A Slice of Comfort: 30 Favorite Recipes
Chicken Pot Pie [1]
Ina Pinkney, owner of Ina's in Chicago-- home of this pot pie recipe--calls this dish creamy, chickeny goodness. The pastry lids can be made a day or two ahead. Bake as directed; cool and then cover loosely with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
Chicken Pot Pie [2]
Bacon-Pear Macaroni and Cheese [5]
Crispy bacon, extra-creamy cheese sauce, pears sauteed in brown sugar and butter. It took our Test Kitchen three tries to get all the pieces right. Oh man, was it worth it.
Cinnamon-Spiced Beef Stroganoff [9]
A few pinches of pantry spices jazz up the traditional sour-cream gravy. This cozy weeknight dish dances on the line between comfort food and curry.
Fork-Tender Pot Roast [13]
Dan and Nancy Viste specialize in American classics at their Old Feed Mill restaurant in Mazonomie, Wisconsin. Their pot roast slow-cooks until the meat turns brown and tender and the flavor mellows to an almost caramel overtone. Browned bits in the pan become the base for the rich red-wine gravy.
Millionaire's Pie [17]
Chocolate alone delivers all the comfort a lot of us require. But add it to pecan pie with some coconut, and you've awakened a flood of welcome food memories: German chocolate cake, toasted pecan pie and chocolate chips. All that in a flaky piecrust.
Millionaire's Pie [18]
Hearty Vegetable Soup [21]
This version of a winter staple, from author and cooking-school instructor Marilyn Harris of Cincinnati, features basil-flecked meatballs. "This is a quickie version of veggie-beef I created that's great to make when time is limited," Marilyn says. "But it still has all of the good flavors."
Garlic Mashed Potatoes [25]
Quivey's Grove in Madison, Wisconsin, whips up this version of mashed potatoes that matches plenty of dairy richness with garlic, Parmesan, black pepper and green onion.
Amish Apple Dumplings [29]
We often equate Amish food with comfort. Here's our version of a favorite dessert you might find at Amish-based restaurants in the Midwest.
Army and Lou's Macaroni and Cheese [33]
This three-cheese specialty comes from Army and Lou's, a soul food eatery on Chicago's South Side that's long been a hot spot for foods that give you a sense of well-being. The one-dish masterpiece embodies everything we want in a comfort food: It's warm, it's fattening, and it revives childhood memories.
Smyth Steak Sandwiches [37]
Crumbled blue cheese adds salty punch to these indulgent but easy-to-make sandwiches served at The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee.
Cinnamon Rolls [41]
This recipe, with its heady aroma of yeast and spice, comes from the Patchwork Quilt Country Inn near Middlebury, Indiana. In winter, let the yeast dough rise in your unheated oven. The roll dough proofs best at a temperature between 80° and 85°.
Cinnamon Rolls [42]
Sweet Potato-Corn Chowder [45]
Chef Paul Dagenbach upgraded the classic Midwest corn chowder for the class he teaches at Cooks' Ware in Cincinnati. Sweet potatoes and andouille sausage made their way into the mix, along with cumin, chili powder and Cajun spice for a little zing.
Ina's Meat Loaf [49]
Ina Pinkney, owner of Ina's in Chicago, blends three kinds of ground meat for this meat loaf, which makes a perfect sandwich. "America's love affair with meat loaf is historic," Ina says. "Just saying the word 'meat loaf' conjures up a delicious experience."
Ina's Meat Loaf [50]
Meat and Potato Pizza [53]
Chalk this recipe up as an occasional indulgence. It's topped with a totally mouth-watering combo of thin-sliced potatoes, bacon, sausage and a delectable garlic-rosemary butter. The recipe, which comes from Hidemi Walsh of Plainfield, Indiana, received an honorable mention in our 2012 Best of the Midwest Recipe Contest.
Traditional Chicken-Fried Steak [57]
Classic chicken-fried steak actually is crispy, fried beef, usually topped with a creamy gravy. The recipe comes from Devil's Pool Restaurant at Big Cedar Lodge near Ridgedale, Missouri.
Beef Stew [61]
This traditional beef stew, our adaptation of the classic you'll find on many country inn menus, appeared on a cover of Midwest Living®. Cubed boneless beef chuck bubbles along with potatoes, green beans, carrots, celery and other veggies to make a hearty one-pot dinner.
Beef Stew [62]
Never-Fail Rice Pudding [65]
This warm and comforting dessert recipe, one of the winners in a Midwest Living® Favorite Winter Recipes contest, comes from a Brookfield, Missouri, reader. Serve with raisins, dried cherries or dried cranberries for extra flavor and color.
Old World Cheese Bread [69]
A warm center of Muenster cheese makes this bread a memorable addition to any soup supper. It's pictured with Meaty Cabbage Borscht. Both were popular at the now-closed Lincoln Del restaurant in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Best Carrot-Pineapple Cake [74]
Cream cheese frosting crowns a rich, moist and nutty carrot cake. Cinnamon and allspice add just the right spiciness.
Prairie Potato Bake [78]
Mashed potato balls with a melty cheese center top a stroganoff-type beef mixture. The recipe won first place at a Barnesville, Minnesota, Potato Days contest.
Prairie Potato Bake [79]
Chicken with Lemon-Thyme Dumplings [82]
This country-style chicken soup with dumplings will remind you of Grandma's recipes--hearty, rich and comforting.
Sweet Potato-Pork Skillet [86]
Maple syrup sweetens this easy meal in a skillet. Fresh fruit or a tossed salad completes the meal.
Hot-Stuff Kielbasa-Cheese Soup [90]
The rich, creamy flavors in this colorful soup from a Lima, Ohio, reader, earned it a top spot in a Midwest Living® Favorite Winter Recipes contest. If you like, you can cut calories by substituting turkey kielbasa, fat-free milk, and low-fat cheese.
French Spaghetti [94]
Layer creamy white and tomato-mushroom sauces with noodles to create this meatless dish. You can serve it with a salad as a main course or spoon out smaller portions as a side dish.
French Spaghetti [95]
Download our FREE collection of 10 top casserole recipes [96]
Baked Beans 'n' Bacon [99]
Bacon and brown sugar punch up the salty-sweet flavors in this canned pork and beans fix-up from South Dakota's Triangle Ranch Bed and Breakfast. Use half this amount of bacon if you want to cut calories, fat and sodium. For a candied top, leave Baked Beans 'n' Bacon uncovered in the oven.
Baked Beans 'n' Bacon [100]
Classic Schnitzel [103]
The Bavarian Inn in Hermann, Missouri, prepares this Old World classic with style. For schwein schnitzel, add the sour cream sauce (included with recipe).
Classic Schnitzel [104]
Crowning Glory Cream Puff [107]
Sprinkle toasted sliced almonds over this custard-filled cream puff ring, topped with rich chocolate frosting. The recipe, from a Waukegan, Illinois, reader, was one of the winners in a Midwest Living® Readers' Favorite Winter Recipes contest.
Mom's Best Double-Meat Dinner [111]
Serving two kinds of meat makes sense when 14 kids pack the dinner table. Betty Braun of Davenport, Iowa, remembers her mom, Patricia Reagan, putting together this baked meat-and-vegetable main dish and letting the kids help while she finished up the gravy.
Oliebollen [115]
These fried Dutch coffee dunkers will remind you of fat doughnut holes. The recipe comes from a reader in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.
Oliebollen [116]
