Winter Comfort Foods {Recipes}

Comfort & Joy!

My favorite comfort foods for winter months include 2 tried and true dishes. Both recipes are great Southern comfort food choices. Just when it’s time to lose some weight, I am sharing this with you, my readers. Be strong!
1. Macaroni & Cheese {Gruyere}

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated or very finely chopped garlic
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (8 oz)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1. Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package.
2. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Using whisk, stir in flour, salt and garlic. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until mixture smells nutty and is lightly golden, stirring constantly with whisk.
3. Add milk. Continue to beat with whisk, scraping bottom of skillet until mixture heats to boiling. Mixture will thicken. Remove from heat; add cheese and rosemary. Stir with whisk until smooth. Stir in drained macaroni.
4. Serve with additional rosemary if desired.
After cooking but before adding cheese, if sauce is lumpy, either strain or add to a blender and turn on high until smooth before adding cheese. I really like this recipe with a crunchy top crust. For a crunchy top crust, spread macaroni and cheese in a baking dish, and place under the broiler for a few minutes, watching carefully, until golden brown. Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 This recipe is from Angie McGowan of Eclectic Recipes at bettycrocker.com. It is delicious!
2. Corn Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 pounds frozen shoepeg corn, thawed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
In a bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 cup butter and milk; stir in the corn and add salt and pepper to taste. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. In a small bowl, combine the crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over the corn mixture. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Hand on: 10 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 18 
Both recipes have been tried by yours truly on a number of occasions, and I can attest to the fact that they are both DELICIOUS!
I am linking this post to Alison at The Polohouse today for her Favorites on the First, Winter Comfort Foods. Alison has been a huge supporter of the Uptown Acorn during its first year, so it is pleasure joining this “party” each month.

Winter Comfort Foods, y’all!