The Comforts of Home

Instinct tells us all is well if we smell something cooking.  One of the biggest anxieties is the fear of no food, or no shelter.  This week I kept life simple with soups and fresh bread but it was amazing what  even savory onions browning on the stove added to the "glad to be home" feeling of the holidays.



Wednesday: Baked potatoes

Thursday:  Fresh white bread, pineapple, and milk for supper.  Holiday Stuffing for the party I attended.
The Stuffing was made of 9 cups cubed fresh bread, 1/2 cup butter, 1 large onion diced,1-1/2 cups diced celery, 2 tsp thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 cup cranberries all mixed with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.  Brown the celery and onions in the butter.  Mix all ingredients together with sauteed onions and celery.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Friday:  Joe's potatoes.  Potatoes were on sale the first of October again.  We stocked nearly 300 pounds for our family.  They are being stored in open totes in the garage.  I also bought a large bag of fresh onions.  Many onions are 4 inches in diameter.  To use the onions and potatoes before they rot, dishes like "Joe's Potatoes" are fantastic.  Brown 2 large onions cut into circles in 1/2 cup butter.  Add 7 pounds peeled, sliced potatoes (in rounds).  Cover with enough water to just barely submerge the potatoes.   Cook until potatoes are soft to a fork.  Salt and pepper.  The potatoes brown with the caramelized onions and thicken the broth as it boils down.  This dish is a Depression Dish that my grandpa would often make to feed his eleven children.  Savory onions helped assuage the lack of meat on their table.

Saturday:  Macaroni, taco flavored ground meat and tomato sauce were added together to make a variation of macaroni/ hamburger/ and tomato dish.  The children assembled all the ingredients while I went out.  They ate it all.  It must have been delicious.  I start with the macaroni-  measuring1/2 the volume that I want in the end.  So to serve 8  people 1/2 cup servings each, we needed 2 cups of macaroni.  We added 1 pound of meat, about 3 cups of crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.