ground beef
• 1lb    Sausage, cut into bite size pieces

Brown together and sauté ½ cup chopped onion and ¼ cup tomato paste, and add:

• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 tsp celery seed
• ¼ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tin  consommé
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tin  mushrooms (use juice too)

Simmer for 15 mins, then add:

• 1lb    cheddar cheese cut in cubes
• 1lb    spaghetti (broken) cooked until tender

Put in casserole dishes and heat one casserole dish for 1 hour at 300˚. Freeze remainder.

Another recipe that has become a “staple” for the kids and I is Pumpkin Loaf.  It’s the recipe our friends ask me to bring to potlucks…and the one I “surprise” everyone with, although I’m sure they all kinda figure it’s coming and as a result, I will NOT divulge the recipe…my new family secret.

 

30 Days of Me – Day 5: Comfort Foods

Day 5 – Your favourite comfort foods and why

My favourite comfort foods depends on my mood. My daily “retreat” is a nice cup of chai – Starbucks chai latte, lactose-free, no water is the best, in my humble opinion. 

 

My go-to comfort food when stressed is Jalapeno Cheddar Doritos. When that craving gets too out of control though, I switch to carrots and spicy hummus.

 

My go-to comfort food that takes me back to my childhood is an old family recipe called “Elsie’s casserole”.  My great, great aunt “created” the recipe, from a time when measurements were in lbs…lbs of ground beef, lbs of sausage, lbs of spaghetti.  A whole bunch of yummy.

 

My go-to comfort food during the winter is a nice warm bowl of home-made veggie soup with garlic bread.

 

I think the comfort food that my kids will remember from their childhood is pumpkin loaf.  I have made it for them their entire lives, and whenever it’s baking, it feels like “home”.

What are your comfort foods?