Easy Parsnip & Carrot BakeMacaroni CasseroleBest-Ever Beef StewEasy French Onion SoupPizza Pot PieLemon Blueberry BreadGrasshopper Cake

Comfort Food Recipes

Winter has settled in. Time to warm up after a day outside. This week we found a few comfort food recipes to help you stay warm in the new year.

If you have a favorite dish, that you would like to share, we would love to hear from you! Recipes, with photo (and a short story/history), if available, can be submitted to ads@thedrummer.com.


Easy Parsnip & Carrot Bake 

 

Cook Time: 40 Mins

Yield: 3 Servings

 

4 parsnips

2 carrots

3/4 c. full-fat coconut milk (use almond milk if you don’t like coconut)

1 c. unsweetened almond milk or soy, rice milk

1 T. lemon juice

1 T.  nutritional yeast

2 T.  cornstarch

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. thyme

Pinch of turmeric

1/2 c. cooked chestnuts

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

In the meantime, peel the parsnips and carrots. Trim the root and leaf ends, and cut them into quarters lengthwise.

Add parsnips and carrots to the boiling water and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until fork-tender but not mushy. Drain and arrange them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Keep 5-6 quarters for topping later. Top with the cooked chestnuts, I like to slightly crumble them but you can keep them whole if you prefer.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the sauce: In a medium-size saucepan, combine the coconut milk, almond milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt, thyme, and turmeric. Whisk until combined.

Heat the sauce over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. Pour immediately over the vegetables. Top with the remaining carrot and parsnip quarters (this is just for decoration).

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, then put the grill mode on and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Top with fresh parsley and serve with a salad, or as a side-dish for a holiday dinner.

 


Macaroni Casserole

 

Prep Time: 20 Min

Bake Time: 20 Min

Yield: 3 Servings

 

1 c. uncooked elbow macaroni

1 egg

1/4 c. half-and-half cream

2 T. butter, melted

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 c. shredded mozzarella (or cheddar mix) cheese, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 lb. thick-cut bacon, cooked & chopped

3/4 c. chopped fresh spinach

 

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the egg, cream and butter; set aside. Drain macaroni. Add the Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and reserved egg mixture; toss to coat. Stir in bacon and spinach.

Transfer to a 1 qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

 


Best-Ever Beef Stew

 

Yields: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 15 Mins

Total Time: 1 Hour 25 Mins

 

1 T. vegetable oil

2 lb. beef chuck stew meat, cubed into 1” pieces

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds

2 stalks celery, chopped

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. tomato paste

6 c. low-sodium beef broth

1 c. red wine

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried or fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

1 lb. baby potatoes, halved

1 c. frozen peas

1/4 c. freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

 

In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add beef and cook until seared on all sides, 10 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Transfer beef to a plate.

In the same pot, cook onion, carrots, and celery until soft, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook until garlic is fragrant and tomato paste has darkened, 2 minutes.

Add beef back to dutch oven then add broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer until beef is tender, 30 minutes.

Add potatoes and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 15 minutes.

Remove bay leaves. Stir in peas and cook until warmed through, 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley before serving.

 


Easy French Onion Soup

 

Yields: 4 Servings

Prep Time: 10 Mins

Total Time: 1 Hour 5 Mins

 

4 T. butter

3 large white onions, thinly sliced into half moons

2 T. all-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. white wine

2 c. low-sodium chicken stock

4 c. low-sodium beef stock

8 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

8 baguette slices

1 c. grated Gruyère

 

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden, 25 minutes. Add flour and cook 1 minute until no longer raw. Season with salt and pepper, then add white wine and let simmer until evaporated, 3 minutes. Add chicken and beef stocks and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove thyme.

Preheat broiler to high. Place 2 baguette slices on a large baking sheet and top each slice with 2 tablespoons cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is bubbling and golden brown, 1 minute.

Serve soup in bowls or large mugs with baguette slice on top. Garnish with a thyme sprig.

 


Pizza Pot Pie

 

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 Mins

Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Mins

 

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for crust

2 c. broccoli florets, roughly chopped

2 bell peppers, diced

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 lb. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy), casings removed

1/4 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 c. pizza sauce

1/2 lb. refrigerated pizza dough

2 c. shredded mozzarella

1/4 c. sliced pepperoni

Freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish

Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 400°. In a 10- or 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add broccoli and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, until slightly soft, 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 minutes more.

Add sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until seared and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add flour and stir until vegetables and sausage are well coated, then add garlic and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Stir in pizza sauce and remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough into a large circle a couple inches bigger than your skillet. Top sausage mixture with mozzarella, then place dough round over skillet and carefully crimp edges. Brush with oil and top with pepperoni.

Bake until crust is golden, about 40 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes, then sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley before serving.

 


Lemon Blueberry Bread

 

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1-1/4 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

 

Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

 

Make the lemon blueberry bread: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch or 9 by 5-inch loaf pan then dust with flour, shake out excess and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

Rinse blueberries and drain very well, transfer to a medium bowl and add 1 Tbsp of the flour mixture and toss to coat, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together sugar, lemon zest and butter until mixture is pale and fluffy.

Mix in eggs one at a time and blend in vanilla. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix just until combined then mix in 1/2 the sour cream and lemon juice and mix just until combined. Repeat process once more.

Mix in last 1/3 of the flour mixture then remove bowl from stand mixer and gently fold in blueberries.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, spread even and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a moist crumb or two, about 50-60 minutes.

Let cool for about 5 minutes, run knife around edges to ensure loaf has loosened then invert onto a wire rack. Cool on rack about 30 minutes then finish cooling in an airtight container.

Make the lemon glaze: Once cool, in a small mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice (if you want it thicker, add a little more powdered sugar), spoon over loaf.

Let glaze set then cut into slices. Store in an airtight container. Yields one loaf.

 


Grasshopper Cake

 

1 white or yellow cake mix

Crème de Menthe

Fudge frosting

8 oz. Whipped topping

 

Preheat oven to temp. on mix. Instead of using 1-1/4 cup water, use 1 cup water and ¼ cup Crème de Menthe. Bake according to package directions.

When cake is cool, add layer of fudge frosting.

Mix 2 – 3 tablespoons of Crème de Menthe into the whipped topping, then put mixture on top of fudge layer.

Keep refrigerated.

May substitute fudge ice cream topping for the fudge frosting.

May add green food coloring to topping if using clear Crème de Menthe.

 


Quote of the Week:

“The best is yet to come.”

~ Frank Sinatra

 

Publication: 

The Drummer and The Wright County Journal Press

PO Box 159
108 Central Ave.
Buffalo MN 55313

www.thedrummer.com

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