comfort food

Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

This simple hamburger soup is loaded with vegetables and is an incredibly easy weeknight comfort food dinner because more than likely you’ll have all of the ingredients on hand and ready for soup thanks to your pantry, fridge, and/or freezer.

The first time I had this totally solid, totally comforting hamburger soup was when my mother-in-law made it for a family gathering of which I was not yet part of the family. My husband and I had just started dating and it was dinner at mom’s house and I was invited to go.

No pressure. Nope. None at all.

One of the things I learned that night—along with the fact that as a teen my husband used to wear a nylon over his head so his wet curly hair would dry straight—is that getting friends and family together to share a meal doesn’t have to be over-thought or overdone.

Good food means good times, and that’s really all you need.continue to the recipe… about Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Homemade with fresh tomatoes roasted in the oven, this tomato basil soup recipe adds a healthy and deliciously creamy flavor you won’t find in any old can.

The Best Tomato Soup Recipe

If I think back to my childhood, tomato soup is at the top of the list of my all-time favorite comfort foods. But unlike my ultra creamy macaroni and cheese or my mom’s spaghetti recipe, tomato basil soup is on the lighter side of the comfort food scale.

Even better, when you have a stash of roasted tomatoes in the fridge, it’s an easy recipe to whip up for an easy dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day.

I’ve seen some recipes for this soup that call for canned tomatoes, but I use fresh tomatoes roasted with garlic and herbs in my tomato soup. Earlier this week I shared my recipe for roasting the tomatoes here, and since I had a jar left over, I decided to update the photos and post for this recipe too.

Soup at our house is a regular menu item, in fact, my husband has gone on an all-soup diet more than once. It’s also likely that our early marriage was built on tomato soup with grilled cheese. Because can one even eat tomato soup without a grilled cheese sandwich for dunking?continue to the recipe… about Tomato Basil Soup

One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

This creamy chicken and rice casserole is a fast and healthy 30-minute meal made right on the stove top, making it a favorite one-pot dinner that feeds a family of four for under $10.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole

September is Hunger Action Month. As someone who has the access and the means to buy/grow/order food at my fingertips (or within a short walk or drive) every day of the week, this public initiative is a reminder that it isn’t nearly as easy for far too many. Helping others cure food scarcity is near and dear to my heart. And I hope to yours too.

So when Kroger asked me to participate in their #ZeroHungerZeroWaste donation challenge, I immediately said count me in. And now I’m challenging you to join too.

It’s one thing to donate that stray can of beans at the back of your pantry or the expired box of crackers. But it’s so much more to make healthful eating approachable and economical, showing families that there are better choices to easily cook and eat at home.

That’s why I’ve created this easy one-pot chicken and rice casserole to show you and those I’m donating it to that fast and easy dinners don’t have to come from a cardboard box, or sodium-loaded freezer meal, or be expensive. They can just as easily come from real good, real food. And for many who are food challenged, most of the ingredients can be kept on hand in the pantry with little waste to be had.

Since my daughter was little, I’ve been a huge advocate in teaching her that there are too many kids in our local community (not to mention the world) who aren’t as fortunate as she is. That giving back is even better than getting. That sharing is caring.

That’s why my daughter and I are now part of the National Charity League, a mother/daughter volunteer organization that focuses on philanthropy. My daughter’s grade’s partnered charity is our local YWCA, an amazing organization that supports women and their children during times of transition until they get back on their feet.

Because some of these women have literally escaped situations with only the clothes on their backs and their children in tow, the YWCA supplies clothing, child care, job opportunities and educational skills, legal services, and offers housing for them and their children.

And of course, they help with food. And that’s why so am I.

see more: 30 Comfort Food Casseroles to Make Now

continue to the recipe… about One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

It may be an age-old wives tale, but according to mothers, grandmothers and any soup lover, there truly is no better cure for anything and everything that ails you than homemade chicken noodle soup made with chunky carrots, celery and always savory chicken stock. It’s the ultimate comfort food and incredibly easy to make.

The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Typically when I place my grocery haul on the grocery store check-out line conveyer belt, it’s a hodge podge assortment of ingredients that doesn’t give anyone a hint as to what’s going on in my kitchen at home. As voyeurs peeking into other’s lives, do the checkers notice (or even care) that you buy all organic with a side of doughnuts on every trip? That you buy enough food to feed an army or simply pick up a passel of frozen dinners for one? And do they judge your cooking skills—or lack thereof—depending on what exotic—or mundane—ingredients fill your basket?

So it wasn’t much of a shocker when I showed up to the 15 items or fewer line that the grocery store clerk asked me if I had someone at home who was under the weather thanks to my collection of a bottle of Chloraseptic, two different brands of throat losenges, and all the fixin’s for homemade chicken noodle soup.

I’ll do everything and anything to cure my little girl’s wicked cold and sore throat. So when my baby doll requested a soother of soup for her sickly sore throat, as her adoring mother, I hopped to and got myself into the grocery store check out line and then straight back into the kitchen to whip up a homemade broth that makes the BEST chicken noodle soup from scratch, hands down beating anything out of a can.continue to the recipe… about The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken Meatballs and Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken Meatballs is an easy and homemade way to celebrate Passover or any matzo ball craving—with a twist.

I’m not Jewish. But I am definitely a matzo ball lover.

It all started with late night jaunts to the classic Canters Deli where I became an obsessive fan of matzo ball soup with all the fixins’ — noodles, matzo ball, kreplach, chicken and carrots. What the crap is a kerplach, you ask? It’s sort of a jewish tortellini and pretty darned good.

But oh, THE BROTH. That delicious broth that brought me back to my senses in those wee late night hours. If only I could replicate it—the broth, not the late hours. But I’m no Jewish mother—although my husband will say I do have the stereotypical tendencies. Sadly, those secret, Old World ways of chicken broth making may never make it to my stove.

But I do have a delicious recipe that hits home and curbs my matzo ball craving every time. And what better time to share with you than in celebration of Passover and Easter weekend? Yum. You’ll soon be a believer.

This ingredient list looks long, but is really easy. If you’re making your own broth, the key is a long, slow simmer for all of those veggie and chicken flavors to marry in holy matzo-mony.continue to the recipe… about Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken Meatballs and Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Thanks to the Instant Pot pressure cooker, this easy chicken with wild rice soup is rich, creamy (without any added cream), and fast to make, and it tastes even better the next day, making it a great addition to your meal prep plans. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, not to worry, I’m sharing my stove top directions as well.

It’s soup week!

This week I’m sharing a few of my favorite soups, old and new. And a good thing too, because when my daughter came home from school and looked at me with a red-ringed nose and her eyes at half-staff and announced her “throat was sooooooo sore”, as she breezed past me and coughed, wheezed, and hacked her way down the hall and into her room to flop onto her bed like a left-behind Raggedy Ann doll, I knew we were in for the night.

Good thing I had this soup prepped and ready for cookin’.

Creamy chicken and rice soup. Pure comfort and totally right for all that feels wrong.continue to the recipe… about Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

Call it what you want — cheeseburger macaroni, hamburger mac and cheese, or homemade Hamburger Helper. Whatever this recipe is, it’s delicious.

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

I’m not embarrassed to admit it. In our first days of being married—yep, that was just a feeeewww years ago—Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper was totally a favorite of my husband and I.

Maybe it’s because my mom rarely made dinner from the box that gave that dang Hamburger Helper version a secret appeal. Or maybe it was just because it had the basic ingredients that make a comfort food dinner completely craveable: pasta, hamburger and cheese sauce.

We always doctored up the boxed version with sliced onion and mushrooms, it’s not like we could just eat it the cardboard cutout way. But when I started reading labels and trying to pronounce words in the ingredient list that I needed to pull out the dictionary for, the boxed version went by the wayside.

But that didn’t mean my craving went away.

The day I created this recipe for my partners at Go Bold With Butter, I had a house full of 9-year-olds who had just come home from school and who, as 9-year-olds will be, were STARVING!

Super cheese mom to the rescue.

4 girls. 4 bowls served. 8 thumbs up.

That’s why I’m loving this homemade Hamburger Helper so much, because it’s the base of my favorite comfort food flavor but is made with real ingredients.continue to the recipe… about Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie with Asparagus and Mushrooms

This Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust is packed with fresh veggies and a creamy yet lower-fat and lower-calorie sauce that brings it all together.

This recipe is brought to you by Almond Breeze

Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust

Chicken pot pie, with its homemade buttery crust and thick creamy sauce, rings in the comfort food season each and every Fall and then continues well into the cozy vibes of winter. Who’s with me in calling this pure comfort in a bowl?

But when winter gives way to spring and we start easing into our summery daze, those cravings for traditional chicken pot pie get a literal gut-check when faced with the fact that it’s time to transition from hiding underneath winter’s cocooning cardigan sweaters to strutting our stuff in summer shorts and sassy swimsuits.

But that’s what I love about this lighter chicken pot pie recipe: It cures my still-holding-strong comfort food cravings (because do they ever really disappear?) with a healthier adaptation of ingredients, making it a favorite home-cooked dinner no matter what season it shows off in.

continue to the recipe… about Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Skillet Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

This easy and extra cheesy one-pot cauliflower mac and cheese dinner gets a heathified veggie bump thanks to caramelized cauliflower added to the velvety cheese pasta to create a whole new take on a comfort food favorite.

This post is in partnership with Cache Valley Cheese

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a 783 times. There’s nothing like sneaking a little healthy into dinner and knowing the thrill of everyone at the table loving it. And even better when they ask for more.

Break out the mom victory dance!

It’s one of my secrets when it comes to feeding kids of all ages. For instance, my husband. He’s the biggest kid I know and not the biggest fan of cauliflower. But when that bulbous head of a vegetable is cooked to become caramelized and sweet, and mixed with macaroni that’s coated in a silky, creamy, cheese sauce? Suddenly, he’s just as much a fan as Smudge has been since she was a wee toddler.

Sneaking healthy in. It’s my secret weapon at meal time.

This year I couldn’t be more pleased to be partnering with a brand I grew up with. Not only grew up with, but honestly ate every. single. day. I don’t think I can even remember a time when Cache Valley Cheese wasn’t in my parents’ fridge waiting for me to slice and layer in one of my famous turkey sandwiches, melt over a freezer burrito, or add a perfectly cut square slice to my liverwurst and pickle topped Triscuits for my after school snack while watching re-runs of The Brady Bunch. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

And please, don’t even judge me when I admit to slathering thick slices of mild cheddar with mayo and eating it just. like. that.

Cache Valley Cheese has been with me and my family forever, and I can’t wait to share my food memories and favorite recipes featuring it’s high-quality, calcium-rich cheeses here on the blog this year.

So let’s get started!

continue to the recipe… about Skillet Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

31 Days of Comfort Food Favorites to Make Now

Comfort food cures all our cooking cravings, and there’s no better time to cozy up to hearty soups, easy slow cooker meals, and comforting pastas, than the 31 days of October.

It feels good to fall into fall, don’t you agree?

While I fiercely LOVE the summer months, there is a totally cozy nostalgia that comes with changing leaves, a chill in the morning, and the don’t-want-to-admit-but-I’m-getting-excited-thrill of the holidays peeking just around the corner.

Whether you’re looking for a new killer chili recipe to bust out at your next tailgate party, a simple throw-together weeknight meal, or a healthy-fill-you-up breakfast, these 31 tasty recipes are what you should be making this month.

And since we are in the 31 days of October, don’t you dare forget the pumpkin recipes!continue to the recipe… about 31 Days of Comfort Food Favorites to Make Now

30 Easy Comfort Food Casseroles to Make in November

These 30 recipe ideas for fall-flavored casseroles are great for whipping up homemade autumn-inspired dinners this month.

Happy November!

Cooler weather has finally arrived—unless of course you’re in L.A., and in that case, we’re sweating in sympathy with you. There’s something about chilly temps that makes us crave all things carb-laden and cozy, so for our 11th installment of our 31 Days Series, we’re bringing you 30 days of fall casseroles to warm up with this month, because nothing says cozy like a casserole. They’re the proverbial queen of comfort food.

A longtime staple in America’s cuisine, these baked concoctions appear at family reunions, holiday gatherings, potlucks, and more. Maybe you grew up on your mom’s tuna noodle casserole, or your grandma’s chicken and rice—either way, any time you take a bite of one, the nostalgia reigns and food memories come flooding back.

With casseroles, no matter what’s underneath, it seems the most popular have a thick blanket of melty cheese, crispy toasted bread crumbs, or some sort of breaded topping, totally canceling out their often plain Jane appearance. From French, to Mexican, to Cajun, to Italian, (with plenty of vegetarian options sprinkled in), we’ve got every kind of casserole you could dream of.

Ready to kick it old-school eatin’ style? Let’s’ dig in!

continue to the recipe… about 30 Easy Comfort Food Casseroles to Make in November

Turkey Avocado Tetrazzini Recipe

There is rarely a comfort food I will turn my back on. And this classic Turkey Tetrazzini noodle casserole with a creamy sauce, mushrooms, and a modicum of leftover turkey meat—because when you cook a turkey, there will most likely always be leftovers—makes me want to make mealtime memories every time.

At our house, Turkey Tetrazzini is a holiday and potluck favorite, and next to my Curry Turkey Pot Pie, is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover turkey. But in my opinion why wait for leftovers? I’ll readily fix my favorite turkey breast recipe any day of the week regardless of whether there’s a special occasion to celebrate or not.

In fact, a semblance of this recipe is one of the first meals I made as an adult, when my husband and I served it at the dining table of our first home for my grandma and grandpa for a special dinner just for the four of us.

My grandpa loved it. My grandma gushed over my cooking skills. And I was simply relieved that it came out edible and on time. It’s one of my favorite reasons I love making food for others, for the special memories I recall whenever I think of a special dish.continue to the recipe… about Turkey Avocado Tetrazzini Recipe

31 Days of Healthy Comfort Food Recipes to Make In January

Happy New Year, foodiecrushers!

Like clockwork, the stroke of a new year encourages a slew of ambitious healthy resolutions — more green juice, less alcohol, more intentional living, less screen time, more kale, less ice cream.

You get the picture.

One sensible place to start is with our diets, and savvy meal planning is our tour guide. But since we know this is a lot to take in and meal planning takes work, we’ve decided to make things a bit easier for you.

We’ve scavenged the depths of the food blogosphere for 31 recipes — one for each day of the month — for you to plan and prepare, and get you through the chill of January. Healthy comfort food recipes are January’s theme because, let’s face it, we need to ease into this. Excess fat and calories aren’t needed this month, but it’s still winter, and that means comfort food still rules.continue to the recipe… about 31 Days of Healthy Comfort Food Recipes to Make In January

Craving > 5 Twists on Comforting Chicken Stew

Goodbye grill. Oh well helllllooolo braise.

It’s the first day of fall and we’re all about comforting, stew-ey goodness and going back to the basics with chicken, carrots and mushrooms. Over rice? No way. Noodles. That’s right, egg noodles, just like mom used to make, slithering in butter with a touch of salt and pepper.

photo > foodiecrush

Whoa, but wait! What’s that pungent smell perfuming the entire house with an almost wrinkle-your-nose-I’ve-been-cleaning-the-house-from-top-to-bottom smell?

Vinegar. Cider vinegar. It reminds me of most Saturday mornings when mom would clean the wood floors with her secret combination of “just a tablespoon or so to a gallon of water” that made the whole house smell clean and fresh.

Except tonight its for dinner. And it tastes nothing like wood floors.

photo > foodiecrush

Get the recipe from one of my favorite food mags, and you SERIOUSLY have to try it. It’s a keeper. One for the archives, to hand down from generation to generation. You’ll thank us later. And your house will smell clean and fresh, whether it is or not.

Do you have a favorite home cooked meal that reminds you of mom’s cookin’ (not neccesarily her cleaning like this post). Join a bunch of us foodie bloggers on Wednesday, October 5, when we’ll each be posting our own Family Food Flashback recipes. Join us with your story, your recipe and your memories.

Send me a link to your recipe by Monday, October 3 and we’ll add your link to our list of recipes for post on Wednesday, October 5 and we’ll share memories of dinner time before Ipods and microwaves. Well, some of us will anyway.

And of course, here are some hold-the-phone, home-cookin’ chicken recipes to add to your “Welcome Fall” repertoire.

photo > Mirch Masala

One thing that brings me to my cooking knees is the combo of chicken and coconut milk. Manju creates a coco stew-ey goodness with Mirch Masala’s Kerala Chicken Stew with potatoes, ginger and garlic deliciousness. And a beauty shot bonus too.

photo > La Fuji Mama

Quote from Rachael: her Chicken Gohan Stew is “ It’s what might happen if chicken noodle soup took a little trip to Japan and had a layover in Mexico on the way home.” La Fuji Mama also suggests using a shorter grain rice for max chew after thickening the comforting tang of the ginger-flavored, slow-cooker stew.

photo > Bev Cooks

Putting on her craz-ee hat and asking the rest of us to join her, Bev of Bev Cooks pulls together swiss chard, potatoes and chicken chunks in her Crazy Chicken with Skillet Potatoes and Swiss Chard. Choose your amount of your fav spice blend and cook at your own risk.

photo > My Cooking Hut

Two little love birds sittin’ in a tree, c-h-i-c-k-e-n k-o-r-m-a I love thee. Curry, coriander and creamy yogurt lovingly envelop tender chicken nuggets in My Cooking Hut’s Chicken Korma where Leemei serves this stew-ey comfort dish with a hint of spice from green chiles, cumin and chili powder.

photo > Food and the Fabulous

A pestle and peppercorns walk into a bar and…oh wait, wrong blog. There’s no punchline because this recipe isn’t funny, it’s lux. Isahy takes the de riguer simple ingredients of carrots, chicken and stock to create Food and the Fabulous’s Pink Pepper Chicken Stew, to create a spicy and bold one pot meal.

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Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

The Best Tomato Soup Recipe

One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole

The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken Meatballs and Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust

Skillet Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

31 Days of Comfort Food Favorites to Make Now

30 Easy Comfort Food Casseroles to Make in November

Turkey Avocado Tetrazzini Recipe

31 Days of Healthy Comfort Food Recipes to Make In January

Craving > 5 Twists on Comforting Chicken Stew

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

How to Make Classic Macaroni Salad

How to Make the Best Grilled Salmon

The Best Greek Chicken Marinade

comfort food

The Best Tomato Soup Recipe

Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole

The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust

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