Holiday favorites

This is my brothers favorite thing at the holidays!

Aaron's Christmas Cookies

2 cups Captain Krunch

2 cups Rice Krispies

2 cups colored mini marshmellows

1 8oz jar roasted peanuts

1 1/2 lb almond bark

Melt almond bark and pour over all the other ingredients, mix well.  Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.  Let set up.  Enjoy!

My comfort food

My comfort foods are pretty basic.  I love Chicken and dumplings, Beef Stroganoff, and my Mom's bread pudding.  I also love the hot artichoke dip that I've posted before, mostly because it reminds me of the holidays and parties, when you could always smell it cooking in the quiet right before everyone arrived.

Bread Pudding

4 cups milk

2 cups fresh bread cubes, packed

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325-350.  Scald milk; add bread cubes and sugar.  Allow to stand 5 minutes.  Slowly pour mixture into bowl of beaten eggs, stirring constantly.  Add vanilla.  Place mixture into a well buttered 2 quart casserole and sprinkle with nutmeg.  Bake with casserole in a pan of hot water for 1 hour, or until knife comes out clean.

We serve hot with a little milk or cream poured over it.

Comfort Food

Octamom posted about comfort food this morning. It made me think about whether or not I'd ever posted my absolute favorite, amazing, birthday requested meal on our blog. After a quick scan of previous entries I did not find our recipe for Swiss Steak.
When I was young I used to spend every summer in Idaho with my grandparents (we lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico at the time). Grandma was the best cook ever and she made so many wonderful dishes that utilized the homegrown tomatoes and peppers from Grandpa's garden (a small one acre patch that was divided between the east and west sides of their house). This recipe is very simple and easy.

Here is Grandma Canfield's recipe for Swiss Steak.

2 pounds cube steak
2 quart jars of stewed tomatoes
1 large sweet onion, sliced thin
2 large bell peppers, sliced thin
flour
salt
pepper

Dredge the cube steak in flour and brown in oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Smother the browned steaks with the tomatoes, onion, and peppers. Cover and simmer for about an hour our until the steaks are tender.

We always serve Swiss Steak with pan browned potatoes (I'm not sure why they're called that). You begin with several moderate sized potatoes (not tiny, not quite baking size either). Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to score the top of the potatoes with a diamond pattern. Brush the cut side of the potatoes with butter or oil and place them in a buttered or oiled pan cut side up. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Steamed green beans with sweet onion slices are the preferred vegetable side dish to serve with the steaks. Peach cobbler usually rounds off the meal (we freeze sliced peaches when they are in season so that we have plenty to use throughout the rest of the year).