There's a sausage/rice casserole that I like but it has green pepper and onions. I only use brown rice though.

We don't have enough snow days here to really have snow day food. LOL As kids we always made snow cream - if there was enough snow. Usually walked up to my grandmother's to make it.

I'd pick something warm and creamy - probably some type soup. A good cup of hot cocoa too!

That's the bad thing about being stuck inside for days - all the food! Easy to pack on the pounds. If I were in your shoes, I'd need to make sure I DID NOT have sweets in the house (or a very limited amount)cuz I'd be wanting to eat them!

tina

My Snow Day comfort food is Tamales with my homemade red chile sauce (which is not salsa) . . . ahhhh!
Lynn

A BIG pot of green chile! That's my idea of "pig out food" on a cold day! :0)

Soup is comfort food here. I've made it a lot this winter ... Sweet Potato Andouille Bisque, Split Pea & Barley, Turkey & Wild Rice, Chicken & Andouille Gumbo, Navy Bean & Ham, Ginger Carrot, and I make Pasta e Fagioli year 'round.

We had some snow here a couple of weeks ago- the remnants are still on the ground.
For us its a big pot of red chili.
We had Mexican night a couple of Sundays ago- I made tacos and cheese enchiladas and guacamole.
When the kids were little and had snow days from school, we always made cookies and went sled riding.

Risotto, warm and creamy.

I also like to pull out my homemade tomato sauce that I have in the freezer and put it on spagetti, topped with some good parmesan. It's made from my homegrown tomatoes, basil, and garlic.

It tastes like August.

Oh, and sour creme enchiladas. . . . yum!

One of our favorite soups is cheesy chicken corn chowder. Having that later this week. Also my thrown together version of taco soup which we call "calico chili" due to the colorful veggies.

tina

Snow days around here isn't about cooking. We seem to lose our electricity more often than not during storms. Losing electricity means no water, no heat and no cooking!! When a storm is coming we try to use up stuff that will need tossed if we lose electricity.

I have a great recipe for Sausage though!

1 TBSP olive oil
1 pound Adele (spelling) Italian sausage
1 pound fingerling potatoes, sliced in half length wise
1 onion, chopped
1 lemon, sliced thin with seeds removed
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Brown sausages in olive oil, remove to paper towels. Put potatoes, cut side down into skillet and cook until cut side of potatoes is brown. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes.

Cut sausages into 2" pieces and add back to skillet. Add salt, pepper, lemon, chicken broth and white wine. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Yummy with a big salad!

Gold, we haven't lost power but my dh is now making coffee on the FP. lol.

I did end up buying a small cake and some sugar free snacks. That's because our road grader called us last night to inform us that they will be opening roads in the opposite direction of the county seat this time, and our roads will come last. Oh joy.

I'll take the sour cream enchiladas and chili as long as I can have some fritos, onion and cheese with it. :)

Natal, Chicken & Andouille Gumbo - recipe please? TIA

DH always cooks a big pot of soup - White chili (with chicken and/or turkey sausage), Red chili (ground turkey), Corn Potato Chowder or Vegetable Barley. Always have corn bread.

Last week duting our blizzard we had meatloaf, salad and lemon cake for dinner. It always helps to have the oven going when winter is banging on the door! Generally I do everything in my power to stay away from carbs, but the cold gray and snow makes that hard sometimes. I LOVE Pioneer Woman's Fancy Mac & Cheese - haven't made it for over a year (patting self on back!) and since I don't have any pasta at all in the house, I'm safe for the moment!

Over the weekend I made a huge pot of Mushroom Beef Barley Soup, had friends over, and we sat around enjoying that with salad and another lemon cake. A rich, hearty soup like that always makes me feel taken care of even if Im the one who made it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fancy Mac & Cheese

GD, we love Aidell's sausages! I usually get the chicken and apple, but recently found spicy mango with jalapeno at Target. Very good!

Allison, here's how I make gumbo. Amounts are approximate. I buy bottled roux. For me it's just easier than stirring for 20 minutes. When I made gumbo last week I baked the thighs (brushed with a little olive oil, S&P) instead of frying. I'll be doing that from here on. Much less mess! The andouille I buy has enough seasoning in it that I don't bother with anything else. YMMV

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

6 boneless thighs
Flour
Salt, pepper, and cayenneâ¨
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup chopped onionsâ¨
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
â¨1 cup chopped celery
4 - 5 heaping tablespoons of dark roux
about 8 cups chicken stock, heated
1/2 - 2/3 pound andouille, cut into 1/4-inch slices
â¨3 teaspoons minced garlic
Hot cooked rice
green onions, sliced

Remove excess fat from the chicken pieces. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne in paper bag. Toss in thighs and shake to coat. â¨â¨In a large cast iron skillet heat about 1/2 inch of oil until very hot. Fry the chicken pieces until crust is brown on both sides, about 6-8 minutes per side; drain on paper towels. Let oil cool, then remove from skillet, leaving as many of the browned particles in the pan as possible.

In a medium-size bowl combine the onions, bell peppers and celery.

Place the stock in a 6-quart stockpot or large Dutch oven and let simmer while you cook the veggies.

Add roux to skillet over low heat and stir while it melts down. Then add veggies and cook till soft, stirring constantly. Takes about 10 minutes or so.

Bring stock to a slow boil, then add the roux mixture by spoonfuls, stirring until dissolved between additions. Add the garlic and sausage and let simmer for 40 minutes.

While gumbo is simmering remove meat from chicken in bite size pieces. Last 5 minutes add chicken.

Serve over rice and top with green onions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aidell's Spicy Mango with Jalapeno

Sorry about those weird symbols ... they didn't show up in preview. Just ignore them.

natal, I always enjoy reading (and looking at!) your cooking. Am still going to try those truffles you posted around the holidays.

My snow day go-to is Ham, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup. I make a big batch a couple of times during the winter and freeze it in soup mugs. It's ready to pop in the micro when we get home from work. So rich and delish, with cream cheese, heavy cream and mushrooms in the recipe too.

dlm, have you tried Dreamfield's Pasta? I watch carbs too, and I love it!

natal, one of my dream road trips is to go through the deep south. And I want to visit your area. And heck, while I'm there, I'd love to drop by, sit on your porch, daydream at your gardens and have something yummy to eat, lol ;) LOVE your soup bowl, who makes it?

We had crock pot beef stew through that blizzard that week. I don't cook with salt, use lots of herbs instead. I use organic broth from Imagine or Pacific (think that's the name, no carton on hand. I love those products for soup & stews. Nice mellow flavor, not loaded with sodium like bullion.) I tweak it with herbs & add sweet potatoes and egg noodles. Loaded with carbs, but it's warm & good.

i copied both these recipes...the sausage and rice casserole sounds yummy and will definitely appeal to my boys!!!
and, natal, not a big fan of okra---so your gumbo recipe sounds great!!!(i've never seen bottled roux-don't know if they have it up here-will have to look!)

i love to bake on cold, snowy days...breads and cookies, etc!

Perfect- thank you!

We went to a small town about 30 minutes from here recently just for their gumbo. A few days later, I spotted a jar of roux and purchased. Will try it soon. Thanks.

I've never had bottled roux. I'm not a fan of gumbo though, but like mentioned above, do like that your recipe doesn't have okra, Natal!

And, I'm sorry, I forgot who mentioned PW's mac & cheese, but it is DELISH. I have not had good homemade mac & cheese in a while. May have to have some now! PW has some good recipes.

tina

Deedee, they're good, but almost too rich! I'll be looking for something different next year.

Moon, just let me know when. Would love to meet you! Got the bowls at TJ Maxx ... Molde made in Portugal.

I recently tried Kitchen Basics unsalted chicken broth. Much less sodium than any other brand I've tried. I'll be stocking up when it's on sale. Kitchen Basics

Here is a link that might be useful: roux

Cool, if I ever get that dream road trip rolling, I'll let you know, lol. ;) And I should go check out my TJ Maxx. (What I really need a new set of dishes.)