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| Boston Baked Beans, Scalloped Potatoes, and Ham |
What is it about some food that turns them from just a regular meal and upgrades it to the position of "comfort" food? For me, it usually has connections to good memories and home. In this case, memories of Saturday dinners at home when we were kids. In the Maritime provinces of Canada, where both Lloyd and I were raised, Saturday night was traditionally the night for Boson Baked Beans, cooked all day in a bean crock in the oven. When I was a young mother and feeding our family of nine, I stretched the Saturday bean night to include scalloped potatoes and ham. And we didn't have it every Saturday because some of the kids decided they didn't like beans. So now when we have this meal, even if it's just Lloyd and me now, it's a reminder of home and family. And it's Lloyd's favorite meal.
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| Beans 'baked' in the slow cooker |
Mum used to accompany the beans with the most delicious home made brown bread (molasses). It was incredibly good! I have the recipe but don't make it very often. My daughter Amy makes it though and it's just as good as Mum's.
Since my bean crock got a nasty chip in it the last time I used it, yesterday I decided to try cooking my beans in the slow cooker. I'm pleased to report that the beans turned out just as good cooked that way than in the oven, with the added benefit of freeing up my oven for the scalloped potatoes and ham to cook. Bonus!
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| Scalloped potatoes with cheese and bacon. |
And to top it off, I tried something new. My youngest daughter Emily and her husband have opted for a healthy lifestyle and have been eating a gluten-free, sugar-free diet for quite awhile now, with wonderful health benefits for both of them. I took a recipe she posted on her blog for banana bread made without flour or sugar. It was delicious, rich and moist. I haven't had it enough to elevate it to the status of comfort food, but given time, I'm sure it'll rate up there with beans, ham and scalloped potatoes.
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| Emily's gluten-free, sugar-free banana bread. |
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| It's a bit raggedy on the sides because I baked it in a foil pan that had grooves along the inside. |
8 comments:
Oh..I forgot what mine was because yours looks so good! I'm drooling over her.
I like homemade mac n cheese, with ham. Sometimes, poached eggs on toast does the trick too.
Spaghetti or meatloaf is our comfort food. Whatever makes you happy but keeps you down to earth and remembering good time feelings qualifies.
Looks so yummy!! I don't know if I have ever thought of a comfort food...
So I found out...you are home:)
I've got plenty of favourite comfort foods. A big bowl of homemade soup is perhaps the best, followed by macaroni cheese, chicken casserole, bangers and mash (sausages and potatoes). Ah the list is endless, lol.
macaroni & cheese, meatloaf and scalloped potatoes would be mine with a chocolate or carrot cake for dessert!
Oh my Pat, I'm feeling quite hungry now, after seeling all that wonderful food!The potatoes with the cheese and bacon would be my favourite I think. Comfort food for me would be roast chicken with all the trimmings, and my home made cottage pie. Just right for these cold winter days!
Ron has little or no appetite these days but you have made me think of how much he loves scalloped potatoes. He even still calls them scalped potatoes from his childhood. I think I shall make some to see if that might suit his taste buds. They are indeed comfort food.
Scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes with meatballs are our comfort foods.
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