All Time Favorite Food

The week of Thanksgiving is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Inevitably I end up eating more than one Thanksgiving meal: one with my family and a couple others with friends. This is super awesome for me because my all time favorite food is stuffing. Despite it being incredibly uncomplicated to make, I only ever have it immediately before, during, and after Thanksgiving.

This year for one of my Friendskivings, I was in charge of making stuffing. The great thing about stuffing is that it really doesn't matter if you have to use gross, dense gluten free bread- it all gets soaked in chicken stock and covered in spices anyhow. My recipe calls for corn bread and white bread. Bob's Red Mill makes a corn bread mix that some of my gluten-eating friends think is actually superior to regular corn bread mix. I made a pan of corn bread and used about three quarters of it and have just been eating the rest. How good does this look?

I line the pan with foil to make it easier to get out. I also use an entire loaf of Udi's white bread. I leave it out on the counter to get stale for a day or so. I prefer to cut off the crusts but you can leave them on if you're into that. Cube both kinds of bread and throw the pieces in a big bowl.











After this is done (or during, if you're a stuffing ninja like myself), dice a medium to large onion (I always use sweet onions) and an equal amount of celery. Soften them in a pan with melted butter. As the onion becomes transparent, throw in a bunch of sage and thyme. A teaspoon of each, maybe? When they're done cooking, dump all that into the bowl with the bread.

Add more sage and thyme, salt, pepper, and a crap load of poultry seasoning (you seriously can't put too much). Start pouring chicken stock over and stirring. The corn bread will basically crumble as you stir. Keep adding stock until the whole thing is soaked. Taste as you go. The way it tastes in the bowl is exactly the same as it will taste when it cooks so continue to season until it's how you want it. Just be sure it's good and soaked- no one wants to eat dry stuffing.

Spray a casserole pan and fill with stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 with foil covering. Bake for another 20-30 with no cover or until it's browned. Voila! Best stuffing ever. You're welcome.

Roughing it with acorn squash

I spent the weekend with some friends roughing it in Pigeon Forge. And by roughing it I mean staying in a really nice cabin. We ate so well. The first night we were there we had pulled pork tacos with mango salsa, cabbage, and feta. The second night we had steak, roasted asparagus, and acorn squash. It was so delicious that I decided to recreate that meal this evening.

Turns out, making acorn squash is soooo easy. Cut them in half and place them face down on a greased pan, bake for 30 minutes at 350. While they were roasting, I sliced an apple and tossed it with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. I'm an eyeballer so I don't have exact measurements. After 30 minutes in the oven, I took them out, flipped them over and spooned some of the apple mixture into each one. A bit of butter and back in the oven.

I'm not so good with the photography but that's before the oven round two. They were in for another 15 minutes or so but really could have used 20. Regardless, it all turned out so well!

Would you like some chili with those fritos?

I loooove chili. It's so easy and hearty and just... comfy. Up until last year, I ate chili like a  normal person- with a bit of cheese, maybe some sour cream, a piece of cornbread if there was any around. Now I eat chili like a crazy person- completely and totally covered in fritos. If you can see that there's chili underneath, you don't have enough fritos.

I have my friend Jayne to thank for this. She introduced me to the corn chip/chili combo and now there is no going back. If I don't have a chip in every bite of chili, my experience is unsatisfactory. Try it, seriously. Come to the dark side with me. Don't leave me alone in my crazy person chili eating.

Popcorn!

I am OBSESSED with popcorn. I always have been. I go through phases of not really wanting to eat it, but for the most part, it's my go to snack (or occasionally dinner). I grew up with my mom making it on the stove in a pot with a bit of oil - that way is still my favorite but it's too time consuming for me. I have an air popper (two, actually) but when you're an every day popcorn consumer like myself, even that takes too much time. Solution? The brown paper bag.

This was suggested to me a few years ago and it has changed my life. You get the simplicity of the microwave with the freedom to decide how much you want to make and minus the gross chemically tasting "butter". Just pour some kernels in the bottom of a brown paper bag (any size but I use the standard lunch size), fold the top over, and microwave for a minute and a half to two minutes.

If you like your popcorn boring, this is the end for you. Pour in a bowl and eat. But toppings are where it gets fun. I always love the classic, butter and salt, but I'm off salt right now and pouring 2 tablespoons of butter over the top takes away from the healthiness. I tried chipotle powder for spicy- I love the smokiness of chipotle. But I'm not super into spicy so that's a once in a while deal. Lately I've been going for pepper and garlic powder. Sooo good. When I'm feeling indulgent, I'll throw some parmesan cheese on, too.

At a friend's suggestion, I tried pepper and curry powder. Curry is such a strong flavor that I can't have it every night but it would be awesome to have as a snack when you have people over. The only problem with no butter though is the spices don't stick! I've been using olive oil spray but you could also melt a little bit of butter with olive oil. The oil will take on the flavor of the butter so you'll get the benefits of the olive oil without all the downsides of butter.

What's your favorite popcorn topping?