Here we have a random bunch of recipes that make us feel good. I’ll start with a couple sauces/dressings and then present a couple one-pot meals that are super warming. Please submit your own recipes via email and designate which food page to put them on.
Sauces/Dressings
Jamie Oliver’s Tartar Sauce [Look to the Brits for white fish compliments. I like this on cods and rockfish especially.]
1 cup Salad Dressing, 1/4 cup Sweet Relish, 2 TBS chives, onion, parsley, 1 TBS lemon juice, and if you like spicy 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce and .5 tsp hot sauce. Just add one by one stirring, tasting – easy peasy.
My Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing [at least as good as the one TJ’s discontinued].
3/4 cup Mayo/Salad Dressings, 1/2 cup Sour Cream (I recommend Strauss), Buttermilk just to smooth out, 4oz Blue Cheese Crumbles, 3 garlic cloves minced or pressed, minced shallots to liking, 1 TBS lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Comfort Mains
Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
Saute 1 C chopped onions, 1 chopped red pepper, 1 TBS minced garlic and two thin-sliced Andouille Sausage in 1 TBS Olive oil for about 5 minutes.
Add 1 Cup Basmati or other rice, and a pre-assembled spice side dish containing 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp oregano, .5 tsp onion powder, .5 tsp thyme, .25 tsp garlic salt, 1 bay leaf. Cook 2 minutes.
Add two cups chicken broth, 1 TBS tomato paste, .5 tsp pepper sauce, and 1 – 14.5 oz canned peeled diced tomatoes. Cook covered 20 minutes or use the rice button if using InstaPot.
Add .5# peeled deveined shrimp medium size (allow the hot jambalaya to cook them for you in a few minutes). Serve in a bowl with chopped fresh parsley.
https://www.my recipes.com/recipe/jambalaya-with-shrimp-andouille-sausage
White Chicken Chili
A flavorful and filling bowl meal if you can digest beans (and always try to used Eden canned beans as they do pressure cook them).
Saute 1 diced small onion in 1 TBS olive oil. Add 2 cloves minced or pressed garlic, cooks in less than a minute.
Add 28-30 oz chicken broth, 7oz diced green chilis or Poblanos and a preassembled herb/spice bowl containing 1.5 tsp cumin, .5 tsp paprika, .5 tsp oregano, .5 tsp coriander, .25 tsp black pepper. Bring to boil and simmer 15 minutes.
While that’s cooking, drain and rinse two cans of white beans – your choice – (you can make a creamier chili if you blend half of one can and use the rest whole) along with 1.25 cups frozen, canned or fresh sweet corn and a cubed 8oz package of Neufchatel cheese.
After the 15 minute simmer, add the cheese cubes first and stir til melted. Then dd the corn and beans. Simmer 5-10 more minutes. Stir in 2.5 cups precooked cubed or shredded chicken meat, 1 TBS lime juice, 2 TBS chopped cilantro and if you like avocado slices and tortilla chips.
I will add the chicken raw with the rice and use the instant pot on manual 20 minutes with 10 minute release time before adding all the rest.
https://www.cookingclassy.com/white-chicken-chili/
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Especially comforting when the weather is turning to the brisk leaf-falling time of the year.
In a heavy pot or dutch oven, melt 4 TBS butter and cook 2 cups diced onions and 1# slice mushrooms until soft and translucent ≈15 minutes.
Add 2 cups stock of choice, 1.5 cups dry white wine, 2 tsp dill, 2 tsp thyme, 2 tsp paprika (my smoked spicy is divine), 2 TBS soy sauce or Braggs. Bring to simmer and cook until reduce in half.
Whisk 3 TBS flour in 1 cup whole milk til no lumps. Thicken the soup with this mixture and reduce heat. When no longer simmering add .25 Cup sour cream and 2 TBS lemon juice. Dress with chopped Italian Parsley.
https://www.themodernproper.com/print/hungarian-mushroom-soup
Pomegranate Elixir A Christmas Luxury
I use 2 quart mason jars to make this. You’ll need a lot of honey and brandy along with the harvest seeds of the Poms. I get around 6 Poms, cut out the bloom end in a circle, score the sides in quarters and pull them apart to get at the seeds. Use a food processor to release the juice and split all of it between two jars, less if you half the recipe, of course. Fill the jar with brandy to 3/4 full and fill to the top with honey. Seal with a good cap and lay on a counter to roll every time you walk by. After about 4 weeks, use a sieve to separate out the seeds, then a coffee filter to arrive at the final product. Sip away!