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25 MORE Winter Comfort Food Ideas

Winter is the time of year when everyone wants some comfort food! When the weather gets colder, the wind begins to howl and the snow starts falling, most people want to reach for the kind of food that warms them up from the belly out and makes them feel like they are back at home again.

Check out these 25 ideas for your next winter comfort food craving, and get ready to enjoy the best foods of the season!

Lasagna

Layer up some noodles and cheese with vegetables or meaty filling for a hearty winter meal.

Fried chicken

Although perhaps not the healthiest comfort food around, fried chicken is a great way to warm yourself up on a cold day.

Potatoes

It does not matter how you prepare them—potatoes are always an excellent comfort food. Baked, mashed, or sweet potatoes in a casserole are all good choices.

Beef stew

Combine beef with broth, red wine, and carrots to complete this classic comfort meal.

Tuna casserole

This is an inexpensive way to feel better when the cold weather has you down.

Tomato soup

Perhaps everyone’s favorite classic comfort food, tomato soup pairs well with any main course.

Biscuits and gravy

This traditional Southern United States classic combines warm, fluffy biscuits with white gravy made from sausage drippings.

Macaroni and cheese

Try this kid-friendly dish when you want something warm and gooey to satisfy your craving.

Stroganoff

A bit like beef stew with noodles in it, stroganoff is a hearty cold weather classic.

Sausage and peppers

Throw together this simple Italian dish of peppers filled with tomatoes, rice, and cheese.

Meat loaf

Another affordable option, meat loaf is easy to make and even easier to enjoy.

Homemade burgers

Make your burgers from scratch at home to keep out the unwanted greasy ingredients you might find in fast food restaurants.

Chicken pot pie

A creamy chicken pot pie with a warm, flaky crust is sure to lift your spirits during the wintertime.

Pork chops

Cook up some pork chops in the stove or skillet to create a home cooking favorite that is sure to please the whole family.

Cornbread

Another traditional Southern United States staple, cornbread is the first step toward making your own turkey stuffing at home. It is also great on its own with some butter melted on top!

Potato soup

Mix up a pot of potato soup and load it with bacon, chives, and cheese to soothe your spirits and fill your stomach.

Chicken and rice

Serve a warm piece of baked chicken over a pile of seasoned rice and you will feel the comfort in no time.

Gumbo

Despite its spicy nature, gumbo is a great way to unwind with a soup filled with hearty proteins and tasty veggies.

Clam chowder

Have this warm and soothing soup along with bread, sandwiches, or clam cakes, or enjoy a big bowl all on its own.

Corned beef and cabbage

Cook your corned beef and cabbage in the slow cooker to enjoy the aroma all day long.

Roast turkey

Of course, roast turkey has become a traditional holiday entrée, and with good reason! Eating a piece of warm roast turkey during the cold months warms up the body and the soul.

Shepherd’s pie

Layer cooked ground meat with peas, corn, carrots, and mashed potatoes for this traditional and oh so simple dish.

Chocolate drop cookies

Chocolate, peanut butter, and dry oatmeal are the only ingredients you need for these classic cookie treats.

Chocolate brownies

Nothing says comfort like a batch of brownies served straight out of the oven with ice cream on top.

Pumpkin pie

Grab a slice of this holiday classic with a little whipped cream to round it out.

The next time you find yourself longing for comfort food, reach for one of the items on this list. You’ll be glad you did!

25 Comfort Food Ideas to Get You Through Winter

Sure, we all try to eat healthy most of the time, but sometimes those dark, cold winter days pile up. When that happens, you need that special warmth that only a true comfort food can offer.

Here are 25 of our best ideas to munch and enjoy. Click the link for a recipe for each.

The next time winter cravings hit, you’ll be ready to strike with some of the season’s tastiest and most satisfying foods. Bundle up and bon appetit!

Embroidered T-Shirts For Family Reunions

We all mean to keep in touch with family, but with people spread all over the country and maybe even the world, things just get complicated. In this busy world, there’s often no better way to keep the family close than to actually get them physically into the same room (or park, or resort).

A family reunion is a time to catch up, marvel over how fast the kids are growing, and just enjoy reconnecting. Don’t get weight down in the logistics—this is about fun! But among the various details involved in organizing a family reunion, don’t forget to create and order an embroidered family reunion shirt.

Why Does My Family Reunion Need A T-Shirt?
Just like with a sports team, having a group t-shirt can encourage a unifying spirit that sets a tone for the entire family event. What’s more, a t-shirt can offer an easy to find your relatives and keep an eye on kids in parks or other public spaces. Even better, they’ll look great in group pictures!

Additionally, a t-shirt can be a wonderful memento for everyone in your family of special times shared together at the reunion, for years to come.

What Should Be On My Family Reunion T-Shirt?
When it comes to creating a design for your family t-shirt, the limit is truly your imagination.

To start, put the year of the reunion on it. This will be helpful later when you and your relatives look back at the event. For other design considerations, look to what you know about your family’s common traditions. Do you have a family crest or symbol? A plaid pattern?

It can also be wise to take your family’s personality into consideration: Are your relatives a wacky group or a subdued one? Your shirt could reflect anything from your proud heritage to an activity you all enjoy together, or even a family joke.

Don’t be afraid to have some fun with your t-shirts—a family reunion is no time to be stiff or serious.

Bring The Family Together!
A personal and embroidered custom t-shirt can be a great way to say “thanks” to your family for taking the time and effort to bring everyone together for a reunion. So don’t let your next family reunion fly by without stopping to commemorate it. A custom t-shirt can bring back wonderful memories of time spent together.

Family Travel Shirts

Matching family t-shirts for vacations are not just for TV show families like The Simpsons or The Brady Bunch. More and more families and groups are opting to wear matching shirts when travelling for the following reasons:

Safety

When traveling in busy cities or theme parks, kids and adults in the group are more likely to stay within the group and not get lost. Wearing matching t-shirts enhances the visibility of your family making it easier for the children to spot you, and for you to keep an eye on them. It’s also easier when trying to do a head count as you can easily spot the members of your travel group. In the event that someone does get lost, it’s also great to be able to describe what the family member is wearing – if you have matching t-shirts, you can simply show tour guides or resort staff your own t-shirt so they know what to look out for. If you are wearing matching t-shirts for safety reasons, you might want to consider ordering your t-shirts in a bright or fluorescent color, so that each member of the travel party stands out as much as possible.

Bonding

Whether you are travelling as a family, as part of a sports team, sorority or other group, wearing matching shirts will help each person to bond as a group and will maximise the fun! If you are travelling as part of a sports team or group, you may want to consider having your team name printed on the back of each shirt, along with individual names or numbers to represent each member of the group.

Waiting

Matching shirts can be a really fun way of preparing for your trip. Those who have planned fun family vacations in the past will know how difficult it is to get through that period in-between booking and planning for your vacation, and actually leaving for it. Matching t-shirts are a fantastic way to enhance that limbo period and get everyone excited about the trip while the wait is on! Creating your matching t-shirts will also help to pass the time while you wait for your vacation, as you shop for your shirts, or work on the design for them.

Memories

Matching shirts are a fantastic way to remember your vacation for years to come, and make a sentimental, memorable keepsake that you can keep and wear over and over again. If the vacation is in celebration of an event such as an anniversary or family reunion, then putting the name of the event and the date on the shirt will also help to commemorate the event, and can then be worn on following anniversaries of the date as a way of honor the occasion and remembering the fun of the past trip.

Photos

Lastly, one of the best reasons for wearing matching shirts is for photographic purposes. In the digital age, most people make photos a priority on vacation, ensuring that they snap lots of great pictures to share with their social networks and to help them remember the trip in years to come. Matching t-shirts are a terrific way to ensure that everyone on the trip is color co-ordinated, and that nobody’s clothing will clash in any pictures. Matching t-shirts are also a great way to clearly see who is on the trip in a printed photo, especially when photos are being taken in crowded places.

Keeping Food-Safe This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is perhaps the most popular food-related holiday in the United States. Families throughout the country sit down on the last Thursday in November every year to enjoy a delicious feast of tasty food, including turkey, pumpkin pie and everything in between. And one of the greatest parts of Thanksgiving is sometimes even more celebrated than the initial meal itself – the surplus of leftovers! Unfortunately, Thanksgiving foods tend to be stored haphazardly after the meal is done, and there is an unpleasant trend of post-Thanksgiving leftover consumers who end up sick from food poisoning when the holiday is over. Prepare your food safely and store it correctly to ensure that your holiday is free from any unwanted illnesses.

Preparing Food

Safe handling and preparation of the meal is the first step toward a healthy Thanksgiving. Many home cooks are put off by the idea of cooking a whole Thanksgiving dinner at home, but even the most nervous of these amateur chefs eventually caves in. Whether this is your first time preparing Thanksgiving food or you have done it for years already, it is important to take note of several safety tips.

Never purchase a fresh turkey more than 48 hours before the meal. You can buy a frozen turkey a couple of weeks ahead of time and keep it in your freezer.
The best way to thaw your turkey is by moving it from the freezer to the refrigerator several days in advance. This provides a slow thawing method that won’t allow bacteria to grow on the meat. The second-best option is to place the whole frozen turkey (still packaged) in the sink and run cold water over it until it has thawed.
Wash your hands before touching the raw turkey and immediately after touching it, before you come into contact with any other items or surfaces. Use hot water, antibacterial soap, and wash for at least 20 seconds.
Use a food thermometer inserted at the thickest part of the turkey breast, and again at the inner part of the turkey thigh, to be sure the meat is fully cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many cooks like to stuff their raw turkeys and cook everything at once. This can be done safely, but it does come with more risks than separate cooking. Always measure the turkey for doneness (not the stuffing), and prepare the stuffing in a separate bowl away from the raw turkey meat before filling the cavity of the bird.
Do not rely on the included pop-up turkey timers that come with many packaged birds.

Storing Food

After the feast has been devoured, store the leftovers safely to prevent any unnecessary contaminants. Storing your leftover turkey meat, in particular, is just as important as cooking it properly. It may be tempting to let the leftovers sit on the table while everyone gathers to watch football or partake in some other family activity afterward, but don’t neglect your leftover storage! The turkey should always be handled first, but be sure to take care of your side dishes as well.

Do not let the turkey sit for too long after the meal at room temperature. This will cause bacteria growth.
The easiest way to store the leftover turkey is to shred the meat from the bones and keep it in shallow glass storage containers in the refrigerator.
Do not refrigerate leftover turkey for longer than four days. If you want to keep the meat for longer than this, freeze it.
To freeze leftover turkey, place the cooled, cooked turkey meat into gallon freezer bags and seal tightly. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Do not store stuffing inside the turkey. Always remove it and keep it a complete separate container.
Refrigerate pumpkin pie after it has been sliced to help preserve freshness. Pies only have a refrigerator life of a couple of days.
If you have kept any leftover gravy, always be sure to boil it before serving it again. This will help improve its safety as well as its taste!

By following these simple tips and directions, you will be well on your way to providing a safe and healthy holiday for yourself and your entire family. Happy Thanksgiving!