So as of right now, we are forecasted for...  SNOW this weekend.  This Texas girl does not do snow before January.  So we are commencing lockdown procedures and staying inside all weekend ( at least that is MY plan.. though things rarely go the way I plan, so we shall see).   Starting today I am going to be making Comfort Food from now until probably February.. well now that I actually think about it I'll be making Comfort Food for the next two weeks until the movers get here and we go live in  wonderful 3 star army lodging and eating take out for a month. SO that being said.. Tonight's dinner is homestyle Chili-Mac!  .. Real creative I know.. I know.    So I want to know, When the weather outside is frightful, what is YOUR favorite Comfort Food!?  

Just shout it out in the Comments below!   

Today, because it’s unreasonably cold, wet and rainy. 

 I decided I needed a hearty “warm your bones up” meal.  So I made Gnocchi &Cheese with sausage and peppers.  If that doesn’t make you think of fall type meal, well then please show me what a fall type meal is.. because I want one. Seriously. 

So Our star players this time are:
Butter ( you’ll need LOTS of it)
2 TBS so sauté peppers, and gnocchi .
3-4 Tbs for white sauce

Bell peppers, or what ever peppers you’d like- diced.
1 Johnsonville smoked sausage link, cut into ½ inch rounds.

¼ - ½ cup of milk depending on how ‘saucy’ you like your sauce
1-2 tbs of AP Flour

1 cup of grated cheese of your choice
Note: I also added velveeta, I didn’t realize we were low on grated cheese so I cheated a bit. Forgive me? 

First Boil the Gnocchi in salted water for about 5 minutes, or until they float. 

While the gnocchi is boiling, cut up the smoked sausage and brown on both sides in a heated skillet.  If you purchase the Johnsonville sausage link, you don’t necessarily need to brown it, as it is already cooked. But My preference is that my sausage be a little on the crispy side.   

Once the gnocchi is floating, strain it and let it cool.

While the gnocchi is cooling, pour the smoked sausage into the pot that had the gnocchi boiling in it and set it aside.   Don't be like me and get distracted by my amazingly handsome husband coming home and end up burning the sausage on one side.  There's no escaping this one by calling it flavor, those piggy's are straight up blackened to a crisp.  When I said I liked em crispy, I didn't mean extra crispy with a side of ash.  Don't be like me. 

Add 2 tbs of butter to the heated skillet and let it melt, once the butter is melted add the diced peppers and the cooled gnocchi.   Sauté until  the gnocchi starts to get color and the peppers are cooked.   

Add the peppers and gnocchi to the pot with the sausage and set aside. 

Then turn the heat on the skillet down to just above a simmer, and add 3-4 tbs of butter and let it melt, once the butter has melted add 1-2 tbs of flour and stir it all together until it makes a paste.

Gradually add the milk until you get a watery gravy, this is the base for your cheese sauce.  

Add in your grated cheese, I think 1 cup would do. I only had ¼ of a cup at the time, so I added about a 2 inch slice off the block of velveeta.   So I cheated a little in making a cheese sauce.  Don’t judge.  

Stir almost constantly until the cheese is combined with the base and it has thickened up.  Think semi-soupy gravy. At least that’s my preferred consistency.  Then add what ever spices you please to the sauce, I chose garlic powder and a hint of cayenne. 

Pour sauce over the gnocchi mixture and toss to coat.  

Divvy it up and fall in love.    No need to thank me. 

Yesterday was chaotic. In a ‘I’m covered in paperwork up to my ears’ type of way.  Between chasing The Zohan and trying to get my scanner to actually oh I don’t know.. SCAN. I didn’t get through my paperwork until about 3 in the afternoon. Then I had emails to forward and answer. So basically 'Hi, I am Brittany and I can meet all of your clerical needs.'  Which doesn’t bother me, except for the fact I didn’t pull anything out to thaw for dinner.  At about 4 PM my husband called to tell me one of his guys split their head open and he was driving them to the hospital.  So, I didn’t anticipate them being done before 6PM. Boy was I wrong!  I forget how fast hospitals work here to get you out of their waiting rooms.

I got a 20 minute warning text at about 5pm. Great.  So I quickly pulled together what could have been the most epic meal I have ever thrown together in about 45 minutes to an hour.  With a storm brewing on the horizon.

I wanted a fall type meal. 
So we got:
Main dish:
8 oz of angel hair pasta
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
1 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of milk
1lb package of frozen medium precooked deveined tail off shrimp
5 tbsp of butter

Sauce:
1 cup of milk plus 1 tbsp of melted butter ( I didn’t have half and half this is the best substitute for that)
2 tbsp of crushed garlic
1 zucchini  chopped
3 oz of cream cheese
and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Side:
1 whole acorn squash
1 stick of butter sliced up into tbsp sections ( see butter wrapping to know where to cut)
and ¼ -1/2 a cup of brown sugar.

I am sorry I don’t have step by step photos this time, I literally made this recipe on the fly.. and I don’t do step by step processes unless I know its going to be a hit.

Start by boiling your pasta in salted water.  Add about 2 tbsp of butter to hot water after you have put in your pasta. This helps keep the pasta from sticking together and it also gives your pasta a rich flavor.

Cut the acorn squash in half and gut it. Easier said than done with a raw squash.  Once that is all done.. put about 1/3-1/4 of a cup of water in the pits and put it in the oven which should be heated to 455F for fast steaming convenience.  Itll take about 20-30 minutes for it to steam enough that you can slice up and peel the squash no problem.


In a sauce pan, sauté crushed garlic and zucchini til its all nice and toasty.  Next add in your cream cheese and let it melt a little bit.  Once it starts to look like the cream cheese is curdled ( Its not trust me!) add in your milk and butter. And let it simmer a while. 

In a separate bowl combine ricotta cheese, milk, and sour cream. You can also add a little Italian seasoning to give it flavor.   Now the pasta should be done, so drain it carefully, and return it to the pot. Add in the rest of the butter, no sticky pasta and it tastes rich and creamy!   Pour in the ricotta mixture and mix it well with the pasta.  Then pour the pasta into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, cover the pasta in the sauce. Add your shrimp on top, you can drizzle a little bit of melted butter over the top to help give the shrimp flavor. I opted to sprinkle it with paprika because I thought it needed color!  Set aside and take a deep breath. Me? I took a swig of my margarita.  Okay it was a huge gulp, I got brain freeze and paid for it dearly.  

Once your squash is well… squashy..  you should be able to cut it with ease.  So I opted to slice mine like a watermelon, and peel it. Then I cut the rest of the meat of the squash into cubes and  in an even layer in another 9x13 baking pan.  Glob globs of butter on top of the squash.. then crumble the brown sugar..  put both pans in the oven that is still on 455F for about 10 minutes.  And your finished product is amazing and magnificent!  My husband ate the whole pan of pasta.. I ate the whole pan of squash.

So here is half of our cast of characters for tonight’s meal. This is what happens when I’m in a hurry to get dinner started before my husband walks through the door asking ‘What’s for dinner?’

So, let me lay it all out for ya:
16 oz of bowtie pasta
1 cup of mixed cauliflower and broccoli (Mine are frozen, which is why I didn't add olive oil to the list, the water from the ice will steam all of your vegetables)
¼ of a cup each of diced (julienne  style) red,yellow and green bell pepper.
¼ of a cup of diced onion ( or less.. Im not a fan of onion)
1 package of precooked and sliced Tyson grilled chicken breast. ( because at this point I now have 15 minutes to get things started.)

Sauce:
1 Jar of Bertolli Alfredo sauce
½ a tsp of Hot Shot black and red cracked pepper
1 TBSp of crushed garlic ( we like garlic.. I’d keep your distance  )
a dash of salt
and 2 oz of Cream Cheese..  Yes, cream cheese. THIS is what makes the sauce taste like its homemade and been simmering for what seems like forever.    I discovered this nifty little trick one night, while I was in a rush yet again to get dinner on the table.  I had a hankering for homemade Alfredo but didn’t have time or half the ingredients. I did however have a jar of premade sauce and cream cheese, I thought ‘oh why not?’  The good thing about being married to an Infantry man is that, he has eaten MUCH MUCH worse than anything I can cook in my kitchen.. So I figured if this experiment went awry , He wouldn’t complain…. Much.  

Since hubby took over my kitchen, I cannot for the life of me find my black pepper grinder. So I use this as a substitute.  Same thing, sort of. ½ a teaspoon .. or as much to your liking. And Stir it up.

And this is what it should kind of sort of look like before adding the muffin mix. 

Preheat oven to 325F  if your oven is like mine it takes 30-45 minutes for it to heat. Refrigerate dough for AT LEAST one hour.   Go read a book, take a walk.. or a nap. 
Guilty fact: I cleaned and reorganized my fridge for this photo.  

So my spoonfuls are kind of big.  I like big cookies.  Don’t mind my old cookie sheet, we have been though hell and high water together.