Food-Filled Fridays: Winter Foods

Ah, snow. How wonderful…. right? Someone remind me why winter is some people’s favorite season of the year?  Personally, I think the winter is yet another product of the fall (no, not the season of fall but the fall found in Genesis.) hehe… no, I’m serious.

However, there are a few things that God allows us to enjoy more during the winter.  “Where [snow] abounds, grace abounds even more…”….um…whoops.  that was just slightly changed. 😉  Still, as much as that’s not taken in context at all, we do know that our Gracious God offers grace even in the dead of winter. 🙂

(Yes, I do believe that the perfect, Garden of Eden weather was probably mid-80s with zero humidity and great sun. Ask me if you wanna know why…)

Of course, you know that today is Food-Filled Friday, so you can guess that the main things I enjoy about winter do involve things that are edible. 🙂 [Sidenote: It’s worth mentioning that the main things I enjoy in all of life are edible…] So, in today’s discussion, let’s look at a list of “winter” foods that we all enjoy.  Perhaps this will help us gain perspective on this new snowfall last night, on the additional snow day today, and/or the ridiculous price of fuel we’re all paying heat our homes this season. 🙂

Let’s first discuss hot cocoa. So, yes, there are some weird people who drink hot cocoa 365 days a year (What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about weird food enjoyments…. hehe..), hot cocoa is primarily a winter drink.  Smooth, sweet, chocolate-y, and perhaps topped with some marshmallows or whipped cream, this delectable hot cocoa is a joy to sip on a cold, snowy day.

Homemade Hot Cocoa

From the kitchen of Beverly Wasson

3 cups boiling water
3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa
dash of salt

1 can evaporated milk
6 cups milk
vanilla, to taste

Mix together first four ingredients and bring to a rolling boil. Let boil for at least 5 – 10 minutes.
Add in remaining ingredients, cook ’til heated throughout, and enjoy. 🙂

This stores well in the fridge. Just reheat on the stove or in the microwave. Stir well before enjoying. The cocoa settles.

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Another glorious winter meal is beef stew. Sigh… my mom makes a killer beef stew recipe that cooks up in crockpot and is served with warm bread.  [Okay, I’ll stop drooling now.]  I need to get that recipe from her, so I’ll let you know when I’ve converted it to gluten-free.

In general, I’m not a soup eater (which is why I’m not discussing chicken soup…). There’s nothing appetizing to me about drinking hot water and chomping on almost raw veggies and pretending to be full and satisfied.  This kinda makes me chuckle (uh oh… that’s what Adam and I call an “old person word”…) ’cause I love my raw veggies, and I drink tea (which is essentially hot, flavored water), but somehow soup is a meal I jump at regularly.

I do like creamy soups though. 🙂 Mom Bowman has an awesome broccoli and cheese soup recipe that I have altered a little bit by adding potatoes to make it a little heartier.

Broccoli, Cheese, and Potato Soup
From the kitchen of Bonnie Bowman
(Makes 4-5 servings)

c. shredded carrots
2 Tbsp. water

10 oz. steamed and chopped broccoli
1/4 c. flour
3 c. milk
2 tsp. chicken bouillon (or two cubes)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar
1 15 oz. can of cubed potatoes

Microwave water and carrots for 3 min. Pour into pot on stove. Add remaining ingredients – minus cheddar – and cook ‘til hot). Stir in cheddar cheese and stir ‘til melted.

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What other winter meals do you enjoy?

Tune in next week for more Food-Filled Fridays! 🙂