So I've realised that the reasons that I love Fall are not the reasons I thought they were. I thought I loved Fall for its coziness, its sweaters, its hot drinks, its cooler air and still warm sun...those are all great parts of Fall, but I've come to realise that what I really like is the food. That, and not having to shave my legs and armpits every day.
But really, Fall is the return of Comfort Food - stews, chili, chowders, warm buttery biscuits, warm buns, fresh baking full of carbs...I think you get the idea.
So here are two great Comfort Food standbys for me. In my (humble) opinion, there's NOTHING quite like a great bowl of chili and fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits, dripping with butter. I like this chili recipe because it's not the usual, it's more of a bbq chili. The biscuit recipe I got from a sweet friend who used to take care of Berry Boy for me on occaision and would often invite me in for a bowl of soup and these fabulous biscuits...they are my absolute hands-down faves.
Beefy One-Pot Dinner
1lb Ground Beef
1C chopped onions
1C thinly sliced carrots
1C finely chopped potatoes
1C water
1 Can baked beans (I use the Heinz BBQ Style beans)
1/2C BBQ Sauce (we are partial to Bullseye, but use your favorite)
Grated Cheddar, or the Tex Mex mix grated cheese, or the Mozza-Cheddar mix.
Brown the meat with the onions in a large pot and drain. Add the vegetables and the water, reduce to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer 10min or until veggies are tender.
Add beans and BBQ sauce, stir. Cook 5min, or until heated through.
Dish into bowls and sprinkle with cheese.
(Kraft What's Cooking)
*now, my packages of ground beef are usually 1.5lbs, so I kind of double this recipe. I still use 1C of each of the veggies, but I double the beans and the BBQ sauce. Also, I put in enough water to almost cover the veggies and meat, so about 1.5cups (most of it cooks off anyway).
Best Ever Buttermilk Biscuits
2C Flour
1T Sugar
2tsp Baking Powder
1/4tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Salt
1/2C butter
3/4C Buttermilk (I usually just use normal milk and *sour* it with a bit of lemon juice).
Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter (or shortening, but I love using butter).
Make a well, and pour in the buttermilk.
Stir with a fork to combine, then knead about 10x (but don't overknead)
Roll out to 1/2"-1" thick, depending on how tall you like your biscuits, and cut out into circles, or however you like to do it (I've used the heart-shaped cookie cutter before)
Bake at 450 for 10-12min on parchment lined baking sheets.
*now, I love a little cheese in my biscuits, so before you add the milk it certainly doesn't hurt to throw in a cup or so of grated cheddar, just to mix it up a bit...
Let the season of Comfort Food begin!
